AHDI and MTIA present the fifth annual Advocacy Summit event from March 23-25, 2010! Make your arrangements now to come to Washington, DC to advocate on behalf of your profession at a critical time for the medical transcription sector. In past years, we have had nearly 100 attendees, and we look forward to an even greater presence on Capitol Hill in 2010.

Registration

Registration is now open for Advocacy Summit 2010. Please click either of the two links below to complete the registration form online or by paper/fax.

For those who choose online registration, you will receive an electronic questionnaire shortly after registering aimed at obtaining critical demographic information from you that we are not able to capture during the online registration process. This information will allow the Dewey Square Group to accurately and appropriately plan your appointments with Representatives and Legislators on Capitol Hill. Those who choose the paper registration form will be able to provide all the additional appointment related information within the paper registration form itself, negating the need for a follow-up questionnaire.

Download the 2010 Advocacy Summit Paper Registration Form

Timeline of Events

Tuesday, March 23

AHDI Board of Directors Meeting (9am—5pm)
Event Registration/Sign-in (5pm—6pm)
Briefing/Orientation and Welcome Reception (6pm –8pm) CEC: 1 PD

Wednesday, March 24

Lobbying on Capitol Hill (8am—5pm)
Debriefing and Closing Reception (6pm—8pm)

Thursday, March 25

Morning Educational Offerings: "Current Issues Facing Healthcare Documentation" (9am—12:30pm) **Speakers & CEC Values T.B.D.**
Afternoon: AHDI Components Town Hall Meeting (2pm— 5pm)

Official Advocacy Summit Hotel

Marriott Crystal City
1999 Jefferson Davis Highway
Arlington, Virginia 22202

The Marriott Crystal City at Reagan International Airport is located directly above a metro stop and a short ride from the captial building making it an extremely convenient location for events involving travel to and from all of the major destinations in Washington, D.C. Not to mention, this property is located steps from hip restaurants and trendy shops providing plenty of options for food and entertainment. The Marriott Crystal City is completely sold out for the evenings of Tuesday, March 23 and Wednesday, March 24. Please see the alternate hotel option below if you require a room for either 3/23/10 or 3/24/10.

Hotel Reservations

The Marriott Crystal City is completely sold out on Tuesday March 23 and Wednesday, March 24, 2010. You may still book a room for the evenings of Monday, 3/22 or Thursday, 3/25 if you wish by following the link below:

Click this link to make your reservations online

The special room rate for Advocacy Summit 2010 attendees will be $175 for single and double occupancy rooms, $195 for triple occupancy and $215 for quadruple occupancy. These special group rates expire on Monday, March 1, 2010. If you prefer to make your reservations by phone, please call the reservations hotline at (800) 228-9290. Be sure to reference the group code "AHDI Advocacy" when speaking with the reservations agent.

Alternate Hotel Option - Radisson

Radisson National Airport Hotel
2020 Jefferson Davis Highway
Arlington, VA 22202

For those who didn't reserve a room in time at the Marriott Crystal City and need a room for the evenings of March 23 or March 24, 2010 only, please contact the Radisson National Airport Hotel. This hotel is directly across the street from the Marriott Crystal City and all AHDI and MTIA attendees will receive the special group rate of $175 plus tax for single or double occupancy rooms. To receive this special rate, reservations must be made between 8:30am - 7pm eastern by calling 703-920-8600. Be sure to ask for "Internal Reservations" and once you've been connected, mention you are with the "AHDI" group.

Room Sharing Program: Find a Room Mate and Split Hotel Costs

Advocacy Summit attendees who'd like to be paired up with a room mate and share the cost of hotel may contact Miranda on the AHDI/MTIA staff who will be coordinating the room pairing efforts: myoukhaneh@ahdionline.org

Advocacy Summit User's Guide

If you are planning to come to Advocacy Summit, be sure to check out the 2010 Advocacy Summit User's Guide by clicking here. The guide provides you with valuable travel information, a list of what to bring with you to Capitol Hill, tips for talking with legislators, and maps of the Washington, DC subway system and Capitol Hill.

Letter Writing

Letter writing is a great way for anyone who cannot attend the Summit to participate in advocacy and support fellow members who will be on Capitol Hill. With the all the technological and regulatory changes facing the health IT sector in general and medical transcription in particular, it is particularly important this year that as many members as possible support our advocacy efforts to secure a viable and successful future for healthcare documentation professionals and medical transcription companies. Please click here for letter-writing instructions and a model letter.

Submit Your Comments on Meaningful Use

The federal government’s proposed regulations for “meaningful use” and EHR certification do not explicitly recognize the value of the dictation-transcription process for documenting healthcare encounters or the importance of patient narratives for clinical decision making. Given these concerning omissions, we need as many AHDI and MTIA members as possible to submit comments asking the federal government to acknowledge the medical transcription sector as a vital contributor to quality of care, patient safety, and successful EHR adoption. Click here for instructions on how to support this important advocacy effort. (Note that this request is in addition to our letter writing for Advocacy Summit already under way, so if at all possible, please help with both efforts.)

Educational Resources

AHDI and MTIA have created the following resources that members can use to educate themselves, fellow members of the profession, government decision-makers and others on important issues facing the sector. Also, these resources will provide you with a preview of the types of messages we will be sharing with legislators at Advocacy Summit.

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.
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.
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.
Sample Narrative Chart Note with XML: This sample note demonstrates how information in a narrative report can be tagged so that it is reportable.
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.

Contact Us

Questions about the Advocacy Summit? Contact AHDI/MTIA staff member Greg Doggett, JD, who can assist you further.
Greg Doggett
Email: gdoggett@ahdionline.org
Direct: 859-512-3284