Debbie Farmer, CPC, ACS-AN, is a consultant with Auditing for Compliance and Education (ACE), Leawood, Kan. Ms. Farmer has more than 20 years of experience with both physician and hospital billing, and is well versed in Medicare and Medicaid billing requirements. Before working for ACE, she was employed as a billing supervisor for a large anesthesia practice. She enjoys the challenge of anesthesia and pain auditing, and educating physicians and coders.

Joan Gilhooley, MBA, CPC, CHCC, is president and consultant with Medical Business Resources LLC, has 25+ years experience in health care. Since 1992, she’s instructed physicians and coders in E/M coding, auditing and other coding and reimbursement. She’s also the technical editor for Primary Care Coder’s Pink Sheet and facilitator for the MGMA on-line course “Assessing and Improving Your Billing Office.” She is involved in health care fraud litigation. 

Marvel J. Hammer, RN, BS, CPC, CCS-P, ASC-PM, CHCO, is  a coding and compliance consultant and principal of MJH Consulting.  She provides documentation auditing, healthcare compliance evaluations and coding/account receivables assistance for her clients. Additionally, she has attained the qualifications of Advanced Coding Specialist – Pain Management and Certified Healthcare Compliance Officer.  She is a registered nurse with over 25 years experience in a multitude of specialties.  Her field of specialties includes Pain Management, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Neurology, and Occupational Medicine.

Cheryl C. House RMC, CHI is the president and partner of CCH Medical Consultants, a consulting and management firm. She is also the Healthcare Director for New Horizons Learning Center in their Healthcare Management Information Department. Ms. House has been in consulting, management and billing for over30 years. Through the course of her career she has been a health care educator, practice manager and collections manager for several hospital systems in the Midwest. Her responsibilities included classroom teaching and reimbursement problem solving techniques. She is the author of several training manuals and has been the editor of several coding and computer newsletters. Her extensive administrative and financial managed care experience deals with all aspects of health care billing. She is a Registered Medical Coder through Medical Management Institute and a Certified Healthcare Instructor through National Healthcare Association.

Betty A. Johnson, CPC, CCS-P, CCP, CIC, is a healthcare consultant with over 19 years experience in physician coding, billing, and education. She is the president and CEO of CPC Solutions, Inc. She serves on the National Advisory Board of the American Academy of Professional Coders as the Member Relations Officer - East. She is also an Academy workshop presenter. She presents various coding and billing-related topics across the country. She is also a featured writer for the Academy’s Coding Edge magazine. Betty holds a B.A. in Healthcare Administration. She focuses on coding and billing issues, fraud and abuse compliance, reimbursement issues, and PATH guidelines.

Leslie Johnson, CCS-P, is the Director for Research and Education as well as the Coding and Compliance Consultant for DR Management, LLC.  She has been in the industry since 1992 and has served in various positions performing billing, coding and teaching for multiple specialties. Her expertise is extensive and includes optometry & ophthalmology, family practice & internal medicine, cardiology, anesthesia/pain management, general surgery, OB, radiology, and orthopedics. She has also been quoted in various publications such as Anesthesia & Pain Coding Alert, The Pink Sheets, The Answer Books for Anesthesia and Cardiology, and ICD-9 / CPT Coding Pro Online Publications.

Joanne Mehmert, CPC, has specialized in medical office management and reimbursement issues for the past 35 years.  A Certified Operating Room Technician and a Certified Professional Coder, she brings “walk in your shoes” experience directly to physicians’ staff as well as an understanding of the clinical aspects of the practice.  Exceptionally qualified, Joanne relates to physicians from a side-by-side perspective.  Her management and reimbursement skills in the medical office are com­plete.  She is a regular speaker at the Anesthesia Answer Book Conferences sponsored by United Communications Group, Healthstream Education Courses, and the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians. 

Myriam Nieves, CPC, ACS-PM, is the president of Precision Medical Systems, Inc, a Medical Coding & Billing company in the South Florida area specializing in Pain Management.  She is a Certified Professional Coder by the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) and an Advanced Coding Specialist in Pain Management by the Board of Advanced Medical Coding (BAMC).  Mrs. Nieves has over 7 years of experience in the healthcare industry.  She currently sits on the organization’s compliance committee, conducts physician and staff training, and provides a wide variety of other coding and consulting services.

Nancy Reading, RN, BS, CPC, is Director of Educational Services, American Academy of Professional Coders.  She has 22 years experience in health care with ten in coding and reimbursement.   Her experience includes lead consultant for CES database development, clinical analyst for Claims Manager System, and clinical editor for Ingenix for the Medical Dictionary for Coders. She has also been a consultant for 3M, an independent consulting business with a national client base, and has educated staff and physicians on medical billing at the University of Utah. Ms. Reading has also worked for the American Academy of Professional Coders as a clinical analyst authoring PMCC, the CPC exam and the PMCC instructor program, and as a clinical editor for Coding Edge.