Editorial Board

Amber Soucy is a Registered Nurse working full-time on a surgical intermediate care unit at Boston Medical Center, and part-time as a Clinical Instructor/Adjunct Faculty for Labouré College. She graduated summa cum laude with a Master of Science in Nursing degree and concentration in Nursing Leadership in May 2018 from Curry College, and hopes to create and promote positive change within the inpatient hospital setting.

Amber has been a member of the Society for Participatory Medicine since 2017, and currently sits on the Board of Directors and is the society’s Social Media Lead. She integrates participatory care models within her nursing practice to encourage patient engagement, foster nurse-patient relationships, and improve the overall patient experience. Through academia, she stresses the importance of treating every patient with dignity and respect, and how students can individually tailor care plans by actively listening and collaborating with patients and families.

Twitter: @wheezynurse

ANDREW B. WACHLER is a partner with Wachler & Associates, P.C. Mr. Wachler has been practicing healthcare law for over 30 years. He counsels healthcare providers, suppliers and organizations nationwide in a variety of healthcare legal matters. In addition, he writes and speaks nationally to professional organizations and other entities on healthcare law topics such as Medicare and 3^rd party payor appeals, Stark law and Fraud and Abuse, regulatory compliance, enrollment and revocation, and other topics.  He often co-speaks with Medicare and other government officials.  Mr. Wachler has met with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) policy makers on numerous occasions to effectuate changes to Medicare policy and obtain fair and equitable reimbursement for health systems.

Emma Trivax is a Law Clerk at Wachler & Associates, P.C. Ms. Trivax has been with the firm since May 2018, assisting primarily in Fraud & Abuse matters; Medicare, Medicaid, and third-party payor audits; and licensing matters. Ms. Trivax is a third-year law student at Wayne State University Law School and graduates in May 2020. Ms. Trivax has interned with the Honorable Judge Bernard A. Friedman of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. During law school, Ms. Trivax has participated in both Law Review and Moot Court. Ms. Trivax’s Law Review Note, to be published Spring of 2020, discusses the Medicare audit appeals process, the backlog of appeals, and jurisdictional avenues for relief from the backlog’s collateral consequences. Ms. Trivax is also to be published as co-author in the 2020 edition of the Health Law Handbook. Ms. Trivax’s passion for health law grows as she continues publishing articles and blog posts discussing various areas of health law.

ANDREW B. WACHLER is a partner with Wachler & Associates, P.C. Mr. Wachler has been practicing healthcare law for over 30 years. He counsels healthcare providers, suppliers and organizations nationwide in a variety of healthcare legal matters. In addition, he writes and speaks nationally to professional organizations and other entities on healthcare law topics such as Medicare and 3rd party payor appeals, Stark law and Fraud and Abuse, regulatory compliance, enrollment and revocation, and other topics. He often co-speaks with Medicare and other government officials. Mr. Wachler has met with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) policy makers on numerous occasions to effectuate changes to Medicare policy and obtain fair and equitable reimbursement for health systems.

Kaitlin Nucci is an associate attorney at Wachler & Associates, P.C. Ms. Nucci represents providers in the defense of Medicare, Medicaid, and third party payor audits. She joined the firm in May 2019.

Angela M. Phillips, PT, is President and Chief Executive Officer of Images & Associates. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Allied Health Professions, she has more than 40 years of experience as a consultant, healthcare executive, hospital administrator, educator, and clinician. Ms. Phillips is one of the nation’s leading consultants assisting Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities in operating effectively under the Medicare Prospective Payment System (PPS) and in addressing key issues related to compliance. Ms. Phillips is a member of the RACmonitor editorial board and a popular guest panelist on Monitor Mondays.

Dr. Benjamin Kartchner MD, CHCQM-PhyAdv is the physician advisor and medical director of utilization management for Multicare Health System covering the INW region in Spokane, WA. He graduated from the University of Colorado before completing his residency in Family Medicine at Grant Medical Center in Columbus, OH.V

Long time moderator for Monitor Mondays and Talk Ten Tuesdays podcasts.

Dr. Daniel Zirkman is the chief physician advisor at CarolinaEast Medical Center in New Bern, N.C. Dr. Zirkman completed medical school at the University of Texas at San Antonio, then residency in internal medicine and fellowship in nephrology at the University of Pittsburgh. He practiced privately for 23 years.  

