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The training game: Find creative ways to increase awareness, understanding

HIPAA Training Advisor, February 22, 2007

You can only give the same PowerPoint presentation so many times. With all the training staff receive, the best way to get them to retain information is to present it to them in a memorable way.

That's what Denise A. Perry, RHIA, director of health information services at Arnot Ogden Medical Center in Elmira, NY, does every year during Health Information and Technology (HIT) Week, which is the first week in November. Perry uses crossword puzzles and contests to increase awareness throughout the organization. "It's our way of letting other people in the organization know what we do," she says.

Perry and her staff have had contests to see who can identify physicians using pictures of the backs of their heads or their signatures, as well as the crossword puzzles, which she creates using http://puzzlemaker.school.discovery.com.

"I make sure the puzzles aren't too hard and they're fun," she says. "Then, we place them on a table near payroll and have a drawing for a prize." Perry typically gets a vendor (i.e., transcription, coding, information technology, etc.) to pay for a $25 restaurant gift card, to use as the prize, she says. Perry is also considering using the puzzles and contests as part of ongoing training for her staff.

Boosting morale
When Ralph Renteria first started in 2004 as the HIM supervisor at Kaweah Delta HealthCare District in Visalia, CA, one of the goals the organization had for him was to increase morale in the department. "And a good way to do that is to do something fun," he says.

Renteria distributes crossword puzzles and word searches to his staff for HIT Week, but also sends them quarterly to reinforce training on HIPAA and other HIM-related topics. He has also held scavenger hunts and raffles and names an "employee of the quarter." These activities have not only boosted employee morale, they've increased awareness and understanding among staff.

Stimulating minds
"I use word searches and crossword puzzles for celebration weeks, such as the American Health Information Management Association's Privacy and Security Week and HIT Week," says Kim Wells-Ball, RHIT, CPC, director of HIM and privacy officer at Barton Healthcare System in South Lake Tahoe, CA. But for training, she focuses more on quizzes.

"We have online learning and we're currently working on our own HIPAA video," she says. But every once in awhile, when she notices that there is confusion over a particular topic, such as patient privacy, she brings quizzes to the department meetings. The staff member with the highest quiz score receives a prize-usually a gift card for coffee, and even an iPod in 2006.

Using puzzles and quizzes helps staff better understand concepts, she says. And the contests encourage participation. "You have to find effective ways to stimulate people's minds to ask more questions," says Wells-Ball.

Editor's note: Adapted from "The training game: Find creative ways to increase awareness, understanding," Medical Records Briefing, March 2007.

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