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MSHIMA Connection Newsletter
Winter Edition
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President's Message
 As I sit here reflecting on what to write for my president’s message, I realize all of the possible subjects are about change: mystery, basic fundamentals and goals. If nothing else, this seems to be the constant in my personal HIM career. And more likely than not, yours too.
Our profession has officially checked another major accomplishment off of our preverbal to-do list. We have jumped over the ICD-10 hurdle, and we now are focused on the next big goal - DNFB maintenance after ICD-10! I envision 2016 being our back-to-basic fundamentals year.
We will need to reassess where our departments are…the good, the bad and the ugly. What did ICD-10 bring us that we didn’t foresee? What subtle or not so subtle changes are we going to have to make to our master plan to keep everything running like a well-oiled machine?
Here at MSHIMA, we are doing the same assessment. We are in the process of sending out our Annual Member Survey. We need to know your membership needs are in the area of continuing education (CE). Is MSHIMA meeting your needs? Is AHIMA meeting your needs? What works best for you?
In light of this we are trying to anticipate your needs for the first of the year. We are working on going back to our basic fundamentals. We are breaking out the old coding roundtables in each region, a coding Q&A WebEx discussion, and also some face-to-face coding classes in each region.
We are actively working on the next big CE event, the Annual Meeting in June, which will be held in Jackson, MS. As always, we are excited about the meeting and look forward to providing you with the topics you need and great speakers! If you would like to toss your name in the hat to speak, please follow the “Call for Speakers†direction within. Or, if you would like to just provide us with a topic of interest, fell free to email us at mshima@mshima.org, and the suggestion will be passed along to the program committee for consideration.
Other items MSHIMA is working on include an update to the Legal Manual, rolling out new tools to help the regional councils reach their members, and the annual Hill Day event on January 15th at the Mississippi State Capitol. If you are interesting in joining the Legislative/Regulatory Committee to help revise the manual or attend Hill Day, please let me know at president@mshima.org. We would be thrilled to have you join us!
In closing, I would like to say congratulations to everyone for another accomplished year. Let’s continue to show them how smart and valuable HIM professionals are in 2016. It’s going to be an awesome year!
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Education Spotlight: Northwest Mississippi Community College
 Northwest Mississippi Community College is based in Senatobia, MS and has several extension campuses, including Southaven, New Albany, Olive Branch, and Oxford. NWCC boasts a student enrollment of more than 6,600 students across its campuses, which are divided among career / technical and academic programs.
Two degrees at NWCC will help to prepare students for a career as a health information professional. On the academic side, an Associate of Arts degree in Health Information Systems will prepare students for the business environment of a hospital or clinic with a heavy emphasis on business administration and information systems. On the vocational side, a degree in Healthcare Data Technology provides training, including medical coding, for those who wish to seek a business-related career within the medical profession.
These two degrees may work in tandem to prepare students for a successful career in one of several exciting areas in the world of health information management. Students specifically wishing to pursue a degree in medical coding may pursue coursework in both the vocational and academic programs. For those wishing to obtain a bachelors of science in health informatics, NWCC works closely with the University of Mississippi Medical Center for the 4-year degree.
Amy Stewart is a faculty member at NWCC and has been involved in the Health Information Systems degree for a number of years. Reflecting on the program and what sets it apart from others, she states that, “students have benefited most from the completion of two primary courses: computer applications I and II.†These two courses are a core component of the degree and help to prepare students for a variety of technological needs in the hospital or clinical setting.
“Students today in this economic environment must be interdisciplinary. They must have a comprehensive understanding of health care and the health system in order to be successful,†stated Stewart.
For more information on the degree programs at Northwest Mississippi Community College, contact advisors Martin Bolen or Daniel Scherer at 662.562.3200.
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MSHIMA President Christy Roberts Serving on AHIMA Membership Focus Group
AHIMA has recently investigated the alteration of their membership benefits, which may include a revamp to the continuing education offerings available to AHIMA members. Each state association, including Mississippi, will be directly affected by these changes.
To ensure the continued strength of the AHIMA credentials as well as the stability of the state associations, a membership focus group has been created to review the changes, offer comments, and ensure an appropriate adjustment to benefit all parties.
