TRACK 1

How Nationwide Children's Hospital Created a Virtual PPE Platform for HIM Students

Jill Choi, MBA, RHIA, CHPC, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic and the restrictions placed on the students entering the workplace, I created this interactive virtual PPE platform that I would like to share with the AOE.

Where other facilities turned students away, I stepped up and found an innovative way to help students meet their graduation requirements.
Students are exposed to every area of the HIM department and hear directly from the employees doing the work via video interviews.

Students learn the skills and abilities required to be successful in every role. I also expose the students to other departments where their skills and abilities could also be utilized. Through additional video interviews, students expand their knowledge and see the wide array of possibilities.

TRACK 2

Interprofessional education strategies: How to demonstrate the impact of health information and be recognized as an authority

Megan McDougal, MS, RHIA, CHTS-IM and Sally Lucci, MS, RHIA, CCA, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV

During this presentation, we'll share how we got our HIIM program involved with Interprofessional Education at our organization. We'll start with a brief overview of our program, our university, and what Interprofessional Education is.

This session will also discuss the background of our IPE program, and the structure that we follow to educate a high number of students among multiple disciplines.

Throughout the presentation, we'll share our story on how we got involved in IPE, the impact of IPE on our students, and will also share strategies for getting involved with IPE, regardless of whether it is already offered to students at your organization.

TRACK 3 Sponsored by Wolters Kluwer

Preparing for the next pandemic with remote technology that takes your program to the next level

Bernie McStay, MEd, RHIA, MLT-ASCP, Sinclair Community College, Dayton, OH

Learn how my transition to Online Broadcasting Software improved my student engagement. During the 2020/2021 academic year, many college programs had to resort to rapid deployment of online training and teaching.

Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and WebEx became commonplace for virtual delivery mechanisms. These solutions provide a platform for teaching but lacked interaction with the students to provide engaging learning.

OBS is a free solution with a relatively low learning curve to make course content more engaging. OBS is a production software suite that can be used in tandem with popular video platforms to build seamless engaging and interactive lectures and assessments, both asynchronously and synchronously.

OBS provides features to apply effects to different sources and scenes that enhance the learning experience. The OBS platform has a full line-up of professional tools such as quick hotkeys, chroma key, color correction, scrolling text, and much more.

TRACK 1

Embrace the journey: Inspiring students to discover their professional path

Danette Myers, PhD, RHIA, Jackie Moczygemba, MBA, RHIA, CCS, FAHIMA, and David Gibbs, PhD, CPHI, CHPS, CPHIMS, CISSP, FHIMSS, Texas State University, Round Rock, TX

This session for new and experienced HIM educators provides real-world examples of online resources, assignments, and activities used in a seminar class to help HIM students prepare to enter the workforce.

Topics to be covered include professionalism, credential exam preparation, interviewing skills, engaging with professional organizations, and building a professional network. The content for this course is derived from a baccalaureate-level program, although it would be applicable for some graduate-level programs producing entry-level HIM professionals that are new to the field.

TRACK 2

Aligned with industry: Developing competency-based curriculum approaches with real-world relevance

Jasmine Agnew, MHIIM, RHIA, CAHIMS, and Stephanie LaPuma, PhD, Western Governors University, Salt Lake City, UT

This informative and interactive presentation will be beneficial to educators as they move into competency-based education. Starting with a comparative analysis of widely used curriculum development practices and the competency-based model, the presenters will discuss the importance of working with industry partners to develop content that meets the needs of the current workforce.

The presentation will conclude with examples of how competency-based education has benefitted students and prepared them for the field after graduation.

TRACK 3 Sponsored by Wolters Kluwer

Teaching Strategies to Engage Students and Build Confidence  

Lynn Ward, Ed.D, RHIA, CPHIMS, Carol Allen, EdD, MSN, RN, and Pamela Varhol, Ed.D., RHIA, Southern New Hampshire University, Manchester, NH

This presentation prepares educators to embrace the six domains of active engagement as a teaching strategy in online courses. The domains are designed to encourage more meaningful peer-to-peer and positive interactions which will promote student success and satisfaction.

Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of establishing clear and specific expectations; articulate effective teaching strategies that promote active engagement; describe strategies of intellectual presence for positive impact on student engagement; and of the value of timely, regular, and substantive feedback and impact on student motivation within the online course.

