Katherine Abel, CPC, CPMA, CPC-I (1E)
Ms. Abel is the director of curriculum for the AAPC. A prior health care consultant, Katherine has over 10 years of practical experience working in health care, including extensive work with billing offices, insurance carriers, and provider offices. Katherine’s experience includes responsibility over coding, compliance, and reimbursement and technology initiatives.
Corrie L. Alvarez, CPC, CPC-I, CEDC (8E)
Ms. Alvarez has 25 years of professional experience in the field of medical coding, auditing and practice settings. In 1998, Corrie obtained her teaching credential and started teaching medical billing and coding courses for the Los Angeles School District. She is also an approved instructor for AAPC’s PMCC course. Corrie is the founder of the Mission Hills, California chapter where she has held several officer positions. Corrie earned a Bachelor's degree from California State Northridge.
Timothy P. Blanchard, JD (3F)
Mr. Blanchard practiced for 20 years with a leading international law firm prior to forming his own practice, handling health care regulatory issues (e.g., coverage, billing, reimbursement, fraud and abuse, HIPAA privacy). He chairs the American Health Lawyer Association’s annual institute on Medicare and Medicaid payment issues, and serves on the AAPC’s Legal Advisory Committee.
Angela C. Boynton, CPC, CPC-H, CPC-P, CPC-I (3E)
Ms. Boynton has served in the HIM field for over 10 years. She works for Massachusetts-based Fallon Community Health Plan as a retrospective medical claims reviewer. In addition, she is an adjunct faculty member at Massachusetts Bay Community College. Boynton is also part of AAPC’s Health Plan ICD-10 Committee, where she develops curriculum that will be used nationally by payers to assist with ICD-10 implementation.
Ken Bradley (2F)
Mr. Bradley has over 18 years’ health care industry experience, specializing in the development of practice management software and the design and development of systems and applications utilized to process health care data. At Navicure he is responsible for developing the company’s 5010/ICD-10 strategies, assessing markets, and monitoring government regulatory requirements.
Rhonda Buckholtz, CPC, CPMA, CPC-I, CENTC, CGSC, COBGC, CPEDC (3H, 6G, 7E)
Ms. Buckholtz is the vice president of business and member relations for the AAPC. A seasoned coder and coding educator, she previously served the AAPC as director of local chapter relations. She is a PMCC coding instructor, and speaks frequently at coding conferences. She is the owner of Coding and Reimbursement Experts, and teaches coding at the Venango campus of Clarion University. Previously, Ms. Buckholtz managed a five-location multi-specialty practice and was business manager at the otolaryngology practice.
Stephanie Jones Cecchini, CHISP, CPC, CEMC (5E)
Ms. Cecchini is SVP at the American Society of Health Informatics Managers, Inc. where she continues a longtime commitment to best serve the needs of the Health IT community and physicians who are using and adopting health IT. She is an executive level health care consultant with significant and broad ambulatory health care business experience including: ROI decision support for EHR adoption or alternate planning, payer matrix strategies and negotiations, billing and collections with Medicare, Medicaid and all lines of commercial payer business, revenue cycle and cash flow management, work-flow analysis, change management, physician record granularity training (Evaluation & Management and ICD-10), and development of “train the trainer” education models.
Brenda Chidester-Palmer, CPC, CPC-I, CASCC, CEMC (8C)
Ms. Chidester-Palmer is the coding compliance manager for Kelsey-Seybold Clinic. She brings over 15 years of medical experience. This includes a diverse background in all areas of coding and auditing. Brenda works with many physician specialties. She is a PMCC instructor, an AAPC workshop presenter, and also speaks nationally at conferences.
Jennifer Cohrs, CPC, CPMA, CGIC (5F)
Ms. Cohrs started her health care career in the local emergency room. When a new opportunity in medical coding arose, she became both CPC and CGIC certified through AAPC. Jen has been with Gastrointestinal Associates in Wausau, Wisconsin, for over five years. She has recently become CPMA certified, and is motivated to tackle health care compliance. She has a passion for excellent and enjoys all the challenges that coding brings.