Dr. Zirkman began physician advising work approximately five years ago. Previously, he worked at Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank, N.J., part of the Hackensack-Meridian system, before moving to New Bern in 2017 to take on his current position at CarolinaEast Medical Center. 

David Jury, MD is a staff anesthesiologist and critical care physician at Cleveland Clinic.  

Delilah Davis, RN, BSN, CCA, is the Medical Reviews/Appeals Coordinator for Blount Memorial Hospital. Previously, she worked in the fields of HHC, ICU, COU, and infection prevention. She holds an AD in Interior Design with an interest in Health Care design and oil paintings.

Denise Nash, MD has more than 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry. In her last position, she served as senior vice president of compliance and education for MiraMed Global Services, and as such she handled all compliance and education needs, including working with external clients. Dr. Nash has worked for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in hospital auditing and has expertise in negotiation and implementation of risk contracting for managed care plans. She has also worked with individuals as well as physician groups on utilization and Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) management to improve financial performance for risk-based contracts and value-based purchasing programs. Dr. Nash has past experience with episode-of-care data, hierarchical condition categories (HCCs), and patient management in the Accountable Care Organization (ACO) environment. She has also worked with both hospitals and physician practices on the legal and financial aspects of adding new services to their respective facilities. Dr. Nash is a consultant on coding/compliance audits at physician practices and hospitals, and has worked for insurance plans conducting second- and third-level appeals. Her past experience also included consulting for the Office of the Inspector General of New Hampshire in its Fraud and Abuse Division.

Duane C. Abbey, PhD, CFP, is an educator, author, and management consultant working in the healthcare field. He is president of Abbey & Abbey Consultants, Inc., which specializes in healthcare consulting and related areas. His firm is based in Ames, Iowa. Dr. Abbey earned his graduate degrees at the University of Notre Dame and Iowa State University. Dr. Abbey is a member of the RACmonitor editorial board and is a frequent guest on Monitor Mondays.

Dr. Dunbar transitioned to a physician advisor role in 2016 after 19 years in clinical practice including 14 years of night shifts in the Novant Health Charlotte Market EDs as a residency-trained, board-certified emergency physician. She enjoys the multi-faceted challenges and the collegiality of UR nursing education and staff physician education, especially in the area of documentation optimization.

Ellen Parucka Walker LCSW ACSW is a licensed clinical social worker and the social work manager at West Suburban Medical Center. She has been in hospital social work for 30 years.  She is a member of the National Association of Social Workers and the Case Managers Society of America. 

Erin Diesel Roumayah is an associate attorney at Wachler & Associates, PC. Ms. Roumayah represents healthcare providers and suppliers in Medicare, Medicaid, and third-party payer audits. She devotes a substantial portion of her practice representing healthcare providers and suppliers in the audit administrative appeals process. In addition, Ms. Roumayah represents healthcare providers in regulatory compliance matters and healthcare litigation. Ms. Roumayah graduated from Wayne State University Law School.

Glenn Krauss is well-recognized and respected subject matter expert in the revenue cycle with a specialized emphasis and focuses upon collaborating and working closely with physicians in promoting, advocating for, educating and achieving sustainable improvement in clinical documentation that accurately reflects and reports the communication of fully informed coordinated patient care. His experiences include working with a wide variety of healthcare systems spanning the entire spectrum ranging from critical access hospitals, community hospitals, Federal Qualified Healthcare Centers to large academic medical centers and fully integrated healthcare systems. Glenn is a member of the ICD10monitor editorial board and makes frequent appearances on Talk Ten Tuesdays.

In his role as director of requester relations and receivables administration for MRO, Greg Ford serves as a liaison between MRO’s healthcare provider clients and payers requesting large volumes of medical records for purposes of post-payment audits, as well as HEDIS and risk adjustment reviews. He oversees payer audit and review projects end-to-end, from educating and supporting clients on proper billing practices and procedural obligations to streamlining processes to ensure timely delivery of medical documentation to the requesting payers. Prior to joining MRO, Ford worked as director of operations and sales at ARC Document Solutions for 15 years. He received his B.A. from Delaware Valley University.

