Opening welcome, conference overview, and housekeeping for the WONDER 2026 Annual Conference.

In the cognitive era, becoming AI-ready is not a destination; it is a continuous process. Drawing on multiple education and upskilling initiatives, this session makes the case that successful AI adoption in HIM requires intentional investment in people, policies, and ongoing learning. Embrace this journey to become the architect of a workforce prepared not just for today’s AI tools, but for what comes next.

The path from HIM student to working professional is not always smooth, and both educators and industry leaders are seeing the friction firsthand. This panel brings together academic faculty and Health Information Management leaders for an honest conversation about what graduates know, what they still need, and where the workforce pipeline is breaking down. Panelists will share what they are observing in classrooms and in hiring, identify the skill and readiness gaps that matter most, and explore practical ways educators and employers can partner to better prepare students for the realities of today’s HIM workplace. Whether you teach future professionals or hire them, you will leave with a clearer picture of the current landscape and ideas you can act on.

Learning objectives

By the end of this session, attendees will be able to:

1. Identify the most common skill and readiness gaps that HIM employers are observing in recent graduates.
2. Explore actionable strategies for partnership between academic programs and employers, including internships, mentorship, advisory boards, and curriculum input.
3. Apply at least one new approach within their own program, organization, or hiring practice to better support the student-to-professional transition.

Networking event with exhibitors

Conference attendees are welcome to explore local Georgetown dining options.

Networking breakfast

This comprehensive session explores the complexities surrounding pregnancy-related coding, ensuring precise documentation, billing, and enhanced patient care. We will guide you through coding for various complications and conditions affecting pregnancy, labor, delivery, and the postpartum period. Whether you’re navigating the challenges of principal diagnosis in obstetrics coding, complications of labor and delivery, or the intricacies of the postpartum period, this session is packed with valuable insights and guidelines tailored for both facility and professional coders. Explore the latest updates and opportunities in obstetrics, enhance coding accuracy, and understand common areas of confusion.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the role of the principal diagnosis (PDX) in obstetrics coding and how to identify fetal conditions and other factors that influence the management of pregnancy.
• Navigate the complexities of coding for labor and delivery complications, including how to accurately code for conditions that complicate pregnancy such as maternal diseases, abortions, and postpartum complications.
• Gain insights into the 2026 updates in obstetrics coding and CDI opportunities, focusing on capturing missed query opportunities and ensuring detailed physician diagnoses.
• Examine the priority of Chapter 15 of ICD-10-CM dedicated to conditions affecting pregnancy, childbirth, and the puerperium.

Denials prevention is a critical strategic priority for acute care hospitals, directly impacting financial performance, operational efficiency, and regulatory compliance. As denial rates continue to rise amid increasing payer scrutiny, proactive prevention strategies — rooted in accurate documentation, compliant coding, and interdisciplinary collaboration — are essential to protecting revenue integrity and reducing costly rework. This presentation will explore key drivers of denials, highlight best practices across the mid-revenue cycle, and demonstrate how early intervention and data-driven processes support timely reimbursement while strengthening organizational resilience and sustainability.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the most common causes of denials in acute care settings and their impact on revenue and operations.
• Explain the role of clinical documentation, coding accuracy, and compliance in effective denials prevention.
• Apply proactive, mid-revenue cycle strategies to reduce avoidable denials and rework.
• Analyze denial trends and data to support targeted prevention and performance improvement initiatives.
• Collaborate across clinical, CDI, coding, and revenue cycle teams to strengthen denial prevention outcomes.

In the healthcare industry, fostering a relationship between providers and vendors is crucial for mutual success. We will explore actionable insights providers look for to build a good relationship with vendors and vice versa. Drawing from real-world experiences, we will discuss key elements to include in contracts to set the stage for meeting, and exceeding, expectations. We will also emphasize the importance of trust and collaboration, highlighting that the partnership truly begins after the contract is signed. Discover how a trusted vendor can provide unexpected solutions and improvements, and how transparency and industry best practices play a vital role in this dynamic relationship.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand key elements of vendor-provider relationships.
• Identify contractual best practices.
• Implement industry best practices to improve operational efficiencies and patient satisfaction.