Julia Croly, MPA, CPC, CPC-P, CPC-I (3E)
Ms. Croly is a director in actuarial and underwriting, with a health care career that spans 30 years. Julia has a BS in biochemistry and a Master’s of public administration with a specialty in health care administration. For the past 20 years, Julia has worked in the health insurance arena. She focuses on provider contract support and group utilization reporting at Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina. She has also taught ICD-9-CM and CPT® coding at a local college.
Kristine R. Cuddy, CPC, CIMC (6F)
Ms. Cuddy brings over 20 years’ experience in multi-specialty physician services. Kris provides auditing, education, and compliance in medical record documentation, billing, and coding. She is a source for Eli’s Coding Alerts and Part B News. Kris also speaks for Michigan State Medical Society, The Coding Institute, and her local AAPC chapter.
Glade B. Curtis, MD, MPH, FACOG, CPC, COBGC (4B)
Dr. Curtis is Board certified in OB/GYN and a fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists with more than 20 years experience, including delivery of more than 5,000 babies. He holds a Master of Public Health degree with more than 5 years experience with the State of Utah Department of Health Division of Healthcare Financing. He is a CPC and Certified OB/GYN coder (COBGC) speaking at conferences and teaching coding seminars for more than 15 years. Dr. Curtis is also the co-author of 17 titles relating to child birth and child care with sales over 5 million books, including the best selling: Your Pregnancy Week By Week and Your Baby’s First Year Week By Week
Brian Dobbins, MD ( 1C)
Dr. Dobbins is board certified by the American Board of Obstetrics & Gynecology, and is a member of the AAGL (American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopy) with over 12 years of experience caring for women. He received his medical degree from Creighton University in 1994 and completed his residency at Saginaw Hospital in 1998. Dr. Dobbins practices obstetrics and gynecology in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and has vast clinical experience performing minimally invasive gynecological procedures. He has given educational presentations to other physician groups regarding office hysteroscopic procedures and has proctored physicians learning office gynecologic procedures.
David Dunn, MD, CPC-H, CIRCC, CCC (3B)
Dr. Dunn, vice-president of ZHealth, oversees physician coding and manages ZHealth operations. He also participates as a regular instructor for ZHealth educational programs. He recently co-wrote the Vascular and Endovascular Surgery Coding Reference in Dr. Z’s Medical Coding series, and is a contributor to the Interventional Radiology Coding Reference, as well as the Diagnostic and Interventional Cardiovascular Coding Reference. He completed his MD at the University of Texas in San Antonio and joined his longtime colleague Dr. Z, at ZHealth in 2002. Dr. Dunn is currently a member of the AAPC’s National Advisory Board.
Samer Elbabaa, MD (1B)
Dr. Elbabaa is a pediatric neurosurgeon at Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH) and an assistant professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) since July 2008. He earned his medical degree from the University of Jordan. He completed residency training in Neurological Surgery at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a clinical fellowship in pediatric neurosurgery at The Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Elbabaa’s clinical practice focuses on minimally invasive neurosurgery, pediatric brain and spinal tumors, complex spinal instrumentation, cranio-cervical junction anomalies, neuro-endoscopy and cerebrovascular surgery. His research focuses on advancing endoscopic techniques in cranial and spinal neurosurgery.
Lee Ewin, MD, CPC (8H)
Lee Ewin, MD, is physician lead for Kaiser Permanente’s Southern California ambulatory electronic medical record, which has been deployed to over 30,000 physicians and staff. He is board certified in Family Medicine, practicing out-patient and hospital medicine. He teaches at the University of California, Riverside.
