The 2nd AIHCD Conference - an Educational Success
The 2nd Annual Association for Integrity in Health Care Documentation Conference (AIHCD), held in Baltimore MD, March 30 – 31st 2012 proved to be a successful experience for documentation professionals from all over the United States.
Event courses, ranging from ICD-10 Preparation to Fraud and Abuse and Denials and Appeals Management, were specifically designed to increase efficiency, effectiveness and quality of care in hospitals and medical institutions. Educating participants on the most up-to-date information surrounding Clinical Documentation Improvement and Integrity is the most effective way to impact the future of a medical facility’s profile rating and financial well being.
Through daily classes, breakout sessions, and open gatherings, attendees were encouraged to get involved in open discussions where they voiced their comments and concerns and addressed questions pertaining to their private institutions, as well as the upcoming deployment of ICD-10. During pre-conference education seminars, attendees gained the knowledge needed to earn their C-CDI and CP-DAM Certifications and achieved Continuing Education Units (CEU) as well.
Several presentations were given by experienced and respected Physicians, Physician Advisors, Case Manager Registered Nurses and Documentation Specialists that have been involved in the Art of Medical Documentation for several years, including Dr. Betty Bibbins, President, Chief Medical Officer, and Executive Physician Educator, DocuComp LLC and Executive Director of AIHCD.
“Our focus is to educate medical professionals so they may capture the appropriate levels of service, severity of illness, and third party reimbursements, while maintaining compliance and preparing for the changes happening in the future,” says Bibbins. “Educating the health professional not only helps the institution they represent, but it also helps the patient receive the top quality care they deserve.”
AIHCD offers health care professionals the opportunity to rise above their peers by increasing their knowledge on medical cost recovery efforts and teaches them how to take that knowledge back to their team and implement a positive change within their institutions. Not only does this make them an essential part of the team but it also makes them a vital part of the hospitals overall success.
“Through this conference and by listening to each speaker, I’ve been given the tools to go back and empower my organization,” commented Carla D. Wallace-Bolston, CPC, PA.“Dr. Bibbins is a brilliant physician and such an interpersonal person. She has a passion for clinical documentation and, as a result, she was very involved throughout the whole conference.”
Although there are other organizations that teach clinical documentation in the United States, the AIHCD program is unique. “We take a multi-disciplinary approach. Every member of the healthcare team needs to speak the same language, and it begins with doctors. And this is where DocuComp LLC is unique. We believe that sometimes it takes a doctor to teach a doctor and that is why DocuComp LLC uses physicians to conduct our training,” says Bibbins.
Dr. Bernard Ravitz, MD, AIHCD Attendee, has been a Physician Advisor for several years and understands the importance of Clinical Documentation and how it affects medicine as a whole, “Physicians need to get across to everyone on their team, what they are thinking. I attended this course to validate what I’ve already learned and to enhance just that.” Ravitz went on to say, “This course was extraordinary and went well beyond his expectations.”
AIHCD offers health care professionals the opportunity to rise above their peers by increasing their knowledge on medical cost recovery efforts and teaches them how to take that knowledge back to their team and implement a positive change within their institutions. Not only does this make them an essential part of the team but it also makes them a vital part of the hospitals overall success.
The AIHCD is an organization of professionals who are impacted directly and indirectly by the changes that are occurring today in health care reform, specifically, the changes that are generated or communicated through the documentation within the medical record. The AIHCD is comprised of physicians, nurses, HIMs, clinical documentation integrity specialists and clinical documentation improvement specialists, as well as health care attorneys, computer IT Techs and revenue cycle specialists working towards healthcare communication betterment for all.