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BETWEEN THE LINES: Message From the President – Spring 2005
By Carol Barnhart
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An early spring this year inspires us to think ahead to
summer and beyond. I hope to update you with a few key happenings nationally
and locally in our state.
NAHQ Annual Meeting
Plan to energize yourself at the NAHQ national meeting this year in New
Orleans from September 17-20. Bring yourself up-to-date on several hot
topics: advances in patient safety, disclosing medical errors, and integrating
technology into healthcare quality practice. A key focus at the meeting
will be the EHR (electronic health record).
There are also pre-conference workshops that are worth considering.
If you are new to quality, attend Healthcare Quality 101. All of us can
benefit from “Successful Leadership Tips and Skills for Women”.
If you are considering taking the CPHQ exam, the two day review workshop
is for you. Even if you are already a CPHQ or just need a thorough review
of the complexities of healthcare quality, these sessions are excellent
and an efficient way to stay on top of your game.
Electronic Health Records
This is a hot area of interest for quality professionals and for HIM (health
information management) professionals.
According to IOM, the eight core functions of an EHR are:
• patient support
• health information and data storage and access
• results management
• order entry and management
• decision support
• electronic communication and connectivity
• improved administrative support processes (such as scheduling
and billing)
• reporting and population health management
The “whys” to do an EHR are:
• improve patient safety
• support the delivery of effective patient care
• facilitate the management of chronic conditions
• improve efficiency
Salary Survey
NAHQ conducted a salary survey last year with some interesting results.
The profile nationally of healthcare quality professionals is as follows:
• 91% female
• 93% white
• Median age 51 (only 4% are younger than 35)
• 50% hold at least a master’s degree
• 67% are RNs
• 65% are CPHQs
Annual Salary and Total Cash Compensation:
25% earn less than $59,000
50% earn less than $70,000
75% earn less than $83,100
90% earn less than $98,000
MHQP Board Activities
On the home front, the MHQP Board has been working hard on updating its
infrastructure. Bylaws have been overhauled, job descriptions updated,
budgets determined, formatting for financial reporting finalized, and
membership lists updated after the January membership drive. A spring
newsletter is being written and another educational session on What’s
New in Patient Safety organized for May 19th. We hope you will plan to
attend.
MHQP Annual Meeting
There is one change I’d like to tell you about. In past years the
MHQP Annual Meeting has been held in June. This year it will be held in
the early fall. The change is to help align Board duty with the annual
budget which starts in January. New Board members will be elected in the
fall and oriented for a few months. They will assume their duties in January,
2006 along with the budget which starts at the same time. This puts Minnesota
in the same timeframe as most other state Quality associations.
Volunteers Needed
It is a true saying that “Many hands make light work”!
We are looking for a few good members to give of their talents in helping
the Board accomplish more for the organization. In particular, we are
considering offering a full day of educational and governance activities
in the fall at the MHQP Annual Meeting. This cannot happen without
additional help from YOU! We need your ideas for topics and speakers,
we need a meeting chair to coordinate the planning and volunteers, and
we would love to have some of our members be speakers and share expertise
at several round tables. There will be a vacancy on the Board for Educational
Chair so please consider this. It is said that the busiest people are
the ones who get things done and I know you are all full up with work
and family activities. Giving a little time to your professional organization
gives back far more – in networking, in governance knowledge gained,
in organizational skills! We are now set up to mentor new active volunteers
to contribute in their own way. Please consider volunteering to help!
Enjoy the great Minnesota spring weather!
It is important that all members of MHQP know you are invited
to attend Board Meetings. If you have questions, feel free to contact
the Board Members.
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Quality Line and Between
the Lines are designed to provide members information on vital
issues in Minnesota healthcare, trends, CQI methodologies, legislation
and news about our organization. Published quarterly in Spring, Summer,
Fall, Winter. |
Editor:
Patricia Beilke
Beilke.Patricia@mayo.edu
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