Healthcare organizations of all sizes — particularly rural and midsize facilities — are increasingly targeted by cybercriminals and fraudulent requesters seeking access to medical records. This session examines the growing intersection of cybersecurity threats and fraudulent Release of Information (ROI) practices, highlighting how bad actors exploit weak controls, legacy processes such as fax-based requests, and limited staff awareness to obtain protected health information (PHI). Participants will gain practical insight into how fraudulent ROI schemes operate, why healthcare data is so valuable on the dark web, and how these activities contribute to downstream healthcare fraud and patient harm.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify common indicators of fraudulent medical record requests, including red flags associated with fax-based ROI and impersonation tactics.
• Explain how cybersecurity vulnerabilities and weak ROI processes contribute to healthcare fraud, data breaches, and patient harm.
• Describe the financial, operational, and patient-care impacts of cybersecurity incidents and fraudulent ROI.
• Apply practical cybersecurity and ROI controls to reduce organizational risk.
• Evaluate appropriate response steps when a fraudulent request is identified.

The first 72 hours after a patient is admitted to a skilled nursing facility are key to creating a safe, compliant, and patient-focused care plan. However, this important time is often affected by missing documentation from acute care, slow data sharing, and uneven teamwork between disciplines. In this session, we will look at how Health Information Management professionals can take an active role in improving post-acute outcomes by making sure hospital records are accurate, easy to access, and clinically useful. Attendees will see how HIM practices affect therapy start times, medication checks, MDS accuracy, and CMS survey readiness, especially during the critical transition period.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify critical acute care documentation elements that influence the first 72 hours of SNF admission.
• Explain how documentation quality impacts care coordination, regulatory compliance, and PDPM reimbursement in post-acute settings.
• Apply HIM strategies to improve documentation workflows and data continuity across acute and post-acute transitions.
• Evaluate the HIM professional’s role in educating SNF teams to interpret and act on acute care documentation effectively.

As automation rapidly evolves, its impact on Release of Information (ROI) and health information operations continues to expand. This session explores the current and future state of automation in ROI, including emerging technologies, regulatory considerations, and best practices for maintaining privacy, security, and minimum necessary standards. We will examine how automation strengthens payer relationships, reduces administrative abrasion, and supports compliance, accuracy, and timely information exchange — key components in today’s value-based care environment.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the current ROI landscape, including challenges, regulatory drivers, and the influence of value-based care on information exchange.
• Explain core ROI automation technologies (e-request submission, assisted logging, auto-retrieval, digital imaging, OCR) and how they improve efficiency and accuracy.
• Evaluate how automation enhances privacy, security, and minimum necessary compliance.
• Identify ways automation can reduce payer abrasion and strengthen payer-provider relationships.

This study examines the impact of AI tools like ChatGPT on primary care, focusing on provider perceptions, workflows, decision-making, and ethics at a North Dallas clinic. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 45 primary healthcare providers between March and May 2025. With a 60% response rate (n = 27), the results reveal that while 62% acknowledged ChatGPT’s potential to enhance efficiency in documentation and patient communication, 48% raised concerns about its accuracy and reliability in clinical decision-making. Ethical issues were a significant concern, with 75% highlighting data privacy and 60% citing accountability.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand how provider perceptions of ChatGPT affect clinical workflow and ethical issues.
• Recognize key concerns about ChatGPT’s accuracy, reliability, and proper use in care, particularly regarding patient data.
• Evaluate the benefits and risks of ChatGPT for responsible integration into primary care.

Are blood pressure readings actually protected by HIPAA… everywhere? Does getting naloxone in the ER fall under special privacy rules? This session is a fast-paced, myth-busting tour through the tangled world of health data privacy that will answer those questions and more. In an interactive game of “Law or Lore,” we’ll separate what the rules actually say from the misconceptions almost everyone believes. Across HIPAA, Part 2 substance use protections, and the 21st Century Cures Act’s information blocking rules, you’ll walk away with a better understanding of where patient data is protected, where it isn’t, and why the law increasingly says you must share it.

• Understand what HIPAA actually permits, including how providers and payers can share protected health information for treatment, payment, and operations without patient consent.
• Recognize where HIPAA protection begins and ends, and why the same health data can be protected in one place and completely unprotected in another.
• Distinguish common privacy myths from legal fact, such as the difference between “consenting” to share data and simply acknowledging a Notice of Privacy Practices.
• Learn how Part 2 provides heightened protection for substance use disorder records, and the specific conditions that determine when those protections apply.
• Grasp how the 21st Century Cures Act’s information blocking rules shift the default toward requiring data sharing, and when state privacy laws create an exception.

