Suzan Berman-Hvizdash, CPC, CPC-E/M, CPC-EDS, Physician Educator for UPMC’s Department of Surgery Pittsburgh, PA, is responsible for compliance training to 250+ staff/faculty. She is a former National Advisory Board Member of the AAPC and currently sits on the AAPC Local Chapter Advisory Board. She is also on the Board of Advisors for General Surgery Coding Alert and Part B Insider. Berman-Hvizdash has spoken nationally on a variety of topics on several audio-conferences, at the AAPC National Conferences and other national conferences including those for TCI.

Barbara Cobuzzi, CPC-OTO, CPC-H, CPC-P, CPC-I, CHCC, is the Consulting Director of Education for the Coding Institute while still operating her own consulting firm, CRN Healthcare Solutions. She also acts as the Consulting Director for Publications for the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC). She holds a BS in Industrial Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from New York University. Ms Cobuzzi is a past member of the AAPC National Advisory Board as well as their Executive Board. Prior to joining the healthcare industry, Ms. Cobuzzi worked in the Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Industry. She is frequently quoted by or has written for Opus Communications’ How to Get Paid, Conomikes Medicare Hotline, Many of The Coding Specialty Specific Coding Newsletters as well as Part B Insider, Managed Care Negotiator, Physician Practice Coder and many other key publications in the medical coding and reimbursement industry. Barbara is a speaker for McVey Seminars and does consulting nationally on practice process, operations, billing, coding, reimbursement, compliance and HIPAA. Barbara Cobuzzi is also the Consulting Editor for Otolaryngology Coding Alert and The Coding Corner of Part B Insider.

Cindy Hughes, CPC, PCS, is the Coding and Compliance Specialist for the American Academy of Family Physicians and a contributing editor to Family Practice Management magazine. Cindy has been a certified professional coder for seven years and has over 19 years experience in medical coding and billing. Cindy is an active member of the American Academy of Professional Coders of Kansas City and currently serves as News Committee Chairperson.

*(Cindy is not speaking as a representative of the AAFP at this conference.)

Jennifer Godreau, BA, CPC, has seen first-hand the everyday coding dilemmas audiology coding creates. As executive editor, editor-in-chief and editor of The Coding Institute’s Otolaryngology Coding Alert for six years, she has worked with the American Academy of Audiology, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and the American Academy of Otolaryngology explaining their guidance to ENT and audiology coders, billers and physicians. She holds a BA in English from Wittenberg University in Ohio and has a certificate of professional coding (CPC).

Deborah Grider, CPC-EMS, CPC-H, CPC-P, CCS-P, is president of Medical Professionals, Inc, in Indianapolis; a full service consulting firm. She is the President of the American Academy of Professional Coders National Advisory Board. Grider is a Certified Professional Coder, Certified Professional Coder-Hospital, Certified Professional Coder-Payer, and an E/M Specialist with the American Academy of Professional Coders. She is a Certified Coding Specialist with the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), and a member of the Peer Review Editorial Board for Contexo Media. Grider has been in healthcare for 30 years and speaks nationally across the country in relation to compliance, coding, and reimbursement.

Grider is the author of many coding publications for the American Medical Association. She is the author of Principles of ICD-9-CM Coding in its third edition, Coding with Modifiers in its second edition, Medical Record Chart Auditor in its second edition. She is also writing the ICD-10-CM Implementation Guide, which will be released in 2009. In addition to authoring books for AMA, she is the author of the Certified Professional Coder-Hospital, study guide, independent study module 6 and 7 and the Professional Medical Coding Curriculum-Hospital for the American Academy of Professional Coders.

Charles A. Scott, MD grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio and attended Northwestern University in its Honors Program in Medical Education, a combined 7-year course of undergraduate and medical school studies; he graduated with his MD degree from Northwestern University’s Medical School in 1977, and in 1980, he completed a pediatric residency at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in Philadelphia. Since then he has been practicing in a large pediatric office in the Philadelphia suburb of Medford, New Jersey. The office has 7 general pediatricians, and the local hospital affiliation is with the Virtua HealthCare System.

Richard Tuck, MD is a general pediatrician in a private group practice in Zanesville, Ohio. He is also medical director of Quality Care Partners, a southeastern Ohio PHO. Dr. Tuck is a nationally known expert with extensive knowledge of CPT and ICD coding, as well as payer and reimbursement issues, gained through his personal practice and state/national committee involvement. He serves as the American Academy of Pediatrics’ representative to the AMA RBRVS Review Update Committee (RUC). Dr. Tuck received the Buzzy VanChiere award for his efforts to educate pediatricians on appropriate coding. This education assists physicians in obtaining adequate payment for the work they do and maintains access to care for their patients.

Vicky Varley O'Neil, CPC, CCS-P is the owner of The Hazlett Group, a St. Louis, Missouri-based consulting firm that provides comprehensive practice management services to physicians. O'Neil is well recognized for her expertise and integrity in compliance, auditing, and coding education. She offers over 12 years experience in dealing with complex issues involving physician reimbursement, coding and compliance and regularly lectures for both the Coding Institute and the American Academy of Professional Coders. She serves on The Coding Institute/Eli Research’s Editorial Advisory Board and is a member of the St. Louis Regional Asthma Consortium.