AHIMA Conference Preview

All Aboard for the Health Innovation Station
By Heather Hogstrom

The 84th AHIMA Convention and Exhibition: Next Stop to Health Innovation will be held September 29 to October 4 at McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago. Innovation is key at this year’s conference as well as in the HIM industry, which is currently facing some important changes.

The convention will provide HIM professionals with the latest on current issues such as EHR implementation, meaningful use, HIPAA/HITECH, ICD-10, clinical documentation improvement, data analytics, and data governance. The exhibit hall, open September 30 to October 3, will feature cutting-edge products from more than 200 exhibitors to help HIM professionals advance their organizations and the profession. Attendees can earn one CEU each day just by visiting the exhibit hall.

This year’s conference will feature addresses from the following keynote speakers:

• John W. Kenagy, MD, MPA, ScD, FACS, is author of Designed to Adapt: Leading Healthcare in Challenging Times. His experience as a patient as well as a physician prompted him to find ways to improve healthcare by getting patients exactly what they need—safely—at continually lower cost. He will present “Designed to Adapt: Building Success and Innovation in 21st Century Healthcare.”

• Wil Yu was a senior advisor at the CMS Innovation Center and special assistant of innovations at the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology where he led nationwide innovation efforts for the United States through Health and Human Services. He also created the Investing in Innovations program and cofounded the Federal mHealth Collaborative. He will discuss “What Pirates Can Teach Us About Revolution Healthcare Through Innovation.”

• David Rubenstein, FACHE, is a retired Army major general and served as commanding general of the US Army Medical Department Center & School and chief of the Army Medical Service Corps. He will share “Healthcare Leadership: Thoughts From My Foxhole,” providing healthcare professionals with advice on leadership and mentor development.

• Aneesh Chopra served as the nation’s first US chief technology officer, working to advance President Obama’s technology agenda and help advance the National Wireless Initiative.

• Joy Behar is a cohost on The View as well as an author, actress, and comedian. She will speak on “Inspiration, Innovation, Change.”

This year will also feature the first Health Information Innovation Leadership Conference on October 2 and 3. Two CEUs are available each day. The conference will showcase the innovative progress in workforce development and throughout the academic, corporate, and government spheres aimed at transforming the future of health information. It will feature some of the best new ideas in the industry from some of the most dynamic and creative individuals in the HIM profession and provide new opportunities for collaboration on innovation in healthcare. Speakers include Kenagy and Yu. Selected professionals from the industry will introduce new concepts and innovative technologies and gain the opportunity to receive the first annual Innovator Award.

The postconvention meetings, including the Clinical Data Analysis Mapping Institute, will be held on October 4.

For more information and to register, visit http://ahima.org/events/convention.

— Heather Hogstrom is an editorial assistant at For The Record.