Today was an awesome day. The landscape was beautiful from Brentwood, TN to Atlanta, GA and the travel companionship was tremendous. I was driving with Jay Cannon, MTIA 2007 President. Now most of you would be skeptical to read that statement, knowing that I officially became the CEO of AHDI and MTIA a mere two days ago, making Jay one of my two bosses (Cathy Baughman, AHDI 2007 President is the other {you know how equal billing goes}). But truly, Jay is an amazing man (and Cathy an amazing woman). Most people who meet Jay immediately feel his spiritual presence, openness and warmth. In fact, while we were driving to Atlanta, Jay shared with me an audio CD of a powerful testimonial from a spiritual leader who recently spoke at his church. In a nutshell, the message dealt with our human frailties, our nature to sin, the need to rely on God who loves us unconditionally in spite of our sins, and the importance for us to love, accept, and forgive others.
So here we are, driving through the wilderness, listening to this man's testimonial of falling from grace; seeking forgiveness and love. I was truly moved, but was Jay sharing this testimonial with me for a reason? For as long as I've known Jay, I have always thought of him as a pillar of strength, spirituality, and moral fortitude. Was this all an act, a ploy to manipulate me into thinking he was someone else? Did Jay have a dark side, yearning to come out?
Well, over lunch at a well known BBQ restaurant in Marietta, GA, I found out the truth. I asked Jay if he began his career as a medical transcriptionist since I had heard this from several different individuals. Jay confessed, he was never an MT. The only way to describe what I felt next was like the time I was in the first grade and found out my parents weren't perfect. Jay Cannon, struggling MT, strikes it big as a successful business owner, paving the way for other MTs to reach that dream. This story dashed and the real story is... Jay would perform medical transcription when his company fell behind on their accounts, working closely with a QA editor, to turn around the work for their clients. Some would say that this is practicing as a medical transcriptionist, not Jay. He has a real appreciation for the practice and the knowledge base needed to be a professional medical transcriptionist. I have a new found respect for Jay.
While in Atlanta, InterFix hosted a meeting for us to discuss the new formed partnership between AHDI and MTIA. We had both the president and delegate from the Georgia/Alabama regional association, Drake & Drake (the authors - not the drug book), several other AHDI and MTIA members. A special thanks to Scott Faulkner and Denise Vadnais for organizing the event. We had a productive discussion on the partnership, where the industry is and where it is going, and how we can keep the associations relevant to the membership. As we were discussing the partnership, I thought about my reaction to Jay and the testimonial he played for me this morning. Do the members of both associations question the motives behind the partnership as less than upfront and forthright? I thought about the relationship between AHDI, InterFix, and Stedmans in the development of a knowledge base and information portal for the clinical documentation sector. The tireless commitment of Scott Faulkner, Gary Higbie, and the InterFix team in developing a vehicle for the sector to use in pushing out health information exchange and quality data standards. Have we adequately communicated the decision making process behind these initiatives so the membership understand our motives?
We live in a world where we hear people tell us all the time to watch our backs, don't trust the other guy, and find out what they really want from us. Maybe if we learn to give each other the benefit of the doubt, learn to appreciate ourselves more so we can appreciate others, we won't be so skeptical.
260 miles driven today
2,731 total miles driven
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