Networking and exhibits

The 2025 AI surge did not just disrupt healthcare. It tore through every knowledge-based industry. Finance is fighting AI-driven fraud at a scale that did not exist eighteen months ago. Legal is reckoning with hallucinated case citations submitted in court filings. Manufacturing, retail, and education each moved earlier than healthcare, paid for their mistakes in public, and surfaced lessons HIM professionals can borrow without paying the same tuition.

At the same time, a new generation of threats is arriving at the HIM department’s door. These include synthetic medical records generated to support fraudulent claims, payer-side AI escalating denial rates faster than provider AI can respond, and a regulatory landscape shifting in real time from HHS, CMS, the FDA, and state attorneys general.

This companion session to The AI Revolution: Unforeseen Impacts and Implications looks outward at what other industries have already endured. It also looks forward at the specific risks now reshaping health information. Whether or not you attended Part 1, you will leave with frameworks for spotting cross-industry warning signs early, mapping the emerging threat surface in your own organization, and positioning your team for the next eighteen months of AI in healthcare rather than the last.

Learning Objectives

1. Analyze how AI adoption disrupted finance, legal, and manufacturing, and identify at least three transferable lessons HIM professionals can apply to healthcare information governance before similar disruptions arrive.
2. Evaluate the emerging AI-driven threat landscape facing health information, including synthetic medical records, accelerating payer denial algorithms, and the shifting federal and state regulatory environment, and assess where current HIM oversight practices are most vulnerable.
3. Develop a forward-looking action plan that positions the HIM department as the strategic AI governance layer in healthcare, leveraging cross-industry frameworks for risk identification, vendor evaluation, and workforce readiness.

Trauma cases are high-stakes, high-complexity encounters that challenge even seasoned coders. From drowning and gunshot wounds to burns, heat illness, and animal bites, trauma coding demands a firm grasp of both clinical concepts and ICD-10-CM/PCS structure. We’ll walk through key components of ICD-10-CM/PCS trauma-related coding — covering injury classifications, laterality, encounter types, combination injuries, and sequencing. Real-world examples will help clarify when and how to apply codes and guidelines, and query for missing or unclear documentation.

Learning Objectives:

• Accurately apply ICD-10-CM codes for drowning, gunshot wounds, stabbings, burns, heat-related illness, animal bites, and other trauma conditions.
• Understand ICD-10-CM guidelines for injury coding, including multiple injuries, combination codes, and encounter sequencing.
• Navigate external cause coding.
• Recognize documentation pitfalls and learn how to query for clarity or specificity.
• Apply ICD-10-PCS concepts in common trauma-related procedures.
• Interpret relevant updates from AHA Coding Clinics.

Regulations are ever evolving and becoming seemingly more complex. Health Information Management (HIM) teams must gain a comprehensive understanding of current mandates and the strategic options available for data exchange. This session will discuss operational and compliance implications to Release of Information (ROI) by deep diving into emerging exchange networks, such as TEFCA, CMS-aligned networks, and Health Information Exchanges (HIEs). Attendees will engage in practical exercises to map the distinct Exchange Purposes (XPs) authorized under TEFCA, and learn how to leverage technology to achieve organizational interoperability.

Learning Objectives:

• Master the Regulatory Updates: Analyze the foundational elements and latest updates associated with TEFCA, CMS-aligned networks, and the projected impact of updates to the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules.
• Deconstruct TEFCA Use Cases: Examine practical examples and achieve clarity on each authorized exchange purpose.
• Drive Organizational Interoperability: Understand how purpose-built technology consolidates siloed departments.
• Strategize Partner Selection: Define key criteria for evaluating and selecting an external partner to manage complex regulatory mandates.

Networking lunch

Networking, exhibits, and prize drawings

Naming might seem like a small thing, but for newborns, it can make the difference between life and loss. The Texas Health Services Authority’s Interoperability Collaborative adopted a standardized newborn naming convention to improve the clinical data exchange for this fragile population. This skill building workshop will provide information on issues associated with a lack of standardization, the American Health Information Management Association’s Naming Policy, adoption of a newborn naming convention in Texas and a draft communication plan.

