PRIDE OF OWNERSHIP 2010 – It’s more than just the keyboard that counts!

I’ve had a broken keyboard ever since I took it on a trip over a year ago; but, it is an expensive keyboard, so I sat down to work today and the broken part kept flopping off, apparently my “MacGyver” fix has given way. It has something to do with my fabulous ergonomic keyboard that just does not fit on my equally fabulous (and expensive) articulating keyboard tray. Okay, so now I am attempting to apply new physics (not my strong suit) to my duct tape solution; if 200 mph duct tape can fix a NASCAR entry at Daytona, well, it’s good enough for my problem.

As I look at my keyboard more objectively than I have for apparently years, it’s filthy! My goodness, how could this happen? What on earth did my computer tech think when he was working on my equipment for 4 hours last week? I am so embarrassed. So I whip out my trusty alcohol, cotton balls and “can-o-air” and start to remedy the situation. It is very therapeutic, almost like flossing your teeth, “scrubbing” one key at a time. Then it hit me – I have lost my pride of ownership of my work space, perhaps in my contribution. Cascading between all the to-do lists, action items, attempts at being a good spouse, daughter, sister, business owner, mentor, educator, national director, I had kind of pushed my pride of ownership aside, and well, there was some self evaluation about my contribution as well.

So I got to thinking, what I do have every day and in every part of my daily tasks is pride of ownership in AHDI. Every member owns a piece of this organization and a piece of this profession. Taking it to the next level, ever member owns a piece of “meaningful use.” You own that piece because AHDI and MTIA leaders and advocacy supporters of both groups understand the necessity for roll-up-your-sleeves lobbying. You own a piece of meaningful use because Dewey Square Group is working diligently with Greg Doggett and Peter Preziosi to open doors to the right people, people who ARE listening.

Just what exactly is meaningful use? The federal government recently released proposed regulations concerning what physicians and hospitals must do to qualify for financial incentives being offered by the government through the HITECH act of 2009 for electronic health record (EHR) adoption. The proposed regulations do not explicitly recognize the value of the dictation-transcription process for documenting healthcare encounters or the importance of patient narratives for clinical decision making. Given these concerning omissions, we need as many MTs/healthcare documentation professionals and their allies (our physician and facility clients for example) as possible to submit comments asking the federal government to acknowledge the medical transcription sector as a vital contributor to quality of care, patient safety, and successful EHR adoption.

Take pride in ownership by participating in the comment period about meaningful use. Instructions on submitting a comment, including a model comment, are available here. These instructions were announced in the March 3 edition of Vitals and were posted on the Advocacy Summit page of both AHDI and MTIA websites.

Not getting Vitals? Vitals is just one of the features of membership of AHDI and MTIA. I encourage all MTs and smaller MTSOs to join AHDI and be part of the solution. However, member or not, as the subject matter expert in your field, you have a compelling story to tell. You can share it through commenting on meaningful use, through donating to the Power of 10, through becoming a member of AHDI or MTIA, through advocating for our profession in Washington, DC, the state you live in or very effectively at your local level. What better way to have a conversation about boosting economic ROI than developing a conversation about why what you do matters to the healthcare discussion/debate and quality patient care.

Back to the keyboard conundrum, do remember to turn your computer off when you are cleaning your keyboard – with all the keys I was pushing in some celebratory combination, I shut my computer down and it came back up having to scan the hard drive. Nobody likes the blue screen of “scan disk.” So there it sits, my not-so-old but very useful keyboard, sufficiently secured in ergonomic position – bright and shiny; okay, it’s not Mr. Clean, but it will certainly do, and I’m ready to start my day knowing that my contribution goes well beyond the keyboard.

I’m even more ready to see many of you in Washington, DC, March 23 to 25, 2010, for our 5th Annual AHDI/MTIA Advocacy Summit. A summit that you own through Power of 10 Campaign or direct contributions to support Dewey Square Group and through your participation as a member of AHDI or MTIA. Follow our advocacy efforts in a couple weeks through AHDI on Facebook or our twitter options –experience the pride of ownership of your profession, and remember, your contribution to quality patient care delivery goes well beyond the keyboard too!

Karen L. Fox, CMT, AHDI-F
AHDI Director 2009 to ACE 2012

Hey, I'm only halfway started!

