Job Search Status
Open to workDesired start date: 2 weeks notice
Open To Work
KELLY BUTNER
Medical Coder
BEND,OR
Work Preference
Summary
Highly accomplished Inpatient Coder with progressive experience in health information management, inpatient facility coding, auditing, and coder development. Demonstrated mastery of ICD-10-CM/PCS, MS-DRGs, APR-DRGs, CC/MCC capture, and complex, high-acuity encounters. Recognized for exceptional leadership, coding quality oversight, workflow optimization, and mentoring of new and experienced coders. Deep expertise in inpatient coding, documentation improvement collaboration, and compliance with CMS, OIG, and AHIMA/ACDIS standards. Consistently achieves top accuracy and productivity while supporting system-wide coding initiatives at St. Charles Health System.
Overview
29
29
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Lead Inpatient Coder / Coding Specialist IV
St. Charles Health System
Bend/Redmond/Madras/Prineville, OR
09.1997 - Current
- Serve as the primary lead for inpatient coding operations, including workflow oversight, assignment distribution, and coordination with CDI, Revenue Integrity, and HIM management.
- Provide real-time support to inpatient coders for complex cases, coding scenarios, and regulatory questions.
- Act as a subject matter expert (SME) for ICD-10-CM/PCS coding, DRG assignment, and compliant coding best practices.
- Conduct routine internal audits focused on DRG validation, CC/MCC capture, sequencing, and coding accuracy, consistently achieving coding accuracy rates exceeding department benchmarks.
- Develop and implement corrective action plans when discrepancies are identified.
- Collaborate with CDI to ensure accurate documentation supporting clinical severity and resource utilization.
- Train and mentor new inpatient coders, providing onboarding, education plans, and case-based learning.
- Lead coding education sessions system-wide, including updates on coding guidelines, CMS changes, and new ICD-10 codes.
- Provide one-on-one coaching to support coder growth in complex areas such as neurology, orthopedic, and major vascular and cardiovascular surgeries.
- Code high-complexity inpatient accounts, including trauma, neurosurgery, orthopedics, cardiology, obstetrics, neonates, and multi-system critical care.
- Partner with Revenue Integrity to identify trends in missed charges, incomplete documentation, and DRG shifts.
- Collaborate closely with patient financial services to support appeals, denials management, and payer audits.
- Utilize Epic, 3M 360/Encoder, and various HIM tools to optimize coding workflow.
- Provide feedback to IT and informatics teams regarding system improvements and encoder logic updates.
Education
Associate of Science - Health Information Management
Central Oregon Community College
Bend, ORSkills
- Inpatient Facility Coding (ICD-10-CM/PCS)
- Complex DRG Assignment & Optimization
- Coding Audits (Internal & External)
- Educating, Training & Mentoring Coding Staff
- Query Creation & Clinical Documentation Improvement (CDI)
- Regulatory Compliance (CMS, OIG, UHDDS)
- Workflow Optimization & Coding Process Leadership
- Epic EMR & 3M 360 Expertise
- Data Analysis & Quality Reporting
Certification
- RHIT - Registered Health Information Technician
Timeline
Lead Inpatient Coder / Coding Specialist IV
St. Charles Health System
09.1997 - Current
Associate of Science - Health Information Management
Central Oregon Community College