Off to the Con!

No business trip is complete without this handy-dandy Packing List that I got at Cost Plus World Market for only $8!  Are you ready?

Summertime is Con Season...and, no, I'm not talking about San Diego Comic Con!

This year marks the second time I will be attending the California Health Information Association (CHIA) State Convention & Exhibit.  This year's convention will be held at the Santa Clara Convention Center, which is in the heart of Silicon Valley...otherwise known as "Tech Geek Heaven" (as I fondly call it). :-)  This year also marks my second time as CHIA Delegate.  My Director for my department is not able to attend this year's CHIA House of Delegates (we delegates refer to it by its acronym "HOD").  Thus, I am coming to this business meeting as an Alternate Delegate.  It will be a nice change of scenery for me to be refreshed and motivated to learn the latest in my industry.  I also look forward to seeing old friends and meeting acquaintances during the next several days.

Taking My Career to the Next Level...Gradually

I understand that it has been a while since I updated my career blog. Much has happened since my previous post and I am inundated with many responsibilities both in and out of my profession.

I must say that there were major events in my education and career in 2010. First and foremost, I graduated with an Associate's Degree in Health Information Technology as well graduated with a Health Information Coding Certificate from Cypress College last May. Second, I obtained my Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT) credential in the last semester of my program (last April). And lastly and most importantly, I obtained a job position at LAC + USC Medical Center in their Health Information Management Department. I currently work in their Release of Information (ROI) area. This is my first job at an acute care facility, which is definitely a different experience from working in a smaller, specialized facility. There is much that I am learning in regard to their ROI workflow and a lot is expected of me.

I am definitely putting my RHIT credential to use. One of my supervisors asked me what a court judge and District Attorney (DA) would need to fax to our department (other than a court order) in regard to requesting a plaintiff's medical record (and ensuring that faxing the plaintiff's records is HIPAA compliant)-- I erred on the policies of California Health Information Privacy and the Code Federal Regulations regarding this case since California Privacy laws are more stringent than those of HIPAA. I also consulted a book I obtained at a California Health Information Association (CHIA) seminar (about ROI in California held annually). It turned out that in order to compel the court order for the plaintiff's records the judge and the DA would have to also fax a release authorization/consent. It brought me much satisfaction in knowing that I was able to use the resources I had to help my supervisor. As an HIM professional, the plethora of ever-changing regulations is daunting and it is difficult to keep up. It is not expected of us to know every one of them, but it is expected of us to know where we can find them (what reputable resources we can use to find them). Being very involved in my profession in and out of work (since I started my college program) definitely paid off and it continues to do so.

I do not know what 2011 has in store for me, but I am hoping that it will be a year that I will excel in my career and to take it to the next level. It will not happen overnight, but with perseverance, a thirst for knowledge, and a will to continue weaving my networking web I am sure that I will reap the fruits of my labor.

Half Semester of Fall Update

I am in the middle of a busy yet productive Fall Semester. It astounds me that half of it has already passed. I have yet to complete it and take my education to the next level in the forthcoming year.

It is the beginning of November and I would like to wish all HIM professionals a Happy Health Information & Technology (HI & T) Week (Novemeber 1-7)! We have worked so hard that we indeed do deserve a week of recognition. Let us make our profession better known!

In light of that, my classmates and I in the Cypress College Directed Practice class are celebrating HI & T Week by promoting the Personal Health Record (PHR) on campus. The PHR is great tool for exposing non-HIM professionals to this industry and to possibly get them interested in getting involved in our field by making the decision to educate themselves in HIM and explore the many career opportunities it offers.

In the meantime, I will be visiting different non-acute facilities and completing given tasks in order to get valuable experience as well as consider what kinds of career paths in these settings I can take with my Associate's Degree and RHIT credential. Thus far, I have listened to a guest speaker, who is a Long Term Care Consultant and I will be scheduled to shadow a consultant in a Long Term Care Facility. I have recently visited Kaiser Orange County Medical Offices in Anaheim, California to see how they run their HIM Department and I will be working there for a day completing given tasks.

In the midst of productive work, it is enjoyable for me to take account of what I have done thus far in this blog. It is always a pleasure of mine to reflect on where I stand at this moment and where I will go in my educational and career path.

My Dirty Little Secret That Became Good News

I have kept this secret during the summer. My so-called "summer getaway" was more like my "summer get ahead". In addition to taking a coding lab at Cypress College, I also reviewed for an exam that most HIM professionals attempt, but find to be intimidating: the CCS Exam (Certified Coding Specialist Exam). I coded 48 charts in a month (both for Outpatient and Inpatient Services), practiced some coding in Rancho with recent discharges, attended a CHIA seminar on Post-Acute Care Coding (for SNFs and IRFs), read numerous literature online and in "The Journal of AHIMA", and used the The Professional Review Guide for the CCS Examination (2009 Edition) by Patricia J. Schnering, RHIA, CCS, Faye Brown's ICD-9-CM Coding Handbook 2009 (published by the Central Office on ICD-9-CM of the AHA), Health Information: Management of a Strategic Resource by Mervat Abdelhak, PhD, RHIA, FAHIMA, The Legal Record by Cheryl Servais, MPH, RHIA, and (of course) my 2009 ICD-9-CM and CPT codebooks. Although I knew how to use the 3M Encoder Software, I actually practiced and paced myself using only my codebooks as the CCS Exam would only allow me to use them and not an encoder.