12:35 - 12:45 p.m.

New Tools to Develop Students' EHR & Data Analysis Skills

Nancy Roberts, Paradigm Education Solutions

12:45 - 12:55 p.m.

EHR Go: Educational Electronic Health Record for HIM/T Education

Emily Johnson, EHR Go

TRACK 1

PPE Projects with Real-World Impact

Mechel McKinney, MBA, RHIA and Kelly Fast, MS, RHIA, Missouri Western State University, St. Joseph, MO

This presentation shares student and faculty testimonials regarding impactful professional practice experiences that help students to achieve the AHIMA mission through their proctored learning opportunities. The unique experiences to discussed will allow learners to connect their professional practice experience to human information within their communities and empower graduates to carry on their professional connections into their future roles.

TRACK 2

Creating a Dual Enrollment Course in Laboratory and Data Science 

Rebecca Reynolds, EdD, RHIA, Marcia Sharp, EdD, RHIA, Jacen Moore, PhD, and Keisha Burnett, EdD, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN

Dual enrollment courses provide students with an opportunity to explore careers that they may not have considered while offering them college and high school credit. This session provides an overview of a dual enrollment program designed to introduce laboratory and data science careers to high school students while they are making career planning decisions. The introduction of these courses into the high school curriculum can expose students to lesser-known healthcare career options. Presenters will share a course content outline that enables students to experience “real” health care sciences and integrates case studies aligned with Next Generation Science Standards.

TRACK 3 Sponsored by Wolters Kluwer

Guided Course Projects to Inspire Active Learning

Dasantila Sherifi, PhD, MBA, RHIA, Memory Ndanga, PhD, MS, RHIA, T.J. Hunt, PhD, RHIA, CHDA, FAHIMA, and Yuane Jia, PhD, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ

One of the challenges of online teaching is limited engagement with the professor, the course content, and fewer interactions among students. The teaching method, assessment tools, and course design selected can impact student engagement and student outcomes in the online environment. Research shows that group projects can help students stay engaged with the course content and learn from each-other. Additionally, relevant short videos and associated interactive activities are important tools of engaging students in the online learning environment. PlayPosit is a relatively new teaching tool that combines short video explanations of important concepts with short quizzes. The presenters will share their experience leveraging PlayPosit activities associated with an overarching, complex, problem-based group project within their online course.

TRACK 1

Forward-thinking models for PPE: Lessons learned from the pandemic

Katie Kerr, EdD, RHIA, and Eric Nordgren, The College of St. Scholastica, Duluth, MN

The COVID-19 Pandemic created a unique set of challenges to the professional practice experience process, requiring creativity and agile thinking, effective and timely communication with stakeholders, and maximum flexibility. The adaptations made to our PPE placements during the COVID-19 pandemic created successful experiences for students in multiple modalities and helped to build a stronger collaborative relationship with host organizations as we worked toward the best outcomes for students. We will describe our process of creating two different models for the PPE, one that was employed for Fall 2020 placements, and another for the Spring 2021 placements. Based on conversations with our preceptors and industry partners, we anticipate that these changes will become integrated in standard practice due to the move to a primarily remote workplace at many organizations.

TRACK 2

Exploring a Fresh Perspective for the Student Learning Assessment Process

Cathy Flite, PhD, RHIA, FAHIMA and Karen McBride, MS, RHIA, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA

The pandemic forced seasoned and new faculty to rethink their strategies for assessment. Now, faculty are considering what, why, and how they assess student learning. The challenges presented to both faculty and students during the pandemic require an examination of formative and summative assessment, inclusive assessments, exam proctoring, and more. This session provides an overview of common assessment techniques, followed by an examination of our future approach regarding technology-enabled inclusive assessment design, and the integrity of assessment processes.

TRACK 3 Sponsored by Wolters Kluwer

Educational delivery formats: How to evolve your approach to optimize the learning experience

Susan Bremer, MS, MBA, RHIA, CPC, Central Lakes College, Brainerd, MN

Are you challenged with meeting students where they need to be?  LiveOnline may be a good fit for you and your class. LiveOnline allows students to register for the class and decide if they want to sit in the classroom with the instructor, log in remotely and interact with the instructor and classmates, or take the course 100% online by watching the recorded class sessions. Students may move between the three options allowing them the flexibility to learn the course material around their life events. Join this presentation to learn more about LiveOnline, the technology used, and seven years of lessons learned about this course format.