Learning Objectives.

1. Correlate newborn safety events with patient matching and lack of clinical data
2. Describe standardized newborn naming convention in the American Health Information Management Association Policy
3. Recommend adoption of the Texas Health Service’s Authority’s newborn naming convention standard

Accurate and consistent clinical documentation is foundational to measuring and improving healthcare quality in an increasingly value-based environment. This presentation examines the impact of collaborative inpatient and outpatient CDI education on CMS quality metrics, risk adjustment, and overall value-based care performance. By aligning documentation practices across the continuum of care, healthcare organizations can more accurately reflect patient complexity, severity of illness, and clinical decision-making.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand how physician documentation across inpatient and outpatient settings directly impacts CMS quality metrics, including mortality, readmissions, patient safety indicators, and public reporting.
• Recognize the role of accurate risk adjustment in reflecting true patient complexity within value-based payment models.
• Identify common documentation gaps between care settings and how collaborative CDI education can improve continuity.
• Apply practical strategies for aligning documentation practices across the continuum of care.

This session explores the innovative intersection of community health paramedicine programs and health information exchange, demonstrating how real-time health data sharing supports community-based care delivery models and improves patient outcomes in underserved populations.

As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly embedded in healthcare data workflows, HIM professionals must navigate a rapidly evolving regulatory landscape. This session compares two major Texas laws enacted in 2025 — Senate Bill 1964 and House Bill 149 — both of which establish guardrails for the use of AI but do so through distinct regulatory approaches with important implications for healthcare organizations and local policymakers. SB 1964 focuses on AI use by state agencies and local governments, while HB 149 adopts a broader consumer-protection framework. Both share common themes relevant to HIM practice: transparency, data governance, risk mitigation, and protection of individual rights.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the key provisions of Texas Senate Bill 1964 and House Bill 149 as they relate to AI governance and health information management.
• Identify the challenges and opportunities for organizations in implementing state-mandated AI and health information policies.
• Evaluate the role of institutional policies in supporting compliance with state regulations.

The health information profession continues to evolve as healthcare organizations face new challenges related to technology, workforce development, data governance, compliance, and innovation. This interactive session will explore emerging trends and opportunities impacting health information professionals and examine how professional associations can support education, leadership development, advocacy, and member engagement. Participants will engage in facilitated discussions regarding future priorities for the profession, identify opportunities for professional growth, and provide feedback on educational and leadership initiatives that can help strengthen the health information community across Texas. Through collaboration and dialogue, attendees will gain insight into the evolving role of HIM professionals and contribute ideas that help shape future programs and resources that support the profession.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this session, participants will be able to:

1. Discuss emerging trends, challenges, and opportunities affecting the health information profession in Texas and across the healthcare industry.
2. Examine strategies for professional growth, leadership development, and member engagement within health information management.
3. Evaluate the role of professional associations in supporting workforce development, advocacy, education, and industry advancement.
4. Provide feedback and recommendations regarding future educational, professional, and leadership priorities that support the evolving needs of health information professionals.

Conference attendees are welcome to explore local Georgetown dining options.

Evening social event. Drinks and Dessert included!

Networking breakfast

AHIMA national update on strategic initiatives, priorities, and developments impacting the HIM profession.

This session addresses the challenges and strategies for standardizing documentation and completion workflows across a large, multi-facility health system. Attendees will learn how Texas Health Resources approached the process of creating consistent standards, policies, and procedures to improve documentation quality, regulatory compliance, and operational efficiency across their enterprise.

This session explores how healthcare organizations can leverage modern data lakehouse architecture to drive revenue growth through service-line mix optimization, payer margin analysis, and accelerated data processing speed.

This session demonstrates the automation process for History & Physical (H&P) documentation and its integration into the HIM medical record audit process. Attendees will see how automation streamlines workflow, reduces manual effort, and improves compliance during audits. The presentation will include a walkthrough of the implemented process, highlight key steps in both documentation and audit workflows, and share measurable outcomes that reflect operational and clinical impact.