Most HIM professionals and students make too much of a big deal of this exam and any of the AHIMA certification exams. I took Patricia J. Schnering's words to heart when she said, "This is just another test." It is indeed. Throughout my educational and professional life, I have taken many tests (both in paper and in the practical form). I basically treated the CCS Examination as if I were taking an Advanced Placement exam in high school. I knew what it was like to take difficult exams such as this, so it did not overpower me so much. When it came time to take the exam, I just made sure I was composed and took the exam one question at a time.

All those long hours at night in the lab, spending a hot summer day in a conference room for a seminar to learn and network with HIM professionals, and sleepless weekends have paid off. I got my results in the mail this afternoon and was overjoyed. The Score Report from Prometric announced that I have passed the CCS Exam. I do admit that it was a difficult exam, but I my scores ended up being higher than the passing scores.

I kept all of this a secret, even from my co-workers who knew about my excellent reputation as a student and as a professional-in-the-making. They encouraged me to take the exam as the information was fresh in my mind. I told them that I would take it sometime soon, but not exactly when. I did not want to give any spoilers. I look forward to making the big announcement on Monday morning. Here is some intriguing trivia for you regarding the HIM Department in Rancho: I am the youngest person to work there and the youngest to get certified as a CCS. I am "the baby" of the HIM Department so to speak, but I know I have much to learn and experience.

Too many times I have seen those who just got certified consider passing the CCS Exam result in being "the be all and end all" of their career. There is term for this and it is called "career complacency" and it should be avoided at all costs. I know better than that. This is just the start (and a stepping stone) for my career as a HIM professional. My work is not done: I will continue to make the most of my professional practice, help spread the "Gospel of HIM" (inform non-HIM people of the importance of Health Information Management), and obtain my Associate's Degree in Health Information Technology and my Registered Health Information Technician credential (RHIT).

I would like to extend many thanks to my instructors, professional contacts, supervisors, co-workers, friends and family for supporting me in my educational and professional endeavors. My current achievement would not be possible without them.

I have reached a milestone, but there are many that have yet to be reached.

Privacy & Breach Prevention Educational Seminar at Newport Beach

From GOCHIA Educational Session: HIPAA- HITECH

I attended a seminar on August 17, 2009 held by GOCHIA (Greater Orange County Health Information Association) about Privacy and Breach Prevention (Understanding the HIPAA-HITECH Requirements). The seminar was held in the conference room in the First Team Real Estates office in Newport Beach, California. Eric L. Nelson, CIPP from the Lyndon Group was the speaker. (I did some research about the Lyndon Group: this organization works with companies in the financial industry to assist them with accounting, financial reporting, mergers and acquisitions support, IT, governance, enterprise risk management, compliance, and financial management services.) Eric and I have discussed about the services that his organization offers, and he told me that working with the health information management industry is a recent collaboration for the Lyndon Group. I think that it is a recent collaboration because of the new HIPAA-HITCH requirements tht healthcare organizations have to meet, and there is need for protecting the privacy of medical records. It is going to require a team of people who specialize in privacy to make a healthcare organization successful in keeping patient information confidential.

Eric's PowerPoint presentation was geared toward planning and preparation for the new HIPAA-HITH requirements. He began his presentation with background information regarding the rise in privacy breaches (both internal and external). There are a number of factors that contribute to these breaches: some employees tampering with PHI (Personal Health Information) for purposes other than for their work, external entities/hackers maliciously attacking healthcare computer systems, and third party outsourcers misusing PHI. It is disurbing to think that outsourced employees (such as medical transcriptionists overseas) can access patient information from the United States and can use it for purposes outside of productivity. According to Eric's presentation, there is about a 25% increase in security spending this year (2009) although 5% of privacy breaches derive from malicious attaks. About 95% of breaches come from people/policies/processes, and unfortunately security is not taking action on these data breach risks.

Eric then gave an overview of compliance requirements. HITECH is a new compliance requirement that has a broader coverage than that of HIPAA; it includes requirements for Business Associates, notification requirements, prohibition on selling PHI, mandatory audits, and ensuring that compliance is now required by law (not required by contract). In order to plan and prepare for successful privacy compliance, one has to understand that collection, access, and retention is how information flows. It is unfortunate that about 71% of participants who responded to the 2008 Global State of Information Security Study say that their organization does not have accurate inventory of where PHI is located. One has to make a risk assessment of his/her organization's privacy compliance. An organization needs to identify adminstrative, technical, and physical safeguards. It then needs to review internal privacy and security policies. Also, it needs to review third party policies and requirements from contracts.

