CTHIMA Annual Meeting 2019 Pricing
Please check the appropriate box for pricing before submitting payment. This will help us prepare seating and meals for all attendees. Please sign up early as space is limited.

	Member	Non-member	Student
General Session	$135	$155	** $75
Coding Session	$135	$155	** $70

** To receive the student pricing, you must be currently enrolled in an approved HIM program with proof.

CANCELLATION POLICY: You will receive a full refund if you notify CtHIMA 7 days in advance of the event. You must notify Tara Katynski at or 203-812-9783. For all other cancellations (less then 7 days in advance of the event) the registrant will be charged a $50.00 fee to cover the administrative costs. If you do not notify CtHIMA of your cancellation you will forfeit your entire registration fee. If you register and choose to pay at the door and do not attend without proper notice (as stated above) you will be billed $50.00 for administrative costs including food.

Please also be advised if you choose to pay at the door there will be a $25.00 fee in addition to your registration cost.

Risk Adjustment Coding Workshop
Donna Malone, CPC, CRC
Friday, August 16th, 2019

8:00a – 9:00a	Registration and Vendor Time	Vendor area open
9:00a – 9:15a	Opening Remarks	CtHIMA Board
9:15a – 4:30p	Topics/Program Agenda
	Risk Adjustment Basics and Beyond (CMS-HCC, HHS-ACA, Medicaid Risk and Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) Risk Adjustment Data Validation Audits (CMS and HHS) OIG Audits – Medicare Advantage Quality HEDIS and STARS Understanding the Financial Impact of Non-Recaptured Chronic Conditions Overview of CMS Documentation Requirements and ICD-10 Coding Guidelines Review Common Documentation and Coding Challenges Understanding the important all conditions impacting care or management Strategies to Assist in Comprehensive and Accurate Code Capture at the Point of Care
12:30p – 1:30p	Lunch and AHIMA Updates
4:30p – 5:30p	Gift-drawings, Networking and Vendor Time	Vendor area

Friday, August 16th, 2019
General Session

8:00a – 9:00a	Registration and Vendor Time	Vendor area open
9:00a – 9:15a	Opening Remarks	CtHIMA Board
9:15a – 10:15a	HIPAA Update: Connecticut Court Rulings and OCR Increased Enforcement. This session will explore the CT Supreme Court’s ruling on HIPAA liability actions and the related risk of improper disclosure when responding to a subpoena	Jennifer Cox, JD Cox & Osowiecki
10:15a – 10:30a	Break and Vendor Time	Vendor area open
10:30a – 11:30a	Teamwork: The Cure for the Common Claim Edit. This session will cover the Medicare Outpatient Code Editor (OCE), and the National Correct Coding Initiative.	Robin-Ingalls-Fitzgerald, CCS, CPC, CEDC, CEMC President & CEO MRS, LLC
11:30a – 12:30p	Outpatient CDI. Industry shift to value based care, inpatient CDI, CDI expansion, differences between inpatient and outpatient and documentation challenges in the outpatient setting	Justine Kuritz, RHIA, CCDS
12:30p – 1:30p	Lunch, AHIMA Updates	Godwin Okafor, MSHI, RHIA, FAC-P/PM AHIMA Liaison
1:30p – 2:30p	Interoperability and Potential Changes. Join the conversation on the potential HIPAA modernization changes in motion that are foundational to meet the demands of our technically driven world. A high-level overview of the proposed rules and stakeholder insights will be discussed.	Karen Profitt, RHIA, CHP VP Industry Relations/CPO Just Associates
2:30p – 3:30p	Mr. Lamont Goes to Hartford. Attorney Schiessl of the Connecticut Hospital Association will review actions taken by the Governor and General Assembly during the 2019 legislative session. He will address changes that impact hospitals and healthcare, and address developments involving the federal government.	Carl Schiessl, JD Connecticut Hospital Association
3:30p – 4:30p	Using Technology to Capture HCCs: The presentation will address current workflow challenges with capturing HCCs, opportunities that exist and the use of technology to address them.	Kathy Harkness, BS Client Engagement Executive, M*Modal
3:30p – 4:30p	Gift-drawings, Networking and Vendor Time	Vendor Area

