Bonnie Sheppard Merritt
Coded Note/ICQC
Maryville,TN
25
years of professional experience
Operations professional with strong background in managing complex projects and driving operational excellence. Known for collaborative approach and commitment to delivering high-quality results. Dependable and adaptable, consistently meeting changing demands of business. Proven skills in strategic planning and team leadership.
Work History
Director of Operations and Compliance
7 Years 2 Months- Managed all functions of billing, coding, documentation, and coding compliance to include educational sessions with providers.
- Development of policies, procedures, and processes for all departments for CodedNote.
- Developed a multi-department system to ensure CodedNote’s compliance with continued growth.
- Audits for providers, which included documentation and coding. Following up with training and educational meetings, with post-audits and education to ensure continued compliance.
- Overseeing and training a staff of 50 Coders and 60 Transcriptionists.
- Developed a Coding compliance policy that ensures continued training and 95% of all coding.
- Consulting services for opening, credentialing, and licensing of a GI ASC in NC. This included the setup of the NPPES and accreditation with QUAD for CMS. Ensuring all processes, policies, and procedures for all departments were completed and in place.
Billing Manager
1 Year 6 Months- Managed all functions of billing, A/R, claims management, coding, documentation, coding compliance, and education.
- Development of policies, procedures, and processes for the billing department.
- Credentialing for all provider staff.
- Provided training and consultation of facility healthcare professionals in the use of technical coding guidelines and practices, proper documentation techniques, to ensure adherence with Risk adjustment coding and Star measures.
- Complete month-end statistical reports regarding claim denials, physician productivity, billing errors, compliance with all Quality Measures.
- Data management and reports for weekly and monthly administrative reports.
Coding Supervisor/Auditor
1 Year 9 Months- Supervises and performs activities pertaining to the review and coding of inpatient and outpatient records.
- Establishes, implements, and maintains a formalized review process for coding compliance.
- Lead monthly and quarterly coding compliance meetings with both the coding department, faculty physician meetings, and resident didactic meetings.
- Provided training, coaching, and consultation of facility healthcare professionals in the use of technical coding guidelines and practices, proper documentation techniques, to ensure adherence with Risk adjustment coding and Quality Measures.
- Recommends and implements standardized, organization-wide coding guidelines and documentation requirements; develops and implements training and educational programs for physicians, the residency program, and the coding department.
- Supervisory coding staff to include 10 coders and 2 auditors, to ensure maximum productivity and quality standards are met.
- Hires and trains all codingstaff.
- Monitors unbilled account reports for outstanding services or un-coded discharges to reduce A/R days for both inpatient and outpatient.
- Consults with other departments and individuals regarding data quality management.
- Develops annual expense budget for Coding Department and prepares monthly variance analysis.
- Was part of the Executive Administration team, which oversaw the day-to-day operations of MAHEC.
- Worked collaboratively with Compliance Department, Physician Services, Practice Management, and Education Department.
- During my first six months at MAHEC, the coding department recouped $800,000 in charges that had never been billed; this was due to in-depth audits that I implemented. I also implemented new procedures that would ensure all hospital and physician charges would be billed and billed promptly.
- I implemented an in-depth auditing program that would ensure that every physician and resident would be reviewed two to four times a year with individual consultation, education, and guidance.
Implementation Project Manager
3 Months- Develop a project plan for all assigned client implementations
- Develop and deliver progress updates for ongoing projects
- Effectively transition client knowledge and day-to-day operations to the Implementation Team
- Lead implementation analysts through the implementation process and ad hoc analyses
- Deliver testing compliance with newly identified clinical practice guidelines
- Develop new methods to improve the implementation process
- Engage with external Healthcare IT vendors as needed to ensure client data is being captured and loaded as needed
- Build and test client database before delivery to agency.
