ADVANCE Perspective: HIM : Web site

Social Media Births Word of the Year

Cheryl McEvoy — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:54:00 GMT

In case you haven't heard, the New Oxford American Dictionary selected "unfriend" as the 2009 Word of the Year. And in case you really haven't heard, "unfriend" is a social networking term, referring to the act of removing someone from your list of contacts...(read more)

How Do You Unwind?

Cheryl McEvoy — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:43:00 GMT

October is National Poppin' Popcorn Month, so naturally a few of us at the office decided to celebrate with a culinary nod to those explosive kernels. I went the semi-homemade route, popping a bag and mixing it up with marshmallows, chocolate chips, raisins...(read more)

AHIMA 2009: The Health Information Bill of Rights

Cheryl McEvoy — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 12:41:00 GMT

At a news conference yesterday, the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) unveiled its Health Information Bill of Rights, a set of seven principles designed to protect and promote patient access to personal health information. Craig...(read more)

AHIMA 2009: Off to Grapevine

Cheryl McEvoy — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 14:11:00 GMT

Anytime someone mentions this year's American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) Convention and Exhibit, I immediately think of the song, "I Heard it Through the Grapevine," because, well, the event's being held in Grapevine, TX. Problem...(read more)

Social Media Blitz

Cheryl McEvoy — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 13:59:00 GMT

Today's the day! All that " social media coverage " I've been hinting at is now available for your browsing pleasure. (Even some of our regulars like Management Q&A , Registry Perspectives and Student Center got in on the action!) The launch comes...(read more)

What Makes You Tick? Part 2

Cheryl McEvoy — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 13:47:00 GMT

The ADVANCE team likes to be inquisitive (it's part of our job, ya know). Sure, we've met you at conferences, chatted you up on the phone, but we want to know what really goes on in that head of yours. Thus, we introduced "What Makes HIM Professionals...(read more)

How Much Do You Make?

Cheryl McEvoy — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 13:32:00 GMT

Pst . How's your salary looking? Did you finally get that raise, or is your facility paying like it's 1999? Our National HIM Salary Survey is back to help gauge your weight on the payment scale. With the rough-and-tumble economy, we're curious to see...(read more)

Online Spat Involves CPT Codes

Cheryl McEvoy — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 21:58:00 GMT

From time to time, we all complain. We used to keep it among friends, family or a goldfish with a compassionate ear, but with the advent of social media, it's become all too easy to tweet a 140-character rant for all to hear. Now, a physician is using...(read more)

What Makes You Tick?

Lynn Jusinski — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:22:00 GMT

I was tickled that 500 of you took the time to fill out our fun, brief survey on "What Makes HIM Professionals Tick?" A second installment is currently posted on our Web site , and I hope the response is as good for that one. Thanks to everyone who took...(read more)

What a Difference a Year Makes

Cheryl McEvoy — Wed, 20 May 2009 13:51:00 GMT

Around this time last year, I was schlepping clothes, photos and a hodgepodge of kitchenware from my college house to my mom's place, an hour away. I was in that weird place between incredible relief that classes were over and immense grief as I said...(read more)

Twitter, FTW!

Cheryl McEvoy — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 13:15:00 GMT

For those of you unaccustomed to Twitterspeak, "FTW" stands for "For the win," a throwback to those great sports moments when an athlete takes a game-winning shot. It's a way to express your love or appreciation-a more efficient way to say "This rocks!"...(read more)

Even My Boarding Pass is Electronic

Cheryl McEvoy — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 20:35:00 GMT

Well, devoted readers, conference season has officially begun. As Lynn already noted, we're both jetting off to find out what's the latest and greatest HIM has to offer. Tomorrow, I'm off to Chicago for the Healthcare Information and Management Systems...(read more)

Hope Everyone Behaves on the Planes

Lynn Jusinski — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 14:44:00 GMT

The ADVANCE staff will be rather far flung early next week. Cheryl McEvoy is heading off to Chicago for the HIMSS conference, and I'm boarding a flight to Las Vegas early Sunday morning to take in the AAPC show. We'll be bringing you all sorts of conference...(read more)

A Few of Your Favorite Things

Lynn Jusinski — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 21:34:00 GMT

As Lisa Algeo, editor of ADVANCE for Health Information Professionals, noted in her editorial in our February issue, we're beefing up our Web site, and that means you can now find a few of your favorite things online.

AHDI Track is now on the Web, and you can track it down right on our homepage, listed under the Online Columns heading. Also, we're offering up our Professional Profile online, and you can read the latest one by scrolling over the Magazine tab at the top.

Another reader favorite is Letters to the Editor, and having these online, also under the Magazine tab at the top of our homepage, will offer readers a chance to comment on what are often hinky topics in the HIM field, like decreases in MTs' pay and gender roles in HIM.

Also, you can share your downtime hobbies (belly dancing? sheep shearing? knitting?) on our Downtime page, which can be found under the Community tab at the top of our homepage. If you're shy about sharing, you can still peruse other HIM professionals' hobbies.

And one of our reader favorites from the print edition, Hands-On Help, can be found online as well. The column is still maintaining its monthly frequency, but every other month will be a Web exclusive. Don't miss this month's "The Inconvenient Truth: Leading the Way to EHRs."

Spread the Word

Cheryl McEvoy — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 16:05:00 GMT

I'm a self-admitted Facebook junkie. After sitting in front of the computer for 8 hours of work, I head home only to hop on my Mac, scan my personal e-mail and check that notorious time-waster to see if anyone posted new photos or confirmed a friend.

Facebook has been as far as I've delved into social networking--until recently. Times are a-changin' and there are a slew of things I can explore in the time I spend Facebook stalking my high school crush. So I created a Twitter account last night and hope to be tweeting away about MTs, coders and EHRs in no time.

Fortunately for fellow Facebook users and Web 2.0 embracers, ADVANCE just added a new feature to our site that will help spread the word about all things HIM-related. At the top of each article, you'll see a new "Share" option (to the right of the "Email Article" option), which lets you post a link on Facebook, LinkedIn, Digg and other sites.

To all those fed up with the constant question, "So what DO you do?" here's your chance to let friends, family members and random strangers know what's what in the world of HIM.