Speaker Biographies

Jennifer Cox, J.D., Attorney at Cox & Osowieki, LLC	JENNIFER L. COX is a founding member of Cox & Osowiecki, LLC, a health law firm in Hartford, Connecticut. She represents all levels of healthcare providers in the areas of corporate and practice compliance, regulatory guidance, contracting, and HIT issues and is a frequent lecturer for members of various healthcare-related entities, including CTHMA and other AHIMA chapters, the Connecticut Hospital Association, the Connecticut Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Connecticut Medical Group Management Association, and various chapters of the American Academy of Professional Coders.
Kathy Harkness, RN, BSN, CCDS Client Engagement Executive M*Modal	Kathy Harkness is a graduate of Walden University with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Ms. Harkness has over 28 years of professional experience in critical care, emergency medicine, cardiac surgery, nursing management, as well as, CDI and Revenue Integrity. Prior to starting with M*Modal as a Client Engagement Executive, she was a Clinical Director with The Advisory Board Company’s Revenue Cycle Solutions Consulting and Management division. In this capacity, Ms. Harkness provided clinical documentation improvement expertise to the physician documentation data analysis process, as well as, leading over 200 one-on-one physician engagement meetings. She served as a subject matter expert for CDI assessments, education and implementation of new CDI programs across the country.
Robyn Ingalls-Fitzgerald, CCS, CPC, CEDC, CEMC Medical Management and Reimbursement Specialist	Robin, Company Founder, CEO and President, has been in the health care industry for over 30 years. She has been a coder for 20 years and holds certifications with the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) and the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC). She has expertise in E & M coding in both the Emergency Department and practice settings. Robin’s knowledge of Medicare coding and billing guidelines, NCD’s, LCD’s and NCCI edits is an invaluable resource to facility and practice billing departments, facilitating accurate claims submission, reducing claims rejections, and eliminating costly rework. Robin is activity involved in her community, serving on the NH Economic Development Task force, the historic district committee and the downtown re-vitalization committee. She is engaged in philanthropic activities, including The Go Gray in May 5K benefitting The National Brain Tumor Society. Robin is Preseident elect of NHHIMA.
Justine Kuritz, RHIA, CCDS Solution Strategy Executive 3M	Justine is an experienced Revenue Cycle Professional with an in-depth experience in healthcare information systems. Her background contains nearly 20 years of Health Information Management, Nursing, Healthcare Information Systems and Healthcare Business Operations expertise. She maintains a widespread knowledge in healthcare processes and workflow. In recent years, she has focused on the relevance, importance and industry required needs of a strong solution incorporated into any workflow environment. Justine is intimately involved with development and delivery of organizational workflow and/or process improvement strategies, including but not limited to Physicians, Coders and CDIS. She has hands-on experience providing direct knowledge and guidance into solution requirements.
Donna Malone, CPC, CRC, Director Enterprise Risk Adjustment; Coding and Provider Education with Tufts Health Plan, Chair of the RISE Risk Adjustment Academy HCC Coding Faculty Advisory Group and President of the Watertown AAPC Chapter	Previously, she worked for Tufts Health Plan in their enterprise risk adjustment division for five years with her latest role as Sr. Manager Enterprise Risk Adjustment Coding, Quality Assurance, and Provider Education, and was responsible for audit and coding review management, development and implementation of department and vendor policies and procedures, simulation RADV Audits for preparedness, coding team performance management. She has been actively involved in provider education and development of support materials. Additionally, Donna serves at the MassBay Community College in Framingham, where she has been an advisor and adjunct professor currently in her 15th year. Her specialty area is the Medical Coding and Medical Office Administration Programs. Prior to Tufts Health Plan, Donna worked for ENJOIN as the Director of Ambulatory CDI – Risk Adjustment, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts as an HCC Professional Audit III for four years. Earlier, she worked for AM B Care for 9 years. Donna also has served as Education Officer (2016) and President (2017 – current) for the AAPC chapter in Watertown, MA. Donna speaks nationally for RISE, AAPC and AHIMA
Godwin Okafor,MS-HI, RHIA,FAC-P/Pm,FAC-COR Program Manager US Dept. of Veterans Affairs	Godwin Okafor is a Program Manager at the US Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington, DC, and an Adjunct Professor at Anne Arundel Community College in Maryland teaching a full range of courses in Health Information Technology (HIT) and Health Information Management (HIM). He has served in a variety of roles at the state and national levels. He has served on the AHIMA Annual Convention Committee and the HIE Practice Council. Okafor has served as the Director of the MdHIMA, President-Elect and President. Okafor also serves on an Advisory Board for HIT/HIM academic program to ensure program curricula consistently and effectively meet industry needs.
Karen Proffitt, MHIIM, RHIA, CHP Vice President of Industry Relations Just Associates	Over the past three decades, Karen has held numerous HIM leadership positions in various hospitals and health systems. In her current role as VP of Industry Relations/CPO for Just Associates, she manages HIPAA training/compliance and advocates for improving healthcare data quality. She works with the best and brightest in the EMPI space and assists clients with strategic and operational MPI management consulting. Throughout her career, she has been an active member of AHIMA and has held numerous HIM State board positions including past president of THIMA.
Carl Schiessl, JD Director, Regulatory Advocacy CHA	An accomplished attorney, advocate and author, with rich and diverse experience as legal and compliance counselor to healthcare, insurance, financial services, and manufacturing companies, a former elected state official, a volunteer in public service, and an instructor in legislative process. At the Connecticut Hospital Association, Carl advises hospitals and other healthcare institutions on all legislative, judicial, and regulatory matters, with special emphasis on patient care regulation, emergency medicine, children’s health, and mental health and substance use issues. He has been a principal spokesperson for the hospital industry with state and federal agencies and other oversight entities on an array of healthcare issues. Carl was elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives six times, serving as chairman of the Finance, Revenue & Bonding Committee, as Deputy Majority Leader, and Vice Chairman of the Public Health Committee. He also worked in the Connecticut State Senate for six years. Carl is presently a member of the adjunct faculty at the University of Connecticut School of Law, teaching legislative process and instructing a legislative field placement program.

Presentations