Expert Speakers

Beyond keeping up-to-date, medical coding and billing professionals must evolve to survive and thrive in an environment of dramatic changes and challenges. A key contributor to the overwhelming success of the 2011 Coding Update and Reimbursement Conference was a formidable expert speaker line-up. Coding Conferences is proud to have featured the industry’s best:

Specialty Track	Resource Speaker	Speaker Bio
Billing and Collection; Otolaryngology		Barbara Cobuzzi MBA, CPC®, CENTC®, CPC-H®, CPC-P®, CPC-I®, CHCC®, is President of CRN Healthcare Solutions in Tinton Falls, NJ. She holds a BS in Industrial Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from New York University. She holds certifications from the AAPC as a CPC, CPC-H, CPC-P and a CPC-I. She also holds a specialty certification in Otolaryngology (CENTC). Ms Cobuzzi is a past member of the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) National Advisory Board as well as their Executive Board. She has also earned her Certification as a Healthcare Compliance Consultant from Healthcare Compliance Resources (CHCC). She is frequently quoted by leading industry newsletters. Barbara is a speaker for The Coding Institute, AAPC, MGMA, Ingenix, Association of Otolaryngology Administrators, Various State Otolaryngology Societies, the American Academy of Otolaryngology / Head and Neck Surgeons among other organizations. Ms Cobuzzi is a senior auditor and coder for The Coding Network. Barbara Cobuzzi is also the Consulting Editor of Otolaryngology Coding Alert, Medical Office Billing and Part B Insider, as well as on many of the Editorial Advisory Boards of other coding publications.
Otolaryngology		Charles F. Koopmann, Jr., MD, MHSA, is Professor and Associate Chair of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery at the University of Michigan. He received his Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Medicine degrees from Northwestern University Medical School where he was in the third class in the Honors Program in Medicine. He served his internship and Otolaryngology residency at the University of Iowa. After fulfilling his service commitment in the United States Air Force at Langley AFB, Virginia he spent nine years on the faculty of the University of Arizona Medical School. Since 1986 he has been at the University of Michigan. Dr. Koopmann has served the Academy of Otolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery in multiple capacities which include the Academy’s representative to the Harvard RBRVS study (Hsaio study), its Advisor to the AMA Relative Value Update Committee (RUC) and is the Academy’s current representative to the RUC. He served for six years as the Academy’s Coordinator for Socioeconomic Affairs and six years as its Coordinator for Practice Affairs. He also has served as the Billing Director and as the Physician Compliance office for the University of Michigan Faculty Group Practice (until June 2010). He is active in the Michigan Medical Society’s socioeconomic matters as well as being past President of the Michigan Otolaryngology Society.
Ambulatory Surgery; General Surgery; Orthopedic		Cristina Bentin, CCS-P, CPC-H, CMA, is the president and founder of Coding Compliance Management, LLC, a healthcare consulting company specializing in the markets of ambulatory surgery centers with emphasis on coding support, reimbursement and training. Ms. Bentin is nationally recognized as a leading freestanding ASC coding educator, speaker, and writer with over 20 years of hands-on experience in ASC multi-specialty surgical coding as well as physician office coding. Ms. Bentin is a member of the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) Certified Professional Coder Hospital based, a member of the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) Certified Coding Specialist – Physician based, a member of the National Association of Health Professionals and a member of the North American Spine Society. She currently serves on the Education & Program Committee for The ASC Association (ASCA). Prior to establishing Coding Compliance Management, LLC, Cristina was CFO of a surgical hospital and participated in its start-up and development. She was also formerly the Director of Education for a medical consulting firm in which she was responsible for educational ASC coding seminars and audit processes. In addition, Cristina has had extensive experience as the education and training manager for a national healthcare corporation, and was directly involved in the continued education of its 200 + ASC facilities and coders nationwide ensuring OIG, Medicare and state requirements were met. She enjoys developing and providing educational seminars to meet the needs of ASC facilities. Cristina’s coding lectures include groups such as Federated Ambulatory Surgery Association, Ambulatory Surgery Center Association, Ambulatory Surgery Foundation, Becker’s ASC, The Coding Institute, The American Health Information Management Association, and The American Academy of Professional Coders. She frequently contributes trade articles to Becker’s ASC Review and Outpatient Surgery Magazine.