Learning Objectives:

• Demonstrate understanding of how H&P audit automation works and its role in HIM audits.
• Learn strategies for integrating automation into documentation and audit processes.
• Discover measurable benefits for compliance, efficiency, and quality.

Professional member organizations such as AHIMA, state component associations (TxHIMA), and regional HIM districts thrive on collaboration, knowledge sharing, and advancing industry standards. Service leadership within these organizations is essential for fostering trust, engagement, and innovation among members. This presentation examines how leaders can adopt a service-first mindset to strengthen member relationships, enhance professional development, build leadership skills and drive organizational impact. Key principles will be explored such as empathy, empowerment, ethical integrity, and continuous learning.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the Role of Service Leadership in Member Organizations.
• Learn practical approaches for aligning leadership behaviors with member needs, fostering collaboration, and improving member engagement.
• Discover how service leadership can support continuous learning and career growth for members.
• Integrate service-first leadership practices into your professional role.

As technology advances and information sharing becomes ever easier, the consequences of a patient mix-up event or simple registration error can be anything but simple to reconcile. The effects can be far reaching and require extensive review and repair of the chart’s clinical, demographic, and billing data. Without proper resolution, clinical care can be compromised. This presentation shares how one organization developed their team of data integrity professionals to address patient mix-ups and how they have managed the ongoing work during the migration to a new EMR.

Learning Objectives:

• Be able to identify the various ways patient mix-ups occur.
• Be able to identify reconciliation steps for various cases.
• Understand one organization’s approach to the chart reconciliation process.
• Identify methods to combat patient mix-ups and mitigate the potential risks within an organization.

This presentation reviews the updates for vascular practice, beginning with the major 2026 CPT coding overhaul. The deletion of legacy codes (37220–37235) and the introduction of 46 new, territory-specific codes (37254–37299) represent the most significant change in a decade, requiring clinicians to adopt new documentation standards for stenosis versus occlusion across iliac, femoral/popliteal, tibial/peroneal and inframalleolar segments. Using visuals and examples we will walk through the changes step by step.

Learning Objectives:

• Correctly distinguish among iliac, femoral/popliteal, tibial/peroneal, and inframalleolar territories.
• Accurately differentiate straightforward from complex in lower extremity lesions.
• Correctly apply intravascular lithotripsy coding in the iliac and femoral/popliteal territories for pro-fee and hospital coding.

Generative AI is ushering in a new era of innovation across industries, and healthcare stands at the forefront of this transformation. This session explores practical strategies for integrating large language models (LLMs) and multimodal systems into healthcare analytics and enterprise architectures. Drawing from real-world implementation experience, the talk highlights how organizations can leverage GenAI to streamline data workflows, enhance predictive accuracy, and enable personalized care — while maintaining privacy, compliance, and human oversight.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand how Generative AI transforms data intelligence and operational efficiency in healthcare.
• Learn frameworks for integrating LLMs and multimodal AI into enterprise workflows.
• Explore real-world applications of GenAI in healthcare data processing and decision support.
• Gain insights into designing scalable, compliant, and ethical AI systems.

Networking lunch

This session equips HIM and compliance professionals with communication frameworks for navigating difficult conversations in regulated healthcare environments. Participants will learn techniques for maintaining composure, clarity, and credibility when addressing sensitive compliance, documentation, or operational issues with colleagues, leadership, and cross-functional teams.

The use of Predictive modeling in Clinical Documentation Integrity.

Learning Objectives:

• Benefits of utilizing a predictive tool in HIM/CDI
• Practical strategies to integrate a predictive tool
• Insight on how a predictive tool can be used to facilitate advanced focus and robust reviews

In this hands-on strategy workshop, we design a PHI-safe HIM copilot, covering redaction, retrieval, guardrails, evals, and audit logs. Session delivers a scoped pilot plan tied to coder productivity, denials reduction and turnaround time. Leave with a reference architecture, governance checklist, KPI stack, and 30-day launch plan.

Learning Objectives:

• PHI-Safe Copilot reference architecture + guardrail/eval checklist.
• Prioritized HIM use cases with KPI definitions and baselines.
• 30-day pilot plan template and stakeholder RACI.

Recap of the 2025 Texas legislative session and its impact on health information management, including new laws, regulatory changes, and policy developments affecting HIM professionals across the state.

Conference wrap-up, awards, and raffle drawings