TRACK 1

Student internships: How to strengthen community collaboration and achieve mutually beneficial outcomes

Connie Renda, MA, RHIA, CHDA, San Diego Mesa College, San Diego, CA and Kimberly Jackson, RHIT, CHP, CHPC, Palomar Health, San Marcos, CA

This presentation discusses successful community partnerships in healthcare for student internships. Research shows the efficacy of student internships in leading to successful employment while increasing skills and confidence. A survey of the research on the effectiveness of student internships will be presented demonstrating both the benefits to the employer as well as the candidate. Often overlooked are the benefits to the organization sponsoring the student. Health information has increased in complexity and with decreased resources, finding good employees is becoming a challenge. Internships are underutilized as a pathway to employment for students and graduates as well as a rich labor market for employers. All health information jobs require experience, yet it is difficult to gain experience without internships. Research indicates work-based learning can be used to bridge theoretical knowledge and practice. The presenters will discuss the need for 21st century skills and honing those skills during internship practice both in and out of the classroom. Another important topic is aligning the mentor and student. The connection between the healthcare organization and the college spans beyond the internship. The connection between the two entities is critical for aligning the curriculum at the college and organization's objectives. Cultural competence and diversity will be addressed in the context of respecting the culture of the department to which the intern is placed. The presenters will discuss sample projects and how students were able to contribute to important goals being accomplished for the organization.

TRACK 2

Health Information Roles in Clinical Documentation of the Telehealth Environment

Shannon H. Houser, PhD, MPH, RHIA, FAHIMA, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL

Telehealth use for patient visits has grown rapidly during COVID-19 pandemic. Clinical documentation is critical for telehealth patient visits for the purpose of continuity of patient care and quality improvement, for billing/reimbursement, and administrative planning. There is limited information about the roles HIM professionals play in telehealth practice, how healthcare facilities managing telehealth patient visit documentation, methods used for telehealth visits, challenges and issues when dealing with telehealth patient visit documentation, and data collection. We conducted a survey study to answer these questions and intend to fill the gaps between telehealth use and clinical data documentation. The aim of this study was to identify roles HIM professionals play in telehealth practice, assess accuracy, quality and completeness of clinical documentation in telehealth practice in the United States; to identify challenges and issues dealing with telehealth patient visit documentation, data collection and data management; to develop strategy for best practice for telehealth clinical data documentation and data management.

TRACK 3 Sponsored by Wolters Kluwer

Using Workflow Tools to Engage Students in the Trifecta of Compliance

Maria Bounos, RN, MPM, COC, PMC, CSPO, and Christina Panos, RHIA, CTR, Wolters Kluwer Law & Business, Pittsburgh, PA

Today’s healthcare industry is complex and constantly changing from a regulatory, coding, and reimbursement perspective, ultimately becoming the trifecta for compliance. Healthcare Professionals are challenged on a day-to-day basis and are required to keep up with the demands of the industry. Leveraging workflow tools to address the demand has allowed HIM professionals to stay compliant.

The use of coding and reimbursement workflow tools can assist educators to bridge the gap between online distance learning and the real-world healthcare profession. The application of workflow solutions that are utilized by healthcare professionals today in education can engage students and augment the learning process.

In this session we will discuss techniques that healthcare professionals utilize to keep up with the dynamic industry and model the impact of proper coding and coverage guidance on reimbursement. The speakers will discuss the use of practical workflow tools. As educators, it is imperative to expose and familiarize students with tools utilized in practice for them to be successful HIM professionals.