Pathology		Dennis L. Padget, MBA, CPA, FHFMA, is President and founder of DLPadget Enterprises, Inc. in Simpsonville, Kentucky, publisher of Pathology Service Coding Handbook. He is a Certified Public Accountant and a Fellow in the Healthcare Financial Management Association. He has an MBA degree from the University of Chicago and a BA degree from the University of Northern Iowa. Mr. Padget is a member of the Healthcare Financial Management Association, the American Pathology Foundation, the American Health Lawyers Association, and the Editorial Advisory Board of Pathology/Lab Coding Alert. He is a frequent speaker at state and national pathology and laboratory professional association meetings and has published several articles on hospital and physician payment, compliance and accounting issues.Prior to his retirement from active consulting at the end of 2003, Mr. Padget headed Padget & Associates, a pathology and laboratory financial management and compliance advisory firm. During its nearly 23-year existence Padget & Associates served several hundred physician practices, independent laboratories, medical billing agencies, and hospitals in about 40 states. The firm specialized in: healthcare compliance plan development and management; anatomical and clinical pathology CPT charge and ICD9CM diagnosis coding evaluation and update studies; third-party, managed care, and hospital contracting; laboratory and pathology joint venturing and outsourcing; and pathology group integration planning and implementation.
Billing and Collection		Deresa Claybrook, MS, RHIT is the President of Positive Resource Health Care Industry Consultants. Positive Resource for short is a consulting company that specializes in Health Information Management (HIM) and Human Resource (HR) training for health care organizations. Mrs. Claybrook has over 25 years in the healthcare industry. She has practical experience as a Coder, Medical Records Director, Human Resource Director and as an adjunct professor. She also has experience as a Long Term Care Administrator. Ms. Claybrook loves to train, motivate and inspire those in the healthcare field to perform their best. She is a part time adjunct professor at Oklahoma City Community College. In her free time she also loves to work as a consumer advocate to ensure that everyone understands the importance of their health care information. Ms. Claybrook received her Masters of Science degree in Management and her Bachelors of Arts n Human Resources from Southern Nazarene. She graduated with her Associates degree in Medical Records Science from Amarillo College in 1986. She is a Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT) and proudly holds a membership with American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA). She has served on the local board of OkHIMA as the state Continuing Education Coordinator (CEC). She works directly with healthcare organizations to offer resources in the area of Human Resource (HR) Management and Health Information Management (HIM) with a special emphasis on training health care professionals in the health care industry. She has recently served on the Oklahoma Health Information Security and Privacy Collaboration Project also known as the Oklahoma governor’s task force to assist with the formulation of a regional health information organization (RHIO) for the state of Oklahoma. She has written professionally for many health care magazines. She is an Advanced Communicator Silver through Toastmaster and speaks nationally on various health care topics in her field
Pediatrics		Donelle Holle, RN, is a pediatric nurse with over 28 years of coding and billing experience for pediatric services. As a director of coding and reimbursement for the Dept. of Pediatrics at the University of Michigan, she oversaw the entire billing process for physicians including appealing denials from the insurance companies. Ms. Holle has presented in seminars on pediatric coding throughout the US and was a speaker at the National Conference for the AAP as well as other national conferences.
Family Practice; General Surgery; Orthopedic; Urology		Elin Baklid-Kunz, MBA, CPC®, CCS, is Director of Physician Services for Halifax Health in Daytona Beach, FL. Kunz has 15 years of healthcare experience, including seven years in finance and four years in compliance. She is a workshop presenter for the American Academy of Professional Coders and a freelance author for HCPro, Inc. writing e-learning courses for JustCoding.com. She is also an adjunct professor at Seminole Community College where she teaches courses pertaining to healthcare reimbursement and serves on the advisory committee for the health information management program.
Ob-Gyn		Harry Stuber, MD, FACOG, Harry is a private practice ObGyn in Tennessee, specializing in general gynecology, obstetrics and preventive care. He is certified by the Accreditation Council for gynecologic endoscopy, advanced laparoscopy and advanced operative hysteroscopy. He has a strong interest in breast cancer and basic cancer research, and he is presenting education in this area to the TN Tech School of Nursing. He is also the Director of the local Hispanic Prenatal Clinic, and manages providing women’s health procedures at the Regional Health Office for the Health Department. He enjoys breaking down complex topics into concrete knowledge and is an excellent and entertaining speaker.