Linda R. Farrington, CPC, CPC-I (5B)
Ms. Farrington has over 30 years of experience in health care and practice management, specializing in cardiovascular and thoracic surgery and risk adjustment with an emphasis on diagnostic coding. Linda has served as President-elect, President, and Secretary of local chapters; has presented various audio conferences and workshops; served on the AAPC National Advisory Board (NAB) 2007-2009 and currently serves as Secretary to the NAB, 2009-2011. She is employed as a consultant for Ingenix and is the owner/instructor of Medisense, a private occupational school, teaching coding certification courses in Colorado Springs with a stated mission of “Making Sense of Medical Coding”.
Terry A. Fletcher, CPC, CCC, CMEC, CCS, CCS-P, CMSCS, CMC (7A)
Ms. Fletcher is a health care consultant with over 20 years’ experience in the medical field. She is a past NAB member, current local chapter president of the Laguna Niguel California chapter, and the immediate past chair of the AAPCCA. Terry teaches over 100 specialty coding seminars and audio conferences each year. She is an author of several specialty coding publications and an onsite practice consultant for hundreds of practices around the country. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in economics and multiple certifications in coding.
Patti Ann Frank, CPC (6D)
Ms. Frank has worked in health care for 31 years. She is an independent consultant performing coding audits and teaching practice management to family practice residents. She was honored as the Coder of the Year 2009 by her local Kansas City chapter and a Region 5 finalist.
Georgette Gustin, CPC, CCS-P, CHC (4I, 8H)
Ms. Gustin is responsible for overseeing various types of audits, monitoring and training for physician professional services at Southern California Permanente Medical Group (SCPMG). SCPMG is one of the largest multi-specialty group practices in the nation with over 6,000 physicians. Georgette partners and works closely with the physician coding and documentation liaisons, electronic medical record (EMR) clinical team, revenue cycle, operations, physician education and various leaderships team within and across the entire Kaiser Permanente organization. She has over 20 years experience in the health care industry, of which 13 have been in consulting with Big 4 professional services firms. Georgette served as the President of AAPC’s National Advisory Board from April 2001-April 2003. She is a Certified Professional Coder (CPC), Certified Coding Specialist – Physician (CCS-P), and Certified in Health Care Compliance (CHC).
Wendy Grant, CPC (8I)
Ms. Grant entered the coding arena in 1977 as receptionist and coder for a urology clinic in Russellville, Arkansas. As a central business office manager and now as an accounts receivable manager for Health Management Associates practices in Tennessee, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Washington; Wendy analyzes physicians coding and teaches staff through webinar presentations how to maximize their revenue and bring in the cash. Wendy said coding is not just about abstracting and auditing, it's also about using your knowledge to communicate with the payers about every denied claim or appeal for medical necessity.
Deborah Grider, President and CEO of AAPC, CPC®, CPC-H®, CPC-P®, CPC-I®, CEMC™, COBGC™ (AA)
Deborah has been involved in health care for 30 years and speaks nationally across the country in relation to compliance, coding, and reimbursement. She has worked with many physicians nationally on coding, reimbursement, compliance and regulatory issues across many specialties. Deborah has specialized in medical chart audits among many specialties as well as practice management and coding consulting. Deborah is the Past President of the AAAPC National Advisory Board. Deborah is certified by AAPC as well as the American Health Information Management Association, and a past CPT Editorial Panel Member representing AAPC.
Brenda Griffin, MHSA, CPC, CPMA (7C)
Ms. Griffin has a Master"s degree in health services administration and 35 years of coding experience in inpatient, outpatient and physician coding. Brenda was the coding and documentation audit and education manager for a large physician practice at an academic medical center for twelve years. She has taught coding at the university level, and has been a workshop speaker for AAPC. Brenda is currently an independent contractor – Griffin Compliance – specializing in physician coding and documentation compliance, audit and education.
