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
Saturday, March 6, 2010
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