Ob-Gyn		Jan Rasmussen, CPC, ACS-OB, ACS-GI, Owner, Professional Coding Solutions, Holcombe, WI. As a health care consultant, Jan Rasmussen has more than 30 years of experience in physician billing, reimbursement and compliance. In her role as a physician consultant, she has participated in physician coding and documentation reviews including OIG government PATH and Champus audits and has designed and conducted physician coding seminars nationwide. Jan is a well-known educator and lecturer on ObGyn and general surgery. .
Family Practice; Pediatrics		Jen Godreau, BA, CPC®, CPMA®, CPEDC®, specializes in medical coding policy for pediatrics, otolaryngology including allergy and audiology, family practice, internal medicine, and pulmonology. In her most recent role as director of the Coding Institute’s Supercoder.com and Consulting & Revenue Cycle Solutions, she puts coding resources, references, and education at coder’s and physicians fingertips.Jen learned the ropes of coding from almost a decade of writing, editing, and managing Coding Alert publications. She wrote Pediatric Coding Specialty Alert for eight years, Otolaryngology Coding Specialty Alert for seven years, the primary care publications for six plus years, and Pulmonology Coding Alert for two years. She also wrote the ICD-9 study guide for the Certified Otolaryngology Coder™ (CENTC™) examination offered through AAPC and edited the 2011 updated Professional Medical Coding Curriculum that AAPC certified instructors’ use. Jen shares her enthusiasm for correct coding by presenting at national conferences, Audioeducator Webinars, SuperCoder Webinars, and physician practices. She also audits and consults for practices.Jen has a bachelor of arts in English and a minor in theater from Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, has taken medical science classes at Florida Gulf Coast University in Ft. Myers. She became a Certified Professional Coder® (CPC®) in 2001, added her designation as a Certified Pediatric Coder™ (CPEDC™) in 2009, and became a Certified Medical Coding Auditor® (CPMA®) in 2010.
Billing and Collection; Family Practice; Cardiology		Jill M. Young, CPC, CEDC, CIMC has been the principle of Young Medical Consulting, LLC for the past 9 years. She brings with her over 30 years of medical experience, including a diverse background in all areas of a medical office from clinical duties to coding and billing. Her past includes time spent working with many different physician specialties. Her skill set includes chart auditing and instructional lectures for both office staff and physicians on a variety of topics. Jill’s comments and opinions can be seen in several publications and also heard on a variety of audio-conferences. Her professional speaking includes educational lectures for the Michigan State Medical Society and other national organizations including The Coding Institute and Eli Research. Previously she was a workshop presenter nationally for the AAPC and she has been a topic speaker at the AAPC National Conference for the past 7 years. She is known particularly for expertise in Internal Medicine topics, ICD-10 preparation and Sleep Disorders. A charter member of the Board of Directors of the AAPC (AAPCCA) she served as chair of the board her last 2 years, 2009-2011. She also served on the National Advisory Board of the AAPC 2004-2005.
Ambulatory Surgery; General Surgery		Joanne Schade-Boyce RDH, MS, CPC, ACS, PCS, Vice-President, Outpatient and Ambulatory Surgery Division, FairCode Associates, LLC, has vast experience as a Clinician, Educator, Insurance Director, Business Administrator, Lecturer, and Consultant. Ms. Schade-Boyce has over 30 years of experience in healthcare administration with a Master of Science, its focus on Risk Management, from Old Dominion University. Ms. Schade-Boyce has been a lead instructor of educational courses for over 25 years, as well as an expert in development of user-friendly training and instructional manuals. Joanne’s areas of expertise include surgical coding, external coding audits, on- and off-site training of surgical coding and billing, as well as professional coding services. Ms. Schade-Boyce’s coding lectures include groups such as Federated Ambulatory Surgery Association, Ambulatory Surgery Center Association, DecisionHealth, The Board of Medical Specialty Coding, The Coding Institute, and ASC Communications, Inc. Additionally, she is a member of and attends the annual meetings for the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) and the American Healthcare Information Management Association (AHIMA), focusing on healthcare coding & compliance trends. Ms. Schade-Boyce is Vice-President of FairCode Associates, L.L.C., a Baltimore Maryland consulting firm, specializing in coding education, ASC audits, and clinical documentation improvement strategies.
Urology		Jonathan N. Rubenstein, MD. Dr. Rubenstein is the Director of Coding and Medical Compliance for Chesapeake Urology Associates, a urology practice with nearly 50 providers, in Baltimore, MD. He received his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX, did his residency at Northwestern University in Chicago, and was fellowship trained in endourology, laparoscopy and minimally invasive surgery at UC San Francisco.