Ronda Hamaker, MD, FACS (4G)
Born in Detroit, Michigan and raised in the Midwest, Dr. Hamaker earned a BA in chemistry and sociology at DePauw University, and her MD at the Indiana University School of Medicine. She did internship and general surgery in Grand Rapids, Michigan and then returned to Indianapolis, Indiana for Otolaryngology residency. Her pediatric otolaryngology fellowship was completed at Children’s Hospital of Michigan in Detroit following which she started her own solo practice in Indianapolis. Dr. Hamaker has also been in a group practice and is now an employed physician at Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital. She serves as the Medical Director of the Pediatric Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery department and is also the Medical Director of Dysphagia Services. In addition to her work at Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital, she is secretary/treasurer of the Central Indiana Otolaryngology Society, on the Indianapolis Medical Society Board and actively involved in the activities of her daughters and husband.
Jennifer A. Hume, CPC, CPMA, CEMC (2I, 6A)
With over 25 years of health care experience, and over 20 years in consulting and management positions, Jen currently works for AAPC’s Physician Services. Prior to joining AAPC Physician Services, Jen worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers in the Physician Coding, Documentation, and Compliance group. She has also held positions as the Corporate Compliance Officer for a large regional clinical laboratory and Business Office Manager for a multi-specialty physician group practice at a county teaching hospital. During her career, Jen has served as the Acting Director of Professional Coding for a large (7,000) multi-specialty physician group practice. She developed physician documentation and coding education for 20 specialties and managed updates for over 35 web-based compliance training courses.
Lisa L. Jensen, CPC (7H)
Ms. Jensen is the Manager of the Special Investigations Unit at Providence Health Plans in Beaverton, Ore. She has a Master's degree in health care business leadership and an undergraduate degree in psychology with emphasis in behavioral modification which provides tools for teaching adults. She is a charter member of the Columbia River chapter of the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) and a Certified Professional Coder (CPC) since 1996. She is a member of the Medical Group Managers Association (MGMA) and has attained Fellowship status in the American College of Medical Practice Executives (FACMPE) in 2008. She has had the good fortune to spend much of her 18 year health care career managing excellent teams and educating colleagues on coding, revenue cycle improvement and compliance. She has a broad range of health care experiences, such as multi-practice medical/surgical practices, a large teaching hospital, compliance consulting, a medium-size health plan and the administrator of a pediatric clinic. Lisa is a national speaker at conferences and seminars regarding health care reimbursement, coding and interpersonal skills.
Raemarie Jimenez, CPC, CPMA, CPC-I, CANPC, CRHC (2G)
Ms. Jimenez is the director of exam content for AAPC. She has 15 years of experience in the medical field. During her career she has conducted audits for outpatient and physician services, facilitated physician education for coding and documentation, and managed coding and billing departments for physician and outpatient services. She assisted with curriculum development and instructed coding and billing courses for a technical college. Raemarie is a past president of the Sunrise, Florida, AAPCÂ local chapter.
Betty Johnson, CPC, CPC-H, CPC-I, CPCD (4C, 8F)
Ms. Johnson is the president of Betty Johnson & Associates, a Chicago area-based health care consulting firm. She has over 20 years of experience in physician coding, billing, and education, and holds a B.A. in Health Care Administration. Her background includes many years of practice management experience in a variety of specialties. Betty served on the National Advisory Board of the AAPC from 2004-2007, and was elected as an officer from 2005-20070. She currently sits on the editorial board for BC Advantage.
Mary LeGrand, RN, MA, CPC, CCS-P (2D, 3D)
Ms. LeGrand is a nationally recognized expert in otolaryngology-head and neck coding and revenue cycle analysis. She brings to her consulting assignments over 30 years of health care experience, having held numerous clinical and administrative positions throughout her career. Mary works with otolaryngology practices of all sizes and in all settings (solo, group, academic, hospital employed) to assess and recommend clinical and operational efficiency opportunities. Her 20+ years as an otolaryngology-head and neck nurse and business development strongly position her as an expert in the field. This expertise has put her in the forefront with attorneys representing physicians with coding related issues.
