Interview with Amanda Kunze
CPC, OCS
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What is your name?
Amanda Kunze
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Where are you from?
Wenatchee, Washington
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What is your favorite activity?
Doing things with my family! 5 ½ yr old Camree, 3 month old Annie and my husband.
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Do you have any hobbies?
I love to scrapbook and cross stitch.
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What credentials do you hold?
CPC and OCS.
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What organizations do you belong to and how have they helped your career?
AAPC (The Academy), The Coding Institute Discussion groups, and The CRN Group. Daily I read others questions and answers and I am amazed at the knowledge I now have thanks to many of the people on the discussion boards. I also attend an ENT and Ophth. Seminar yearly, which has helped either assure me that I am doing things correctly or helps me find ways that we need to correct things or do things better here at the Eye & Ear Clinic. I am also thankful for the nursing staff and physicians I work with and for. They have been very helpful with answering questions when it comes to the medical end of the coding!
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How did you get into the field of medical billing and coding?
I started working at the Eye & Ear Clinic 10 yrs ago as a Receptionist, moved to the Billing Department and worked their until I had my 1 st child, and then when I came back from maternity leave I decided I needed a change and challenge. My now position was open and they were willing to give me a try and allowed me to go to the necessary training and here I am still after 5 years and love it.
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What is your current position?
Reimbursement Specialist.
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What is one of your accomplishments in this field that you are most proud of?
I’m proud of myself for the fact that I was able to go from very little knowledge to the knowledge I now have about these two specialties and that I was able to pass my CPC Exam and OCS Exam on my 1st try.
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What do you find most exciting about this field?
That there is always something new to learn and the fact that things can change yearly. I enjoy sending out an appeal and letter to an insurance company and weeks later finding out that I won and the money is on it’s way.
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What do you find most frustrating?
Dealing with the insurance companies and the games that they tend to play!
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What do you feel the future holds for this field?
It’s great to see the coding field growing and the need for us. With the changes and the importance of correct coding I think there will continue to be more need for those certified.
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What would you tell someone just starting out in this field?
I think it’s a great career to be in especially if you like to investigate, gather information and report back to those you work with!
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If there was one thing you could change about this field what would it be?
That the people you work with at the insurance end of it were also certified and understood more about where we are coming from vs. the insurance companies rules.
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Who do you consider a mentor?
When it comes to work I don’t know if I can just name one because there are so many that have played a significant role in the knowledge that I have and respect that I have for this job.
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What is your favorite billing or coding product?
(We’re trying to link to products available on the CRN Shoppe http://www.crnshoppe.com)
I use my Coding Companions all the time!
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What is your affiliation with the CRN and how has that helped you?
I’ve used the CRN Discussion group from the very beginning of my coding career and the members of the group have been so helpful answering my questions no matter how simple or complex they were. I’ve learned a lot from them and today follow and keep on file a lot of what I’ve read from the group.
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Provide any contact information you are comfortable with:
- My name is Amanda Kunze and I work at the Eye & Ear Clinic in Wenatchee , Washington. My phone number is 509-662-7143 and my email is Akunze@wenatcheeeyeear.com