2009 Advocacy Summit
On June 3 and 4, 2009, MTIA and AHDI members from across the United States participated in well over 100 appointments and delivered in excess of 200 letters to Capitol Hill to educate legislators on how the medical transcription sector can help achieve the HITECH Act’s vision of a nationwide, interoperable electronic health record (EHR) system. Members discussed the need for federal legislators and administrative agency officials to recognize the critical role documentation professionals and the transcription sector play in ensuring quality of care, patient safety, and maximized reimbursement in an electronic health environment.
Information for 2010 Advocacy Summit Now Available
Advocacy Resources
MTIA has created various resources that members can use to educate government decision-makers and others on important issues facing the sector. Below are some of these key resources:
- Video on Discrete Reportable Transcription (DRT): Mark Anderson, CEO of AC Group, Inc., discusses the challenges of EHR adoption and how discrete reportable transcription( DRT) addresses these issues.
- Sample Narrative Chart Note with XML: This sample note demonstrates how information in a narrative report can be tagged so that it is reportable.
- Abstract: Improving the Accuracy of Narrative Patient Notes: This document discusses how healthcare documentation professionals support physicians in the use of electronic medical records by ensuring the accuracy of patient health information.
- White Paper: Medical Transcription-Proven Accelerator of EHR Adoption: The white paper outlines how MTSOs and healthcare documentation professionals are well positioned to help the Obama Administration achieve its goal of wide-scale EHR adoption and use.
- MTIA/AHDI Comment on Meaningful Use: On June 26, 2009, MTIA and AHDI submitted their official comment on the HIT Policy Committee’s draft description of “meaningful use.” The comment focused on how healthcare documentation professionals and structured narrative reports contribute to quality documentation and the need for certified EHR systems to be able to accept interfaced data from the dictation-transcription process.
- Overview of Challenges and Opportunities for Medical Transcription Sector: This document outlines the technological and economic challenges facing the medical transcription sector and how the sector can strategically position itself to turn those challenges into opportunities that will provide a viable and successful future for the industry.
What You Can Do to Get Involved
Health care is a very hot topic in Washington, DC, these days, and we rely upon our members to get our messages out to important government decision makers and others. Below are a couple things you can do to support MTIA’s advocacy efforts:
- Stay tuned for advocacy alerts calling upon members to contact their legislators or administrative agency officials about legislation and regulations of interest to the industry. Respond to these alerts and share them with others both inside and outside of your company.
- Plan to attend the 2010 Advocacy Summit where you will have the opportunity to talk with your legislators face-to-face and educate them on the issues.
- Read the “View from the Hill” column in Health Data Matrix magazine, the business and technology journal of AHDI and MTIA, for regular updates on MTIA’s advocacy efforts and developments on and off Capitol Hill.
Contact Us
If you have any questions or would like additional information regarding advocacy, please contact staff member Greg Doggett at gdoggett@mtia.com or 703-663-8379.
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