The month of March celebrates Women’s History, International Women’s Day, and Medical Biller’s Day – Inspiring ImagineSoftware’s panel discussion of female medical billing experts, combining decades of experience covering automated technologies, legislature, staffing, and patient engagement.
Women of Medical Billing: Adapting to the Changes of Today | A Roundtable Discussion
Featuring
Tiffany Mullis-Brittain, Executive Director, Catawba Radiology
Jessica Kirchner, Revenue Department Manager, Outpatient Services, LLC
Pamela Mazur, Coding Manager, MCBS, LLC
Desiree Overcast, Chief Operations Officer, PBS West
Nicole Jones-Gerbino, Chief Strategy Officer, PBS West
Cristina Arredondo, Director of Revenue Cycle Management, Baptist M&S Imaging
Hosted by
Courtney Franco, VP of Sales, ImagineSoftware
FEMALE REPRESENTATION IN MEDICAL BILLING
The medical billing industry, especially medical coding, is primarily a female workforce. A surprising and inspiring realization for Pamela Mazur of MCBS, who switched careers from retail to medical billing. She shares, “[Medical] Coding has predominately been female-driven. The first time I went to our national coding conference, it was the first time I walked into a situation where everybody in charge was female. That was very eye-opening for me.”
“I started out [in coding] with absolutely zero knowledge... Women were helping women, you were told, ‘Come, we need Coders, we’ll teach you how to do it...’”
—Pamela Mazur, Coding Manager, MCBS, LLC
Starting her career in medical billing, Jessica Kirchner of Outpatient Services, was also amongst primarily female colleagues – Including medical billers, coders, payment posters, and supervisors. However, she quickly realized the leadership team was comprised of all men. Jessica describes seeing a shift where more and more female colleagues “inched their way to the top,” Jessica states, ““...that was really encouraging to see early in my career. What I learned from that was a lot of women who made it to those [executive] positions, really had to dig in and drive themselves to get to that level. It wasn’t just an overnight thing for them... That was really inspiring for me and I’ve seen that change now, the company I’m with now a lot of the [executive team] are women, such as myself – It's a different atmosphere now.”
"...[Women] really had to dig in and do the grunt work at the bottom but strive for the top.”
—Jessica Kirchner, Revenue Department Manager, Outpatient Services, LLC
Showcasing an executive team of 80% women, Nicole Jones-Gerbino, of PBS West adds, “It’s been really interesting to see that increase in female leadership. We make up half the talent of the human race, right? It makes sense, we should be seeing more diversity in leadership.”
FEMALE PERSPECTIVE & LEADERSHIP
“Women are multi-taskers... that’s the biggest advantage women bring to leadership.”
—Cristina Arredondo, Director of Revenue Cycle Management, Baptist M&S Imaging
Panelists agreed women’s instinctual multi-tasking, ambition, and motivation set their perspective apart from colleagues, especially within leadership roles. Desiree Overcast of PBS West adds, “I think the important thing is that it might just be different, it might not be better, [women] sometimes have different perspectives because we have had to climb from the bottom to the top...”
“The key is that we continue mentoring the folks [in roles] below us, so we have that continual growth within our companies, and we are empowering them to be heard – Make sure they know they have the voices, know they’re important, they’re not small. As good leaders, that is a key piece of our responsibilities.”
—Desiree Overcast, Chief Operations Officer, PBS West
Also focusing on connection with teams, Tiffany Mullis-Brittain of Catawba Radiology describes females’ emotional intelligence and the ability to connect and problem-solve, “We are able to bring a lot of that into the workplace and manage effectively...” Tiffany adds how building relationships and empathizing with team members ultimately increases her team’s performance, “...the ability to connect and build relationships, and empathize, which ultimately brings engagement with our teams. We can build a foundation through connection and relationship of trust, and that trust allows us to skyrocket as organizations.”
TECHNOLOGY & STAFFING SHORTAGES
“Leveraging the technology and automation, Imagine was a big partner in this...”
—Cristina Arredondo, Director of Revenue Cycle Management, Baptist M&S Imaging
Jessica Kirchner, of Outpatient Services, leverages a connected interface between ImagineSoftware and their proprietary web-based radiology information system (RIS), giving her team secure access to their billing system from anywhere. Jessica explains this flexibility was a huge advantage during 2020’s lockdowns and now as she recruits and retains talent. She states, “When it comes to looking at hiring great talent, we’re able to leverage [working from home] as an added benefit, the ability to work from home either full-time or part-time...” Jessica adds how offering flexible schedules and work-from-home options not only increases talent, but increases their productivity, too - “If their child is sick or school is remote... They don’t have to miss a day of work, and as an employer, I don’t have to miss a day of productivity... We’re able to leverage that technology to keep moving forward in this new, crazy world.”