J. Paul Spencer is a senior healthcare consultant for DoctorsManagement. Is the national correspondent for Monitor Mondays, the live Internet radio broadcast produced by RACmonitor.

Dr. Lehrman is a diplomate of the American Board of Foot and Ankle Surgery, fellow of the American Society of Podiatric Surgeons, fellow of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons, and fellow of the American Academy of Podiatric Practice Management, and he is recognized as a master of the American Professional Wound Care Association. He is the Chair of the Board of Directors of the American Society of Podiatric Surgeons. He is also on the Board of Directors of the American Professional Wound Care Association. He is an expert panelist on Codingline.com and sits on the APMA Coding Committee. Dr. Lehrman has lectured nationally and internationally on practice management and other topics.

John K. Hall, MD, JD, MBA, FCLM, FRCPC is a licensed physician in several jurisdictions and is admitted to the California bar. He is also the founder of The Aegis Firm, a healthcare consulting firm providing consultative and litigation support on a wide variety of criminal and civil matters related to healthcare. He lectures frequently on black-letter health law, mediation, medical staff relations, and medical ethics, as well as patient and physician rights.

Dr. Hall hopes to help explain complex problems at the intersection of medicine and law and prepare providers to manage those problems.

Juliet B. Ugarte Hopkins, MD, CHCQM-PHYADV, is Physician Advisor for Case Management, Utilization, and Clinical Documentation at ProHealth Care, Inc., in Wisconsin.  She practiced as a pediatric hospitalist in Illinois for a decade and also served as medical director of pediatric hospital medicine and vice chair of pediatrics before transitioning into her current role.  Dr. Ugarte Hopkins is Vice-President of the American College of Physician Advisors (ACPA), Co-Chair of the National Physician Advisor Conference (NPAC), the first physician board member for the Wisconsin chapter of the American Case Management Association (ACMA), and a member of the RACMonitor editorial board.  She has made multiple appearances on the Monitor Mondays and Talk Ten Tuesdays webcasts and regularly contributes articles to both RACMonitor.com and ICD10Monitor.com.

Kathy Seward, MD, CHCQM-PHYADV is a medical director of coordination of care at a five-hospital system in southeastern North Carolina.  She is also the chief medical officer and co-founder of qlēr Solutions, Inc., a telemedicine company that provides psychiatric care to patients throughout the United States. Seward is a member of the RACmonitor editorial board.

Knicole C. Emanuel is a partner at the Potomac Law Group, PLLC.

For more than 16 years, Ms. Emanuel has maintained a litigation practice, concentrating on Medicare and Medicaid litigation, healthcare regulatory compliance, administrative law, and regulatory law. She understands the intricate Medicare and Medicaid payment system, the unique business of healthcare providers, the overlay of federal and state Medicare and Medicaid rules and regulations, and actions of state agencies that affect the way healthcare entities operate. She has tried over 1,000 administrative cases and has appeared before arbitration panels and in various appellate forums. Knicole is a member of the RACmonitor editorial board and a popular panelist on Monitor Monday.

Laurie M. Johnson, MS, RHIA, FAHIMA AHIMA Approved ICD-10-CM/PCS Trainer is currently a senior healthcare consultant for Revenue Cycle Solutions, based in Pittsburgh, Pa. Laurie is an American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) approved ICD-10-CM/PCS trainer. She has more than 35 years of experience in health information management and specializes in coding and related functions. She has been a featured speaker in over 40 conferences. Laurie is a member of the ICD10monitor editorial board and makes frequent appearances on Talk Ten Tuesdays.

Lori O’Hara is the lead of the ADR, Appeals and Clinical Review Team for Ensign Services. She has more than 25 years of experience in the post-acute setting, ranging from hands-on clinician to interdisciplinary rehabilitation director. She currently supports her organization’s SNF line of business through claim defense and proactive development of documentation processes.

Maggie Elehwany, JD is the Government affairs and policy vice president at the National Rural Health Association. She has over 20 years of federal legislative experience. She previously served as health counsel to U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and to U.S. Sen. Frank Murkowski, a member of the Senate Finance Committee, where she worked on comprehensive Medicare and Medicaid legislation. Maggie also served as counsel to former U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Bob Packwood. From 1999 to 2005, she served as assistant director of congressional affairs for the American Medical Association, where she advocated on patient and physician issues.