MSHIMA president Christy Roberts will join nine other CSA representatives from across the country on this focus group. The focus group will meet in January and February. It is anticipated that the program will be fully communicated to the CSAs in March and April.
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Call for Speakers for MSHIMA’s 2016 Annual Conference
Do you have an HIM topic of interest to share with the group? Have you ever been interested in presenting your ideas or best practices to other professionals? If so, we would love to consider you for a presentation at MSHIMA’s 2016 Annual Conference, to be held at the beautiful Jackson Marriott on June 21-24, 2016.
The theme for the meeting is “Boots on the Ground.†This theme reflects the reality that health information professionals wear a variety of different “boots†in their mission to provide excellence in health information management.
If you have an interest in presenting, please e-mail us at mshima@mshima.org with your name, title of presentation, and a brief description. We will be back in touch for more information shortly thereafter.
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MSHIMA’s New ICD-10 Reality Blog
To help address questions facing our members for ICD-10 conversion as well as to share best practices, MSHIMA has created a new blog titles “ICD-10 Reality.â€
This blog is powered by our board of directors. You may access it anytime from our website at www.mshima.org or by clicking on the link below. Members may enter their e-mail address in the blog site and receive real-time updates for answer to questions or new posts.
Check out the new blog
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Don't Forget About Your ICD-10 CEUs
AHIMA credential holders: if you earned your certification prior to the certification exam changing over to ICD-10, you are required to earn ICD-10 Continuing Education Units (CEUs). This is in order to satisfy the Commission on Certification for Health Informatics and Information Management’s (CCHIIM’s) ICD-10 policy. Time is running out to earn and record your ICD-10 CEUs; you may be required to have them entered as soon as December 31, 2015. Your AHIMA credential(s) will be changed to inactive if you do not meet the appropriate deadline.
Please click here to review how many ICD-10 CEUs you are required to earn, see the deadline for when they must be reported, and/or record them in the ICD-10 CEU Reporting Tool, which is located under “Recertification Resources.â€
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RHIA made the number two spot on Global Knowledge's list "18 Certification worth having"
Health professionals working with patients, healthcare providers, and insurance and pharmaceutical companies will find that the RHIA certification is a must-have if you want to manage patient health information, including medical records, computer information systems and patient personal data. Plus, the RHIA ensures that certified professionals are well aware of the ethical requirements and legal standards related to delivering healthcare services, as well as the importance of patient information privacy (e.g., rules like HIPAA). Career opportunities for RHIAs exist far beyond the healthcare industry. Over the years, the scope of the certification has reached consulting firms, software vendors, state and federal government, and higher-learning institutions.
Learn More
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CMS Video Reviews Key ICD-10 Coding Basics
A new Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) MLN Connects video, "ICD-10 Post-Implementation: Coding Basics Revisited," discusses the unique characteristics and features of the new coding system, featuring AHIMA's Senior Director of Coding Policy and Compliance Sue Bowman, MJ, RHIA, CCS, FAHIMA, and Nelly Leon-Chisen, RHIA, from the American Hospital Association (AHA). The 33-minute video covers:
- What is a valid code?
- Guidelines for coding and reporting
- Coding process and examples: 7th character, unspecified codes, external cause codes, laterality
- How to submit coding questions
- Resources for coders
Watch the video
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Omnibus funding bill requires HHS to convene cybersecurity taskforce
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services would be on the hook for convening a cybersecurity task force and submitting a report to Congress next year on the ability of the agency, and the healthcare industry at large, to respond to cybersecurity threats, under an omnibus funding bill unveiled Wednesday morning.
That language is part of a larger cybersecurity bill included in the omnibus bill, which encourages businesses to share information on hackers with the government, according to a report from The Hill. The omnibus bill did not include any alterations to the Meaningful Use program, according to Politico, and kept funding for the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT relatively flat.
In consultation with the director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Secretary of Homeland Security, HHS would be required to form the taskforce within 90 days of enactment of the bill. That taskforce would examine how industries other than healthcare deal with cybersecurity threats.
The task force would also be in charge of:
- Analyzing challenges for private healthcare entities to securing themselves against cybersecurity attacks
- Reviewing hurdles for covered entities and business associates for securing networked medical devices and software that connects to electronic health record systems
- Providing the HHS secretary with information to disseminate to industry stakeholders on preparing for and dealing with digital threats
Learn More
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