Billing and Collection; Family Practice; Pediatrics		Joseph Newsome, CPC®, CPC-I®, CEMC®, HCS, HAS. Joseph has extensive experience with Coding and Billing.Prior to joining MCHC, he worked for a large CaliforniaMedical Management Company. His duties included training, auditing, performance audits, compliance and documentation. Joseph’s practice management experience has allowed him to work as an independent consultant. He has now focused his energy full-time to educate those wanting to become certified coders and those seeking continuing education units. He has served on the Advisory Board of educational institutes and has dedicated his service to the success of his students.Joseph is accredited as a Certified Professional Coder,Certified Professional Coding Instructor, and E/M Auditor Specialist by the American Academy of Professional Coders.
Anesthesia; Pain Management		Judith Blaszczyk, RN, CPC®, ACS-PM has 18 years of experience as a registered nurse working in an acute care hospital setting. This background provides invaluable insight into the clinical aspects of medical coding and documentation as well as experience interacting with physicians and other clinicians. In addition to her clinical background, Mrs. Blaszczyk has 20 years of experience in medical coding and billing with a specialization in anesthesia and pain management. She received her CPC from the American Association of Professional Coders in 1999 and her Advanced Coding Specialist-Pain Management Certification from the Board of Medical Specialty Coding in 2006. For 18 years she was part of the management team for a large anesthesia and pain management billing company. This allowed her to work with practices of various sizes, scope of practice and geographical location. This experience has prepared her to meet the needs of the wide variety of practices. One of her passions is assisting providers and coders in understanding and remaining current on the constantly changing coding and billing regulations. She provides onsite education to clinicians and coding and billing staff as well as speaking at seminars and conferences. As a member of the BMSC National Pain Management Advisory Board she has further opportunity to impact the future of the coding and billing industry. Currently she is a compliance auditor for Auditing for Compliance and Education, Inc, and is excited to have the opportunity to use her knowledge and experience to assist in helping providers to meet their compliance and business goals.
Anesthesia		Kelly D. Dennis, MBA, ACS-AN, CANPC, CHCA, CPC, CPC-I, has over twenty-eight years experience in anesthesia billing. Her first position in anesthesia billing was as an “administrative assistant,” and she has worked in every capacity from demographics and charge entry, billing, collections and billing company co-owner to forming an internal anesthesia group billing office, serving as their administrator. Kelly became a certified coder with the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) in 2001, a PMCC certified instructor in 2002, received the Certificate of Proficiency in Anesthesiology and holds an anesthesia and pain management specialty certification from the AAPC since 2007. She is an Advanced Coding Specialist in Anesthesia, and has served as lead anesthesia advisor for the Board of Medical Specialty Coding (BMSC) since 2004. Kelly received her Master of Business Administration degree from AIU University in November 2005 and in July, 2009 passed the Association of Health Care Auditors and Educators (AHCAE) test, to become a certified health care chart auditor. Kelly is an active member, past Legislative Liaison and past President of Florida Anesthesia Administrators’ Association (FAAA), and past President of Medical Group Management Association’s Anesthesia Administrators Assembly (MGMA/AAA). She opened her consulting company, Perfect Office Solutions, Inc. in 2001 and works with groups and organizations on a national basis, specializing in anesthesia. With a firm commitment to education, Kelly dedicates time to speak at various meetings and teleconferences throughout the year.
Anesthesia; Pain Management		Leslie Johnson, CCS-P®, CPC®. Leslie has almost two decades experience in the medical billing and coding industry. She is the creator of AskLeslie.net website http://www.askleslie.net which is dedicated to upholding the highest ethical coding and billing standards in the spirit of sharing ideas, strategies and expertise through networking and education. Career highlights include: teaching Medical Billing and Coding to Anesthesiologists, Endocrinologists, ENT, FM, IM and their staffs; guest speaker for The Coding Institute and AAPC; expert panelist for The Coding Line; contributor to Becker’s ASC Review Online. Leslie’s experience and understanding of the medical industry complements the management team by marrying expertise in coding with billing to achieve the highest levels of compliance and reimbursement standards.