- Work with leadership to enhance our Clinical Integration service and offerings
- Manage changes in project scope throughout the project
- Identify and communicate project risks and risk mitigation strategies
- (Hospice, Home Health, PVT Duty EMR Systems)
- (Cutbacks due to poor sales in the first quarter of 2015)
Health Informatics Manager
6 Years- (Mult Division Hospice with 12 bed Hospice Inpatient Unit)
- Manager, Health Information Management Department/Billing and AR Department
- Spearheaded the design and implementation of an advanced computerized record management system Allscripts/HealthWyse
- Created a merged utilization review, coding and quality improvement program
- Managed functions of quality improvement, utilization review, billing, A/R and the health information Management department
- Development of policies, procedures, and processes for health care informatics, billing and A/R
- Electronic Health Record administrator which includes, planning of expansion, creating all training and in-services for all staff
- Physician Services, managed functions of CPT compliance with E&M guidelines, training and in-service for E&M, electronic health record and state & federal guidelines.
- Data management and reports for weekly and monthly administrative reports
- Ensured concurrent proper medical record documentation supported coding with regard to severity of illness, risk of mortality, resource consumption, and correct revenue and reimbursement
- Reduced compliance risks with governmental and contractual requirements, rules, and regulations
Long Term Care Medical Record Supervisor
7 Years- Promoted to manage the combined functions of medical records, quality improvement, and utilization Review
- Joint Commission team leader for long term care unit, resulting in full Joint Commission Accreditation
- Joint Commission hospital steering committee
- FMEA committees at hospital level for Joint Commission for 2006 and 2007
- Data management for Infection Control and data submission to the QA Committee LTC level
- Infection Control Steering Committee at the hospital level
- Data management for QA Meetings, including collection, presentation and follow-up for each meeting, including reporting to the hospital level QA Steering Committee
- On the design and implementation team of an advanced computerized record management system Medtech
- Ensured concurrent proper medical record documentation supported coding with regard to severity of illness, risk of mortality, resource consumption, and correct revenue and reimbursement
- Reduced compliance risks with governmental and contractual requirements, rules, and regulations
- (120 bed, Non-profit Hospital Owned Long Term Care/Rehab facility)
Education
Bachelor’s - Health Services Management
Bachelor’s - Health Information Management
Skills
Operational efficiency
Operations oversight
Strategic planning
Strategic planning and execution
Accomplishments
- Motivated, energetic, self-starter with a fifteen-year record of achievement in management, quality improvement, and consulting in the health care industry
- In-depth knowledge of ICD-9-CM, ICD-10 and CPT coding, Risk Coding, HEDIS, E&M Physician Regulations
- Expertise as a system consultant in HIM functions in the development and implementation of an electronic patient record for Nextgen for a Physician Practice
- Development of policies, procedures, and processes for a new physician practice
- Development and implementation of a patient portal for a new physician practice
- Implementation of quality improvement systems in long-term care/hospital-owned, resulting in full JCAHO Accreditation
- Internship at University Health Care, developed quality improvement systems for utilization review and health information management
- Proficient in all Microsoft Office Applications, DDE, My Ability, 3M Coding, Medtech, Allscript, HealthWyse, Nextgen, eMDs, Athena.
Affiliations
- American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), 2008 – Present
- National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization 2009 – Present
- Girl Scout Badge Training 1996-2000
Extra-Curricular Activities
Relay for Life, Team Leader Long Term Care Unit 2006 Relay for Life, Team Leader Long Term Care Unit 2006
Timeline
Director of Operations and Compliance
Coded Note/ICQC
02.2019 - 04.2026Read More
Billing Manager
Faculty Internal Medicine
07.2017 - 01.2019Read More
Coding Supervisor/Auditor
MAHEC
09.2015 - 06.2017Read More
Implementation Project Manager
HealthWyse, Inc
01.2015 - 04.2015Read More
Health Informatics Manager
01.2008 - 01.2014Read More
Long Term Care Medical Record Supervisor
01.2001 - 01.2008Read More
East Carolina University
Bachelor’s from Health Information Management
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East Carolina University
Bachelor’s from Health Services Management
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