Erin Kitsos
Summary
Results-driven leader with strong background in strategic management and organizational growth. Skilled in developing and implementing effective business strategies, optimizing processes, and driving team performance. Known for adaptability, effective collaboration, and delivering measurable outcomes in dynamic environments. Strong communication and problem-solving abilities, coupled with focus on fostering productive and positive team culture.
Overview
17
17
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Director of Clinical Informatics
National Healthcare Corporation
03.2022 - Current
- Enhanced team collaboration through regular communication, goal setting, and performance evaluations.
- Established a culture of continuous improvement by fostering open communication channels and empowering employees to voice their ideas.
- Strengthened internal controls by reviewing existing policies and procedures, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements.
- Implemented innovative solutions to solve complex problems, resulting in increased productivity and streamlined operations.
- Enhanced data-driven decision-making by implementing advanced analytics and reporting tools.
- Provided onboarding and training to staff members, coordinating IT system access and created comprehensive training materials specific to individual roles.
- Successfully navigated complex change management processes during the transition to new EHR systems, minimizing disruptions in patient care.
- Developed comprehensive training materials to educate staff on proper use of EHR systems, improving overall adoption rates.
- Stayed current with industry trends, providing valuable insights on potential enhancements to existing EHR systems.
- Played a key role in the successful transition from paper-based records to fully electronic health record systems for multiple organizations.
- Evaluated user feedback on EHR functionality, using it as a basis for further improvements and refinements.
- Provided expert guidance on EHR customization to meet unique organizational needs.
- Conducted regular audits of EHR data to maintain accuracy and identify areas for improvement.
- Facilitated communication between clinical staff and IT teams during system upgrades, ensuring a seamless transition process.
- Served as a subject matter expert on EHR systems, providing consultation to healthcare organizations seeking to adopt or optimize their use of this technology.
- Enhanced EHR system usability by conducting thorough analysis and recommending improvements.
- Managed large-scale projects involving multiple stakeholders, successfully meeting deadlines while maintaining high-quality work standards.
- Built databases and table structures for web applications.
- Coordinated deployments of new software, feature updates and fixes.
- Corrected, modified and upgraded software to improve performance.
Director of Health Information Management & Privacy Liaison
Knoxville Center for Behavioral Medicine - NHC
03.2022 - 02.2023
- Responsible for writing all HIM policies and procedures in preparation for hospital accreditation and survey
- Responsible for investigating and processing HIPAA violations & breaches
- Ensured full HIPAA compliance by conducting regular audits and reviewing policies and procedures.
- Enhanced the accuracy of medical records by conducting thorough chart audits and identifying discrepancies.
- Responsible for processing all request for medical records
- Facilitated interdisciplinary communication by proactively sharing relevant information from patient charts with appropriate healthcare team members as needed.
- Responsible for reviewing transaction logs for users chart access to ensure HIPAA rules are being followed
- Developed high-performing teams by providing mentorship, guidance, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Enhanced team collaboration through regular communication, goal setting, and performance evaluations.
- Ensured patient confidentiality by following HIPAA guidelines when handling sensitive medical information and proc
- Maintained strict adherence to HIPAA regulations, protecting sensitive patient information and upholding confidentiality standards.
- Maintained accurate and detailed patient records, ensuring confidentiality and HIPAA compliance at all times.
- Implemented effective compliance policies and procedures to meet regulatory requirements.
- Implemented tracking mechanisms for outstanding chart items, ensuring timely completion and reduced backlog of incomplete records.
- Conducted thorough audits of medical charts to identify inconsistencies or inaccuracies, ensuring optimal documentation quality.
Release of Information & Systems Support Manager
Nationwide Children's Hospital
06.2015 - 03.2022
- Manages the recruitment, selection, training, development, motivation, payroll and discipline of subordinate staff
- Conducted regular performance evaluations for team members, identifying areas for improvement and providing constructive feedback.