Orthopedic		Lynn Anderanin, CPC,CPC-I is the Sr. Director Coding Compliance and Education for Healthcare Information Services, a physician billing and consulting service in the Chicagoland, area. She has over 28 years experience in all areas of the physician practice including Practice Administrator, Billing Manager, and Director of Operations. Her experience is primarily in the specialties of Orthopedics, Rheumatology, and Hematology/Oncology. She has been a speaker for many conferences, including the AAPC National Conferences and Workshops, Community Colleges, audio conferences, and Local Chapters. Lynn became a CPC in 1993, a Certified Instructor in 2002, and a Certified Orthopedic Surgery Coder in 2009. Lynn is the founder of the first local Chapter of the AAPC in Chicago, which is now 15 years old, and a former member of the AAPC National Advisory Board as well as other Boards for the AAPC.
Family Practice		Maggie M. Mac, CPC®, CEMC®, CHC®, CMM, ICCE. Ms. Mac has served the health care industry for over 20 years. She currently serves as the Director of Network Oversight with Mount Sinai Medical Center Compliance Department in New York City. Maggie is a national speaker delivering information to audiences on topics dealing with medical practice compliance issues, personnel management, human resources, internet resources, coding and reimbursement, chart audits and federal regulations. She is a frequent contributor to and serves on the Editorial and Consulting Advisory Board to many health management and coding publications nationally. She has earned numerous awards, recognition and respect for her professional achievements and contributions to the healthcare community across the country.
General Surgery		Marsha S. Diamond, CPC, CPC-H, CCS is Involved in the medical coding, compliance, billing, healthcare reimbursement, education and management fields for over 30 years in the Central Florida area encompassing academic medicine, hospital, hospital-based physicians, physicians and facility coding. Author of coding textbooks, Mastering Medical Coding, Code Compass, Understanding Hospital Coding and Billing, Coders Resource Handbook, as well as a significant number of coding and compliance-related articles for publications and newsletters. Instructor and Department Chair, Health Information Technology in the Central Florida area. Speaker at National AAPC conferences, MGMA, State AHIMA conferences, physician groups as well as coding organizations such as the Coding Institute and Ingenix. AAPC National Conference speaker and AAPC Workshop presenter, Past AAPC National Advisory Board member, current Ingenix advisory board member, local Orlando chapter President for several years.
Pain Management		Marvel J. Hammer, RN, BS, CPC, CCS-P, ASC-PM, CHCO, is an accomplished professional with considerable years of experience both in the business and medical fields resulting in a combined health and business background. She is a coding and compliance consultant and principal of MJH Consulting based in Denver, Colorado. She provides documentation auditing, healthcare compliance evaluations and coding/account receivables assistance for her clients. Marvel takes pleasure in teaching providers and their staff on correct coding and billing issues. She has presented on these topics nationwide. She has worked in computer billing software design, implementation, training, and conversion of software systems. Marvel received a BS from the University of Colorado – Denver with an emphasis in finance and information systems. She maintains her credentials with the American Academy of Professional Coders as a Certified Professional Coder and American Health Information Management Association as a Certified Coding Specialist – Physician Based. She is the Past-president of the Rocky Mountain chapter of AAPC. Additionally, she has attained the qualifications of Advanced Coding Specialist – Pain Management and Certified Healthcare Compliance Officer. Marvel is a registered nurse with over twenty-five years experience in a multitude of specialties. Her field of specialties includes Pain Management, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Neurology, and Occupational Medicine.
Ob-Gyn		Melanie Witt, RN, CPC®, COBGC®, MA, is a registered nurse with experience in maternal-fetal medicine. She holds a master’s degree in health economics and is the former program manager for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Department of Coding and Nomenclature. Ms Witt was editor of several ACOG publications including CPT Coding in Obstetrics and Gynecology, ICD-9-CM Diagnostic Coding in Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Ob-Gyn Coding Manual: Components of Correct Procedural Coding. She is currently providing coding education seminars to individual ob-gyn practices and performs shadow audits for practices that have been targeted by third-party payers for overpayments or fraud and abuse or compliance issues. She is on the Advisory Board and is the technical editor for The Coding Institute’s monthly newsletter Ob-Gyn Coding Alert.
