Julie Kinner is Rising Star

    Just a few years ago, Julie Kinner decided to go in a new direction and begin a new career. Now she’s being recognized as a rising star in the industry by Colorado Health Information Management Association.
    Kinner began working for Melissa Memorial Hospital in August 2015. There she is the health information management supervisor, and she was nominated for the Rising Star award by others in the HIM department, Kathleen Lueth and Jo Brown.
    Each year, two individuals are recognized by CHIMA as rising stars for demonstrating “significant potential for future leadership, innovation, creativity, volunteerism, service and administrative capacity.” Kinner has been showing her potential in the past year by earning four different credentials: certified coding specialist, certified coding specialist — physician-based, rural health coding and billing specialist, and registered health information technician.
    At MMH, Kinner also serves as the HIPPA privacy officer.
    Kinner describes the HIM department as translators. They translate diagnoses made by health care professionals to codes for insurance. They also ensure policies and regulations are being followed. One of the main goals, she added, is to make sure a patient’s record accurately and completely reflects the health care picture. They are charged with protecting the integrity of the health care record and protecting privacy.

The full article is available in our e-Edition. Click here to subscribe.