MANAGING EDITOR, PLAIN LANGUAGE MEDIA
Barbara Manning Grimm
Barbara Manning Grimm is the managing editor of Plain Language Media, which publishes Medical Office Manager and Law Office Manager. She has more than 20 years of experience in business to business publishing. She has designed and developed training programs for today’s workplace, including safety, HR, management, customer service, and employee communication programs. She has developed training programs and targeted content for a wide variety of industries, including health care. She has managed editorial content and operations for both print and online information sources. Prior to entering the business to business field, she was a newspaper editor.
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
Glenn Demby
Glenn Demby is an award-winning journalist with a track record of telling business professionals who aren’t lawyers how to comply with the parts of the law that affect their day-to-day operations. He has expertise in numerous aspects of law including employment, labor, health care, tax, payroll, benefits, and education. He won the Specialized Information Publishing Association’s editorial excellence award four years in a row. A graduate of Columbia University School of Law, he practiced as a corporate lawyer on Wall Street prior to his career as a business to business journalist.
CONTRIBUTING AUTHOR
Judy Monestime, MBA, CDIP, CPC, AHIMA ICD-10 CM/PCS Trainer/Ambassador
Judy Monestime is an executive healthcare consultant, keynote speaker, and writer. Her health information management and revenue cycle experience includes managerial positions with leading healthcare systems, including a management consultant position with a Big 4 Firm. She has led several ICD-10 assessment and implementation projects, including evaluating both the business and technical processes and systems for key potential impacts of ICD-10, as well as confirming ICD-10 impacts by process area, including business rules, training, work effort, business-developed tools, business-managed vendors, and impact to process work efforts. Judy has also led many seminars on ICD-10 transition, including coding and clinical documentation impact.
She holds a B.H.S. degree in Health Services Administration from Florida Atlantic University and an M.B.A in Business Administration from Nova Southeastern University. She is a Certified Professional Coder (CPC) with the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC), Clinical Documentation Improvement Practitioner (CDIP), and an ICD-10 Trainer and Ambassador with American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA). Judy is also an adjunct professor with Bryan University’s health informatics program.
CONTRIBUTING AUTHOR
Avery Hurt
Avery Hurt is a freelance writer based in Birmingham, Ala. She writes about science and health for a variety of magazines and websites. Her work has appeared in The New Physician, Physicians Practice, Newsweek, Better Homes and Gardens, USA Today, The Washington Post, and WebMD. She is the author of “Bullet With Your Name On It: What You’ll Probably Die From And What You Can Do About It,” published by Clerisy Press. She enjoys writing about medical economics and the intersection of medicine and social policy. She also writes about science for kids, contributing to National Geographic Kids, The Helix, and Muse magazines. She is the author of “Spiders Are Strange Enough,” a book about spiders for tweens and teens.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Steve M. Cohen
Steve M. Cohen is President/Partner of Labor Management Advisory Group, Inc. and HR Solutions: On-Call, both based in Kansas City, MO.
Often described as a “mess management” expert for his ability to skillfully resolve people problems for vulnerable organizations, Steve Cohen is a well-known national authority who protects companies from HR bombshells that include issues of sexual harassment, regulatory compliance, motivational management, workforce diversity, employee training, and bottom-line productivity.
Steve Cohen has a MA in Public Administration from Central Michigan University, an Ed.D. in Educational Psychology from Northern Illinois University, and received certification in Alternative Dispute Resolution from DePaul University, School of Law.
He is the author of “Mess Management: Lessons from a Corporate Hit Man” and hosts a weekly radio program in Kansas City called The Exchange, which features topics and guests from the world of business.
Cheryl Toth, MBA is the Founder & Chief Creator of Medical Office Learning Lab, a marketplace of online courses and training experiences for physicians, managers, and practice teams. Her passion is helping practice leaders and teams achieve goals, improve productivity, and enjoy their work. Cheryl brings 25 years of practice management consulting, training, healthcare technology leadership, and content development to her role.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Brent Warrington
As CEO of direct payment processor SecureNet, Brent Warrington has more than 20 years of experience in payments and commerce. SecureNet processes billions of dollars in payments annually and works with a variety of hospitals, medical offices, and healthcare facilities.
Brent is also the former CEO of FundsXpress, which was acquired by First Data Corporation, where Brent previously served as Senior Vice President and General Manager of ePayments.
Dale Henry grew up in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains, an area that is bountiful in two things—hospitality and story-telling. Dale has been a teacher, principal, dean of the oldest college in Tennessee, a businessman, author, a speaker, and trainer. He has been in customer service over half his life. His story-telling ability propelled him as a teacher. This, combined with his customer service and unique ability to captivate audiences, has sky-rocketed Dale in his speaking career.
Since he began speaking just a few short years ago, corporate, government, and educational agencies regularly call on him to train their professionals. His client list is a virtual who’s who of the top businesses and agencies in the nation.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Gayle Norton
Gayle Norton is Principal of TalentRISE, a Chicago-based management consulting firm specializing in talent acquisition. She co-leads the firm’s talent acquisition consulting practice and focuses her efforts on helping companies conduct current state recruitment optimization and talent risk organizational assessments to identify and address process, technology, and strategy gaps.
