President’s Message

My year as President of ASHRM has really “flown by.” Together we have made . significant progress toward being better prepared for the future and I am pleased, as you should be, with what we have accomplished in a short period of time. To recap some of those accomplishments the following is submitted as my Annual Report to the Membership:

Exceptional efforts by a great many mem- bers have assisted the board of directors this year as we lead ASHRM. Space is not available to recognize all of you indi- vidually but please accept my heartfelt thanks for the dedicated and distinguished efforts you have all made. Without the volunteer efforts of our membership, ASHRM’s accomplishments would be few.

Annual Conference Committee-The brochure for the 17th ASHRM Annual Conference to be held in October in Miami Beach will highlight the efforts of the Annual Conference Committee chaired by Anne Stoeckmann. It is apparent that each and every committee member took seriously the charge of advancing the sessions’ content, offering multiple tracks for specific areas of interest, and encouraging different presentation styles. Also, please note that managed care initiatives are targeted with 10 separate sessions. The speakers look top-notch, topics timely, brochure professionally prepared and easy to read, and the location in October is one where we all want to be. The committee has planned a conference that will assist all of us in our efforts to move forward.

Bylaws Committee-The Bylaws Committee, chaired by Sheila Hagg-Rickert, made suggested revisions to the organization’s bylaws this year to ensure that succeeding boards allow for election turnover on a more even basis. The board’s actions are

enhanced by membership continuity and stability. Recent bylaws revisions will allow for this.

Marketing, PR, G3 Membership Committee- Elizabeth Harner led this committee’s initiatives. Collaborative efforts with other complementary professional groups were identified for future use by ASHRM. A major initiative by this committee was membership recruitment and retention. Survey tools to evaluate our nonmembers, and why they have not joined ASHRM when they appear to be eligible, have been developed. These tools can be used for risk managers in systems and non- ASHRM chapter members. After these individuals are identified, ways in which to solicit their active participation will be evaluated. It is a pleasure to announce that current membership totals more than 3,000 members.

Chapter Affairs Committee-In response to requests from our affiliated chapters, this committee, chaired by Rosalyn Sammons, reviewed and revised the criteria for

Chapter Achievement Awards. Additional efforts of the committee focused around reviewing and revising the Chapter Affili- ation Agreement and suggesting changes to the Council of Affiliated Chapter Presidents luncheodmeeting.

Continuing Education Committee-The second Managed Care Symposium offered this year in Las Vegas in May was developed by the committee as part of its ongoing efforts. Barbara Calderone, chairperson, also led this committee’s efforts in establishing criteria for waiver of Module I, which will be effective January 1, 1996.

Communications B Resource Committee- The Journal of Healthcare Risk Management is a professionally produced publication and one of which we can all be proud. This does not happen in a vacuum. The C&R Com- mittee, headed by Linda Chapman, continues to promote excellence in journalism, which is readily apparent when one reviews our journal. This committee determines journal content, recruits authors, and recommends to the board a recipient for the journal’s award for writing excellence. To encourage more of our membership to become authors, the C&R Committee has developed and will present at this year’s annual conference an interactive session called “A Risk Worth Taking: Writing for the Journal of Healthcare Risk Management. ”

Legislative Committee-The Legislative Committee, chaired by Sharyn O’Mara, deserves special credit and thanks this year for its dedication in tracking legislative initiativedtort reform o n a federal and state level. In addition, the committee spent con- siderable time working with the Health Care Lawyers Association (HCLA) and o n a special GAO project regarding the cost of medical malpractice and self-insurance. This committee, which also writes the L&R column in the ASHRM Forum, is truly dedicated.

Risk Financing Committee-The Risk Financ- ing Committee is charged yearly with assisting in the development and production of the health care industry session at Risk and Insurance Management Society. Committee members are additionally responsible for

writing the risk financing monographs that are published routinely throughout the year. This committee has been chaired by Kevin Downs.

Research Committee-Robert Pendrak, Ph.D. , chair of the Research Committee, led the initiative to revise the guidelines ASHRM uses for research projects. Two of those changes will permit group projects, and allow nonmembers to participate in projects for review as long as at least one ASHRM member also is a participant. With these changes, we hope more research projects will be submitted for evaluation and recommendation for the Research Award.

Nominating Committee-As you can see by the recent ballot for election to the leader- ship of ASHRM, the Nominating Com- mittee did a great job. Please remember that this committee is elected by the active membership of ASHRM and its members represent your interests in selecting a slate of members to represent us all. Each of us is busy in our daily activities, but it is critical that we all play as large a leadership role as we can. If you can find the time to volunteer, please do.

Special Projects Committee-This year’s committee, chaired by Kathleen Foley, developed a third publication in the “Pearls” series for physicians. This new publication, focusing o n managed care, will be available at the end of this year. A previous Special Project Committee, chaired by Harlin Hammond, developed Mapping Your Risk Management Course . . ., a series of four booklets. The first booklet o n Ambulatory Care was published earlier this year. The remaining three booklets-on Integrated Delivery Systems, Home Health Care, and Stand-Alone Hospitals-have all been written and reviewed and will be published later this year.