- Ensures that the department's operational policies, procedures and job descriptions are continually reviewed, revised per policy
- Responsible for processing and collaborating with various departments when a grievance is submitted.
- Responsible for running the day-to-day operations of both the Release of Information team and the HIM Systems Support team.
- Monitors daily processes to ensure that deadlines, turnaround times, and other performance standards are being met
- Ensures that IT Support tickets are responded to in an appropriate timeframe and on-call staff are providing after hours support as expected.
- Identifies high privacy risk issues in the release process and identifies ways to mitigate
- Addresses all privacy violations/infractions per policy and in collaboration with the Privacy Office
- Actively manages complex projects (i.e., systems upgrades, system enhancements, new services, etc.) that involve a wide variety of hospital staff
- Prepares and provides a variety of statistics on a routine basis for both release of information team and support analyst team.
- Determines operational and capital budget needs and projects for the upcoming year; reviews goals and objectives to ensure alignment; presents operational and capital budget recommendations to the board.
- Actively participated in house-wide committees, task forces, and/or multi-disciplinary teams as assigned
- Conducted regular performance evaluations for team members, identifying areas for improvement and providing constructive feedback.
- Assisted with the recruitment process by interviewing potential candidates, evaluating skills fit for open positions within the Support Services department.
- Maintained up-to-date knowledge of industry best practices for customer support operations, incorporating new ideas into existing workflows as needed.
- Oversaw employee training programs, increasing staff competence and improving overall performance metrics.
- Managed vendor contracts, optimizing resource allocation and cost savings.
- Established clear performance metrics and expectations for the support team, driving accountability and results-oriented focus.
- Analyzed support ticket data to identify trends in issues faced by customers, informing future product development decisions.
- Optimized workforce scheduling to ensure adequate coverage during peak hours while minimizing costs related to overtime pay or employee burnout.
Health Information Management Support Analyst II
Nationwide Children's Hospital
10.2014 - 06.2015
- Obtained Epic Certification & Responsible for change control request(s); build for upgrades/testing
- Improved customer satisfaction by promptly addressing and resolving support issues.
- Trained new support analysts, contributing to the overall growth and success of the team.
- Provided support for internal and external staff related to login credentials for systems
- Created user accounts and managed access control.
- Responsible for provider internal and external support for patient portal.
- Implemented process improvements that resulted in reduced ticket resolution times and increased first-call resolution rates.
- Liaison between NCH and Third-party vendors
- Served as a subject matter expert in key business applications, providing advanced-level assistance to colleagues and clients alike.
- Gained hands-on experience in various software programs, increasing proficiency and expanding technical skill set.
- Created/Updated/Maintained E-learning videos for new hires
- Developed comprehensive documentation to facilitate knowledge sharing among team members.
- Super user for applications and responsible for cross training new hires
- Contributed to on-site and technical support for third-party software titles such as Epic, Streamline Health/Onbase, MModal, Dragon/Nuance.
- Validated, created and imported daily spreadsheet for various Provider profiles
- Worked closely with the Privacy Office to audit and remove incorrect PCPs listed on various charts
- Responsible for processing all chart corrections such
- Covered on-call for after hours and weekend support
- Improved efficiency in the user access & e-prescribing privilege process through the creation and implementation of standardized templates for primary source verifications.
- Developed engaging and informative scripts and instruction guides for support staff and end users.
Release of Information Coordinator
Nationwide Children's Hospital
07.2013 - 10.2014
- Contributed to the development of policies and procedures relating to information management practices within the organization.
- Prepare and schedule weekly team meetings including the agenda
- Provided crucial support during audits by gathering required documentation and responding to auditor inquiries accurately and promptly.
- Worked well in a team setting, providing support and guidance.
- Resolved staff member conflicts, actively listening to concerns and finding appropriate middle ground.
- Provided training and guidance to new Release of Information Specialists, contributing to their professional growth and development.