Marvin D. Mitchell, RN, BSN, MBA, is the director of case management and social work at San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital, east of Los Angeles. Building programs from the ground up has been his passion in every venue where case management is practiced. Mitchell is a member of the RACmonitor editorial board and makes frequent appearances on Monitor Mondays.

Mary Inman is a partner in the London office of Constantine Cannon, specializing in representing whistleblowers throughout the U.S., Europe, and worldwide under the countries’ various whistleblower laws, including the U.S. False Claims Act and the SEC, CFTC, IRS, and DOT whistleblower programs. She heads the firm’s international whistleblower practice, and Anne Hartman is a partner in Constantine Cannon’s San Francisco office.

Matt Lambert, MD is an emergency medicine doctor and the CMO for Curation Health. He lives in Washington, D.C. and is currently social distancing in Davis, W.Va. He is also a musician and author.

Maureen Testoni is the president and CEO of 340B Health.

Melinda Battaile, MD, FHM, MMCI, CHCQM-PHYADV, CCDS is a graduate of the University of Maryland School of Medicine with a Masters in Management of Clinical Informatics from Duke University. She works full time as a physician advisor for CDI at Vidant Health and still does clinical shifts as well.

Nancy Beckley is founder and president of Nancy Beckley & Associates LLC, providing compliance planning and outsourced compliance services to rehab providers in hospitals, rehab agencies, and private practices. Nancy is certified in healthcare compliance by the Healthcare Compliance Certification Board. She is on the board of the National Association of Rehabilitation Providers and Agencies. She previously served on the CMS Professional Expert Technical Panel for Comprehensive Outpatient Rehabilitation Facilities. Nancy is a familiar voice on Monitor Mondays, where she serves as a senior national correspondent.

Dr. Angello graduated from the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in 1996 and Virtua Family Practice Residency in 1999. At the present time, Dr. Angello works full-time as a family physician with Family Practice of CentraState in Colts Neck, New Jersey.

Richard Beckley is the husband of longtime RACmonitor contributor Nancy Beckley.

Sarah Hillegonds is an associate attorney at Wachler & Associates, P.C.  Ms. Hillegonds practices in all areas of healthcare law and devotes a substantial portion of her practice to representing healthcare entities in the defense of RAC, Medicare, Medicaid, and third-party payer audits.  Ms. Hillegonds also represents healthcare providers in licensing matters. 

Stanley Nachimson, MS is principal of Nachimson Advisors, a health IT consulting firm dedicated to finding innovative uses for health information technology and encouraging its adoption.   The firm serves a number of clients, including WEDI, EHNAC, the Cooperative Exchange, the Association of American Medical Colleges, and No World Borders.  Stanley is focusing on assisting health care providers and plans with their ICD-10 implementation and is the director of the NCHICA-WEDI Timeline Initiative.  He serves on the Board of Advisors for QualEDIx Corporation.

Stanley served for over 30 years in the US Department of Health and Human Services in a variety of statistical, management, and health technology positions.  His last ten years prior to his 2007 retirement were spent in developing HIPAA policy, regulations, and implementation planning and monitoring, beginning CMS’s work on Personal Health Records and serving as the CMS liaison with several industry organizations, including WEDI and HITSP.  He brings a wealth of experience and information regarding the use of standards and technology in the health care industry.

Dr. Stephanie Van Zandt, Medical Director for BayCare Physician Advisor Program, has incorporated 25 years of clinical medicine with her UM/CM experiences working for the insurance

industry and as a large health system physician advisor. Over the 4 years, Dr Van Zandt has led the expansion of a proactive and integrated hospital-based Physician Advisor program.

Timothy Powell is a nationally recognized expert on regulatory matters, including the False Claims Act, Zone Program Integrity Contractor (ZPIC) audits, and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) compliance. He is a member of the RACmonitor editorial board and a national correspondent for Monitor Mondays.

Vasilios Nassiopoulos, Vice President of Platform Strategy and Innovation at Hayes, has more than 25 years of healthcare experience.