At TalentRISE, she has led numerous consulting engagements at several hospitals and healthcare providers. Previously serving as the Co-Chair of the HR Management Systems committee, Gayle remains an active member of the Human Resources Management Association of Chicago (HRMAC) as well as the Staffing Management Association of Chicago and American College of Healthcare Executives. Gayle earned a B.S. in Health Arts from the University of St. Francis, Joliet, IL, and her Nursing diploma from the Evangelical School of Nursing in Oak Lawn, IL.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Shane Carter
Shane Carter is an executive healthcare consultant, speaker and writer with twenty four years of medical group management experience. He has extensive “boots on the ground” training in medical group development and management, operational improvement, governance, clinical integrations, physician compensation plans, EHR implementations, strategic planning and PCMH transformation. The Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) has identified practices under his management as “Best Performing” in multiple years.
Prior to forming his consulting company, Shane led a multi-specialty physician group on a highly successful journey from volume-based operations to a values-based patient centered medical home and ACO. Jackson Purchase Medical Associates (JPMA) has been so successful as an ACO that CMS has sent officials to Paducah, KY to document best practices for future ACO development. While at JPMA, Shane led a complex EHR implementation and integration that transformed the performance of the group, received national recognition and led to certification for meaningful use. He is a visionary who sees the opportunities in health reform and knows how to position medical groups for success in the new world of population health and values-based healthcare.
Paul Panos is Vice President for SecureNet Payment Systems, an Austin-based end-to-end payments platform processing billions in transactions a year. Paul works closely with healthcare providers to streamline their payments solutions and has over 15 years of payment industry experience.
Paul’s previous roles include business development manager for Moneris Solutions, general manager for Discover Financial Services, and account director at First Data. He is based in Chicago and can be reached at paul.panos@securenet.com.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Paul Edwards
Paul Edwards is the CEO and co-founder of CEDR HR Solutions for Medical, www.cedrsolutions.com. CEDR was established in 2006 and has since become the premier provider of customized employee handbooks and unlimited HR support for medical practices of all sizes and specialties across the United States.
Paul has over 25 years’ experience as a manager and business owner, and is an expert on solving the HR problems that impact medical practice owners and managers. He specializes in helping doctors and office managers successfully handle employee issues and safely navigate the complex and ever-changing employment and labor law landscape. He can be reached at 866-414-6056 or pauledwards@cedrsolutions.com.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
R. Scott Oswald
As a National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Trial Lawyer, Scott Oswald has litigated nearly 50 trials to verdict and recovered more than $90 million in judgments and settlements in employment and whistleblower actions. A graduate of the Trial Lawyers College, he is an accomplished trial lawyer in whistleblower protection, qui tam, wrongful discharge, employment discrimination, FMLA, USERRA, non-compete, and wage and overtime actions in federal and state courts.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Brittney Overstreet
Brittney Overstreet is digital marketing manager for Northstar Anesthesia. Prior to joining Northstar Anesthesia, she was the digital marketing strategist for MedLanding, the meeting point for healthcare professionals to buy, sell, recruit, and network. She has experience in sales, marketing, advertising, public relations, and special events.
Brittney is experienced in managing digital channels to ensure brand cohesiveness and exposure, while ensuring content is engaging and optimized for search engines. She develops strategies and material to support the digital marketing program, as well as to support sales efforts. She has been a part of three website redesigns, ensuring that current trends and best practices were utilized for optimum user experience.
Brittney Overstreet earned a BFA in Digital and Photographic Imaging from Texas State University and an MBA from Howard Payne University. She is a Certified Inbound Marketer and is working on her certifications for Google AdWords and Google Analytics.
She currently resides in Dallas, TX, and can be reached at brittney.overstreet@northstaranesthesia.com.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Carl Kutsmode
Carl has spent the last 20 years helping employers from startups to global organizations optimize their talent practices, processes, technologies, and strategies. A pioneer in encouraging employers to embrace online recruiting, Carl helps employers gain competitive business advantage by enabling them to compete more effectively in attracting, recruiting, and retaining the best talent. He transforms outdated and inefficient systems, strategies, and processes into leading-edge recruiting practices that fully support the ever-changing talent needs of their businesses. Carl frequently speaks at industry events, trade shows, and private corporate annual meetings on topics relevant to talent risk mitigation, recruiting, and leading social media practices and trends. Carl is a graduate of Loyola University, Chicago, Illinois, with a B.S. in Psychology.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Lynne Curry, Ph.D., SPHR
Lynne Curry, PhD, SPHR, SHRM-SCP and author of “Navigating Conflict” (Business Experts Press, 2022); “Managing for Accountability (BEP, 2021); “Beating the Workplace Bully,” AMACOM 2016, and “Solutions” is President of Communication Works, Inc. and founder of www.workplacecoachblog.com, which offers more than 700 articles on topics such as leadership, COVID, management, HR, and personal and professional development. Curry has qualified in Court as an expert witness in Management Best Practices, HR and Workplace issues. You can reach her at https://workplacecoachblog.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Melanie Herron
Melanie Herron is president of the award-winning marketing agency, MindStream Creative. With over 18 years of experience helping health care brands grow, Melanie has deep experience developing marketing and communications strategies that grab and maintain the attention of both health care clinicians and patients.
Melanie believes that marketing is about human interactions. In order to successfully market and grow any business, Melanie finds it essential to understand the client and their products on a granular level. From this vantage point she can then find a parallel that links the client with their target audience. By defining that clear connection she can develop strategies that establish and maintain brand loyalty and engagement.
