Message from the OHIMA Board President

Sandra Seabold, MBA, RHIA
OHIMA Board President

Groundhog’s Day already?…. What happened to wishing everyone a happy health new year and making New Year’s resolutions?  Time is flying by and with the rapid rate of change in the healthcare industry, AHIMA’s slogan of “Inspire Big Thinking to launch our Future” is more appropriate than ever before.  How can we survive this rapidly changing environment if we don’t use Information Governance (IG) principles to guide our profession to more efficient and innovative processes? 
What was your new year’s resolution – was it to read up about these “hot topics”?

• Value Based Care – care coordination of clinical integration for quality management
• Patient engagement - Micro hospitals (what is this trend about?)
• Emerging technology in healthcare– artificial intelligence, drones, telemedicine, social messaging
• Cybersecurity risks to patient data
• Uncertainty of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) – what changes will be made and how/if it will impact health information?
• Quality outcomes – pressure is on: how is clinical validity impacting your coded data?
• Informatics – how can this be used to bridge the gap between documentation and coding?

To help prepare you for these changes, OHIMA has many great educational offerings at its 2017 Annual Meeting.  In addition, use the AHIMA competency questions to ascertain your skill levels to prepare you for hybrid jobs that the traditionally known HIM jobs are being transformed into.  Instead of looking at how fast the time is going by and how quickly things change, embark on the wave of the future – focus on competency development, continuous learning and a healthy lifestyle.

As Anne Chenoweth, President of AHIMA quoted at the annual AHIMA 2016 meeting “The adventure of life is to learn.  The purpose of life is to grow. The nature of life is to change. The challenge of life is to overcome. The essence of life is to care. The opportunity of life is to serve. The secret of life is to dare. The spice of life is to befriend.  The beauty of life is to give.”
~By William Arthur Ward


Sincerely,
Sandy

Sandra Seabold, RHIA, MBA
President, OHIMA