Terry Leone, CPC, CPC-P, CIRCC, CPC-I (1D, 3H)
Mr. Leone is currently National Advisory Board President. He is a specialist in diagnostic radiology and interventional radiology coding. His career spans over 30 years, with experience in various aspects of consulting, management, billing, and coding. Terry is the principal owner and president of Catamount Associates, LLC – a physician billing company. He is the founder and past president of the Western New York chapter of professional coders. Terry is also a certified instructor at Bryant & Stratton College in Rochester, New York, teaching the Professional Medical Coding Curriculum (PMCC).
Julie Leu, CPC, CPMA, CPC-I (7F)
Ms. Leu holds a Bachelor of Science degree in education. Certified as a CPC® in 1998, she became an approved coding instructor in 2003 and teaches the PMCC curriculum to Iowa Western Community College students and to employees of Creighton University. She has served as chapter president for the Greater Omaha Coding chapter. She was a founding member and also served as president for the Metro Omaha Coder’s Association (MOCA). Julie has worked in the medical billing and coding field for over 25 years, with the last ten years being in billing compliance at Creighton University. ICD-9-CM, E/M, and orthopaedic surgery coding are her areas of interest and expertise.
Stephen Levinson, MD (5C)
Following medical education at Johns Hopkins and specialty training in Head and Neck Surgery (Ear, Nose & Throat) at UCLA, Dr. Levinson had a private medical practice in Connecticut for 26 years. Following training in 1991 by AMA and HCFA as an E/M coding educator, he developed “Intelligent Medical Records” (IMR) chart tools for E/M compliance in paper and dictation formats. At the request of the AMA, he has authored Practical E/M: Documentation and Coding Solutions for Quality Patient Care published by the AMA Press in 2005, with release of a second edition in 2008. He also contributed significantly as a named plaintiff and as a compliance expert in the physicians’ national class-action lawsuits against non-compliant insurer practices. Currently, Dr. Levinson is focusing on integrating E/M compliance and quality care principles into electronic health record design and functionality, and into the creation of effective health information exchange.
Cedric Lorenzo, MD (7B)
Dr. Lorenzo received his undergraduate degree from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and went on to obtain his M.D. from the John A. Burns School of Medicine at the University of Hawaii. After completing his surgical residency he received fellowship training in advanced laparoscopic and bariatric surgery, as well as endoscopy and endoluminal therapy. He is the medical director for the Comprehensive Weight Management Program at the Queens Medical Center in Honolulu. He is also an assistant professor of surgery, University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine.
Carol V. Lustfeldt, CPC (4D)
Ms. Lustfeldt was a critical care and trauma nurse for many years. During her clinical years she taught critical care, neurosurgery, and trauma nursing. She is supervisor of physician reimbursement at a local trauma center in the Phoenix Metro Area, coding trauma for the past 20 years. Two times she has served as president of the Grand Canyon Coders, the Local AAPC Phoenix chapter. She has given numerous presentations including E/M, general surgery, orthopedic, and trauma coding. Carol has her Masters degree in health service administration. She makes her home in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Michael D. Miscoe, Esq., CPC, CASCC, CUC (6B, 7I)
Mr. Miscoe, JD, CPC, CASCC, CUC, CHCC, is president of Practice Masters, Inc. and the founding partner of Miscoe Health Law, LLC. He is a past member of the AAPC National Advisory Board (NAB) and current member of the Legal Advisory Board (LAB). He is admitted to the Bar in the state of California as well as to the practice of law before the U.S. District Courts in the Southern District of California and the Western District of Pennsylvania. Mr. Miscoe has nearly 20 years of experience in health care coding and over 12 years as a compliance expert testifying in civil and criminal cases.
Penny M. Osmon, BA, CHC, CPC, CPC-I, PCS (3I, 5F)
Ms. Osmon is the director of educational strategies for the Wisconsin Medical Society. She has over 15 years of health care experience in Medicare compliance, coding, and practice management. She currently presents educational programs on revenue cycle, risk management, and health information management for physician practices throughout Wisconsin and the Midwest region with an emphasis on reducing waste, mitigating risk, and improving quality. She is a Professional Medical Coding Curriculum Instructor, certified in health care compliance through the Health Care Compliance Association and serves on the Wisconsin Medical Group Management Association Third Party Payer and Medicare and Medicaid Workgroups.