In addition to being a marketing strategist, Melanie has deep experience in content and media creation and has developed award-winning content for health care clinicians for over a decade.
Melanie graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from East Carolina University. She then earned her Master of Health Administration from Pfeiffer University.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Tina Colangelo
Tina Colangelo, MHA, is a one-on-one VIP-style consultant for health service organizations as well as physician practices. She has a strong working knowledge of MACRA and MIPS and has invested a substantial amount of time and effort to fully understanding the new rules.
Tina can help you answer the question, “What does MACRA mean for the future of our practice?”
By deciphering this new labor intensive paradigm and untangling the web of CMS’s endless rules and regulations, Tina will help you strategize on which tract is best suited for your practice – not just for now, but in 5 to10 years as well.
Undoubtedly, this will not only save your practice an exorbitant amount of money over that period, but also help you avoid costly penalties.
Tina studied under organizations in California that have been doing this successfully for a long time now, and has earned her physicians a lot of incentive money, year after year.
Tina is a leader in this industry. Her strong knowledge of healthcare trends coming around the corner can help take your medical practice into the future.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Elizabeth (Liz) Miller
Liz Miller has been working as a Law Practice Management Consultant since 2015 and has over 30 years’ experience working with lawyers. She began her career in New York City as a legal secretary in January, 1979. Two years later she obtained her paralegal certification from the Paralegal Institute of New York. In 1985, she moved to Tampa, Florida where she continued with her career until 1988 when she opened Paralegal Professionals. She worked as an independent paralegal for lawyers specializing in plaintiff’s personal injury work and medical malpractice.
In 1997, Liz segued her career into law office administrator. She obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and then pursued her Master’s Degree in Business Administration with a specialty in finance. Through a series of career transitions, Liz opened From Lawyer to Law Firm in 2015, helping lawyers with the administration of their law firms including billing.
Liz Miller is a member of the editorial advisory board of Law Office Manager magazine. She writes/blogs for the magazine and has also done several webinars including one on Billing/Collections and one on Trust Accounting. Her professional affiliations include the Hillsborough Bar Association, The Solo and Small Firm Practitioner Section of the HCBA, the American Bar Association and the Society of Human Resource Managers.
In February, 2022, Liz wrote “Hacking Billable Hours”. This book teaches lawyers – no matter what the firm size – how to contemporaneously enter billable time so that clients can receive bills once a month. The book was #3 on the bestseller list within a week. In May, 2017, Liz wrote the best seller, “From Lawyer to Law Firm – How to Manage a Successful Law Business”. This book was also #3 on the bestseller list. In it, Liz details starting a new firm and how to hire staff, write policies and procedures, do trust account reconciliations and so much more. Currently the book is being used as a textbook at Cooley Law School.
Liz helps lawyers focus their time and energy on practicing law and taking care of their clients and the lawyer/client relationship, while she takes care of managing the business of practicing law. Liz Miller can be reached at 813-340-9569 or via email at liz.managementconsultant@gmail.com.
Check out her website at: www.fromlawyertolawfirm.com, her Facebook page, From Lawyer to Law Firm, and her LinkedIn profile.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Aiden Spencer
Aiden Spencer is a health IT researcher and writer at CureMD who focuses on various engaging and informative topics related to the health IT industry. He loves to research and write about topics such as Affordable Care Act, electronic health records, Medical Practice management and patient health data. You can get in touch with him on Twitter: @AidenSpencer15.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Mike O’Brien
Mike O’Brien is an experienced and accomplished employment attorney, media lawyer and courtroom litigator. He consistently has received the highest possible peer reviews from rating services such as Martindale – Hubbell (AV rating) and Chambers USA (“one of the best employer lawyers in Utah”). Utah Business Magazine annually has named him one of Utah’s Legal Elite. He is the immediate past chairman of the firm’s Litigation Department and the leader of its Employment Law and Media Law practice groups. The Utah State Bar named him as its Employment Lawyer of the Year. Mike works with the local and national Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and serves as the legal and legislative director for Utah SHRM and Salt Lake SHRM. For such services, National SHRM honored him with its prestigious Capital Award, given annually to one of SHRM’s 170,000 members worldwide. Utah SHRM has given him its Award for Professional Excellence. He is listed in “Best Lawyers in America” for First Amendment (news media) law and employment law and in “Who’s Who Legal USA” as one of the country’s leading attorneys in management employment law. He was also cited in the 2007 editions of “Super Lawyers” for media law and “Chambers USA” for labor and employment law.
Mike partners with employers in many industries to prevent and solve employment problems. Mike is also a recognized media and First Amendment lawyer.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Ricki Ransom
Ricki Ransom is a Billing Resource Manager for GroupOne Health Source, a healthcare revenue cycle management, and EHR implementation firm based out of St. Louis, Missouri. Ricki’s 30 years of healthcare reimbursement experience has led her to the Billing Resource Manager position where she consults on internal and client Accounts Receivables operations and makes suggestions to increase efficiency.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Danika Brinda, PhD, RHIA, CHPS, HCISPP (danika@planethipaa.org)
Dr. Danika Brinda is the owner of Planet HIPAA and TriPoint Healthcare Solutions and has over 12 years of experience in healthcare privacy and security practices, including more than seven years of consulting experience in privacy and security locally and nationally.
She has worked closely with both covered entities and business associates regarding HIPAA compliance, ranging from sole provider officers to large integrated healthcare systems.
