Celebrating its golden anniversary in 2018, the American Association of Healthcare Administrative Management was founded in 1968. While the initial goal was to serve the interests of hospital patient account managers, the national membership organization has evolved over time to represent a broad constituency of healthcare professionals involved in all aspects of the revenue cycle.

Closer to home, chapter membership provides healthcare managers with access to national professional development programming, legislative updates and certification opportunities, alongside local networking and educational conferences. At the spring meeting held at the Envision Conference Center in Brentwood, AAHAM Music City Chapter President Jim Andrews noted, "We want to be a resource to revenue cycle professionals here in the Middle Tennessee area. We want to help provide tools, access to education, access to people who can share best practices, and access to information on regulations that might impact the revenue cycle."

Andrews, who is vice president of revenue operations for SelfRefind Behavioral Health, added planning is in the works for a fall educational conference and noted the local chapter hosts monthly networking meetings and access to educational webinars offering continuing education credits. The next webinar, slated for late August, focuses on "The New World of Healthcare in 2018 and the Top 5 Challenges of Healthcare Leaders." The late September offering is on the "Fundamentals of Bankruptcy in Relation to Revenue Cycle." Details on the social events and upcoming webinars are available online at musicictyaaham.org.

During the spring conference, George Buck, president emeritus of accounts receivable management (ARM) company Frost-Arnett, noted the industry is rapidly changing with generational differences in communication preferences, shifting federal regulations impacting consumer contact, and hospital reimbursements being partially dependent on patient satisfaction scores ... which can be negatively impacted by poor upfront communication regarding a patient's financial responsibility. "If we're relying on what we knew yesterday, we're going to be behind the curve ... it happens that quick," Buck said of the evolving ARM landscape.

The goal of the AAHAM Music City Chapter is to not only keep members apprised of changes impacting the revenue cycle but to provide administrators with the necessary tools to effectively meet those challenges and maximize healthcare reimbursements.

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