Michael J. Page, MD (3A)
Dr. Page is a colorectal surgeon with a very busy practice at The Iowa Clinic in Des Moines, Iowa. He is a graduate of Ohio State University. He did his internship and residency at Pennsylvania State University in Hershey, Pennsylvania, in general surgery and a fellowship at Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Department of Colorectal Surgery in Cleveland, Ohio.
Maryann C. Palmeter, CPC, CENTC (2A)
Ms. Palmeter has over 27 years of experience in the health care industry, with emphasis on federal and state government payer billing and compliance regulations. Maryann’s extensive experience has been gained through her work on both the billing and government contractor ends of the health care industry spectrum. She is employed with the University of Florida - Jacksonville, Healthcare, Inc., as the director of physician billing compliance and has been involved in physician billing compliance since 1998. As the director, Maryann is responsible for providing professional direction and oversight to the billing compliance program of the University of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville, which incorporates all academic and clinical components o the College of Medicine, as well as the faculty practice plan and health services support organization. Maryann has served as president of the Jacksonville, Florida, local chapter in 2003 and 2010, and is currently the education officer for that chapter. Maryann has been a Certified Professional Coder since 1999 and holds a specialty coding credential in otolaryngology.
Cindy Parman, CPC, CPC-H, RCC (2E, 4E)
Ms. Parman is principal and co-founder of Coding Strategies, Inc. in Powder Springs, Georgia. Her 36-year professional career in health care includes 20 years of commercial group health insurance experience, and her primary area of expertise involves coding, auditing and education for oncology specialties.
Christopher Adam Parrella, JD, CHC, CPC (1A)
Mr. Parrella received his JD from the Massachusetts School of Law in 1997. His firm concentrates on criminal, civil, regulatory, licensure, and compliance representation of all health care provider and supplier types. He is a frequent national lecturer on health care compliance topics.
Robert Pelaia, Esq., CPC (3G, 5G)
Mr. Pelaia provides a wide range of legal support services for the University of Florida with exclusive legal responsibility for the University of Florida College of Medicine - Jacksonville and its related not-for-profit corporate support entities. He is certified as a Health Care Law Specialist by the Florida Bar Board of legal Specialization and Education. He has been a CPC since 1999 and is a member of the 2009-2011 AAPC National Advisory Board. Mr. Pelaia is also a member of the AAPC Legal Advisory Board, the AAPC Ethics Committee, and was a founding member of the AAPC chapter Association Board of Directors. He serves as an adjunct professor of health law at Florida Coastal School of Law. He has written numerous articles and is a frequent regional and national speaker on issues related to health care fraud and abuse, compliance, and coding. He has spoken at seminars sponsored by various industry groups including the American Health Lawyers Association, the American Bar Association, the Health Care Compliance Association, the Association of American Medical Colleges, the National Association of College and University Attorneys and the AAPC.
Carol L. Pfeiffer, CPC, CPCD, CPRC (7D)
Ms. Pfeiffer has been in medical coding and billing since 1988. She received her CPC in 1998 and specialty credentials in Plastic Surgery and Dermatology in 2008. She has supervised the coding for the Southwest Craniofacial Center (now Barrow Cleft and Craniofacial Center) in Phoenix, Arizona since 1988. She also has a strong background in craniofacial surgery for patients with congenital syndromes.
Jeanne L. Plouffe, CPC, CGSC (4H)
Ms. Plouffe, CPC, CGSC, has over 30 years of experience in specialty coding and reimbursement. For the past twenty years she has enjoyed the many challenges in General and Vascular Surgery coding. Currently she is a practice administrator and coder for two General Surgical practices in Phoenix, Arizona.