Danika’s philosophy is to help organization understand, create, simplify, and operationalize complex healthcare privacy and security regulations.
Her expertise include HIPAA risk analysis, HIPAA risk mitigation, HIPAA privacy and security policy creation, breach investigation and notification, privacy and security education, business associate process implementation, and evaluating best practices in privacy and security.
Dr. Brinda is a nationally recognized speaker on a variety of healthcare privacy and security topics.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Nick Hernandez
Nick Hernandez is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of ABISA. Founded in 2007, ABISA specializes in healthcare strategy, physician engagement, business transactions and strategic growth initiatives.
Nick has extensive knowledge on matters surrounding physician engagement and has a long history of working with physician entrepreneurs. Since founding ABISA, his emphasis has been on developing and maintaining strong relationships with physicians and identifying areas for business opportunity and support.
Nick is a sought out lecturer for various medical societies and national conventions, having been a featured speaker at numerous healthcare meetings throughout the country. He is a frequent contributor to many healthcare publications on different facets of strategic initiatives.
Nick received his B.S. degree from the United States Naval Academy and his M.B.A degree from Wake Forest University. He obtained a Graduate Certificate in Contract Law from Harvard University. He is Board Certified in Healthcare Management and has been named a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Ron Howrigon
Ron Howrigon is CEO of Fulcrum Strategies, a healthcare consulting firm he founded in 2004. Ron and his team represent medical practices across the country in their negotiations with managed care companies. They also provide practice marketing, physician outreach, strategic planning, and business consulting services. Ron is author of the recently-published book, Flatlining: How Healthcare Could Kill the U.S. Economy. Prior to founding Fulcrum Strategies, Ron spent 18 years working in the managed care industry as a negotiator and network manager. He once held senior management-level positions with three of the largest insurance companies in the nation including: Kaiser Permanente, Cigna, and Blue Cross and Blue Shield. Ron earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Western Michigan University and a Master of Economics degree from North Carolina State University. Ron is the Past-Chairman of the Board of Directors for The Mariposa School for Children with Autism and is the former Chief Operating Officer for one of the largest neurology practices in the nation. Ron currently serves on the Board of Directors for The Miracle League of the Triangle, a baseball league dedicated to providing children with special needs the opportunity to participate in an activity that would otherwise not be available to them.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Brady Wilson
Brady Wilson is co-founder of Juice Inc., a corporate training company that services organizations from Toronto to Los Angeles. Also a speaker, trainer and author, Brady recently released his latest book, Beyond Engagement: A Brain-Based Approach That Blends the Engagement Managers Want with the Energy Employees Need. Follow Brady on Twitter (@BradyJuiceInc), visit his website, www.bradywilson.com or receive a FREE downloadable copy of his book by visiting, www.juiceinc.com/promo.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
William A. Schiemann, Ph.D
William A. Schiemann, Ph.D. is CEO of Metrus Group. He is a thought leader in human resources, employee engagement, and fulfillment and author of Fulfilled! Critical Choices – Work, Home, Life. For more information visit, www.wschiemann.com, follow Dr. Schiemann on Twitter, @wschiemann and connect with him on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/wmschiemann.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Kimberly Shutters, BCS
Kimberly Shutters, Founder & CEO of HIPAA alli. HIPAA alli assists Covered Entities (CE’s), Business Associates (BA’s), Medical Device manufacturers and Mobile Health developers in administering and maintaining their HIPAA Security Compliance and Cyber Security Workforce training. HIPAA alli can be reached either by our website @ www.HIPAAalli.com or by calling us at 619-733-5564.
I strongly believe in educating my clients on how to incorporate HIPAA/HITECH compliance requirements to ensure the privacy & security of their patient’s data. I have a talent for teaching people how to cut through all the ambiguous regulations and do the things that matter. And for people who don’t have the time or interest to do it all for themselves, I can assist them.
I am a member of Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA), American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC), and American Medical Billers Association (AMBA). I serve as a board member for PHI Protection Network (PPN); and I volunteered on the PPN Planning Committee in 2016 and am volunteering on 2017 PPN Planning Committee Conference.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Dudley Slater
Dudley Slater is the author, with Steven T. Taylor, of Fusion Leadership: Unleashing the Movement of Monday Morning Enthusiasts [Available September 12, 2017, Greenleaf Book Group Press]. Slater was the co-founder and CEO of Integra Telecom where he grew the company from nine to over two thousand employees, transitioning it from a start-up to national prominence as one of the ten largest fiber-based telecommunications companies in the United States. Under Slater’s leadership, Integra raised over $1.3 billion in capital and constructed one of the most advanced metropolitan fiber networks in its region, helping to earn him the distinction of being named “Entrepreneur of the Year” in the Northwest in 2011 by Ernst & Young.
Learn more at www.fusionleadership.org.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Robert Glazer
Robert Glazer is the founder and Managing Director of Acceleration Partners, author of the best-selling book, “Performance Partnerships: The Checkered Past, Shifting Present, and Exciting Future of Affiliate Marketing” and sought-after keynote speaker. Book Robert to speak at your next event here.
