The annual AHIMA convention belongs to the people in the trenches. Is your HIM staff here in Seattle right now? If not, you better start asking yourself why. Because these down-in-the-weeds users are your thought leaders on HIM--and they can teach YOU a thing or two.
I’ve talked to staff all over this conference. These HIM managers, directors, coders, all the medical records people, are HUNGRY for info—info on ICD-10 and RACS, transparency—and basically, how to deal with all the changes in this space. They are pounding the floor, talking to vendors, looking for solutions, listening to the panels, and asking questions. They are bringing what they’ve learned here back to their hospitals—and hopefully, the C-suite will listen to them.
And they are learning from each other. Networking, sharing best practices, making new friends. This show is a big deal for them and they are getting the most they can out of it in terms of knowledge. And you should be getting that benefit too.
So is your staff here?
Times are tough, economically. Often the first thing that gets cut is staff education. But from what I’ve seen here at this conference, that would be a big mistake. CIOs who can’t find the money in the budget to sent staff to this show should think again. It’s an ROI that will pay off big time
