Credentialing: - Association for Healthcare Documentation

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
The Long and Winding Road
SUSAN LUCCI, RHIT, CMT, AHDI-F
2009 AHDI PRESIDENT
Is it even possible that 2009 is nearly over? It seems like
it just started a very short time ago. This has certainly
been an eventful year for us all. The closer we get to
healthcare reform, the more the debate heats up and resolution
seems a long way off. However, I have no doubt
that we will reform health care. The discussions around
quality patient care and improved patient outcomes
make me smile because these are the right conversations
for us to be having.
So at nearly the end of the year, what core values have
prevailed for our association’s members? What are the key
focus areas that keep all that we contribute to health care
visible and less likely to create further marginalization for
us? Below is my Top-10 list why it is more important than
ever to become fully engaged in AHDI:
1. Getting our workforce credentialed
2. Having better tools to help us improve accuracy,
quality, and to keep us productive (such as with
Benchmark KB)
3. Developing new quality standards for our entire
sector
4. Advocating for legislation that ensures quality and
complete documentation for every patient
5. Enabling technologies like the Health Story Project
that keeps the “narrative imperative”
6. Providing continuing education and networking with
other professionals in the business
7. Staking our claim to new job roles before they evolve
and get assigned to other allied health professionals
8. Keeping innovative approaches to the association so
that there really is something for everyone
9. Connecting on Facebook as an alternate, fun way to
stay in touch with fellow MTs and stay up to date on
AHDI information
10. Twittering about what is happening at every event
Getting credentialed and staying credentialed is more
important than ever before. As work migrates to EHR
and templated systems for clinician self-entry, we are see-
ing a contracture of work volumes. In times of economic
downturn, you must set yourself apart from the competition
for your job and demonstrate your commitment to
life-long learning. There are no other members of the
healthcare delivery team who aren’t required to hold a
credential or licensure. Getting credentialed is competency-based
testing that clearly says, “I am a professional,
and I am committed to excellence.”
Benchmark KB, our 2009 Innovation Through
Technology award-winning product, has provided medical
transcriptionists (MTs) a resource that has never
before been conceived in a powerful and proven way by
There are no other members of the healthcare
delivery team who aren’t required to hold a credential
or licensure.
combining tools that are reliable, trustworthy, and available
24/7, with ongoing updates. Is it any wonder that
people are raving about the results and success they are
achieving with this product?
How quality is measured has always been a bit
nebulous. What really matters regarding quality and
the garden variety of plans and programs out there have
been the Heinz ® 57 confusion factor for hospitals and
consumers for far too long. This year our association,
in collaboration with AHIMA and MTIA, embarked on
a brave journey to bring reason and consistency to the
process by defi ning clear principles with a group of participants
from various backgrounds in health care to gain
the broadest scope of how best to defi ne quality.
Advocacy in the volatile world of rapid legislative
change in Washington, DC, is crucial. We must be represented
in terms of the value that we bring to healthcare
reform. Simply stated, we must convince decision-makers
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