National Conference Speaker Information

Website: http://www.tbconsults.net
Ms. Bukauskas has over 20 years in the medical field. She currently is the owner of T.B. Consulting & Billing, a firm that specializes in medical billing, education, consulting, auditing, compliance and initial start up of medical offices and clinics. Her education in business management and vast experience in the operations of medical practices provide her with the “edge” in keeping medical practices profitable and compliant while staying abreast of the constant changes in the medical industry.

Ms. Bukauskas is a Certified Medical Manager through the Professional Association of Health Care Office Managers (PAHCOM) and a Certified Professional Coder, (CPC) with the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC), and Professional Association of Healthcare Coding Specialists (PAHCS). She is extremely active in all the organizations, serving on numerous committees and providing lectures for various functions.

Ms. Bukauskas provides educational seminars across the country for insurance, national pharmaceutical and other organizations. She teaches and has published manuals for the following medical specialties: OB/GYN, Urology, Family Practice, Pain Management, Anesthesia, Emergency Medicine, Orthopedics, Oncology and Radiology, DMERC and Coding and Compliance. She has held several national teleconferences on coding / reimbursement topics and was the editor for the Coding Institute’s “Anesthesiology and Pain Management Coding Alert.”

Ms. Bukauskas’ expertise in auditing, compliance and billing is vital in the always changing medical industry. From a compliance viewpoint, her knowledge could save money from costly audits. Compliance programs are essential and her company maintains the proper billing and documentation guidelines for each client so they are consistently following all federal guidelines. She will present the Keynote Address "Communication is the Key to Success" as well as "A/R’s less than 45 days; Myth, Fact or Wishful Thinking. Can it be done?" as a General Session presentation.

Website: http://www.lilesparker.com
Mr. Liles focuses his practice on fraud defense, internal audits / investigations, compliance and regulatory matters. Mr. Liles has represented a wide variety of clients in civil and criminal proceedings, complex civil litigation, and in connection with reviews conducted under non-profit and Sarbanes-Oxley compliance requirements.

Before entering private practice, Mr. Liles served as Deputy Director for Legal Programs at the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), Executive Office for United States Attorneys (EOUSA). Prior to serving in Washington, D.C., he worked as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of Texas, Houston office, where he primarily handled False Claims Act matters and cases.

Mr. Liles was subsequently appointed as Chief of the Financial Litigation Unit for the Southern District of Texas. Working in this capacity, he was responsible for managing a substantial accounts receivable portfolio, representing hundreds of millions of dollars in collections amounts owned to the government by individuals and corporations. Mr. Liles managed a staff of attorneys and support personnel tasked with collecting sums owed to DOJ and its client agencies.

In 1997, he was detailed to the EOUSA in Washington, D.C. as its first National Health Care Fraud Coordinator. In this capacity, he advised Assistant United States Attorneys around the country on civil and criminal health fraud statutes, schemes, investigative tools, privacy concerns, and compliance issues.

Mr. Liles was instrumental in implementing DOJ guidance on the judicious use of the False Claims Act. Mr. Liles has taught and lectured at more than 50 national conferences and seminars to DOJ prosecutors, investigators, auditors, and industry representatives on a variety of civil and criminal fraud and regulatory issues. He serves as faculty for the Georgetown University / National Institute of Trial Advocacy.

In 1999, Mr. Liles received a Director's Award (Executive Office for United States Attorney's highest award). Mr. Liles' management background provides a firm understanding of the real-life operational and regulatory problems faced by corporations. He will present information on contracting as well as percentage billing as it relates to the Federal Government and various States.

Dr “Ron” Ramsdell is President of MedCorp Compliance Network, a firm of specialists in healthcare practice compliance who serve physicians throughout the United States. Dr. Ramsdell holds the highest designations in his field as a Fellow of the American College of Forensic Examiners Institute, a Board Certified Diplomat of the American Board of Forensic Examiners and a Certified Forensic Consultant. He is also one of the few non-attorney members of the American Health Lawyers Association and serves as Executive Director and Life Fellow of the M.A.A.M.A.

He has served as a compliance and documentation consultant to hundreds of practices of all healthcare disciplines and is frequently engaged by health care law attorneys for independent assessment of their clients Medicare/ Medicaid and overall compliance through comprehensive audit. Billing people and practitioners love his humor. Attorneys love his professionalism and forensic expertise. Carriers hate them both.

Dr. Ramsdell’s presentation, “Fraud, Abuse, RICO? Where will you stand?” will focus on the False Claims Act and RICO cases brought by commercial carriers & Govt. payers against healthcare providers and billers and will provide you with specifics on the actions of physicians and billers that cause enforcement actions to be brought against them.

