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From the President
Season's Greetings!
It is the time of year we are happy and love to celebrate and enjoy, but this time of year also comes with stress. We wear many hats as changes in our workplace happen, jobs combine, friends are dispersed, and technology changes. It is time to recognize you for all your efforts, year round.
I wanted to let you know how grateful I am for your membership in NYHIMA and your dedication to the important work we do. Our Educational offerings are meant to help you keep up with the changes happening all around us. Our membership shows we are dedicated to our mission, vision and advocacy for our profession. Our conference is a way to gather together, celebrate our knowledge base and is a touchstone for many of us who look forward to seeing one another. This year is our 85th Anniversary Conference! The HIMAWNY chapter has put forth a dedicated conference planning committee and I know you will be excited to attend when you see the speaker line up we have for you in Buffalo, June 7-10, 2020. In the new year, be on the lookout for our Early Bird registration pricing.
There is strength in this association. I see it every day in my work place and among my colleagues. Consider recruiting your fellow professionals to join NYHIMA. Maybe give the gift of membership to a colleague for Christmas. Without our members, we are not a success. We always welcome ideas and suggestions from our members, so please know that you can always contact us at [email protected]. We will be happy to assist you as much as possible. I also challenge you to consider getting more involved with NYHIMA - we have many opportunities to get involved. These opportunities can be short or long term commitments and available to meet everyone's needs. Some opportunities to get more involved could be: writing an article for a newsletter, joining one (or more) of our committees, and serving on the NYHIMA Board. All of these are a great way to share your knowledge with other professionals, and it's your contribution to helping NYHIMA have a strong future moving forward!
On a personal note, this profession has given me so much to appreciate from teaching to mentoring to advising to improving I enjoy this work every day. Giving back is the most rewarding part of the profession.
On behalf of the NYHIMA Board of Directors we wish you all a Happy and Healthy New Year!
Sincerely,
Sue
Submitted by: NYHIMA President, Sue Clarke-Kendrick, MHA, RHIA
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NYHIMA News and Notes
NYHIMA 2020-21 Elections - Vote Today!
All Active Members, except students are eligible to vote. The polls are now open and will officially close at 3:00 PM on December 23, 2019
For voting purposes: please select one candidate for each category except the Awards Committee, for that committee you are able to select a maximum of five candidates. You will only be able to access the election form once and will not be able to change your vote after you submit.
Exercise your membership privileges. Cast your vote today!
CLICK HERE to log on & vote today!
All ballots will be verified and tallied. Election results will be announced at the beginning of 2020.
If you have questions about the ballot, please contact the NYHIMA Central Office at 518-435-0422 or [email protected].
New Year, New Job?
Did you know NYHIMA has a Job Bank, a benefit for NYHIMA and AHIMA members. The Job Bank helps job seekers find jobs and employers find staff in the health information management field.
Candidates can browse current vacancies on the NYHIMA website.
Submitted by: NYHIMA Central Office
Upcoming NYHIMA Programs & Events
Don't miss out on NYHIMA's upcoming educational offerings.
How Provider Documentation Impacts Coding and Reimbursement
Summary: Medical billing and coding are integral for health care revenue cycle processes. They are the cornerstone of the health care revenue cycle as reimbursement is primarily based on accurate coding. The new era of health care requires renewed focus on ensuring that patient records are as accurate as possible. Clinical Documentation Improvement (CDI) in hospitals is key to achieving this goal. Quality measure initiatives, health care reform-related financial penalties, and missed revenue optimization are issues that warrant a coordinated effort to improve clinical documentation. Understanding and addressing the root causes of poor clinical documentation is critical to patient record accuracy and revenue cycle success. Several common challenges affect clinical documentation improvement:
- Incomplete or inaccurate documentation
- Physician query fatigue
- Communication gaps between CDI specialists (CDIS), coders and auditors
- Prioritization of work
By eliminating CDI challenges that impede quality and reimbursement success will improve cash flow and quality scores
Learning Objectives:
- Review common opportunities for poor documentation
- Identify coding struggles based on poor documentation
- Understand benefits of routine audits
CLICK HERE to Register Today!
Stay tuned for more information on
NYHIMA's winter/spring educational offerings!
- SAVE THE DATE for NYHIMA's 2020 Annual Conference. Registration Details coming soon!
Submitted by: NYHIMA Central Office
Local Association News
RRHIMA Member Spotlight: Jennifer Dydo-Spencer, BA, RHIA, CCS
Jennifer Dydo-Spencer is a 2017 Graduate of Monroe Community College, Rochester N.Y. (M.C.C) Health Information Management program. After postponing her career to raise her children she decided to go back to school and obtain another degree. Her first degree, a Bachelor's in Music, from S.U.N.Y Fredonia was completed before she married. Jenn felt it was the right thing to be a stay at home mother, and raise her children. She even home-schooled her youngest. It is a decision she would make again if she had too. Her family comes first and most important to her.
While her children were small, Jenn was a waitress for 13 years working nights and weekends. As the children got older and got more involved in sports and other curricular activities, she felt she was missing out on being present for their activities, so she took a day job working for a student loan company call center. After seven years doing that, her husband was offered a position in San Francisco. It was a good move for him, but not the kids, who were in high school and would soon be graduating. The decision was for Jenn to stay behind with the kids so as to not disrupt their education or lives.
While her husband was in San Francisco, Jenn continued to work at the call center, and soon became a call center supervisor. The job at the call center was fine, yet she wanted to find a job that would allow her to work from home, and after doing some research decided that medical coding was such a job, and found out that Monroe Community College offered coding courses in their HIM program. Jenn was surprised to find that she would also have to take anatomy and physiology, medical terminology, and record management classes, but enjoyed them along with all her other courses in the HIM program.
Jennifer started as a part-time student in the HIM program at MCC, while continuing to work 32 hours a week at the call center, and keeping things running at home as best as she could. By the time she entered her 2nd year in the program, her husband had established himself well enough in his new position that he was able to transfer back to Rochester. The children were getting ready to graduate from high school at about that time also. This enabled Jennifer to leave the job at the call center and work as a student-aide for the remainder of the year at MCC. In addition, Jennifer received the following awards while a student at MCC:
- NYHIMA Outstanding Student Award
- NYHIMA Returning Student Award
- Local RRHIMA Award
- AHIMA Foundation Award (Lynn Kuehn)
Click here to read more
Submitted by: RRHIMA
Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC):
Patient Matching Memo
Source: Advocacy Chair, Darlene McKendrick,RHIT, CCS
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