Urology		Michael A. Ferragamo, Jr., MD, FACS received his undergraduate degree from Columbia University in New York City, his medical degree from State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York, and after two years of general surgical training at The Brooklyn Hospital, completed his three years of urological training at the Kings County Hospital Medical center, Brooklyn, New York, under the late Keith R. Waterhouse MD. Dr. Ferragamo served two years in the United States Navy during the Vietnam conflict as Lieutenant Commander in the medical corps and as assistant chief of urology at the St. Albans Naval Hospital, Queens, New York. Dr. Ferragamo is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Urology at the State University of New York, University Hospital and School of Medicine at Stony Brook, Long Island, New York. He is also the Senior Urologist with Urocare Associates of New York, a six person private urological practice for which he oversees coding and reimbursement issues. Dr. Ferragamo is a consultant for the Physicians Reimbursement Systems, Denver, Colorado, the America Association of Professional Coders as well as a coding consultant for a number of private practices, medical institutions, clinics, and hospitals including The Lahey Clinic, The Mayo Clinic, Urology Department, Jacksonville, Florida, Arizona Health Science Center, Tucson, Arizona, Section of Urology, State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center, and the Brookdale Medical Center Campus, Concord Hospital Center for Urological care, McKay Urology, Charlotte, North Carolina, New York University, Department of Urology, New York City, New York, and University Urology at Stony Brook, New York. Dr. Ferragamo has given seminars on urological coding and reimbursement at several regional sections of the AUA and at the AUA. He has presented numerous national teleconferences for The Coding Institute of Naples, Florida, Eli-Research of North Carolina, and for Decision Health, Baltimore, Maryland. He has published papers on urology coding and reimbursement in the Journal of Endourology and Contemporary Urology and is consulting Editor for Urology Coding Alert, a monthly newsletter devoted to proper urology coding and reimbursements. Dr. Ferragamo is the former chief of urology at the Hempstead Medical Center and the Franklin Medical Center in Long Island, New York and is an honorary attending in the Departments of Urology of Winthrop University Hospital in Mineola, New York, and Mercy Hospital in Rockville Center, New York.
Pathology		Peggy Slagle, CPC®. Peggy is the Manager of Billing and Compliance for the Department of Pathology at University of Nebraska Medical Center. She has had many years of billing experience in health care in the private sector physician setting and more recently in the out-patient hospital setting, with her major focus on pathology. She is presently on the editorial advisory board of the Pathology Coding Alert and has presented several teleconferences on pathology coding.
Pediatrics		Richard Harrison Tuck, MD, is affiliated with PrimeCare of Southeastern Ohio and is medical director for Quality Care Partners. He is on the National Committee on Coding and Reimbursement, American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and serves as the Academy of Pediatrics representative to the AMA RBRVS Review Update Committee (RUC). Dr. Tuck also serves as consulting editor for Pediatric Coding Alert and contributing author for Coding for Pediatrics, A Manual for Pediatric Documentation and Reimbursement, AAP.
Otolaryngology		Richard Waguespack, MD, FACS, currently serves as Coordinator for Socioeconomic Affairs and is a Director of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery (AAOHNS). He is immediate-past Chair of the Academy’s CPT & Relative Value Committee (2003-2009) and currently chairs its Core Otolaryngology Practice Management Education Committee. Additionally, he is a member of the Education Steering Committee and has taught in a number of AAOHNS educational venues, including seminars and instruction courses at the annual meeting.Dr. Waguespack has been AAOHNS CPT Advisor (1999-2004) and is current CPT Advisor for the Triological Society (2000-present). He was an AMA CPT Editorial Panelist from 2004-2008. In these roles, he continues to work closely with the AAOHNS health policy team on issues relating to coding and reimbursement, while maintaining his community-based practice in Birmingham, AL.Dr. Waguespack is a journal reviewer for The Laryngoscope and Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery. He has served as Guest Examiner and is now a Senior Examiner for the American Board of Otolaryngology. As a Fellow of the American Rhinological Society, he has been a member of its Patient Advocacy Committee.
