September 25 and 26, 2014
Macon, GA
Attestation Support Session
EPs and EHs
 Tuesday, Oct 21 at 12:30
With Jewise Davis, HP and Jesus Ruiz,
Reimbursement Solutions Group, Mark Renfro,
HomeTown Health
Don’t miss the Early Bird Discount. Register Today.
Health IT Breakout Session On November 11th.
1:00PM
Welcome and Introductions
Kathy Whitmire, HTH Managing Director
1:15PM
Security Assessment
Robert Morris, ION IT Group
2:15PM
HIPAA Security Compliance
Overview and Update on Security
Breach and Importance of
Compliance
Michele Madison, Morris, Manning and Martin
LLP
3:15PM
Disaster Recovery & Data Back-up
Solutions
Mark Renfro, HomeTown Health
Don Kinser, EDI, Limited
4:00PM
MU2 Requirements – Overcoming
Challenges of Patient Portals and
Secure Messaging, Current Issues
Panel: Mary Pizzino, Effingham Health System
Juanita Wren, Morgan Memorial Hospital
Keith Lovering, Miller County Hospital
4:45PM
ICD-10 Update
Kathy Whitmire
5:30PM
Adjourn
6:00PM
Networking Reception
Mark Renfro is Health Information Technology Director at HomeTown Health and
HealtHIE Georgia and the GA-HITEC project director. Mark has 12 years of
leadership experience in building rural healthcare information networks. He has
over 30 years’ experience in health information systems and management. He
currently serves as Managing Director for HealtHIE Georgia. Under his direction
over the past 12 years, Great Plains Healthcare Alliance has become the most
robust, comprehensive rural healthcare information network in the nation. He has
served on the board of the Florida HIMSS. He also has served as President of the
Florida HIMSS Chapter. In addition while President, the National HIMSS bestowed
upon the Florida Chapter, the Small Chapter of the Year Award in 2011. Before
coming to the Georgia he directed the Northeast Florida Physician Healthcare
Information Network (NEFRHO). He also served as Vice President of Marketing
and Customer Support for various Health Information Systems businesses.
Mary Pizzino, Effingham Health System
Juanita Wren, Morgan Memorial
Hospital
Keith Lovering, Miller County Hospital
Kathy Whitmire
Kathy directs the management and education services offered to HomeTown’s
hospital members and their affiliated clinics and physician practices. Kathy saw
the need for revenue cycle and reimbursement education as a key to the survival
of rural hospitals soon after she began working with HomeTown Health in 2000
and has since led over 100 training boot camps and workshops, 26 Rural Hospital
Conferences, 250 Medicare and Medicaid Webinars, and on-site hospitals
trainings. She has developed and taught education programs in the following
categories the HIPAA, HITECH/EHR Implementation Education, Business
Office/Revenue Cycle Performance Improvement, Part A and Part B Medicare
Reimbursement and Compliance Education, Benefits of Critical Access
Hospital/Cost based Reimbursement, RACS - Recovery Audit Contractors,
Healthcare Reform – Affordable Care act, EHR Meaningful Use Attestation, in
partnership with the GA HIT Regional Extension Center, and ICD-10. Kathy and
her team are currently leading 55 hospitals through a 12 month ICD-10
Readiness Program.
www.hometownhealthonline.com
9:00AM
9:15AM
10:00AM
10:45AM
11:30AM
12:15PM
1:00PM
1:45PM
Welcome and Introductions
GA-HITEC –
Update on Regional Extension Center
HIT Resources - Meaningful Use
ONC Report – Discussion on how the ONC can
support MU efforts with rural providers
Kathy Whitmire, HTH Managing Director
Carmen Hughes, GA-HITEC
Leila Samy, HHS, Office of the National Coordinator for
Health IT
An HIE Demonstration
Laura McCrary, KAHIN
Susan Moore, MAG
FCC Pilot - Laying a HealtHIE Foundation for the Dustin Durden – Pineland Telephone Cooperative
Future
John Scott - Bulloch Telephone Cooperative
Steven Milner – Planters Telephone Cooperative
David Flanders – Emanuel Medical Center
Lunch
GaHIN – GA Exchange Architecture & Successful Dr. Denise Hines, GaHIN
Exchange Models
Review Final Rule to Determine Your CEHRT
Jesus Ruiz and Mark Renfro
Participation Options for Program Year 2014
2:15PM
DCH Health IT Initiatives – sharing the plan for
Georgia, Health IT, Meaningful Use and
Medicaid Incentive Program
Stacey Harris, DCH
Tracy Sims, DCH
3:00PM
CLOSING REMARKS/ADJOURN
Kathy Whitmire, HTH
Leila Samy, Rural Health IT Coordinator, Office of the National
Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) represents her agency on the
White House Rural Council and coordinates all the Council’s
rural Health IT initiatives. Prior to creating ONC’s Rural Health
IT Coordination function, Ms. Samy served as Special Assistant
to the Deputy National Coordinator. In this role, Leila Samy
supported and acted on behalf of the Chief Operating Officer
executing and monitoring a $2 Billion portfolio. She provided
management support for a number of operating divisions in
technical areas that affect performance planning, monitoring,
analysis and reporting. A trusted transformer, @LeilaSamy has
been with HHS since 2007, building public/private coalitions,
launching pilot projects and scaling successful models across
the US.
