As the song goes..."Well my bags are packed and I'm ready to go"... And I couldn't be more excited about annual conference this year. ACE at the beautiful Gaylord Opryland is going to be one of the most amazing conventions we have ever had. We are doing so many new things this year. AHDI is always looking for more ways to share the latest information with attendees and this year there are many events with a new flair.
We are for the first time, doing a simulcast of a panel discussion with our closing keynote, Bruce Mast, Linda Yanisiewski, MTIA president, Peter Preziosi, CEO of AHDI and MTIA and me. One of the reasons we thought this was important is because we understand that times are tough and not everyone can travel to a convention. But we thought it would be innovative to take some of the convention to you.
This year our initiatives have been clear from January 1, 2009! We must produce an SRT curriculum and it is ready. We must update the QA standards for our industry - that collaborative work is well underway to be complete this year and we are having a face-to-face meeting in Nashville to continue to advance the work. We must continue to be visible in Capitol Hill. This work continues not only at our summit, but meetings have continued all year long and we have retained a lobbying firm, Dewey Square Group to ensure our voices are heard. We must develop our future roles that will evolve with the EHR and that work is well underway. We need to draft an open letter to all MTs to unite for the purpose of a louder, stronger voice in showing tremendous value we bring to healthcare and that has been drafted. And we must do all of these things and more for every person working in this sector and help support them in getting credentialed because it is high-time for us to join the rest of the healthcare field in doing that and having better tools/resources such as the Interfix Knowledge Base (KB).
We know that these are challenging times. We also know that if we sit quietly on the sidelines, that change will take place without our input or consideration. As the saying goes, out of sight, out of mind and it does happen when we are silent and invisible regardless of our many contributions. We can let change happen to us, or we can actively participate in ensuring that healthcare reform includes healthcare documentation professionals.
We are for the first time, doing a simulcast of a panel discussion with our closing keynote, Bruce Mast, Linda Yanisiewski, MTIA president, Peter Preziosi, CEO of AHDI and MTIA and me. One of the reasons we thought this was important is because we understand that times are tough and not everyone can travel to a convention. But we thought it would be innovative to take some of the convention to you.
This year our initiatives have been clear from January 1, 2009! We must produce an SRT curriculum and it is ready. We must update the QA standards for our industry - that collaborative work is well underway to be complete this year and we are having a face-to-face meeting in Nashville to continue to advance the work. We must continue to be visible in Capitol Hill. This work continues not only at our summit, but meetings have continued all year long and we have retained a lobbying firm, Dewey Square Group to ensure our voices are heard. We must develop our future roles that will evolve with the EHR and that work is well underway. We need to draft an open letter to all MTs to unite for the purpose of a louder, stronger voice in showing tremendous value we bring to healthcare and that has been drafted. And we must do all of these things and more for every person working in this sector and help support them in getting credentialed because it is high-time for us to join the rest of the healthcare field in doing that and having better tools/resources such as the Interfix Knowledge Base (KB).
We know that these are challenging times. We also know that if we sit quietly on the sidelines, that change will take place without our input or consideration. As the saying goes, out of sight, out of mind and it does happen when we are silent and invisible regardless of our many contributions. We can let change happen to us, or we can actively participate in ensuring that healthcare reform includes healthcare documentation professionals.
So as many of us gather in Nashville, (making this our first ever green conference in keeping with that socially responsible initiative) for those of you who can't make it this year, I wanted to be sure you know that AHDI is working for all of you who are working at home, in offices and in hospitals and clinics and we will continue to work on your behalf to secure a great future.