Rex Conner is the author of What If Common Sense Was Common Practice in Business? And lead partner and owner of Mager Consortium where, since 2012, they’ve applied the uniquely effective processes of Dr. Robert Mager to the entire spectrum of human performance in the workplace. Conner has witnessed the common violations of common sense while working as a trusted partner inside of more than 50 companies in dozens of industries over the last three decades. He is also a Certified Instructional Technologist, holds a Masters Degree in Education, and a Doctrate in Flying Instruction. For more information, visit www.magerconsortium.com.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Holly Caplan
Holly Caplan has been in the medical device industry since 1997. She learned soon into her career that prospering in the industry required adopting group values of the “dick clique” and membership in that clique would come with a battle – a battle to preserve personal and professional identity.
She writes about her experiences and shares it with women who are just entering their careers or are in the throes of their success. This book will shock, entertain, and inform.
Caplan plans on writing more books about women in the work place – with a comedic and gritty spin.
She resides in Dallas, Texas.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Elizabeth Woodcock
Elizabeth Woodcock is a speaker, trainer and author who is passionately dedicated to helping physician practices achieve and sustain patient satisfaction, practice efficiency, and profitability. An expert at practice operations and revenue cycle management, she is nationally recognized for her outstanding presentations and writings aimed at improving the business of medicine. Her education and expertise, combined with her humor and an engaging delivery, make her popular with physicians and administrators alike.
With rich experience in consulting, training, and industry research, Elizabeth has led educational sessions for the nation’s most prominent health care professional associations, specialty societies, and medical societies. In addition to presenting at conferences, she contributes to internal training for physician practices and health systems across the country. Her clients include the American Medical Association, Medical Group Management Association, Ohio State Medical Association, Massachusetts General Physicians Organization, and many, many others.
Unparalleled in her contribution to industry publications, Elizabeth authors newsletters, journal articles, and books. She has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, American Medical News and Physicians Practice, among others.
Trent is highly regarded for his insights on leveraging technology to improve physician practice performance, with particular expertise in defining and developing operational efficiency and cost-cutting strategies. Skilled at managing both technical and operational teams, he is adept at identifying the right tools to ensure successful engagements that feature both short-term wins and longer-term financial and productivity improvements. His experience spans work in IT systems, strategic planning, operations improvement, and implementation for large health systems and multispecialty physician practices. Trusted by C-suite and business and technical staff to find the core issues and best solutions, Trent has worked as an Epic implementor and with EpicCare and Resolute. He is an expert at troubleshooting provider-based billing, revenue cycle inefficiencies, work flows, and governance structures.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Ranadene (Randi) Tapio, MBA, CMRS, CMC
Randi Tapio is the president of MedCycle Solutions, which provides Revenue Cycle Management, Credentialing, Outsourced Coding, and Consulting Services to a number of healthcare providers in a variety of specialties. She holds an MBA in Healthcare Administration & Management and multiple professional certifications. She can be reached at Randi@MedCycleSolutions.com or 320-290-6448.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Dr. David Black
Drawing from 40-plus years of clinical experience practicing in a small, suburban blue-collar town, as well as Pankey-Dawson clinical training, Dr. David Black helps dentists and their teams increase profitability, patient standard of care and peace of mind through attention to key systems. A dental leader in local societies and projects, and state dental board of directors, committees and task forces, Dr. Black’s proven leadership and administrative skill were fundamental in developing a successful restorative and cosmetic practice. Over the years Dr. Black has hired and mentored dozens of dentists, proven his systems for creating a highly-profitable, low-overhead business model, and provided outstanding patient care.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Ron Harman King, MS, Chief Executive Officer
Since founding Vanguard Communications in 1994, Ron Harman King has combined the disciplines of online and offline public relations, strategic marketing and information technology into the comprehensive MedMarketLink program, bringing new patients to physician specialists in fertility, neurosurgery, urology, obstetrics/gynecology, orthopedics, oncology, female pelvic medicine, gynecology-oncology and plastic surgery throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Vanguard’s newest program is MedAmorphosis, a training system co-developed with efficiency and process-improvement experts aimed at reducing inefficiencies, easing physician and nurse burnout, and building staff and patient loyalty. Ron King is the author of The Totally Wired Doctor: Social Media, the Internet & Marketing Technology for Medical Practices (available at Amazon.com). He is a frequent speaker at medical conferences in North America and Europe, and a television commentator and a video blogger for the website for physicians, MedPage Today.
Ron has degrees from three universities in journalism, engineering and information technology, as well as a certificate in French studies from the University of Lausanne in Switzerland.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Audrey Epstein
Audrey Epstein is a partner at The Trispective Group and the co-author with Linda Adams, Abby Curnow-Chavez and Rebecca Teasdale of The Loyalist Team: How Trust, Candor, and Authenticity Create Great Organizations. For more information, or to take a free team snapshot assessment, please visit www.trispectivegroup.com.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Rebecca Teasdale
Rebecca Teasdale is a Leadership Development expert and co-founder of the Trispective Group. She is the co-author of The Loyalist Team: How Trust, Candor, and Authenticity Create Great Organizations. For more information, or to take a free team snapshot assessment, please visit, www.trispectivegroup.com.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Stacey Hanke
Stacey Hanke is the founder and communication expert of Stacey Hanke Inc. She is the author of Influence Redefined: Be the Leader You Were Meant to Be, Monday to Monday, and Yes You Can! Everything You Need From A to Z to Influence Others to Take Action. Stacey and her team have delivered thousands of presentations and workshops for leaders of Fortune 500 companies, including Coca-Cola, Nationwide, FedEx, Kohl’s and AbbVie. Learn more about her team and company at www.staceyhankeinc.com.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Abby Curnow-Chavez
Abby Curnow-Chavez is a mother, leadership development expert and co-founder of the Trispective Group. She is the co-author of “The Loyalist Team: How Trust, Candor, and Authenticity Create Great Organizations.” For more information, or to take a free team snapshot assessment, please visit, www.trispectivegroup.com.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Piyush Patel
Piyush Patel, author of Lead Your Tribe, Love Your Work, is an innovator in corporate culture and an entrepreneur with more than 20 years of experience. He grew his company, Digital-Tutors, into a leader throughout the world of online training, educating over 1.5 million students in digital animation, with clients including Pixar, Apple and NASA. A former Northern Oklahoma College professor, Patel grew frustrated with outdated training material, and launched the company from his living room with only $54 and built it without any debt or investors, eventually creating multi-million-dollar revenue. In 2014, Pluralsight acquired Digital-Tutors for $45 million.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
David C. Fortosis
David C. Fortosis retired from Aon Hewitt in 2021. Over a 35 year career, Dave focused his time advising employers on their employee benefits strategic planning, plan design, and the financing of all active and retiree benefits.