Pain Management; Pediatrics; General Surgery		Robert W. Liles, Esq. focuses his practice on overpayment audits / appeals, fraud defense, internal audits and compliance and regulatory matters. He has achieved an “AV” rating by Martindale-Hubbell, the highest rating that may be awarded to an attorney and rated “10.0″ (out of a possible 10.0) by www.avvo.com, a nationwide attorney rating service. Robert served as Deputy Director for Legal Programs at the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys in Washington, DC. He also worked as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of Texas, Houston office, where he primarily handled False Claims Act matters and cases. Shortly after Congress passed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Robert was asked to serve as the first National Health Care Fraud Coordinator for the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys. In this capacity, he advised Assistant United States Attorneys around the country on civil and criminal health fraud statutes, schemes, investigative tools, privacy concerns, and compliance issues. He was instrumental in implementing DOJ guidance on the judicious use of the False Claims Act. Building on his health care management background and experience as a Federal prosecutor, Robert has represented a wide variety of health care providers and third-party billing companies in connection with government investigations and overpayment audits. He has extensive experience representing health care providers around the country in connection with Medicare administrative appeals.He currently serves as outside General Counsel for the “American Medical Billing Association” and is recommended by numerous health care related associations to their members. Most recently, he has been asked by Practice Management Institute to put together a new small provider certification program for Compliance Officers. Robert’s health care management education / background and his extensive experience working in the area of health law provide a real-world perspective when advising health care providers on enforcement and compliance issues.
Cardiology		Stacy M. Gregory, CPC®, CCC, RCC exudes a sincere passion for medical coding and compliance. A consultant with eleven years of experience in medical billing, coding, compliance and reimbursement (specifically in the fields of professional and technical outpatient radiology and cardiology), her dedication and ambition is evident. She is dual certified through the American Academy of Professional Coders (CCC/CPC) as well as the Radiology Coding Certification Board (RCC), and is knowledgeable regarding the appropriate coding and billing of all of today’s diagnostic and interventional radiology & cardiology procedures and technologies, from mammography and ultrasound to nuclear medicine, health screening examinations, cardiac catheterizations, and peripheral vascular interventions. Ms. Gregory is a frequent contributor to several national coding message boards and e-mail lists. Ms. Gregory participates in educational opportunities in all areas of her field.
Cardiology		Vicki Pappas, CPC, has been in the medical billing and coding profession for over 20 years. Her experience began as an every other weekend 3rd shift ED registration representative. Since the beginning she has climbed the professional ladder and has held positions in: Insurance verification, denials, check- in, check- out, billing, coding, Billing/Coding Manager and Practice Manager. Vicki has been employed with Duke University Medical Center in Durham, NC since December 2006. She is a Financial Analyst for the Heart Center and also oversees the coding for the Cardiac Catherization Labs, which include Electrophysiology and Peripherals. She is also the Physician and Staff Educator of Coding and Billing in the labs and works closely with the new fellows on documentation and coding issues.Vicki has taught Coding and Billing at the college level and has given numerous presentations regarding Cardiology Coding to physicians and coders. She is actively involved in her local AAPC Chapter and has held various positions including: President, Vice President and New Member Officer. She currently is the Co-Chairman of the North Carolina State Coders Conference.
Pathology		Diana W. Voorhees, M.A., CLS, MT, SH, CLCP, having been Director of Sales and Marketing and Senior Consultant for a national coding and reimbursement firm for nearly five years, Ms. Voorhees developed DV & Associates, a coding and reimbursement firm which provides consulting for physicians and facilities in all specialties. Ms. Voorhees has created a network of consultants with various health care backgrounds in order to provide quality, credible, and resourceful results for all consulting services. DV & Associates has been incorporated in excess of sixteen years. Ms. Voorhees initiated her career in laboratory medicine within the Division of Hematology (Doctors Wintrobe and Cartwright) , Department of Medicine, at the University of Utah. She has also worked with the Division of Hematology at The Ohio State University, the Clinical Chemistry Department at Holy Cross Hospital in Salt Lake City, and the Special Hematology and Hemostasis Laboratory at the University of Utah. She spent 14 years as an Associate Clinical Professor and administrative faculty of Medical Laboratory Sciences in the College of Pharmacy at the University of Utah. During her last year and a half in academia, she was recruited as Program Director to design, implement and direct the program in cytotechnology in the Department of Pathology. Ms. Voorhees, upon leaving the University setting, joined Coulter Corporation and provided technical support, customer training, and education primarily in the western United States. She was recruited by a national coding and reimbursement consulting firm, ed-Index/Medicode, where she spent nearly five years developing and marketing the consulting services for hospitals and other facilities, performing consulting engagements, providing seminars for national associations, enhancing product development, and serving on various corporate committees.
General Surgery		Marcella Bucknam, CPC, CCS-P, CPC-H, CCS, CPC-P, COC-OBGYN, CPC-CARDIO, has been working in health information management for 18 years including 5 years as a coding instructor for a health care college. She is an approved coding instructor and has helped hundreds of coders become certified. Bucknam is currently the manager of charge capture for a major university practice plan.