PLEASE NOTE: We are looking for facilities where these meetings can be held. If you have a room that accommodates at least 75-100 and could make it available for this important session for the Seniors in your area, please contact one of the following committee members:

Audrey Brooks or Lillian Kloock at 770-351-0500 or Leslie Bramlett at 770-888-1465.

The meetings will be in the morning and refreshments will be provided by Medicare thanks to the wonderful efforts of Kathy Mobley.

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Submitted by Michelle Lee, Medical Staffing Resources

Whether she’s trekking through Kenya, shopping in Prague, or riding the rails through the Canadian Rockies, HFMA member Shirley Carmichael is always ready for a challenge. With a passion for travel, this Director of Patients Accounts for Emory Hospital balances life by working hard and playing hard.

However, she doesn’t have to go far to find challenges in the ever-changing healthcare industry. "As we begin the new millennium," she said, " I believe the most significant challenge facing the financial healthcare professional today is managing the unprecedented changes, such as new payer requirements, competition among providers, reduced resources and staying abreast of regulatory and technological changes."

How does she prepare for all of this? HFMA has been and continues to be a great teacher and supporter for the day to day issues she must face. Shirley has been a member of HFMA for 20 years. "I was encouraged to join HFMA by my CEO in 1979 since I was new to healthcare. In my opinion, the advantages of membership in HFMA are networking and the educational opportunities. HFMA makes every effort to conduct educational sessions that are interesting and timely," Shirley stated.

During her tenure, she has served on various teams and was recently awarded the Follmer Award. Shirley also sees HFMA as a caring organization with the members truly interested in seeing others succeed. She added, "Some of the people I have met will be lifelong friends."

Besides the continuing education and networking, Shirley’s favorite HFMA event is the fishing tournament held each spring at Callaway. She’s hopeful that one day she may even catch a few!

Shirley grew up in Birmingham, Alabama and attended college at the University of Montevallo with a major in Business Administration. Her husband’s job brought them to Atlanta where she first spent a few years as a stay at home mom. As the children grew older, she began working part-time at R. T. Jones Memorial Hospital in Canton. In 1979 she was named Business Office Manager of this hospital and remained there until 1983. Shirley also worked with Atlanta’s St. Joseph’s Hospital, Douglas General Hospital and with Artrac. She joined Emory in 1990.

Shirley has two grown children, Joel and Patti as well as four grandchildren ranging in ages from 11 years to 6 months. In addition to spending time with her grandchildren and traveling, Shirley enjoys gardening and reading.

BACK TO THE WINTER 2000 GEORGIA SCROLL TABLE OF CONTENTS

The best resource available to prepare for the HFMA certification exams is the Self Study Course. To explore how the questions relate to the courses, I am taking some of the sample questions off the web site, and tracing them back into the appropriate Self Study Course.

The first example is from the Capital Planning and Financing section of the Accounting and Finance Exam.

One of the most significant factors affecting an organization’s ability to access the capital markets (and the cost of its capital) is the organization’s:

A. Asset base.
B. Credit worthiness.
C. Liability base.
D. Need for the capital investment.

The answer is given as B, and it cites to page 2-8 of the Accounting and Finance Self Study Course, which contains the following paragraph:

"After the capital investment has been incorporated into the long-range capital budget, the organization must plan for the financing of the investment. In making this decision, the organization should consider all alternatives available. As a rule, the best alternative is usually the lowest cost alternative; however, there are other factors to consider. This course considers four alternatives - debt financing, equity financing, joint ventures, and lease arrangements. However, one of the most significant factors affecting the organization’s ability to access the capital markets (and certainly affects the cost of capital) is the organization’s credit worthiness."

The next example is from the Cost Analysis and Management section of the Managed Care Exam.

All of the expenses incurred in managing and controlling enrollees’ medical benefits, are part of which expense category?

A. Administrative expense.
B. Inpatient services.
C. Medical benefits expense.
D. Overhead expense.

The answer is given as A, and it cites to page 6-4 of the Managed Care Self Study Course, which contains the following paragraph:

"For an HMO, administrative costs cover all of the expenses incurred in administering enrollees’ medical benefits. Administrative costs are generally grouped into five categories; administration, sales and marketing, medical management, occupancy, and other expenses."

And finally an example from the Accounts Receivable section of the Patient Financial Services Exam.

The expected reimbursement is frequently calculated and the receivable written down from gross to net at which stage of the accounts receivable process?

A. Account resolution.
B. Billing.
C. Discharge.
D. Discharged, not final billed.

The answer is given as B, and it cites to page 2-4 of the PFS Self Study Course, which contains the following paragraph:

"In bill print, a claim form (UB-92 or 1500) is generated in either paper or electronic form. Frequently, the expected reimbursement is calculated at this time and the receivable written down from gross to net. In bill submission, medical claims or bills leave the patient accounting department with all necessary documentation attached, and are sent to the payer either in hard copy or electronically.

All of these practice questions, with page citations, are taken from HFMA’s web page, www.hfma.org, I would encourage you to check out this resource and see how you do on the questions. But don’t stop there, these questions were written by the same writers who wrote all the questions on the exams themselves, they were approved by the same Board of Examiners group that approved the questions for use in the exams. Use this as an opportunity to see how they use the information in the self study courses as the basis for the exam questions.

The self study courses are the text books from which the questions are drawn, you can make use of these sample questions and your self study course to better understand how the exams are written. Take advantage of this opportunity.

There are 20 sample questions from the Core exam, and 10 sample questions from each of the other exams: Accounting and Finance, Financial Management of Physician Practices, Managed Care, and Patient Financial Services. The self study courses currently available will be used as the basis for all tests administered from now until December 31, 2000.

Self study courses are available for purchase from the HFMA Member Service Center at 1-800-252-HFMA, ext. 2, but before you purchase a copy, please check with your chapter to find out if they have a copy available to loan to you, or if another member of the chapter might have already purchased the course you need, and might be willing to loan you their copy.

For more information on HFMA’s certification program, contact your chapter certification chair or HFMA’s Director of Career Development, Pepper Zenger at (800) 252-HFMA (4362), ext. 308, pzenger@hfma.org.