Dave’s work experiences include data analytics for a Health Plan, serving in a leadership role for a wellness company start up, and was Director of Benefits for a Chicago company.
Over his career, Dave has worked with clients in the telecommunications, automotive, retail, insurance, hospital, manufacturing, and hospitality industries.
Dave did his undergraduate work at Wheaton College, earned an M.S. from Northeastern University, and has completed course work for his doctorate at The University of Tennessee. Besides serving on the Law Office Manager Editorial Board, Dave is an Adjunct Professor in the Economics Department at Wheaton College and serves on the Advisory Board of Wellview Health.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
J. Elise Keith
J. Elise Keith is the co-founder of Lucid Meetings and the author of Where the Action Is: The Meetings That Make or Break Your Organization. For more information, please visit, www.lucidmeetings.com and on connect with her on Twitter, @EliseID8.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
James B. LeVasseur, Ph.D.
James B. LeVasseur, Ph.D., has been a pioneer in telehealth for over a decade. Founder of a telehealth-based medico/forensic consulting firm and co-founder of First Choice Telehealth, Dr. LeVasseur takes a down-to-earth and practical approach to applying telehealth, offering customized solutions individualized to fit healthcare organizations and provider needs.
More than just a bestselling author, Sue Hawkes is a keynote speaker, Certified EOS Implementer, Certified Business Coach, WPO Chapter Chair, award-winning and globally recognized seminar leader, and an entrepreneur. She is CEO and Founder of YESS! – Your Extraordinary Success Strategies, and brings over 25 years of experience to her clients and has designed and delivered dynamic, transformational programs for thousands of people. Hawkes has received numerous awards including the Dream Keeper award recognized by the Governor’s Council for her leadership program, the Regional U.S. Small Business Administration Women in Business Champion of the Year award, the Exemplary Woman of the Community award, Women Venture’s Unsung Hero award, Women Who Lead from Minnesota Business Magazine, and NAWBO Minnesota’s Achieve! Vision Award, in addition to being named a 2018 Enterprising Woman of the Year.
Hawkes is also a wife, mom of three, and bulldog owner. She likes to stay active in her free time and get out of her comfort zone through adventure travel. Connect with her on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Lisa A. Eramo, MA
Lisa Eramo is a freelance healthcare journalist specializing in health information management, medical reimbursement, and health IT. She contributes to various trade publications and also assists clients with content marketing efforts. Learn more at www.lisaeramo.com.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Cheyenne Brinson, MBA, CPA
Cheyenne Brinson, MBA, CPA, is a consultant and speaker with KarenZupko & Associates, Inc. She delivers pragmatic business solutions that boost revenue, streamline workflow, and increase operational efficiency.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Steve Selbst
Steve Selbst is a renowned national expert in payer contracting and is the CEO and Co-Owner of Healthcents Inc., www.healthcents.com. Healthcents is the largest and most successful firm in the country for negotiating and analyzing payer contracts. Steve can be reached at 1-800-497-4970 or at info@healthcents.com.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Mark Williamson, CEO at PHMG
Mark Williamson is CEO of PHMG, a world-leading, award-winning audio branding agency with more than 32,000 clients in 39 countries.
