Although it just seems like yesterday that I packed my car and left Modesto, CA, I'm now in my new home in Washington DC ready to begin the next generation of AHDI and MTIA with our committed volunteers, the leadership, and the many stakeholder groups interested in seeing that the clinical documentation sector succeeds. As far as settling in, the most bizarre part of the move is my furniture hasn't left Modesto yet. While typing this blog on the floor in my living room, I have to believe with as smooth as everything else has gone up to this point, that my furniture will arrive soon. By the way, while crossing the country I got through two full audio books (Iacocca & Gladwell), half through Einstein's biography, and one quarter through "Social Intelligence."
This evening I had the pleasure of meeting with Peter Tippett, MD, PhD, Chairman of MD-IT and a member of the President's technology assessment commission. Tracey Browne, CMT, sold her company to MD-IT and made the introductions. Also at our dinner was Ann Fraser and Richard Browne. We discussed at length the need to seek out a broader set of member benefits, tied to increased profitability and production, making it essential for members to join. Peter's suggestion was to keep on innovating until we 'hit' on the right benefits that will keep members engaged, like AAA with auto insurance and maps, AARP with long-term care insurance.
It was a thought provoking and lively discussion - a great first day in Washington DC. I hope you enjoyed reading this blog and I look forward to our new beginnings together.
216 miles driven today
3,560 total miles driven
Sunday, May 6, 2007
Saturday, May 5, 2007
Down to the Home Stretch
My last stop before arriving in Washington DC, I met with members of the Tidewater Chapter of AHDI in Virginia Beach, VA and several of their guests. Among the group included a coding professional, a gynecologist, a military spouse attending M-Tech and her Navy husband, and a hospitalist. It was interesting to listen to the perspectives from other disciplines in healthcare. It's no surprise that everyone is feeling the pinch with healthcare reform, the need to embrace change, and realization that health information exchange, if standardized correctly, will be a major achievement in improving patient care and decreasing medical errors.
It's hard to believe that I'm nearing the end of the trip although I look forward to settling into a new home and building a presence in Washington DC for the clinical documentation sector. It will be nice to be on the East coast again, knowing that when I wake up I'm not three hours behind the other side of the country but ahead. This means I'll find out earlier who wins American Idol before someone from my family calls up and ruins the surprise.
We've got a great deal of work ahead of us - important work. Together we will make a major contribution to healthcare reform by working on policies, standards, best practices, and programs to ensure that the workforce is delivering accurate, timely, and relevant clinical information to optimize healthcare delivery.
262 miles driven today
3,344 total miles driven
It's hard to believe that I'm nearing the end of the trip although I look forward to settling into a new home and building a presence in Washington DC for the clinical documentation sector. It will be nice to be on the East coast again, knowing that when I wake up I'm not three hours behind the other side of the country but ahead. This means I'll find out earlier who wins American Idol before someone from my family calls up and ruins the surprise.
We've got a great deal of work ahead of us - important work. Together we will make a major contribution to healthcare reform by working on policies, standards, best practices, and programs to ensure that the workforce is delivering accurate, timely, and relevant clinical information to optimize healthcare delivery.
262 miles driven today
3,344 total miles driven
Friday, May 4, 2007
Southern Hospitality - North Carolina Style
Thanks to the generosity of Bob Harvey and TRS for dinner tonight. It was an evening filled with lively discussion and debate concerning the future of clinical documentation and how the AHDI and MTIA partnership can work on advancing a relevant platform to optimize healthcare delivery through timely, accurate, and useable health information. That may sound pretty boring for a Friday night conversation, out on the town in Greensboro. NC, but the conversation had a distinctive flair - the Southern twang. Everything sounds good with a twang. It's almost like singing or playing the banjo.
When you say something with a twang, others seem to smile and shake their heads in agreement. Just like what happened during dinner tonight - the tone at the table appeared to be very agreeable. I'm wondering if it has to do with the twang or more to do with the context in which the words are said. The Southern hospitality way is to couch things in pleasantries, making you feel at home, respected. We talked about some fairly contentious issues confronting the sector, yet it was done with appreciation and regard for others' perspectives. Tonight was a pleasant reminder of how to get your point across without pointing fingers. Thanks for that wonderful lesson.
When you say something with a twang, others seem to smile and shake their heads in agreement. Just like what happened during dinner tonight - the tone at the table appeared to be very agreeable. I'm wondering if it has to do with the twang or more to do with the context in which the words are said. The Southern hospitality way is to couch things in pleasantries, making you feel at home, respected. We talked about some fairly contentious issues confronting the sector, yet it was done with appreciation and regard for others' perspectives. Tonight was a pleasant reminder of how to get your point across without pointing fingers. Thanks for that wonderful lesson.
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Sinners or Saints: The Lessons We Learn
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
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
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
When it Rains it Pours
While driving from Garland, Texas to Brentwood, Tennessee today, it didn't just rain, it poured. The down pouring of rain made the longest segment of the entire trip across the U.S. feel even longer. At times, the rain made it difficult to see where I was going requiring me to slow down to stay the course.