So, what's up from your director from San Diego? Well, I have been busy, albeit behind the scenes. Here's a small excerpt from my Washington, DC, trip. We actually convinced Bob Filner, 51st District, California, House Representative, Chair of the Veteran's Affairs Committee that a dictation/transcription/narrative model was worthy of his support. My spouse had the opportunity to meet Duncan D. Hunter and talk Padres, which solidified the conversation Representative Hunter and I had about critical medical errors housed with the EHR environment.

Currently I am participating in a future roles board workgroup as we attempt to put a face to the healthcare documentation specialist of tomorrow. What exactly are the expectations of the expert of 21st Century healthcare documentation? What skills sets will be needed and what does that career actually look like? I am also serving on the MTIA workforce development workgroup and we have been focusing on future roles as well.

Hmmmm, do you see a theme here? Are we ready to be the keepers of re-purposing health information data? Authenticating the accuracy of the written encounter? How about shouting out the front line nature of risk management role? Whoa, wait just a minute. That's a far cry from medical transcriptionist. Or is it? The EHR is here to stay and between the HITECH act, defining "meaningful use"; hiring a lobbying firm to stake our claim as experts in healthcare documentation workflow process, we must, repeat must, stake our claim not only about what we do – but why what we do matters.

At MTIA in Louisville, I spent half a day conversing with a roomful of professionals deliberating the meaning of quality and am working with a break out group on just what does "consistency" mean to quality assurance? We will then meet again for a face-to-face QA Summit at ACE in Nashville, Thursday July 30, at 3:30. All are invited to participate. I also met many of the new directors on the MTIA board whom I hope to be working with and continuing to strengthen our partnership through a greater understanding of our common goals and how to bridge some of our disparate differences as AHDI and MTIA leaders and members.

Speaking of Nashville, what an exciting event we have in store for everyone in Nashville, Tennesee, AHDI ACE, July 28 to August 1, 2009. Of note, I ask every independent contractor or telecommuter (a.k.a. work-at-home MT) to attend Scott Edelstein's session on Saturday, August 1. His presentation on the current changes in the HIPAA laws, how those changes directly effect the working MT, is a show stopper. HIPAA not only has teeth but it is growing jaws. Highest on my list is how to bridge the gap between the telecommuter responsible for their own office and their own HIPAA compliance and now having the same guidelines as covered entities. We will still be called business associates but the expectations are now equal to that of the facilities. My goal: how do we ensure our ICs and telecommuters are in tune with the new rules and better yet compliant beyond question. Don't forget your formal wear for the Integrity Awards banquet on Saturday – yes, let's put on our finest as we celebrate our peers.

We need to be intentional in our strategies of how we grow this association, how we implement better member services, how we envision our path of the future. I ask you, my colleagues who read this blog, members from my board partner regions, AHDI-West and New Mexico, reach out to your keyboard and write to me. Tell me what you are thinking. What's on your mind? I look forward to a meeting of the minds as we take on the complex nature of the 21st Century healthcare documentation profession and future roles of the professional.

Where have I been?

This blog has been 6 months in the making. It truly was not that hard, it was the "getter done" piece of the puzzle that took so long. Well, today is launch day, no fooling. So where have I been? What have I been up to?

Recently I attended an awesome AHDI-WEST regional conference in Sacramento, California, to include an Advocacy Day. I now have enough leads from Michelle, California Senator Ducheny's healthcare aide, to keep me busy through Christmas and beyond.

I have also been working on a regional curriculum build in San Diego/Imperial counties, with colleagues Kathy Striebel and Judy Dolan; that was March 14 and Peter Preziosi and Kim Buchanan were our guest speakers. More on that in future blogs.

Last week was Grossmont Community College curriculum review, working toward ACCP approval for our healthcare documentation program and we made it through the current hoops, only 3 years in the making.

April starts off with a bang with an on-line BOD meeting today, a trip to Magalia house over spring break, a healthcare fair at Grossmont promoting PHR campaign, and then off to MTIA in Kentucky, April 22 to 26.

There's so much more to share. Healthcare documentation professionals from near and far, join me in this conversation about you, about us, about the profession, about the future; let's voice this journey together.