Mark has been with the company since 2004, working with clients across the globe to develop their unique sound strategy. Originally Sales and Marketing Director in the UK, he draws on 20 years of experience to advice businesses in every sector on the best way to incorporate audio into their wider marketing strategy – ensuring companies sound every bit as good as they look through music composition, voice artistry and creative scriptwriting.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Andrew Tarvin
Andrew Tarvin is the world’s first humor engineer, teaching people how to get better results while having more fun. He is the author of Humor That Works: The Missing Skill for Success and Happiness at Work and CEO of Humor That Works, a consultancy for human effectiveness. For more information, please visit, www.humorthatworks.com and connect with him on Twitter, @drewtarvin.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Leora Borgenicht
Leora Borgenicht is Head of Marketing at Netlims, a holistic laboratory information management solution company, dedicated to improving lab efficiency through technology. Having worked in health-tech for many years internationally, including Australia, the Middle East, and for the National Health Service in the UK, Leora is committed to improving patient care through research and technology. She can be reached at leo@netlims.com.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Julie Ellison
Julie Ellison, a Human Resources Consultant at B2 Management & Consulting, has more than 25 years in human resources and firm management. A Firm Administrator for a large Austin law firm, an HR Director for a start-up company and the Manager of Human Resources for Sysco Food Services (200+ employees), she has a diverse understanding of work environments large or small and the fundamental groundwork that must be in place for any business entity to have a healthy framework for their employees. Accordingly, she understands the direct correlation between a thriving staff and a thriving company. From day to day operations and regulatory compliance to benefits enrollment and staff training, Julie has solutions to offer. She is a member of the Austin Human Resource Management Association (AHRMA). She was an Education major at the University of Texas at Austin and has attended numerous HR and administrative related courses over the past 25 years and even developed content for those courses. A passionate volunteer for Heart of Texas Lab Rescue and Mobile Loaves & Fishes in her free time, Julie also enjoys traveling and just hanging out with her two Labs and French Bulldog. She can be reached at jellison@b2-mgmt.com and (512)381-1500.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
John W. McDaniel
John W. McDaniel, MHA, is Founder and Chairman of Peak Performance Physicians, LLC. From its New Orleans, the firm has exhibited impressive growth as evidenced by its nationwide clientele and a strong reputation in the physician practice management industry. In addition to overseeing the development and growth of Peak Performance Physicians, LLC since 1989, Mr. McDaniel also has 15 years’ experience in hospital administration in having served as President and Chief Executive Officer of healthcare systems in North Carolina, Alabama and Louisiana. He earned a Masters Degree in Health Care Administration from George Washington University and was selected as their 1985 Alumni of The Year In Health Services Administration. Mr. McDaniel has been published in The Wall Street Journal, The Harvard Business Review and has made numerous presentations to industry and professional associations affiliated with the health care industry. He is also co-author of the book, Disaster Planning for the Clinical Practice and co-author of the e-book, The Five Levers for Medical Practice Improvement.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Andreas Rivera
Andreas Rivera is a technology writer with experience in both reviewing and marketing tech services and products. His areas of expertise include writing about B2B, SaaS companies and how they best address the pain points of businesses. Since early 2019, he has been the Marketing Content Writer for eFileCabinet and has become well versed in how document management software helps businesses reinvent their manual processes and spur growth. Contact him at arivera@efilecabinet.com.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Jeremy Gilman
Prior to joining RxVantage as CMO in 2019, Jeremy led the digital agency and customer experience consulting division of DMI, a 2,500-person professional services firm focused on digital transformation in the life sciences, retail, b2b, and manufacturing industries. Prior to DMI, Jeremy was a partner at Pappas Group, a digital agency, and consultancy that was acquired by DMI in 2016. In his career, Jeremy has partnered with leaders at dozens of companies to help them develop and execute growth, product and digital transformation strategies that increased valuations and led to liquidity events. He is a frequent speaker on digital transformation, mobile and customer-centricity.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Karen Mattocks
Karen Mattocks is Senior Vice President of Business Development at RxVantage, a free, cloud-based solution that connects physicians and medical staff members with life science reps, enabling practices to continue receiving in-person education with minimal time and effort.
Ms. Mattocks brings over 35 years of business development, sales and marketing experience from large corporations and start up companies in the medical field, including, HealthGrades, 21st Century Oncology, Vantage Oncology (US Oncology), Innovasive Devices (J&J Mitek), Smith & Nephew Endoscopy, Bard CardioSurgery and Kendall Corporation.
During her career she founded Joint Decisions, consulting for Stryker, Hydrocision, Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Foundation and Orthopaedic BioSystems.
Ms. Mattocks holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Massachusetts, Isenberg School of Management. She also holds a Master’s Degree in chemistry from Wesleyan University in Connecticut. She completed her undergraduate work in chemistry from Tufts University in Massachusetts.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Shirley Titus
Shirley Titus is Program Coordinator at RxAssist, where she has worked for two decades to help patients better afford their medication and improve their quality of life. RxAssist is owned by RxVantage, a free platform that includes data about all available Patient Assistance Programs and connects healthcare providers with the precise life science experts and resources they need, when they need it, to improve patient care.
Mal Milburn is the Business Development Director-Oncology at RxVantage – a free, cloud-based solution that connects healthcare providers with life sciences experts and resources, when they need them, to improve patient care.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Kristi Williams
Kristi Williams is the Director of Compliance Products and Strategy for Beacon Healthcare Systems, home to the healthcare industry’s leading compliance and risk management technologies. She has nearly 20 years of experience with a demonstrated history of achieving strategic outcomes in the healthcare industry. Kristi has extensive experience in compliance, auditing and monitoring, claims management, and appeals and grievances. A current member of the National Association for Female Executives, Kristi previously served as a contract CMS auditor for three years and was identified as an ODAG SME.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Dr. Neil Baum
Dr. Neil Baum is a physician in New Orleans, LA and the author of The Business Basics for Managing a Healthcare Practice (Springer 2019) and is the medical advisor for Vanguard Communications (vanguardcommunications.net).
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Kerri Lenderman
Kerri Lenderman is chief executive officer of MedicareCompareUSA, the nation’s leading independent resource in helping Medicare beneficiaries select a health plan that is accepted by their existing hospital and doctors.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Jordan MacAvoy
Jordan MacAvoy is the Vice President of Marketing at Reciprocity Labs and manages the company’s go-to-market strategy and execution. Prior to joining Reciprocity, Mr. MacAvoy served in executive roles at Fundbox, a Forbes Next Billion Dollar Company, and Intuit, via their acquisition of the SaaS marketing and communications solution, Demandforce.
