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When solving problems, dig at the roots instead of just hacking at the leaves. - Anthony J. D'Angelo

Interview with Eric Sandhusen

CPC, CHC

  • What is your name?

Eric Sandhusen

 

  • Where are you from?

I recently returned to my ancestral homeland in northern New Jersey.

 

  • What is your favorite activity?

Family time, especially travel and outings.

 

  • Do you have any hobbies?

Golf, piano, writing – I don’t get to do enough of any of these.

 

  • What credentials do you hold?

Certified Professional Coder and Certification in Healthcare Compliance.

 

  • What organizations do you belong to and how have they helped your career?

Certainly, the AAPC and the Health Care Compliance Association have been the best. Not only did they provide educational and networking opportunities, but by presenting at AAPC Conferences and writing for Compliance Today, I was able to reach nationwide audiences.

 

  • How did you get into the field of medical billing and coding?

By accident – I got a job doing claims follow-up and appeals for a faculty practice in Chicago. I really began to learn it from inside-out, and after a while I started a consulting firm doing appeals and Fair Hearings. As the compliance profession evolved and developed, it became clear that it was time for me to go back to work for faculty practices full-time.

 

  • What is your current position?

Director of Reimbursement, HIPAA and Fiscal Compliance for Columbia University Department of Surgery. It barely fits on a business card.

 

  • What is one of your accomplishments in this field that you are most proud of?

Helping to develop and maintain a very active AAPC chapter in Fresno, CA, which gave me a lot of opportunity to teach, mentor, and support coders. I helped organize four annual coding and compliance conferences, which generated enough money for the chapter to create a scholarship program for coders to take the CPC exam and attend the AAPC Conference.

 

  • What do you find most exciting about this field?

There is vast opportunity for creative leadership, especially in the area of compliance. There are constantly new developments in education, technology, etc.

 

  • What do you find most frustrating?

Since compliance is really a process and rarely a finished work, it gets frustrating that there’s always so much more to do that must get deferred. It’s like playing Whack-a-Mole – just when you get one issue resolved, another pops up.

 

  • What do you feel the future holds for this field?

I think it will continue to professionalize, as “this field” becomes several specialized fields: billing, coding, compliance, training. I think that we are beginning to connect the cost and waste involved in medical billing with Public Health issues as we reach the limit of health care resources available.

 

  • What would you tell someone just starting out in this field?

Join the CRN listserv! That and read Volume 3, chapters 4 and 15 of the Medicare Carrier’s Manual. But really, there’s not really a substitute for learning the nuts-and-bolts of medical billing.

 

  • If there was one thing you could change about this field what would it be?

I’d like to see medical school students and resident physicians receive more training in coding and compliance. Too many of them graduate with little understanding of how to run a practice – or even how to code an encounter. Not only would they provide better support for their staff, it could help them provide better, more efficient healthcare and even enhance their enjoyment of practicing medicine.

 

  • Who do you consider a mentor?

I have learned so much from so many people, but I don’t think that there’s been one person who really invested in my development in that way (other than my parents).

 

  • What is your favorite billing or coding product?

Neurosurgery Coding Alert (for which I am consulting editor). I really try to make sure that there’s something for everyone each month, regardless of whether they are a new or veteran coder.

 

  • What is your affiliation with the CRN and how has that helped you?

I’ve been a member almost since the beginning. CRN has helped me in more ways than I can describe! The forums are often where I start and finish my search for some regulation or reference; the listserv is a great place to give and take; and there’s even camaraderie among participants, who’ve had a chance to meet up from time to time. It’s great to be a part of this community.

Eric Sandhusen can be reached via e-mail.

 

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