“For females, in particular, [working from home] is a huge bonus to provide them with a little more flexibility, to continue with this work life balance...”
—Jessica Kirchner, Revenue Department Manager, Outpatient Services, LLC
As a company that was not working remote pre-2020, Desiree Overcast, of PBS West, worked alongside her “women IT team” to leverage ImagineSoftware’s web-based technology. She explains, “We really had to pivot quick, and our women IT team, super team, we pivoted and had everybody remote within three days!”
“To retain talent and to keep people interested in medical billing, we are going to have to get more technology-focused... it’s something we will have to do moving forward to keep our industry attractive and relevant.”
—Tiffany Brittain, Executive Director, Catawba Radiology
TECHNOLOGY GAPS FOR INCREASED EFFICIENCY & ACCURACY
The current “No Surprises Act” and additional price transparency regulations has increased the need for improving accuracy, efficiency, and workflows. Tiffany Mullis-Brittain of Catawba Radiology explains the importance of leveraging both technology and the human touch – Boosting efficiency and auditing more complicated claims for the most accurate billing and the highest patient engagement.
“[Patients] are key to helping us close the gap for the revenue... Helping them understand what we do, our part of the process, is absolutely critical to taking us to the next level.”
—Tiffany Brittain, Executive Director, Catawba Radiology
“Some of the gaps I see are gaps from the payor side. There are some payors who are very savvy with technology and others who are behind. It’s not that the technology isn’t there... not everyone has the same technology,” explains Cristina Arredondo of Baptist M&S Imaging. Cristina adds her strong reliance on industry resources such as ImagineSoftware and Radiology Business Management Association (RBMA) to track and learn more about trends, updated codes, and changing regulations to quickly react and maintain accuracy.
Adhering to the latest regulations, panelists agree the largest gap is getting all needed information, and ensuring information is accurate and up to date. Nicole Gerbino, of PBS West, notes the latest regulations have highlighted these gaps even more, such as hospitals/providers not applying technology or payors missing crucial information, “We are unable to help our clients with the steps that need to happen for claims to be paid.”
Desiree Overcast of PBS West adds, “Payments is definitely behind as far as adapting in technology...” She highlights the importance of optimizing interfaces and engaging with hospitals/providers to efficiently collect data versus manually entering. “If it doesn’t start there, then it will lead to a manual process down the road.”
“Imagine is very user-friendly, we have been able to reduce a lot of paper and processes that lead to being more efficient.”
—Pamela Mazur, Coding Manager, MCBS, LLC
Bridging technology gaps, Jessica Kirchner of Outpatient Services explains the challenges her organization faces when gathering eligibility information, especially to adhere to price transparency rules, “Our biggest problem is the inability of the payors to send us what we need...” To close this gap, Jessica and her team leverage reporting capabilities from ImagineSoftware’s ImagineIntelligence, PACS, and RIS for comprehensive reporting and perspective into their entire organization.
ADVICE FOR YOUR YOUNGER SELF/ANY FEMALE PROFESSIONAL ENTERING THIS INDUSTRY
“Don’t be afraid to dig in and really voice a needed change - You will grow faster if you did.”
“Don’t be afraid to stand up for work/life balance... As women, we are multi-taskers, we do a lot for our families – Not being afraid to acknowledge the importance of that balance.”
—Jessica Kirchner, Revenue Department Manager, Outpatient Services, LLC
“There are a lot of opportunities within healthcare... there are so many different directions, be open to opportunity. Stay attuned to those and have the willingness and the courage to explore beyond where you are.”
“Never stop learning. That is what gives you the opportunity to grow... “
Book Recommendation: Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts>
—Tiffany Mullis-Brittain, Executive Director, Catawba Radiology
“Invest in a stand-up desk! Just do it!”
“Get some basic technology background... What we do is so data driven. Data is wonderful but means nothing if you can’t translate it to information. Having some of those skills to make data informational and then actionable gives you a leg-up...”
—Desiree Overcast, Chief Operations Officer, PBS West
“Hone in and develop your communication skills and networking skills. You can make just about anything happen if those two things are solid.”
“Find your voice early, especially as a woman.”
Book Recommendation: How to Win Friends & Influence People
—Nicole Jones-Gerbino, Chief Strategy Officer, PBS West
“You’ve got to want to learn in order to grow... The opportunities are there if you don’t pigeonhole yourself.”
“Open yourself to any opportunity that comes your way.”
—Pamela Mazur, Coding Manager, MCBS, LLC
“Get involved in any professional organizations... Go to seminars, attend webinars to learn as much as you can about the industry.”
—Cristina Arredondo, Director of Revenue Cycle Management, Baptist M&S Imaging