Ariana Brandon, RHIA
Vallejo,CA
Summary
Adaptable and experienced Clinical Informatics Specialist with 19 years of experience leveraging patient care and technological skills to manage and optimize health information systems. Reputation for reliability and results-oriented approach, with extensive knowledge of government policy and regulations, ensuring compliance, data integrity, and driving process improvements for healthcare and health research advancement. Proven expertise in optimizing workflow processes to identify deficiencies and contribute to the realization of organizational mission and goals within multidisciplinary teams.
Overview
19
19
years of professional experience
Work History
Inpatient Hospital Coder
Kaiser Permanente
01.2022 - Current
- Accurate and timely abstraction of data from physician documentation for Inpatient hospital encounters adhering to regulatory compliance (CMS, HIPAA, and state & local regulations)
- Proficiency in Epic, Optum CAC, and 3M 360 for coding tasks, contributing to streamlined processes and efficient data management
Professional Practicum Experience
University of Rochester & Affiliates
01.2024 - 02.2024
- Analysis of Hyland OnBase vs Epic Gallery for workflow optimization, highlighting the benefits of each in terms of TEFCA and HITECH compliance and compatibility
- Identification of efficiency opportunities with conditional implementation of Epic Gallery and development of charts for easy identification of proposed Epic Gallery features with respective release dates
Labor Co-Lead
Kaiser Permanente Labor-Management Partnership
01.2007 - 01.2023
- Inpatient Pharmacy Technicians, Post-Acute Care Coders and Outpatient Coders: projects for coding quality, employee health & safety, and process improvement
- Proposal for peer-based educational format to improve coding quality with high satisfaction level from participants
- Independently designed surveys, collected and analyzed data, presented results with visual aids for business processes
Outpatient Hospital Coder
Kaiser Permanente
01.2020 - 01.2022
- With 95% or greater accuracy, coding of outpatient procedure, ED observation, ambulatory surgery encounters in many specialties, while demonstrating compliance with CMS, HIPAA, and state & local regulations
- Bridged understanding of coding rules & regulations relevant to outpatient episodes of care
Post-Acute Care Coder
Kaiser Permanente
01.2016 - 01.2020
- Excelled in home health, home hospice, and Skilled Nursing Facility coding, ensuring accuracy and CMS compliance aligned most closely with inpatient coding rules & regulations
- Utilization of pharmacy and HIM/HIT knowledge to successfully transition into coding with 90% or higher accuracy
HIM Specialist (Analyst)
Kaiser Permanente
01.2014 - 01.2016
- Analyzed inpatient, outpatient, and ambulatory surgery physician notes for quantitative and qualitative standards
- Courteously and respectfully communicated with physicians for deficiency tracking and documentation integrity activities
- Interfaced in-person with patients and their families to collect accurate data for entry into California’s Vital Statistics database
Inpatient Pharmacy Technician
Kaiser Permanente
01.2006 - 01.2014
- Exemplified clinical support role of pharmacy, fostering respectful communication between pharmacy and nursing departments, as well as providing critical support in navigating Epic interfaces and Pyxis machines for medication dispensing
- Adhered to pharmacy and healthcare regulations, local, state, and federal laws including HIPAA and in accordance with JH accreditation standards
Education
MS - Applied Health Sciences Informatics
12.2026
- Intro to Precision Medicine Data Analysis
Projects: Analysis of Asthma Exacerbations & Patient Demographics utilizing Python
- Intro to Biomedical Informatics
Projects: Analysis of Stanford Medicine’s Virtual Track ED with the Health Informatics Stack
- Clinical Data Analysis with Python
- Database Querying in Health
- 3.87 GPA
BS - Health Information Management
01.2024
- Chancellor’s List: Summer 2023, Fall 2023, Spring 2024
- Dean’s List: Spring 2023, Winter 2023
- Relevant Projects: Maternal Anemia and Postpartum Hemorrhage, Gestational Diabetes Care & Prevention, Cancer in California and Hawaii
- Relevant Courses: Health Informatics, Biostatistics & Epidemiology I & II, Research Methods for Health Sciences
- GPA: Magna Cum Laude
AAS - Health Information Technology
01.2013
- Relevant Courses: Computer Applications for Business, Data Analysis with Spreadsheet, Data Applications & Healthcare Quality
- Dean’s List: Summer 2013, Fall 2013
Skills
- Healthcare Data Analytics & Informatics
- Regulatory Healthcare Compliance
- Medical Coding Proficiency: ICD-10-CM, ICD-10-PCS, CPT/HCPCS
- Python Programming
- SQL
- Healthcare Information Systems
- Clinical process knowledge & workflow optimization
- Quality improvement initiatives
- Health information exchange & Interoperability standards
- Data governance
- Electronic health records (Epic)
- Adaptability, reliability and flexibility
- Team leadership, teamwork and collaboration
- Analytical and problem-solving aptitude
Professional Organization Memberships
- American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA)
- Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS)
- American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA)
- California Health Information Association (CHIA)
Timeline
Professional Practicum Experience - University of Rochester & Affiliates
01.2024 - 02.2024
Inpatient Hospital Coder - Kaiser Permanente
01.2022 - Current
Outpatient Hospital Coder - Kaiser Permanente
01.2020 - 01.2022
Post-Acute Care Coder - Kaiser Permanente
01.2016 - 01.2020
HIM Specialist (Analyst) - Kaiser Permanente
01.2014 - 01.2016
Labor Co-Lead - Kaiser Permanente Labor-Management Partnership
01.2007 - 01.2023
Inpatient Pharmacy Technician - Kaiser Permanente
01.2006 - 01.2014
Purdue University Global - BS, Health Information Management
Johns Hopkins University - MS, Applied Health Sciences Informatics
DeVry University - AAS, Health Information Technology