Tracy Talbot
Rimrock,AZ
Summary
Results-driven Health Information Management Specialist (RHIA, CCS) with 14 years of experience in high-acuity inpatient and outpatient coding. Expertise in Epic EHR and 3M/Solventum encoders enhances clinical data extraction, revenue cycle optimization, and accurate MS-DRG/APR-DRG assignment. Consistently exceeds productivity benchmarks while upholding quality standards.
Overview
1
1
Certification
3
3
years of post-secondary education
14
14
years of professional experience
Work History
HIM HB Inpatient Coder
Onvida Health
Yuma, Arizona
08.2025 - 05.2026
- Applied advanced DRG methodologies to assign ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS codes for a 400-bed community facility, ensuring absolute CMS compliance.
- Reviewed inpatient records to ensure accurate coding and compliance with regulatory standards.
- Achieved daily productivity of 2.5 to 3.0 inpatient charts per hour, consistently meeting or surpassing institutional metrics while ensuring data integrity.
- Conducted proactive audits of clinical documentation to initiate precise provider queries, minimizing billing hold times and preventing claim denials.
- Utilized electronic health record systems to input and manage coding data effectively.
- Maintained rigid data quality, privacy, and security compliance standards in a fully remote infrastructure.
Remote Coder III
Tucson Medical Center
Tucson, Arizona
08.2018 - 11.2024
- Achieved and sustained an outstanding 98%+ coding quality and accuracy benchmark across complex, high-acuity inpatient charts.
- Employed Epic and 3M Encoder to assign inpatient diagnoses and procedure codes across diverse specialties, enhancing coding consistency and accuracy.
- Coded complex facility outpatient charts, including Observation (OBS), ambulatory same-day surgeries (SDS), wound care, pain clinic, and Emergency Department (ED) visits.
- Leveraged deep understanding of DRG and APC classifications to spearhead complex clinical denial investigations and revenue recovery initiatives.
- Partnered with medical staff, CDI specialists, billing departments, and auditing teams to improve clinical query placement and ensure compliance.
- Collaborated with healthcare providers to clarify documentation issues.
- Attended team meetings to address coding challenges and propose actionable solutions.
Remote Coder III
Northern Arizona Healthcare
Flagstaff, AZ
01.2012 - 01.2017
- Executed progressively complex inpatient and outpatient coding for a 265-bed Level 1 trauma facility, specializing in cardiovascular, orthopedic, and GI cases.
- Reviewed clinical data from medical records to assign ICD, CPT, and HCPCS codes.
- Conducted clinical documentation software testing across Cerner and 3M platforms, ensuring compliance and optimizing query mapping.
- Reviewed clinical data from medical records, accurately assigning ICD, CPT, and HCPCS codes to maintain coding integrity.
- Performed code reviews to ensure adherence to coding standards and best practices, enhancing overall coding accuracy.
- Conducted rigorous clinical documentation software testing across Cerner and 3M platforms to ensure system compliance and efficient query mapping.
Remote Inpatient Coder II
Yampa Valley Medical Center - Remote
Steamboat Springs, Colorado
09.2015 - 03.2016
- Managed clinical abstraction and chart routing pipelines for inpatient acute-care, critical access, and swing-bed facilities, ensuring accurate documentation and coding compliance.
- Collaborated with Clinical Documentation Improvement (CDI) team to refine shared governance policies, conduct case-mix index (CMI) reviews, and achieve specialized targets for DRG, SOI, and ROM.
- Tracked changes in national regulations affecting diagnostic and procedural coding requirements to maintain compliance and improve coding accuracy.
Education
Bachelor - Public Health Sciences Administration
Northern Arizona University
Flagstaff, AZ 03.2020 - 08.2021
Associate of Science - Health Information Management Technology
Central Arizona College
Coolidge, AZ 08.2011 - 07.2013
Skills
- ICD-10-CM, PCS
- CPT, HCPCS
- Acute Care Coding
- Inpatient Coding Compliance
- Clinical Documentation Improvement
- Inpatient Chart Review
- Documentation Compliance
- DRG validation
- EPIC
- Solventum CAC
- Denial analysis
- Physician Query Placement
- CDI Query Placement
- Healthcare Regulations
- Revenue management
- Quality control
- Quality control
Credentials
- RHIA
- CCS
Certification
- Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA), AHIMA, 1209202
- Certified Coding Specialist (CCS), AHIMA, 1209202
- CDIP Eligibility, 2026
Core Competencies
- RHIA
- CCS
Personal Information
- RHIA
- CCS
Timeline
HIM HB Inpatient Coder
Onvida Health
08.2025 - 05.2026
Bachelor - Public Health Sciences Administration
Northern Arizona University
03.2020 - 08.2021
Remote Coder III
Tucson Medical Center
08.2018 - 11.2024
Remote Inpatient Coder II
Yampa Valley Medical Center - Remote
09.2015 - 03.2016
Remote Coder III
Northern Arizona Healthcare
01.2012 - 01.2017
Associate of Science - Health Information Management Technology
Central Arizona College
08.2011 - 07.2013