Ron Slyker is the CEO of Radiant Technology Solutions which specializes in keeping clients safe from cyber threats. After over 15 years in the IT industry, has built relationships with other industries such as healthcare, legal, financial and non-profits. You can reach Radiant Technology Solutions at 727-493-4723.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Brittainy Boessel
Brittainy Boessel is general counsel for Khudairi Group, a lean multinational based in Houston, and has written and edited as a freelancer for years. She enjoys classic Russian lit, bluegrass, and splashing in the mountain creeks with her two mischievous boys.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Indira Totaram
Indira Totaram is Senior Marketing Associate, Communications & Events at Namely. She is passionate about writing, marketing, and HR thought leadership. Connect with Indira and the Namely team on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Vienna Stivala
Vienna Stivala is a Marketing Associate at Namely, the HR, payroll, and benefits platform built for today’s employees. Connect with Vienna and the Namely team on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
Dave Klumpe is president of clinical asset management for TRIMEDX, an industry-leading, independent clinical asset management company delivering comprehensive clinical engineering services, clinical asset informatics and medical device cybersecurity. Klumpe leads TRIMEDX’s clinical asset management business unit, including Fleet Informatics, Asset Informatics & Planning, Asset Utilization Services and Asset Lifecycle Management services. Prior to joining TRIMEDX, he led the development of supply chain management and technology services for several of the nation’s largest healthcare providers.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Alison Foster
Alison Foster is a senior content manager for RxVantage, a company that connects medical practices with critical life science information and resources to improve patient care. By harnessing the automation that powers the RxVantage platform, practices are able to modernize scheduling and communication to create flexible policies and get the information they need, when they need it.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Tolu Ajiboye
Tolu Ajiboye helps healthcare and biopharma companies communicate effectively with their target audience. Among these companies is RxVantage, which connects medical practices with critical life science information and resources to improve patient care.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Alek Pirkhalo
Alek Pirkhalo is co-founder of Infiniwiz, based in Palatine, Ill., which provides comprehensive tech support and IT consulting including a full suite of managed IT services for medical offices. He says his previous life as a mechanical engineer, prior to starting Inifiniwiz in 2009, taught him to be detail and risk orientated. “Now, I couple these skills with IT knowledge to design new products and services within telecommunication, information technology and software development fields, all with focus on business continuity where issues are anticipated and prevented. I am part of an amazing team that we’ve built over the period of last decade, since 2009. We use latest tools, are aware of newest technologies and up to date with best practices. Being a co-founder of Infiniwiz, which is all about IT/networking, and co-founder of Lotatech, which creates custom software solutions, I am uniquely positioned to be in-the-know in both worlds: latest off-the-shelf technologies and custom solutions.“
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Kevin Keenahan
Kevin Keenahan is the co-founder and CEO of Tissue Analytics, Inc., acquired by Net Health in 2020. After completing his BS in Biomedical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, Kevin joined the Center for Bioengineering Innovation and Design at Johns Hopkins University for his MSE in Bioengineering Innovation and Design. He went on to cofound Tissue Analytics, Inc. in 2014 and has been recognized as a speaker at the GSV Pioneer Summit, CES, and the Conference of the European Wound Management Association. Tissue Analytics is a best-in-class wound imaging and documentation solution that uses computer vision to automatically measure and document wound healing.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Hortense le Gentil
Hortense le Gentil is an Executive Leadership Coach and Marshall Goldsmith #MG100 Certified Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder Centered Coaching. She partners with leaders to analyze problems and determine best possible solutions. Le Gentil’s coaching expertise includes cultural and self-awareness, entrepreneurship, leadership presence, leadership style and organizational dynamics.
Prior to coaching full-time, le Gentil spent over 30 years in business in various industries, including media consulting, advertising, technological innovation and entrepreneurship (in metals recycling). As Director of Advertising at media conglomerate Lagardere and later at L’Express-Roulata she managed advertising and strategy for clients that included Air France’s inflight magazine, Madame. Before that, she spent 10 years as a media manager with Havas Worldwide, where she oversaw media consulting and strategy for clients including Chanel International, Peugeot, Rhone Poulenc and Canal+.
In 2007, le Gentil founded and became CEO of HLG Management, a metals recycling company for niche professions that developed a process to transform metal residue into reusable materials. She is now a Thinkers50 nominee and Founder and CEO of JAY Consulting, a firm committed to coaching senior, including C-Suite, executives and entrepreneurs toward positive leadership behaviors.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Jessica Zeff
Jessica Zeff is Director of Product Compliance at Net Health. She is responsible for leading regulatory compliance efforts across all Net Health products. She has more than 15 years of healthcare compliance experience in a range of healthcare settings. Jessica came to Net Health having led the compliance and privacy program at a health plan and working within Medicaid and Medicare program requirements. Prior to that, Jessica worked for England’s national healthcare regulator, assessing the safety and quality of healthcare provided in acute and community hospitals against established regulatory and clinical standards. As a result, Jessica is well versed in interpreting a range of complex regulatory frameworks and successfully implementing compliance requirements. Jessica graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia, with a BA in English and Sociology. She then obtained an MSc in Political Science and a JD in Law in London, England. Jessica is also a member of HCCA.