MTIA Makeover Launches as CDIA

Expanded Association to Represent Transcription, Coding, Billing, and RCM Vendors
By Dale Kivi, MBA

I believe we can all agree that the HIM marketplace doesn’t look like it used to. Over the past few years, there’s been a lot of shifting and shake-ups, leveraged acquisitions and desperation sales. The once clear lines between HIM vendor categories have become more than a little blurry. Numerous transcription service and technology firms have added coding, billing, and revenue cycle management offerings, while a similar number of companies traditionally focused on those other areas have launched new transcription or automated documentation efforts.

With the Medical Transcription Industry Association (MTIA) being the only association representing vendors for any portion of this ubiquitous continuum of HIM workflow, a major association makeover was inevitable.

During the HIMSS conference in Orlando this February, MTIA unveiled its new and improved look as the Clinical Documentation Industry Association (CDIA), embracing their expanded role as the sole vendor community representing the complete spectrum of HIM outsourced service and technology needs. A packed room of healthcare media, association executives, and vendor representatives from all disciplines were in attendance to witness and participate in the launch of the new association. Together, they committed themselves to supporting CDIA’s vision, mission and values:

CDIA Vision
To combine human intelligence and available technologies to create, aggregate, and transmit precise clinical data so that clinicians can focus on their primary role as caregivers, patients can rely on secure and accurate personal data, and provider organizations can optimize care, lower risk, and accelerate appropriate payer reimbursement.

CDIA Mission
To ensure content clarity of electronic patient information for physicians, patients, and payers by setting and promoting measurable process management standards for clinical documentation excellence.

CDIA Values
• Respect: Promote and embrace a culture of respect that is characterized by honest and direct communication, where every association member, employee, partner, and customer is valued.

• Leadership: Continue as the recognized clinical documentation industry leader through measurable organizational outcomes, operational excellence, meaningful initiatives and programs, and dynamic interaction with all industry stakeholders.

• Integrity: Engage in fair and honest business practices, engendering trust in each other, our members, our alliance partners, and the industry; we embody the highest ethical standards through responsible stewardship of association resources and member expectations.

In addition to creating a new online association home at www.cdiaweb.org, CDIA’s first annual conference (formerly the MTIA annual conference) was held at the Westin Charlotte in Charlotte, N.C. from April 13 to 16. Boasting an extremely diverse conference schedule, including sessions on medical data exchanges, natural language processing, and an outsourced coding panel, the conference appropriately kicked off with a welcome reception at the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

— Dale Kivi, MBA, serves on the MTIA/CDIA board of directors and is the director of business development for FutureNet Technology Corporation.