- Process high priority medical record requests & appear in court as ordered
Release of Information Specialist
Nationwide Children's Hospital
06.2011 - 07.2013
- Conducted audits on released records periodically for quality assurance purposes, identifying areas for improvement or increased compliance measures as necessary.
- Reduced errors in released records by thoroughly reviewing documentation before submission.
- Facilitated communication between medical providers, patients, and legal teams to ensure accurate and timely release of information.
- Maintained historical reference by abstracting and coding clinical data such as diseases, operations procedures and therapies.
- Resolved medical record discrepancies by collecting and analyzing information.
- Generated cover letters, pre-payment notices and invoices to mail information to requestors.
- Handled phone calls from attorneys, insurance companies and patients.
- Ensured compliance with all regulatory requirements by staying current on industry developments and implementing necessary controls within the organization.
- Responsible for processing sensitive documentation/images and worked closely with Legal Services.
Data Imaging and Quality Specialist II
Nationwide Children's Hospital
01.2008 - 06.2011
- Reviewed/validated all required components for billing & coding
- Decommissioned various systems in preparation for Epic implementation
- Coordinated record transfer, follow-up, scanning and indexing functions with team members.
- Performed quality assurance on all paper documentation uploaded into our document management system
- Expedited document processing times by swiftly scanning and indexing materials into the system.
- Enhanced document retrieval efficiency by accurately scanning and indexing various types of documents.
- Improved records accuracy by implementing a thorough quality control process for document scanning and indexing.
- Exhibited strong attention-to-detail skills while scanning and indexing various types of clinical documentation into electronic health record systems.
Education
Health Information Management Tech Certification - Health Information Management
Columbus State Community College
Columbus, OH01.2019
High School Diploma -
Northside Christian School
Westerville06-2007
Skills
- Optimizing Processes & Workflows
- Leadership Collaboration
- Relationship building
- Operations management
- Project management
- Change management
- Rules and regulations
- Time management
- Flexible and adaptable
- Multitasking Abilities
- Critical thinking
- Problem resolution
Professional Achievements
- Presented at the OHIMA Conference, 01/01/21 - 500+ HIM professionals
- Successfully built Health Information Management Department for the new Inpatient Psychiatric Hospital in Knoxville, Tennessee
- Implemented/Assisted and currently support 3 inpatient psychiatric hospitals in Tennessee & Missouri
- Analyzed and implemented new processes which drastically decreased the average turnaround times for ROI team from 9 days down to 1.78 days!!
- Eliminated third party contract support and profit sharing which increased internal revenue of more $500K within the first year!
- Recipient of the Business Process Improvement Award
Certification
HealthCare Systems (EHR) Certified.
Epic certified in HIM - Release of Information application.
Epic superuser in ALL HIM applications.
Epic superuser in MyChart/Patient Portal.
Epic superuser in CareEverywhere.
Epic foundation training on Radiant application.
Notary Public - Columbus, Ohio
Timeline
Director of Clinical Informatics
National Healthcare Corporation
03.2022 - Current
Director of Health Information Management & Privacy Liaison
Knoxville Center for Behavioral Medicine - NHC
03.2022 - 02.2023
Release of Information & Systems Support Manager
Nationwide Children's Hospital
06.2015 - 03.2022
Health Information Management Support Analyst II
Nationwide Children's Hospital
10.2014 - 06.2015
Release of Information Coordinator
Nationwide Children's Hospital
07.2013 - 10.2014
Release of Information Specialist
Nationwide Children's Hospital
06.2011 - 07.2013
Data Imaging and Quality Specialist II
Nationwide Children's Hospital
01.2008 - 06.2011
HealthCare Systems (EMR) Certified.
Epic certified in HIM - Release of Information Application. I became a superuser is ALL HIM applications, MyChart (patient portal) & CareEverywhere. Superuser and went to Epic for 1 week to become trained in all aspect of Radiant prior to our go-live.
Notary Public
Health Information Management Tech Certification - Health Information Management
Columbus State Community College
High School Diploma -
Northside Christian School
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