Website: http://www.careercoders.com
Melody Irvine has been in the medical field for 30 years and is the owner of Career Coders, LLC out of Loveland, Colorado. She is certified through American Health Information Management Association (CCS-P), American Academy of Professional Coders (CPC), Specialty credential of Evaluation and Management Auditing through American Academy of Professional Coders (CPC-E/M), Certified CPC instructor through American Academy of Professional Coders (CPC-I), Certified Medical Billing Specialist (CMBS), and Certified Medical Reimbursement Specialist through American Medical Billing Association (CMRS).

Ms Irvine is a medical consultant specializing in physician auditing. She conducts educational seminars and consults with physician practices across the United States. She also works with various organizations teaching certification classes. She is presently writing a medical coding book that should be published in 2009.

Some of Ms Irvine’s background includes: Working in the hospital setting for 9 years and physician practice for 15 years. She has developed medical billing and coding programs for local colleges, developed and implemented HIPAA & Compliance plans, Director of Urgent Care Clinic, Director of Coding for 48 physicians.

Most important of all Ms. Irvine has a passion for her line of work and enjoys the rewards of helping individuals grow in this ever changing medical field.

Ms. Irvine will be presenting on Common Coding & Billing Errors. You can impress your physicians by recognizing coding errors and billing denials and Auditing 101, both in general sessions.

Mike Edmonds started his medical accounts receivable management and billing company in 1983 as a one-person office and now has 15 full-time and 9 part-time employees. His company provides comprehensive outsourcing services aimed at improving reimbursement and financial performance for their hundreds of physicians in several medical practices located in several states. Mike's business processes millions of dollars in patient charges and payments and they send out thousands of patient statements each month. He works with 152 providers in 32 practices.

Mike has twenty five years of experience in healthcare management and his expertise include medical reimbursement, coding, insurance/patient billing, fees, statistical analysis, revenue cycle management, insurance contracting, physician credentialing, management information system reporting and business consulting. He is a current member of Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) and the American Medical Billing Association (AMBA) and past member of Healthcare Billing &Management Association (HBMA) and has recently obtained his Healthcare Billing & Management Executive certification (CHBME).

Mike doubled his business since last year’s conference, working with hundreds of physicians, processing thousands of claims worth millions of dollars. He will share with you the processes he’s implemented and the skills he’s utilized to grow his business into one of the largest AMBA member billing companies.

Cheri established her company, CRT Healthcare Management Systems in 1999. She has received training from Medicare and Provider Law TM in addition to continuing education seminars and is a member of AMBA and was instrumental in forming the Central Texas AMBA Local Chapter. Cheri's training with Provider Law™ has prepared her and her staff to deal with insurance companies and their tactics head on! She has experience with Medicare, commercial carriers, PIP, third-party liability, Worker's Compensation, and in working with attorneys.

Cheri is located in the Austin, TX area and is President of her local AMBA Chapter. She is also an AMBA National Advisory Board Member. Cheri will be presenting on physical medicine & rehab billing. You will learn the various requirements of rehab billing, codes and modifiers used as well as the ins and outs of this type of billing specialty.

Kathy Stull has over 23 years experience in Medical Coding and Billing. She has worked for hospital, hospital-based Central Billing Offices, and private practices. Currently, she is the owner of Superior Resources, Inc. Medical Coding and Billing in Northwest Ohio. Ms Stull is a frequent presenter in the NW Ohio area on coding, billing, and OIG and HIPAA compliance. Ms Stull has been a CPC since 2004 and a Certified HIPAA Compliance Officer since 2005. Ms Stull is also the author of Coding Confidential, a monthly column in the Toledo Academy of Medicine’s newsletter.

Kathy will be presenting on linking work performed to revenue. How does credentialing, billing software, coding, CCI edits, appeals and other important elements of work relate to the revenue you collect? Learn from specific examples of how you can collect more by utilizing all resources available to you.

Fagerman Technologies, Inc. was formed in 2000. Shortly after starting the company Jeff took an interest in medical billing software. As it turns out some friends owned a small business that already had an established customer base on a DOS product. This product had been on the market since 1983. As of early 2000 no effort had been made to create a Windows-based product. This was an opportunity and challenge that peaked Jeff's interest. After a lot of research on the topic and many phone calls to the existing customers work began on MedLook - an easy to use and fully functional Windows-based medical billing program. In December 2005 the old company was completely done away with and Fagerman Technologies took the reins completely for MedLook.

MedLook is a billing software program that many AMBA members are using in their billing businesses. Jeff will present "Tips, Tricks and Helpful Hints Using MedLook" as a breakout session.

Sonoran Medical Management, LLC was founded in 2004 by Sara L. Tradup. Ms. Tradup has over 20 years of experience in all aspects of the medical office including front, back and administrative. To keep up to date with the constant changes in the HealthCare Management Industry, Sonoran is a member of the American Billing Association and American Health Information Management Association. Sara Tradup also holds a Certificate in Health Service Management and a Diploma in Medical Assisting. Sara will be presenting a breakout session on Podiatry Billing and all that it encompasses. You will soon know if you want to pursue clients from this specialty.