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Deadline Extended for CPHQ Exam at NAHQ Conference

Interested in taking the Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) exam at the NAHQ conference? The Healthcare Quality Certification Board (HQCB) is pleased to announce that on-site testing will be available at the NAHQ conference. The computer-based certification exam will be held on Monday, September 15. Space is limited to 40 participants. The deadline for applications has been extended to Wednesday, August 20. For more information, refer to the NAHQ conference brochure or contact HQCB at info@cphq.org.

“Celebrate the Spirit” with Healthcare Quality Week October 19–25

NAHQ’s National Healthcare Quality Week aims to increase awareness of healthcare quality programs and the professionals who implement them. The weeklong celebration is a great way to help your colleagues and the community-at-large learn about the role of the healthcare quality professional. Likewise, it benefits healthcare quality professionals by featuring these educational opportunities:

• Free continuing education (CE) hours throughout October
• The Webcast “Using Data to Drive Patient Safety,” Tuesday, October 21, 2–3:30 pm Central Time, sponsored by NAHQ in collaboration with the American Society for Healthcare Risk Management, will cover the use of publicly reported data to improve patient safety. Presenters are Monica Berry, JD BSN LLM CPHRM DFASHRM, and Paul L. Green, MS RN CPHQ.
• Healthcare Quality Management: Review and Study Session for the CPHQ examination, October 23–24, in Chicago.

Did You Register for NAHQ’s 2008 Conference?

1. To register online, click here.
2. Mail your registration to NAHQ Conference, PO Box 839, Glenview, IL 60025-0839.
3. Call NAHQ at 800/966-9392 (U.S. only) or 847/375-4720 (outside U.S.), Monday– Friday, 8 am–5 pm Central Time.
4. Fax 847/375-6320 (U.S. only) or 732/460-7302 (outside U.S.)

2009 Call for Abstracts Here’s your opportunity to shape the field of healthcare quality! NAHQ’s conference planning team invites applications to present at NAHQ’s 34th Annual Educational Conference. Next year’s conference, “NAHQ: Deep in the Heart of Quality,” is scheduled for September 13–16, 2009, in Grapevine, TX, at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center. Click here for more information or to submit an abstract.

• Each session is scheduled for 75 minutes.
• Speaker benefits include a $150 honorarium and complimentary conference registration.

• Paper presentations are scheduled for 30 minutes.
• Poster presenters must be at their poster boards and be available for questions at designated times during the conference (approximately 3.5 hours total).
• Poster presentations at the conference are recognized for 4 continuing education (CE) hours toward CPHQ recertification.
• All accepted paper and poster presenters are responsible for all expenses related to their presentations, including but not limited to air and ground travel, lodging, meals, and incidentals. Paper presenters must register at least for the day on which they present their papers and are responsible for related registration fees. Poster presenters must register for the entire conference and are responsible for related registration fees.

Recently Passed Medicare Bill Enhances Quality: NQF Response

The Medicare bill passed by Congress last month included “long-awaited and hard-fought language that supports a national effort to set priorities, endorse and maintain measures, and promote the development of electronic health records (EHRs) that have the necessary functionality to support performance measurement,” said National Quality Forum (NQF) president and chief executive officer Janet Corrigan in a July 18 letter to NQF members. “It is an important accomplishment for the ‘quality community’ to have a clear Congressional directive, strong bipartisan support, and a higher level of stable funding for these critical aspects of our country's performance measurement and reporting infrastructure.”

“By providing funding through 2012, Congress shows a commitment to setting healthcare priorities with a structured measure process and helps ensure that EHRs have the capability to support performance measurement as they become standard in healthcare settings,” says Corn, who chairs NAHQ’s NQF Rapid Response Task Team. “This, in turn, will help the quality professional obtain the necessary information from EHRs in an efficient and consistent manner.”

Call for Presentations for 2009 Joint Commission Conference

This issue of NAHQ E-News is sponsored by Thomson Reuters.