A Newbie's Perspective of the AHDI/MTIA Advocacy Summit

by Brenda Wynn, CMT
(Williamston, NC)

During my 6-hour train ride to Union Station in Washington, DC, I looked over the information I’d gathered from the webinars I’d attended. With this being my first time attending the Advocacy Summit, I wanted to be as prepared as possible. During the preceding months, I’d registered for every Advocacy Summit webinar that came along and had asked any questions I could think of to anybody who’d done it before. When I’d discovered that I’d been made state liaison for NC, I have to admit I panicked a bit. I’d said that this was my first time attending the Summit and that I wouldn’t know what I’d be doing. The response was that it didn’t matter; I’d be given all the information I’d need. I spent most of May making all the appointments with my legislators or their aides and, once they were finalized, getting in touch with those attending from NC to let them know about my appointments. Although I felt I’d done all I thought needed to be done, I was nervous.

I spent the next day, June 2nd, as an observer at my first face-to-face AHDI board of directors meeting. The meeting was packed with information on what the organization plans for the rest of the year. I won’t go into detail, but there’s going to be a lot going on. That evening after dinner was the registration for those who hadn’t already registered. We also got our packets to carry with us on our appointments. After that came the orientation for first timers. I gained lots of information about what was expected. There were several role-playing sessions going over the talking points and how we should present them to our legislators. We practiced doing our “elevator speeches” with those around us so we could get our message across to our legislators in as little time as possible. During the welcome reception, Susan Lucci, RHIT, CMT, AHDI-F (the 2009 AHDI President), and Linda Yaniszewski (the 2009 MTIA President) spoke to all attendees on what was expected and how important it was that our message get across to our legislators. Dan Rode, MBA, FHFMA (VP of Policy & Government Relations for AHIMA) also spoke during the reception about the importance of the MT sector for the electronic healthcare record. After the reception, all of the attendees broke up into their state groups. All of those attending from NC sat with me and we finalized how we would get together for the next day’s appointments.

My first appointment on Capitol Hill at 11:30 a.m. on June 4th was with Congressman G. K. Butterfield’s (D-NC) healthcare aide. I was fortunate to have with me Bob Harvey, CEO of TRS, and Libby Shore who is also a medical transcription service owner from NC. Our main topic was how MTs should be considered a valuable asset to the EHR instead of the EHR eliminating our profession. We explained that there would be lots left out of a patient’s medical record without the narrative portion and that there could be major errors in a patient’s report with only speech recognition being used without someone to edit the report. I reiterated something told by another MT when editing a report done by speech recognition. She’d told me that sometimes when the dictator would dictate “cabbage” for CABG, the software would actually type the vegetable. Butterfield’s aide seemed very interested and receptive to what we were saying.

The second appointment that day was with Senator Richard Burr’s (R-NC) healthcare aide. Libby Shore attended this meeting with me. We shared the same topic with him as well as talking about the need for more funding to train people in the US to be MTs as there’s still a shortage of MTs in this country. I have to admit I was disappointed with this meeting as the aide seemed disinterested, asked very few questions and made no notes at all. He did say at the end that, if we found any legislation we thought the senator should look over, to email him about it. I came away from that meeting a bit frustrated.

The treat that evening was the bus tour of the monuments. Although it rained most of the time, everybody who went enjoyed themselves. I also want to mention that Brett McCutcheon, CMT, AHDI-F, was the hero of the bus tour that night. Being in a wheelchair, I had no way of getting on the bus without being carried. He carried me on and off the bus. Our tour included the Kennedy Center, the White House, Embassy Row with all the embassy offices of different countries, and most of the historic sites around the Capitol. Back at the hotel when Brett was carrying me off the bus, he got a round of applause from the other bus riders as well as me. I really appreciated his efforts.

On June 4th, since my last appointment wasn’t until 3 p.m., my sister (who’d agreed to travel with me from NC) and I visited the Capitol Mall, which is the area around the Capitol where all the historic buildings are. We visited the Lincoln Memorial first and I was so excited that I actually got a close up view of the memorial and the statue of the President. We also visited the Vietnam, Korean, and WWII Memorials. I was very impressed with all the displays. Whoever designed and built those monuments had great talent. Our last stop before my appointment was at the Museum of American History. I’d been there before during my senior year in high school but of course several pieces had been added since then.

My only appointment that day was with Senator Kay Hagan (D-NC). Suzanne McKean of Yanceyville, NC, attended that appointment with me along with Bethany Twist and Kristin Hagen of the AHDI BOD. I spoke to the senator about how important MTs are to the EHR. Since Senator Hagan has an interest in military spouses, we also spoke to her about how, since it’s a portable job, a career as an MT would be suited for someone whose spouse is in the military. I came away from that meeting feeling satisfied that we had gotten our message across. She appeared to be very receptive to what we’d said.

That evening back at the hotel, everybody attended the debriefing and closing keynote speech. From all that was said, I thought we’d made great progress. Most felt that they had succeeded in getting the message across that we wanted. The keynote speaker, Scott Edelstein of Squire, Sanders & Dempsey, spoke about the new HIPAA regulations and how MTs and their employers need to be extra careful in handling patient information and what to do if there’s ever a breach of that information. Afterward, there was another reception and a time for all those attending to say goodbye to each other.

I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed my first time at the Advocacy Summit. Being in a wheelchair, I’d had the preconceived attitude that I’d be treated differently, but I’m happy to say that was not the case. I felt like a part of a great organization with a great group of people. I think anybody who’s an MT, if they have the chance, should plan to go next year. They’ll be glad they did. I’m already thinking of next year. I hope to see you there.