TRACK 1 Sponsored by AHIMA VLab™

Virtual reality: Bringing the human body to life

Joanna Ward, MA, RHIA, and Michelle Martin, MEd, MBA, RHIA, FAHIMA, Louisiana Tech University, Ruston, LA

Educators are constantly looking for ways to make knowledge transfer more easily, more efficiently and more effectively. In today’s world of digital devices and technology, we have an opportunity to revolutionize learning with technology. In traditional classroom settings, learning is based on the same redundant format of fact retention. However, having access to and consuming volumes of information are not always the best way to learn for everyone. Many students have difficulties comprehending information. Information overload is overwhelming to students, thus they become bored and disengage. Virtual reality (VR) can change all of that! VR can be implemented and used in the classroom to enhance student learning and involvement. Virtual reality transforms the way educational content is delivered; it works on the premise of creating a virtual world, real or imagined, and allows users to interact with it. Being immersed in what you are learning motivates you to fully understand it. It also requires less cognition to process the information. VR is an exemplary solution for student learning in a highly technical field like the medical industry. For example, the most significant challenge for students within a medical related curriculum is the comprehension of a 3-D visualization of the human body. Virtual reality brings this challenge to the forefront of college curriculums and assists students in overcoming this obstacle.

TRACK 2

Expanding your influence in education: How to document your teaching for advancement opportunities

Nicole Van Andel, MS, RHIA, CHPS, Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN

This presentation demonstrates how faculty can develop a dossier to document their scholarly efforts and teaching acumen. Participants will learn the importance of an effective teaching statement and how to illuminate service, teaching and research in their curriculum vitae.  

TRACK 3

Data visualization: The science of storytelling

Xiaoming Zeng, MD, PhD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC

In the era of big data, we are inundated with large amount of data with different modality and granularity. Data analytics becomes an essential skill set for Health Information Management professionals to learn and master. Practitioners require deep understanding of the area of data visualization in addition to fundamental skills in data analysis and statistics. Data, if visualized well, will be effective in building compelling messages when communicating with others. Although data visualization has a flavor of art, it does have principles and rules that can help guide the creating and tuning of the final output. Understanding these principles and rules will help Health Information Management professionals to be effective data communicators in their professional life. It is my belief and aspiration that effective data visualization will equip the students with one of the most important skills for their future success.

12:55 – 1:05 p.m.

4 Burning Questions About Adaptive Learning You’re Afraid to Ask

Angela Campbell, MSHI, RHIA

Health Information Technology, San Juan College

TRACK 1 Sponsored by AHIMA VLab™

Aligning Curriculum with Industry Trends

Mike Kovala, MS, RHIA, CPHI, Duluth, MN and John Richey, MBA, RHIA, FAHIMA, AHIMA, Chicago, IL 

This presentation will explore emerging and future trends in the healthcare industry:
telehealth,
post-pandemic reporting,
management of remote and online workforce
outsourcing, (IT, EHR, etc.)

Examine various ways in which educators can align curriculum with those emerging trends to best prepare students for success in the workplace of the future.

TRACK 2

Creative Methods for Teaching Vocabularies and Terminologies

Susan Fenton, PhD, RHIA, CPHI, FAHIMA, UTHealth School of Biomedical Informatics, Houston, TX, Mary Stanfill, MBI, RHIA, CCS, CCS-P, FAHIMA, HIM Consulting, UASI, Cincinnati, OH and Kathy Giannangelo, MA, RHIA, CCS, CPHIMS, FAHIMA, Kathy Giannangelo Consulting, LLC, Springfield, IL

The widespread use of EHRs requires the use of a variety of vocabularies and terminologies, in addition to the classification systems of CPT and ICD. In order to effectively analyze and utilize EHR data, it is imperative all HIM professionals have a high-level understanding of the data element standards for nationwide, interoperable health information exchange. This presentation will introduce ICD-11, SNOMED CT, LOINC, and RxNORM, while providing ideas regarding methods for teaching these standards. Attend this session to build your knowledge base and begin to increase your skills by learning about the standard terminologies being implemented in EHRs.

TRACK 3

Mobile Health (mHealth) Security

Mohammad Bajwa, PhD, RHIA, CPHI, CPHIMS, MCSE, University of Maryland Global Campus, Largo, MD

This presentation provides an overview of the role and impact of Bring your own Devise (BYOD), and Internet of Health Things (IoHT) in the delivery of healthcare. In addition the presenter takes a deep dive into the security vulnerabilities when using mobile devices for healthcare of the 21^st century. The presenter will identify specific risks, provide associated mitigation measures to minimize risk and apply policies and procedures that that promote secure mobile device management.