I admit that I came out of this seminar with new, updated information regarding privacy/HIPAA/HITECH compliance. My knowledge of this topic was limited to information I have obtained from my Health Information Management textbooks, HIPAA training sessions at Rancho, and articles from the "Journal of AHIMA" (American Health Information Management Association). I had read an article in the May 2009 issue about how the ARRA will invest in the privacy of PHI. The most recent issue (August 2009) pertains to how the state of California is adjusting to federal and state privacy legistation.

In addition to meeting Eric Nelson, I also met a few vendors who sponsored the seminar. I met Kalani Jones from B.A.C.T.E.S. (a company that specializes in ROI and RAC audits) and he assisted GOCHIA with the quarterly newsletter by showing them sample layots and sample logos for the association. He also helped with the setup of the conference room. I came early just in case there was traffice on the drive to Newport Beach. I did as much as I could to help Susan McNally (President of GOCHIA) with setting up the conference room, helping the caterer setup to hors d'oeuvres, registering some attendees, and take photographs for the newsletter. I met Maria Alizando, RHIT again along with Robert Caban, RHIT of Caban Resources as I registered their names at the table. Also, I met Lizbeth Felix, RHIA and Leslie Scarborough, RHIA from HOAG Hospital, which is not far from the location of the seminar (several miles north up along Pacific Coast Highway 1 and near the 55 Freeway). I had met with these professionals last May at the GOCHIA Member Recognition Dinner at the Knott's Berry Farm Chicken Dinner Restaurant in Buena Park, CA. I met with two other vendors: Teresa Bray from GRM and Donna Paine from Trackstar. Teresa Bray and I had a pleasant conversation about the us of her services in the Los Angeles area. I told her that I sometimes see the GRM vans in the Rancho/Downey area and wonder if Rancho uses it. I found out through Rancho's HIM Director that they do not use GRM. Perhaps GRM is used by another facility near Downey (Downey Community Hospital? Coast Plaza Hospital in Norwalk?), but I will have to do some more research to find out. GRM is based in Pico Rivera, which is not too far from Downey. Donna Paine from Trackstar informed me of their new RAC system and encouraged me to share her information with the ROI supervisor of my facility.

After the presentation, there was a short break where attendees could gather and share information. Also, it was a great opportunity to network with mhy fellow HIM students. I met four students from ITT Technical Institute (Anaheim campus). They helped with a majority of the registration and were more than happy to receive my business cards. They soon got the idea of making their own. They wre a wonderful group of ladies and HIM-professionals-to-be. They wull experience what I will be experiencing in my last year as an RHIT student. The GOCHIA Board Meeting was brief: we discussed about plans to launch a GOCHIA Facebook page and the quarterly newsletter. Overall, I think the entire educational session was a success thanks to the collaboration of GOCHIA, the caterer, the students from ITT Tech and Cypress College, the vendors, and of course the speaker of the night.

This is the first of many seminars that I will document in this blog. Expect to see more blog posts of my seminar experiences in the near future.

Accomplishment Story #1: "A Minor Task Goes A Long Way"

Not only will this blog be dedicated to my account of my career transition, but it will be filled with past and future "Accomplishment Stories". These are the blog posts that have the "happy endings". Through the challenges of my career, I manage to overcome them with an arsenal of critical thinking, proactiveness, and in some cases teamwork. This Accomplishment Story is an example.


The need was that one of the Inpatient coders needed to code a medical record that was delivered that morning to the Research Institute of my facility. It was the last day to submit coded information for this particular record in order to receive Medicare reimbursement.

What I did (myself) was to let the coder know that the chart was sent to the Research Institute and I explained to her that the Research Institute is currently reviewing it. I offered to call the Research Institute and explained about the situation. I also offered to walk to the Research Institute Building while the coder was working on other medical records that she had to code for that day. One of the employees of the Research Institute allowed me to retrieve it from them and told her that when the coder finishes her review she will call them to tell them that the medical record is available for review. Eventually, the coder called the Research Institute once she coded the record so that they can also accomplish their work.

The positive and tangible result that my actions produced was: helping the coder to generate revenue from the medical record that she needed to review. If I did not retrieve the record, my facility would not get the appropriate Medicare reimbursement, which usually runs in the thousands of dollars.

The skills that I have demonstrated in this Accomplishment Story are: problem-solving, team-building, communication, and follow-through.

First Post of My Career Blog

I am happy to announce that I am starting my own career blog! Through this medium, you will get an insight into my gradual transformation from medical record clerk/Health Information Management (HIM) Student to HIM professional. I am still working on the bulk of the details in this blog so stayed tuned for future updates!

Next networking event: Greater Orange County Health Information Association (GOCHIA) Educational Session in Newport Beach. The topic of this seminar: HIPAA/Privacy and Security.