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WASHINGTON WATCH ◁AHIMA Advocacy Outreach Includes Hill Day,Urges Activity Back HomeLast month AHIMA completedits 10th annual Hill Day event inWashington, DC. Hill Day 2012had over 170 AHIMA advocacy leadersfrom 42 states in Washington meet withtheir elected officials in the Senate andthe House of Representatives. TheseAHIMA advocates came to Washingtonto help positively influence policymakerson the importance of HIM, the HIMprofession, and our key issues. Comingto Washington for Hill Day is a fantasticexperience, but it is not the beginningor the end of the advocacy effort. HillDay is an integral part of a larger effortto help build relationships between you,our members and content experts backhome, and policymakers.Everyday Advocacy EffortsSome of the information in this articlemay sound familiar to you. That’sbecause it is. To be effective withadvocacy, we need to be repetitive andask that AHIMA members take up thatleadership mantle and become engagedin the advocacy effort. We understandthat not everyone can join AHIMA forour annual Hill Day. Even so, that doesnot preclude you from meeting withyour elected officials back in the stateand congressional districts. Congress isspending more time back home than inprevious years and when your electedofficials are in the state and district, that isan ideal time to engage with them. Accessthe House and Senate calendars to learnmore about the availability of your electedofficial.Meeting with your elected officials backhome enables you to introduce yourself,your CSA, and AHIMA. It can alsoprovide you the opportunity to addressour Hill Day topics such as:Introducing AHIMA andthe HIM ProfessionEncouraging senators and representativesto support AHIMA’s position that theDepartment of Health and HumanServices not delay the October 1, 2013,compliance date for ICD-10 CM and PCS.Asking your senators and representativesto add their names to the letter being sentto the Government Accountability Officeby Representatives Jim Moran (D-CA)and Brian Bilbray (R-CA) to conduct astudy on the cost/benefit and practicalityof implementing informed national-levelpatient identity solutions for healthcareand health information exchange.You Are the Expert!One of the issues that we continue tostress is the importance of letting thepolicymakers know that they have HIMand health information technology contentexperts in their states and congressionaldistricts. We want policymakers to callupon you to help answer those importantHIM and health information technologyquestions that they may have. AHIMAalso encourages you to invite them to yourfacility whether it be a hospital, physician’soffice, other healthcare facility, or even acollege or university. What better way toshow your elected officials what you do ona day-to-day basis and how public policydoes or does not impact your profession.We want to show them the real world: yourexperiences, your challenges, and yourexpertise.Frequently, policymakers are too busyto meet with you or visit your facility,but that does not mean they are notaccessible. You can always go to them.During their district work periods theyattend a wide-range of public events.Their schedule is normally posted ontheir Web site and sometimes printed inlocal newspapers. Attending these eventsand creating dialogue with a senator,representative, or their staff member canhave very beneficial outcomes. Anddon’t hesitate to take some friends andco-workers with you.AHIMA is determined to grow itsadvocacy effort for both federal and stateissues. If you have any questions, contactAHIMA’s director government relationsDon Asmonga at (202) 659-9440. vAHIMA ADVANTAGE PAGE ◁ 7