Kim Pollock, RN, MBA, CPC (5A, 6E)
Ms. Pollock is a consultant and speaker with Karen Zupko & Associates, Inc., a physician practice management and training firm based in Chicago. She is the lead instructor at the American Association of Neurological Surgeons coding courses and is recognized nationally as the expert in spinal procedure coding.
Eric Poulsen, MD (1F)
Dr. Poulsen entered private practice in Fresno in 2000 after earning his medical degree from the University of California, Davis, School of Medicine and completing his residency at Duke University Medical Center. His medical and surgical practice of ophthalmology includes laser vision correction, such as LASIK, cataract surgery, and corneal transplantation; although he does many other types of eye surgeries at his two Fresno locations. Dr. Poulsen is dedicated to keeping InSight Vision Center on the leading edge of technology and providing patients with the most advanced and comprehensive eye care services available.
Bruce Rappoport, MD, CPC, CIMC (1I)
Dr. Rappoport is medical director for Best Choice Plus, the provider network of Broward Health, the national fifth largest public health care system. He also serves as a medical director for Total Claims Administration, Inc., providing third party administrative services. Dr. Rappoport has over 25 years of experience in quality improvement, medical management, coding, and compliance. He is consulting editor for Internal Medicine Coding Alert, and a frequent lecturer on practice management and compliance issues facing medical practices.
Kim Reid, CPC, CPC-I, CEMC (6C)
Ms. Reid has been a Certified Professional Coder since 2001, as well as an approved instructor for the Professional Medical Coding Curriculum for the past three years. Ms. Reid has 20 years of experience in the medical field in many different specialties. As a senior coding educator for Fletcher Allen Health Care in Vermont, she specializes in the departments of surgery, pediatrics, neurology, and psychiatry. Ms. Reid has coordinated local coding development seminars, basic and advanced coding classes and workshops through AAPC, and has served in office as both president-elect and president for the Burlington, Vermont local chapter.
Todd Sommer, DO, DPM, CWS (2C, 3C)
Dr. Sommer is a graduate of the University of Osteopathic Medicine and Health Sciences in Iowa, and the Illinois College of Podiatric Medicine. He completed his podiatric surgical residency at Henrotin Hospital in Chicago. His family medicine residency was at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He is board-certified in family medicine and podiatric surgery, and serves as medical director of the Center for Wound & Hyperbaric Medicine at St. Vincent Hospital in Green Bay, Wisconsin. His professional affiliations include the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons and the American Podiatric Medical Association.
Cynthia Stahl, CPC, CPC-H, CPMA, CPC-I, CCS-P (1G, 3G)
Ms. Stahl is a past president of the Central Indiana chapter (Indianapolis) and has 18 years of experience in the medical profession, developing a broad base of experience in the practice setting while holding, among others, the positions of consultant, practice manager, and senior coding specialist. She is the lead instructor of Medical Billing Curriculum at MedTech College in Indianapolis. She provides medical coding and billing instruction as a writer and research assistant with Elsevier publishing.
Chandra Lynn Stephenson, CPC, CPC-H, CPMA, CPC-I, CANPC, CEMC, CFPC, CIMC, COSC (4F)
Ms. Stephenson is currently employed as a consultant. She has worked as a coding and compliance auditor, conducting audits, researching coding and compliance issues, developing coding tools, and providing practitioner education. She started out in health care eight years ago, and has worked in various settings, including a centralized billing office, a family practice office, a cardiology office, and as a billing and coding instructor at a local technical college.
Peggy A. Stilley, CPC, CPMA, CPC-I, COBGC (8A)
Ms. Stilley has more than 30 years of experience in health care. She has worked in multiple specialties including General Practice, General Surgery, Neurology, OB-GYN, and Maternal Fetal Medicine. Prior to working for AAPC Physician Services as the Director of Audits, Peggy was the clinic manager for University of Oklahoma, OU Physicians - Women's Healthcare in Tulsa.