Laura McCrary Ed.D
Dr. Laura McCrary is the Executive Director of the Kansas Health
Information Network (KHIN) based in Topeka, KS. KHIN is a
Kansas non-profit organization that provides health information
exchange technology services to over 800 health care
organizations throughout Kansas. KHIN is a provider led and
governed health information exchange and founding members
include the Kansas Medical Society, the Kansas Hospital
Association, and the Wichita Health Information Exchange
(WHIE). Laura completed Post-Doctoral work at Kansas
University; a Doctorate of Education from Kansas State
University and MS degrees in the areas of Mental Illness and
Learning Disabilities from Kansas State University. Laura is an
adjunct professor at the Rockhurst University Helzberg School of
Management, she is a member of the National Policy Steering
Committee for eHealth Initiative and an Advisory Board member
for eHealth Exchange/Carequality.
Dustin Durden – Pineland Telephone Cooperative
John Scott - Bulloch Telephone Cooperative
Steven Milner – Planters Telephone Cooperative
David Flanders – Emanuel Medical Center
Denise W. Hines, DHA, PMP, FHIMSS
CEO, eHealth Services Group
Dr. Denise W. Hines heads eHealth Services Group and also serves as the
Executive Director of the Georgia Health Information Network (GaHIN).
Nationally recognized as an expert in state government in health information
exchanges (HIE), Dr. Hines has participated in hundreds of public speaking
events locally and nationally, educating providers on the benefits of electronic
health record (EHR) systems, health information technology adoption, and the
overall national vision for an interconnected health system. Dr. Hines was
responsible for overseeing and managing the marketing and outreach
recruitment of more than 5,200 healthcare providers and 56 critical access
and rural hospitals, assisting these providers in meeting meaningful use
requirements and qualifying for the CMS EHR incentive program. She holds a
doctorate in healthcare administration and maintains certifications in project
management, software development, and healthcare law. She is the past
President of the Georgia Chapter of Health Information & Management
Systems Society (HIMSS) and represents Georgia on the National HIMSS Public
Policy Committee and the National HIMSS
Jesus F. Ruiz currently is the principal owner of Reimbursement Solutions Group,
LLC, an independent consulting firm established in 2011 to assist providers with all
their Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement needs. In the area of Electronic
Health Records, Jesus has assisted a variety of providers in collecting Medicare and
Medicaid incentive payments. Prior to his current venture, Jesus served as
Assistant Vice President of Reimbursement and Compliance for SunLink Health
Systems Inc. Jesus began his career as a Medicare auditor with Blue Cross and Blue
Shield of Arizona in 1987, and since that time has held a number of reimbursement
related position with a variety of providers including DeKalb Medical Center,
Mariner Post Acute Care Network in the Atlanta, Georgia area. Jesus Ruiz is a
licensed CPA with a Bachelor and Master’s degree in accountancy from Southern
Utah University.
Stacey Harris, a Health IT/Medicaid Manager for Georgia Department of Community
Health, Division of Health IT, has 23 years of experience in health care industry including:
Medicaid Policy and Medicaid Management Information Systems, health care delivery
systems including hospital services, professional services, and ancillary services. She has
extensive knowledge of functional requirements, data management and reporting, and
claims management. Mrs. Harris has participated in the design and implementation of
two MMIS and several state implementations including Managed Care, PBM, and
Medical Management for the state of Georgia. Stacey’s experience along with her
education, has allowed her to amass a varied array of knowledge and skills which affords
her impeccable healthcare operations, strategy, technology, and health systems
knowledge.
Mrs. Harris was the Georgia Medicaid Policy Lead for Georgia’s MMIS implementation in
2010 and served as the subject matter expert for multiple subsystems during this
implementation. She recently retuned back to the Georgia Department of Community
Health after working as a Consultant for Deloitte Consulting LLP, on the New York State
Department of Health Medicaid Data warehouse project.
Stacey holds a B.S. in HealthCare Management and a Masters of Health Administration
both from Clayton State University.
Tracy Sims
As the Director of Programs leading the Medicaid Incentive
Program for the Georgia Department of Community Health,
she brings more than twenty years of healthcare industry
experience including operations, quality assurance, account
management and client relations. Since her employment with
the Georgia Departmentof Community Health, Tracy works
specifically with Electronic Health Records, Health
Information Exchange, and Medicaid programs. Additionally
she has extensive experience managing large departments,
leading business development initiatives and utilizes
excellent communications skills to facilitate
presentations and training sessions across all levels.