Editorial Review Board-This dedicated group of professionals reviews and edits the content of articles and materials submitted for inclusion in our Journal of Healthcare Risk Management. They work quietly, behind the scenes, and for the most part anonymously. They work under strict time lines and they very much deserve your

recognition and the thanks of all of us. They assist the C&R Committee in making our journal the professional publication it is today.

Handbook Revision Committee/Authors Tusk Force-The Risk Management Handbook was published in 1990 and, as you can well imagine with all the changes in health care, is in great need of revision. Revisions that will be made are focused in two distinct and major ways. The original Handbook was written with hospital risk management issues as its primary focus. One of the major changes planned is to expand the Handbook outside the hospitaVacute care setting and into the arena of health care delivery systems, integrated delivery networks, managed care organizations, medical groups/physician offices, ambulatory care, home care, and extended care. The other major enhancement will be to change the format of the Handbook to follow the risk management process as espoused by the Insurance Institute of America (IIA). Many of the original authors have been contacted about their willing- ness to revise their chapters with the expanded format. In addition, many new chapters will be included and new authors solicited. The revised Handbook should be available for purchase in 1996. The Handbook Revision Committee members are Fran Kurdwanoksi, Deborah Roberts, and Sylvia Brown, with myself as chair.

Trudy Goldman, executive director of ASHRM, and I have met with representa- tives from the Insurance Institute of America (IIA) several times this year, most recently at their headquarters in Malvern, PA, this past May. We are pleased to announce that the Educational Council of the Institute has approved working with ASHRM to develop a one-semester, one- examination course in health care risk management. The IIA will award a certifi- cate of completion to those who pass the exam. While an ARM designation will not be a prerequisite for the taking of this new course, it will be assumed that the student has knowledge equivalent to that contained in the three ARM courses. ASHRM will be suggesting a panel of experts from our membership to the IIA to assist them in

preparing this new course. The Risk Management Handbook, revised edition, will be the text for this newly created course. It is anticipated that the first recipients of this certificate will be named early in 1997.

ASHRM has paid special attention this year to enhancing our efforts in collaborating with other groups that offer us advantages through synergy. We have continued our efforts with the American Academy of Healthcare Attorneys by cosponsoring an annual workshop. This year we exhibited at several conferences, increasing our visibility to those outside ASHRM. Those opportuni- ties were at conferences for the American Group Practice Association (AGPA) in New Orleans, Group Health Association of America (GHAA) in San Diego, and Risk & Insurance Management Society (RIMS) in San Francisco. In October, we will be exhibiting at the National Association for Healthcare Quality (NAHCZ) in Minneapolis.

The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) has requested that we produce with them an educational tool outlining risk management issues specific to physical therapy. The board approved our involve- ment in this project and we anticipate a publication date sometime later this year.

The board this year made several decisions regarding Module I. The first is in response to requests from our membership that we offer a waiver for Module I. Effective January 1, 1996, we will be offering a waiver based on established criteria. Specific information will be forthcoming in the near future.

The second issue involves our efforts to make the Fundamentals of Risk Manage- ment Module I more available on a local, state, and regional level. These efforts will be a less costly alternative to attendance at a national conference. It is anticipated that ASHRM will make available, to those chapters interested in teaching Module I, a faculty handbook, instruction materials, all overheads, sample brochure copy, and the large supporting reference manual. This will enhance our support of our affiliated chapters with their educational efforts,

show sensitivity to our membership’s concern for limited dollars available for education, and allow ASHRM to continue in its efforts to advance the content of our national educational efforts. At this point in time, these materials will only be avail- able to affiliated chapters and will be offered at no charge.

Many of you took considerable time to review ASHRM’s Code of Ethics. Thank you for your comments, which were detailed, well thought out, and very diverse. The board made the decision to create a subcommittee to review these comments and make revisions. A revised Code of Ethics will be reviewed and approved by the board and circulated to the membership. Completion date is targeted for year’s end.

The board spent considerable time drafting a three-year strategic plan for 1996-1998. The plan, which will be finalized by the end of 1995, will be our road map for the next several years and will allow us the flexibility to alter our course as necessary. This document supports continuity of the board from one year to the next and encourages consistency in mission.

Again, I want to thank all of you for your comments, suggestions, support, and hard work. You have helped to make my term as president of ASHRM professionally and personally rewarding.

In closing, I would be remiss if I did not pay a special thank you to the staff of ASHRM headquartered in Chicago. They are the glue that keeps everything together. Their efforts keep us on target. From year to year their knowledge and day-today assistance support the board’s thoughts, recommendations, and initi- atives. Trudy, Marilyn, Lynne, Cherrell, Grecelda, and Pat, a special thank you to all of you from the board of directors of ASHRM!

I hope to see everyone in October in Miami Beach!-Roberta Carroll, M.B.A., ARM,CPCU