I arrived at the Spheris headquarters just before the five o'clock whistle blew, to meet with Spheris Chief Medical Officer, Christopher Rehm, MD. He too, has just experienced the "when it rains, it pours" phenomenon - his wife delivered their second set of twin boys six weeks ago. Their first set of twin boys are only three years old. They're working out feeding, sleeping, bathing, and diapering schedules while negotiating the developmental challenges of their toddlers. It was never said, but I'm sure they had to slow down their schedules to readjust with the new family additions in order to stay balanced, healthy, and happy.
You could probably also say that it's not just raining but pouring in the clinical documentation sector when it comes to the changes we're experiencing. It's coming down on all sides: cost containment, increased client expectations, faster turnaround times, new technologies, greater regulatory requirements, and stiffer competition. Christopher and I spent some time discussing the multitude of challenges facing the sector and what it will take to stay the course. It was interesting to learn that the Chief Medical Officer role at Spheris actually helps the company stay the course, slow down in a sense to understand and evaluate what's important to the client - the end user clinician. If we don't know what the customer wants and help them to better discern what's best for them in the long run, we can't build our businesses - whether that business is a small, medium, or large transcription company, or if it's producing short, intermediate, or long transcription documents, or serving the needs of members at the local, state, or national level.
670 miles driven today
2,471 total miles driven
I arrived at the Spheris headquarters just before the five o'clock whistle blew, to meet with Spheris Chief Medical Officer, Christopher Rehm, MD. He too, has just experienced the "when it rains, it pours" phenomenon - his wife delivered their second set of twin boys six weeks ago. Their first set of twin boys are only three years old. They're working out feeding, sleeping, bathing, and diapering schedules while negotiating the developmental challenges of their toddlers. It was never said, but I'm sure they had to slow down their schedules to readjust with the new family additions in order to stay balanced, healthy, and happy.
You could probably also say that it's not just raining but pouring in the clinical documentation sector when it comes to the changes we're experiencing. It's coming down on all sides: cost containment, increased client expectations, faster turnaround times, new technologies, greater regulatory requirements, and stiffer competition. Christopher and I spent some time discussing the multitude of challenges facing the sector and what it will take to stay the course. It was interesting to learn that the Chief Medical Officer role at Spheris actually helps the company stay the course, slow down in a sense to understand and evaluate what's important to the client - the end user clinician. If we don't know what the customer wants and help them to better discern what's best for them in the long run, we can't build our businesses - whether that business is a small, medium, or large transcription company, or if it's producing short, intermediate, or long transcription documents, or serving the needs of members at the local, state, or national level.
670 miles driven today
2,471 total miles driven
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Everything is Big in Texas
Everything in Texas is big -- big sky, big state, big trucks, big highways, and big homes. My hosts tonight were Melinda and Bob Owen. The Owen's provided me with a Texas home cooked meal in their big home (Melinda tells me that homes in her planned community - on a big lake and big golf course - must be at minimum of 3,400 square feet) that ended with a big home made cake. Although Melinda's husband has some knowledge of healthcare, he served as a volunteer EMT, he works full time as an engineer. They have three boys and a dog.
Paradoxically, Melinda is a petite Texan, and so is her transcription company. As one of thirteen MTIA board members, Melinda claims to have the smallest transcription service on the board, where she has the opportunity to represent the interests of small transcription service providers. Her company specializes in Radiology and Cardiology documentation services. Surprisingly, even when Melinda presses her clients to adopt a speech recognition platform, with help in the transition from her MTSO, her clients beg off because they're extremely satisfied with the services they receive from her company. However, Melinda is poised to grow the business with the use of technologies. She sees the opportunity the sector has in the health information exchange debate and believes there is a bright future for transcriptionists and transcription companies willing to create new value in the documentation sector to optimize healthcare delivery.
Melinda is looking forward to attending the AHDI convention and working closer with the AHDI board and membership through the newly formed partnership. She assures me that during convention she'll be sweatin' to the oldies with Richard Simmons and already has her red dress picked out for the Red Dress Gala Awards. Thanks again to Melinda, Bob, and their sons for the BIG hospitality in Texas.
521 miles driven today
1,801 total miles driven
Paradoxically, Melinda is a petite Texan, and so is her transcription company. As one of thirteen MTIA board members, Melinda claims to have the smallest transcription service on the board, where she has the opportunity to represent the interests of small transcription service providers. Her company specializes in Radiology and Cardiology documentation services. Surprisingly, even when Melinda presses her clients to adopt a speech recognition platform, with help in the transition from her MTSO, her clients beg off because they're extremely satisfied with the services they receive from her company. However, Melinda is poised to grow the business with the use of technologies. She sees the opportunity the sector has in the health information exchange debate and believes there is a bright future for transcriptionists and transcription companies willing to create new value in the documentation sector to optimize healthcare delivery.
Melinda is looking forward to attending the AHDI convention and working closer with the AHDI board and membership through the newly formed partnership. She assures me that during convention she'll be sweatin' to the oldies with Richard Simmons and already has her red dress picked out for the Red Dress Gala Awards. Thanks again to Melinda, Bob, and their sons for the BIG hospitality in Texas.
521 miles driven today
1,801 total miles driven
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