Kristen has over 20 years of experience in Coding and Clinical Documentation Integrity. During the first 12 years of her career, she focused on becoming a coding expert, and for the last 8 years, she has specialized in CDI (Clinical Documentation Integrity). She played a crucial role as a principal team member in implementing the documentation improvement program at a Pediatric facility. Additionally, she had the opportunity to educate the system during the ICD-10 implementation.
Furthermore, Kristen successfully implemented a highly effective pre-bill audit program, which involves a comprehensive review of diagnosis and procedure coding, POA (Present on Admission) status, and clinical validation before the bill drops.
Her expertise extends to providing support to physicians, coding, and CDI staff in reducing unnecessary complications, mortalities, and observed over expected statistics in both an acute care hospital and a stand-alone pediatric facility. Currently, she performs coding and CDI reviews and conducts audits, specializing in mortality, surgical complications, high-cost cases, low severity cases, short stays, and focused insurance denial daily reviews for clients.
Kristen earned her Bachelor of Science from Texas Woman’s University, solidifying her knowledge and qualifications in the field.