Kirk Tammadon, MD, CPC (4I)
Dr. Tamaddon earned his medical degree from Ohio State University. He followed that up with residency programs in both General Surgery and Urology at Kaiser Permanente in Los Angeles, as well as a Urologic Surgery Fellowship at the L’Institut Mutualiste Montsouris hospital in Paris, France. He is currently the director of the Robotic Surgery Program at Kaiser Permanente Southern California. He has extensive experience presenting on various medical topics since 1995.
Susan Ward, CPC, CPC-H, CPC-I, CEMC, CPCD, CPRC (4C)
Ms. Ward has 20 years of coding and billing experience. She works for a reconstructive plastic surgeon in Phoenix. She is an approved PMCC instructor, workshop presenter, and past president of her local AAPC chapter. In addition, she was a member of the National Advisory Board from 2007 to 2009.
Lori-Lynn A. Webb, CPC (8B)
Ms. Lynne is an E/M, and Procedure based Coding, Compliance, Data Charge entry and HIPAA Privacy specialist for over 20 years. She has performed hands-on physician pro-fee coding, and hospital based coding, managed coding and billing departments with over 50+ providers, to include contract evaluation and provider payment audits.
Charles Wolf, MD, CPC, CPC-H (1H, 2H)
Dr. Wolf has been a Utah Systemwide Compliance Office since June 2009. He was the director of billing compliance at Utah MD Anderson Cancer Center from January 2006 to June 2009. Dr. Wolf was with Intermountain Healthcare from October 1999 to January 2006.
JoAnne Marie Wolf, CPC (8D)
Ms. Wolf has over 16 years’ experience working in the coding field, specifically in pediatric and multi-specialty clinics along with several health insurance companies in Minnesota. She is seasoned public speaker and an active member of the AAPC. JoAnne has served as President and Education Officer of the Minneapolis chapter.
Susan Wyatt, CPC, CPMA, CPC-I (5D)
Ms. Wyatt has been in the medical field for 35 years. She started as a receptionist and worked her way up to office manager/administrator of several different specialties and primary care. She became certified in 2003 just as HCC was beginning, and worked for a Medicare Advantage Health Plan. She is currently the HCC Risk, Audit and Education Manager. She has extensive knowledge regarding HCC coding and documentation.
Dave Young, DO (4A)
Dr. Young attained his D.O. degree in 1981. An internship, internal medicine residence, and pulmonary fellowship followed at Grandview Hospital. One additional year was spent doing sleep medicine at Ford Hospital. He began the practice of pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine in 1988 in Lansing, Michigan, where he continues to practice.
Jill M. Young, CPC, CEDC, CIMC (7G, 8G)
Ms. Young brings with her over 30 years of medical experience with a diverse background in all areas of medicine from clinical to billing and many different physician specialties. Her comments and opinions have be seen in several publications and heard in audio-conferences. She gives educational lectures for the Michigan State Medical Society and other national organizations including The Coding Institute (TCI) and Eli Research. She nationally presents AAPC workshops and speaks at AAPC National Conference, with expertise in sleep disorders. Jill is an original member of the AAPCCA board of directors and was just re-elected Chair for 2010-2011. She loves meeting AAPC members at chapter meetings, at National Conference, and in her everyday work as a consultant. Jill's theme for the 2010-2011 board is "Grass Roots," which supports local chapters and the 100,000 AAPC members supported by them.
David Zielske, MD, CPC-H, CIRCC, CCC (2B)
Dr. Zielske is an interventional radiologist who was in a large private practice for over 14 years in a community setting at several large hospitals in the Nashville area. He has been involved with CPT® coding for interventional radiology procedures since 1993. In 2000, he started ZHealth, a firm that performs physician and hospital coding audits in the subspecialties of IR, cardiology and vascular surgery. Three years later, he started ZHealth Publishing, which is an education company focused on training coders, techs, nurse auditors, billers, and physicians on the appropriate documentation and use of codes in these same specialties.
