HEALTH INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL WEEK - March 22-28

Did you know.......There is a week to celebrate you and everyone in this profession!  We will celebrate here at Charter Oak.  Stay tuned for details!

Health Information Professionals Week

The next Health Information Professionals (HIP) Week will be held March 22–28, 2015.
Health information management (HIM) is an allied health profession responsible for ensuring the availability, accuracy, and protection of the clinical information needed to provide healthcare-related decisions. Health information professionals work in a variety of settings, including hospitals, clinics, physician offices, and many other organizations. They play a key role in the effective management of health data and medical records needed to deliver quality healthcare to the public. The work HIM professionals do to ensure the integrity of health information is imperative to clinical and administrative decision making. Access to reliable information helps everyone make important decisions and leads to a healthy society.

AHIMA STUDENT OPEN HOUSE - VIRTUAL SO YOU ALL CAN ATTEND!

The AHIMA Foundation and AHIMA invite students from around the country to attend this year's Student Open House, online or in person at our headquarters on Friday, April 17. We will hold a morning session from 9 - 12 CT and an afternoon session from 1 - 4 CT.  A student need only participate in the annual student open house once during their degree program because the content covered is introductory and the same from year to year. You will need to register to participate either in-person or online.

 

Take advantage of this great event!  You will learn about career opportunities, preparing for the RHIA exam, and more!

 

Cindy

Graduation is the Ultimate Goal!

The deadline for registration for Term I has passed, but you can still register for Term II.  Please do!  I would love to see you in my HIM 215 course if you have not taken that yet!!

I have been teaching in HIM programs since 1995, and while the HIM profession has gone through many exciting changes, I have found that students haven't changed much over time.  They all come to the program excited for a new career, excited to increase their income potential, and looking forward to meeting their ultimate goal of graduation.   But I have also witnessed many difficulties that students face and many things that get in the way of that graduation goal.  Some students give up, some press on no matter what.  I hope to motivate you to PRESS ON no matter what!  

Money isn't everything, but we all need it to live and to have a little fun.  Did you know that in the course of a life time, a high school graduate earns around $1,000,000, but in the course of a life time, a bachelors degree graduate earns double that?  Yes, someone with a bachelors degree can expect to earn about $2,000,000 over their life time.  Think that sounds amazing?  A person with a masters degree can expect to earn $3,000,000!  I think that is some awesome fuel for motivation to press on even when the going gets tough.  If you have to sit out for a term because things are just too crazy, make sure you return to your studies the very next term.  You can graduate!  YOU CAN!  I know you can, because I have witnessed hundreds of students, just like you, press on through the tough times and then shine as they walked across the stage in that cap and gown.

For some more employment and salary information, read this article from the American Association of Professional Coders.  If you are not familiar with the AAPC, it is an organization that provides some coding credentials, similar (but much smaller than) AHIMA.  Regardless of the specific credential information in this article, the other information is very good and very enlightening!  

http://www.dolbey.com/uncategorized/sticky-aapcs-2014-salary-survey-see-how-your-salary-stacks-up/

 

Happy Reading!

 
Cindy Glewwe Edgerton, M.Ed, RHIA
Director, Health Information Management Program 

Charter Oak State College
55 Paul J. Manafort Drive
New Britain, CT 06053
(860) 515-3833
cedgerton@charteroak.edu

HIM Department News - AHIMA Advantage

Hi everyone!  I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving break and I am sure you are all ready for the nice long holiday and term break coming up soon!

Have you registered for your January classes?  I hope so!  If not, be sure to contact your advisor right away or go ahead and register if you have already met with your advisor.  Plan early and get your textbooks so you are ready to get 2015 off to a great start.

Today I would like to share the AHIMA Advantage electronic newsletter with you.  There are all sorts of great articles and information.  Please take a little time to look over all the hot topics and stay tuned in to what is happening in the HIM profession.  Here is the link:

http://www.ahimaadvantage-digital.com/ahimaadvantage/december_2014#pg2

Please send me an email if there is anything you want to discuss or if you have a question about anything. 

CAHIIM Update:  Our self-assessment has been approved and accepted.  We are not in the queue for assignment of a review panel and to receive a date for our accreditation visit.  We are almost there!!  I will let you all know as soon as I know the dates.

Thanks for making my job so wonderful!

Cindy Glewwe Edgerton, M.Ed, RHIA
Director, Health Information Management Program 

Charter Oak State College
55 Paul J. Manafort Drive
New Britain, CT 06053
(860) 515-3833
cedgerton@charteroak.edu

www.charteroak.edu

Health Information Program Blog - Clinical Documentation Improvement

Clinical Documentation Improvement, or CDI, is a hot topic right now.  It is also a great job opportunity for an RHIA.  It is becomming more and more important as we are nearing ICD-10.  As I look at job sites and the AHIMA job board I see postings for CDI specialists many times a week. 

According to the article that I am sharing with you today,

"In order for the healthcare industry to prepare for new initiatives such as accountable care organizations, pay-for -performance, meaningful use, and a variety of other initiatives, clinical documentation must improve. It is imperative for organizations and providers to continue to seek clarification and guidance on documentation requirements. Top priorities during the next 12 months include identifying documentation gaps, achieving documentation excellence, and providing ongoing education to clinical providers.

Accurate documentation of patient encounters is the foundation for telling the patient’s story, appropriate reimbursement, and quality reporting. As healthcare reform moves quickly towards quality-driven reimbursement, organizations and providers will have to continue to justify care plans and treatment options as well as successfully demonstrate quality outcomes and patient safety. Consistent, complete, and accurate documentation is the key to the economic health of the organization and a key indicator of physician quality. Organizations and providers need to be able to use automated, intuitive tools to successfully implement new technology, new federal requirements, and specific strategic initiatives without comprising patient care."

Here is the article to help you understand what it is all about:

http://perspectives.ahima.org/leading-the-documentation-journey-a-report-from-the-ahima-2014-clinical-documentation-improvement-summit/#.VFIpeU10zIV


Have a great weekend!

Health Information Management Program - Fall Term II

This is just a reminder that Monday begins Fall Term II for 2014.  Are you registered???  If not, call your Advisor right away!  Be sure to stay focused on your goal of graduating with a degree - you can do it!

Cindy Glewwe Edgerton, M.Ed, RHIA
Director, Health Information Management Program 
Charter Oak State College
55 Paul J. Manafort Drive
New Britain, CT 06053
(860) 515-3833
cedgerton@charteroak.edu
www.charteroak.edu

Health Information Management Program Blog - ICD-10 and Ebola

This is a great ICD-10 reference that was posted by AHIMA last week!

HOW ICD-10 COULD HELP TRACK EBOLA

With concern about Ebola growing worldwide, a recent infographic from the Coalition for ICD-10 highlights the benefits to public health of coding morbidity and reporting disease data in ICD-10, rather than in ICD-9, which lacks a specific code for Ebola. ICD-10, used throughout the world's industrialized nations and slated for implementation in the US on October 1, 2015, assigns code A98.4 to Ebola. The Coalition says ICD-9's lack of specificity makes it more difficult to monitor outbreaks, share data internationally, and report public health emergencies the World Health Organization in real time.

Access the infographic here:

http://coalitionforicd10.org/2014/09/04/icd-10-a-common-language-for-public-health/