Each year, the American Health Information Association (AHIMA) hosts an Advocacy Summit in our nation’s capital. Each state association sends representatives who have the “opportunity to advocate for HIM’s professional interests, build name recognition for AHIMA and the profession, and make valuable legislative and executive branch contacts.” This year three members of our CSA attended the Summit in their UHIMA capacities: President Sheri Vanderhoof, President-Elect Carolyn Russell and Advocacy Chair Michelle Wilde.
On Monday, attendees heard presentation from AHIMA leadership as well as officials from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC), and the Office for Civil Rights.
On Tuesday Sheri, Carolyn, and Michelle had the opportunity to visit with representatives from the offices of Senator Orin Hatch, Senator Mike Lee, Representative Mia Love, and Representative Rob Bishop. The two legislative priorities they focused on in their meetings were patient matching and modernizing privacy laws to combat the opioid epidemic.
