How I Unexpectedly Entered the Medical Field

The very first job I had in the medical field was in an oral surgeon’s office as a receptionist – and it was an adventure! My husband had just left active duty in the military and we were looking for a place to settle, so we moved from Maine to Massachusetts and I saw a ‘help wanted’ sign. I had not been in a medical office outside of my yearly physical, I had come from a music education background and I was excited about the prospects of an ‘easy’ job. When I first started, I was amazed that this doc did not own a computer in the practice – he’d been in business 32 years when I started and he had 32 years’ worth of ledger cards, paper records, and still used a pegboard accounting system. In fact the most advanced piece of technology was an IBM Selectric II typewriter, (I’m a Gen-Xer and had never had the pleasure of using an actual typewriter before this). It was a substantial learning curve, where I learned administrative medical processes back to their low tech roots. These are experiences that have served me well, as just last week I was talking about documentation with a provider who after 53 years of practice is still using that pegboard!!

“From the very first look, I was hooked.”

After a little while it was time to move onto a larger practice when the early vestiges of EMR systems came out. This was a 7 physician practice that had been handed down through several generations of a family. I will never forget the weekend several of the front desk staff were allowed to destroy records from pre-1945. It was here I saw my first CPT book and from the very first look, I was hooked. I was fascinated by the terminology, the nuances and the data that could be extrapolated from such a system. In my IT mind, the implications were endless. Little did I realize the first encounter would set the corner stone foundation for my entire career.

Around this time I began teaching basic insurance billing and simultaneously transitioned into the payer world. Mind you, this was at a time when admitting you worked for a payer could lead to trouble in certain circles. For the last 11 years I have always held at least two jobs, teaching by night (or online) and my day job in the payer world. There have been valuable insights afforded me by working for payers; I have worked in finance, policy, claims, auditing and compliance within the payer scope. So many questions about the how’s and why’s of payers were answered. And I gained a better understanding of payer tactics, and methodologies. I had been in the field nearly 4 years prior to taking my first major credentialing exam, and every 3-4 months for nearly 3 years I took another certification. It was difficult proving that I knew what I was talking about without the credentials to back me up, and I was teaching coding as adjunct faculty at a local college by then, and didn’t want to teach students about exams that I myself hadn’t taken. Every minute of preparation paid off for me.

My Next Move

After several years in the field, I finally went back to school to attain degrees in health information technology, healthcare management; it wasn’t too long before I was hired by UnitedHealth Group to work in their regulatory implementation office. It was a significant culture shock from working for a small regional not-for-profit payer to working at the largest commercial insurer in the United States! At UnitedHealth Group I got to travel many week out of the year and to almost all 50 states talking about compliance, coding and the future of healthcare. What an adventure!

Each professional move I’ve made, I’ve done with a strategic vision for myself and my career in mind. But it all stemmed from that first look at a CPT book nearly 16 years ago. I credit my parents with instilling in me the importance of dreams and the value of hard work. My favorite quote is a reflection of that from Vince Lombardi, “The dictionary is the only place where ‘success’ comes before ‘work’. Hard work is the price we must pay for success. I think you can accomplish anything if you’re willing to pay the price.” It is my professional mantra, my motto, and I look at these words every single day.

The Results

I still look at ‘work’ as an adventure – one I’m passionate about, and I am still dreaming big – looking for the next grand adventure! I am currently pursuing a law degree in health & hospital law with a dual concentration in pharmaceutical and medical device law. Recently, I started my own consulting group, and I still teach in the classroom as my travel schedule permits. Maybe I’ll pursue a PhD. in healthcare data informatics, who knows, but whatever I do, I know for certain that my coding books won’t be too far away.

Angela ‘Annie’ Boynton
June 2015
BS, RHIT, CPCO, CCS, CPC, CCS-P, COC, CPC-P, CPC-I
Principal
Boynton Healthcare Management Solutions, LLC