NAB Ambassadors for AAPC Membership

We are here to serve you and improve our organization.

AAPC’s corporate office isn’t the only entity to determine what happens within the organization. AAPC has several boards that weigh in on member benefits and policies: They are the National Advisory Board (NAB), the AAPC Chapter Association board of directors, the Physician Advisory Board, and the Legal Advisory Board. These boards are made up of professionals who gladly volunteer their time to protect the interests of AAPC and its membership.
Advising for AAPC
The NAB is made up of 16 members representing eight geographic regions of the United States and four officers elected from the previous board. AAPC’s CEO and a liaison from AAPC serves on the board to represent the corporate office. Being on the board is a volunteer position with a three-year commitment.
The role of the NAB is to advise AAPC corporate leadership on issues, trends, and membership needs, as well as to enthusiastically promote and support the mission of AAPC and the business of healthcare. The NAB works with the national office for the betterment of membership and the healthcare community through active participation in nationally sponsored conferences, events, publications, educational programs, and activities.
Besides advising AAPC corporate leadership on policy matters, many NAB members write articles for Healthcare Business Monthly and other publications, and speak at local chapters, conferences, and other healthcare-related events. At the conclusion of a term, each NAB member becomes an ambassador for AAPC and its members.
Behind the Scenes at Conference
The goal of national conference is to bring members to one location to network, learn, and share their expertise and experiences with one another. Networking is a valuable resource in our profession because so many policies and regulations change daily. HEALTHCON and the AAPC regional conferences are great places to go to get the education necessary to stay current on changes in the industry, as well as to find experts to add to your networking circle.
If you have been to HEALTHCON, you may wonder how AAPC brings it all together without shutting down the entire national office. AAPC has a conference team working diligently all year long to find the location, vendors, speakers, etc. When everything is scheduled and organized, it’s production time. AAPC employees cannot put on the amazing conferences without a little assistance. Members from the NAB, AAPC Chapter Association, Legal Advisory Board, and Physician Advisory Board all work together to assist the AAPC conference staff to:

Welcome members at registration;
Monitor rooms to ensure the best learning experience possible;
Serve as liaisons for the speakers to ensure equipment is working properly;
Monitor halls at large venues to help conference-goers get to where they need to be;
Share knowledge as speakers;
Run the product store; and
Most importantly, point you in the direction of the food.

There are also many things being done behind the scenes to ensure a successful conference and a memorable experience for all members.
Committees Work on Solutions
Throughout the year, NAB members form committees to research, discuss, and make recommendations on specific issues. The topics can come from a member, the board, or an employee at the national office.
One example is the Specialty Continuing Education Unit (CEU) Committee, formed during the 2013-2015 term. The NAB formed this committee to address the number of specialty-specific CEUs required to maintain specialty certifications. It was felt some specialty-specific CEUs were hard to obtain because they were not commonly available and affordable. The concern was that this might deter members from obtaining a specialty certification due to the difficulties of meeting the CEU requirement and maintaining certification.
The committee looked at statistics detailing the number of members possessing single and multiple specialty credentials to assess the number of members who would be affected by changes in policy. The Specialty CEU Committee came up with two possible solutions:

Create a specialty package that could be purchased at an affordable rate. Considerable time would be spent creating packages for each specialty and analyzing statistics to determine the number of members who would be affected by the change. This approach was abandoned after the costs of development were evaluated.
Change the CEU requirements for maintaining additional certifications. The committee compared the number of CEUs required by AAPC with other healthcare organizations (not just coding, but nursing, auditing, physicians, etc.). After review, and taking into consideration that most members with specialty credentials have advanced knowledge in a particular area, the committee proposed reducing the number of CEUs required for additional specialties.

AAPC corporate office reviewed the data provided by the Specialty CEU Committee and agreed on lowering the CEU requirement for multiple credentials. As a result, last year the number of CEUs required beyond the first certification was reduced, making it more affordable and realistic to maintain multiple certifications.
The NAB Is Only a Click Away
These are the more visible responsibilities of the NAB, which provides some insight into its role regarding policy issues that affect members. NAB members from your region are your representatives and your advocates. Their objective is to help you to understand the obligations of being an AAPC member while ensuring you receive the benefits of our organization.
To identify your regional NAB representatives, log on to the AAPC website and go to the link www.aapc.com/memberarea/chapters/chapterleaders.aspx. Under “Officers & Representatives,” click on the “NAB” tab to see your region’s NAB representatives and their contact information.
We look forward to helping you get the most from your membership. It’s our pleasure to serve you.

Angela Clements, CPC, CEMC, COSC, CPC-I, CCS, is the physician coding auditor/educator consultant at Medkoder. She has over 17 years of experience in the healthcare industry. Clements serves on the AAPC NAB as the member relations officer, and served as Region 5 representative from 2013-2015. She is president of the Covington, La., local chapter. She’s also a frequent speaker at local medical managers’ meetings and local chapters in her region.