Gloryanne Bryant: HIM Legacy Firmly Established

Toting boxes filled with plaques, awards, and photos earned from decades of professional advocacy, speaking, writing, and volunteer work in the field of health information management (HIM), Gloryanne Bryant soon will gather her personal effects, take the elevator from her Oakland-based Kaiser Permanente (KP) office down to the lobby, and step into a new role in healthcare.

On Oct. 3, Bryant will retire from her national revenue cycle coding quality director position at KP only to build on her firmly established reputation as one of the nation’s leading HIM coding and coding compliance authorities – only this time in the context of retirement and part-time consulting.

After nearly 10 years at Catholic Healthcare West (Dignity) as its national director of coding compliance, Bryant’s career at KP began in 2009 as the Northern California regional HIM managing director. During her initial years in the region, she implemented a new regional HIM leadership team, developed a regional coding audit and education team, initiated policies and procedures, and improved HIM operations.

Two years later, she joined the RACmonitor editorial board, and on Jan. 7, 2011, she authored the first of what would be her many articles on the Recovery Audit Contractors (RACs). In that first piece, Bryant admonished readers to be proactive when dealing with the RACs. “With a compliance and/or RAC committee in place, we should have a list of risk areas that demand our attention,” she wrote. “This can be a powerful tool and provide a means for us to develop strategies that include having a proactive compliance or RAC plan in place.”

In February 2012, Bryant joined the ICD10monitor editorial board, and her first article for that site, appearing in the Feb. 21 eNews edition, was all about preparing for the transition from ICD-9 to ICD-10. Here, she cautioned readers about the major challenge facing HIM professionals.

“The transition to ICD-10-CM/PCS, encompassing both diagnosis and procedure coding, is the biggest change in the United States healthcare system that most of us can remember or have experienced in our careers. Not even with Y2K and HIPAA regulations have we seen this wide or this deep an impact – and thus a very strategic management approach and specialized education and training is vital to ensuring a smooth conversion,” she wrote. “Strong HIM coding leadership and guidance is needed for ICD-10 readiness. The key steps and components for a successful education and training plan for ICD-10 require planning and execution.”

Later, in September 2013, Bryant transitioned to the KP program office under the organization’s national revenue cycle structure. There she led the national coding education and training for KP, during which time she was also accountable for ensuring ICD-10 coding readiness and implementation across eight regions and 1,400 employees.  

Bryant’s list of professional leadership positions at the California Health Information Association (CHIA) is unquestionably peerless, and includes some of the following roles and honors:

• CHIA Webinar Committee Co-Chair, 2016-2017
• CHIA ICD-10 Advocacy Task Force Chair, 2014- 2015
• CHIA Nominating Committee Chair, 2014
• CHIA Awards Committee Chair, 2013-2014
• CHIA President, 2012-2013
• CHIA Coding and Data Quality Committee, 2008-2011
• CHIA ICD-10 Education Committee Member, 2006-2008
• CHIA ICD-10 Education Committee Chair, 2005
• CHIA Seminars Committee Chair, 2005
• CHIA ICD-10 Task Force Chair, 2004
• CHIA Confidentiality Committee Chair, 2004
• CHIA Bylaws Committee, 2004-2005
• CHIA AHIMA Delegate, 2003-2004
• CHIA Convention Co-Chair, 2003-2004
• CHIA Audio-Video Subcommittee Member, 2003
• CHIA Legal Advisory Panel, 2003
• CHIA Board Director, 2002-2003
• CHIA Industry Collaborative for BBA, 2002-2003
• CHIA: “Distinguished Member,” June 2003
• CHIA: “Literary Award,” June 2000
• CHIA PEPP (Payment Error Prevention Program) PRO Task Force Representative, 2000-2003
• CHIA Convention Committee, 1994

“CHIA can think of no other individual who is called upon to make more presentations, write articles, appear on talk shows, and advocate with legislators than Gloryanne,” wrote Sharon Lewis, CHIA executive director, in an email to ICD10monitor. “Gloryanne is a force of nature who brings boundless energy, ideas without limits, and unwavering commitment to every endeavor she undertakes.” 

Speaking on behalf of the California Department of Public Health, Vivian Thomas, a medical records consultant for the agency, said Bryant is one of those one-in-a-million individuals who makes the world a better place.

“The state of California, its major healthcare facilities, and the HIM industry have been enriched through her extensive investment of tireless professional efforts to educate and inform to the highest caliber and standards,” Thomas said. “I personally have benefitted in takeaway learnings in hearing Gloryanne on Talk-Ten-Tuesdays sessions and witnessed the smooth transition from ICD-9 to ICD-10 through Gloryanne’s selfless contributions.”

Early in her career, Bryant assisted the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) in bringing attention to coding and documentation compliance in the 1990s – an area in which she has remained proactive over the years. She also helped AHIMA with its clinical documentation improvement (CDI) certification and assisted with development of several well-known AHIMA practice briefs.

Bryant was also instrumental in helping to launch the Association of Clinical Documentation Improvement Specialists (ACDIS) and its Certification for clinical documentation specialist (CCDS) certification.

“(Gloryanne) helped get ACDIS off the ground as a founding member of the ACDIS advisory board, said Brian Murphy, the association’s executive director. “(Gloryanne) was always adamant we have HIM representation in ACDIS, and we always have. (She) elevated the HIM profession (and was) one of the key figures responsible for moving it ‘out of the hospital basement’ and into the spotlight as a profession integral to the capture of quality healthcare data.”

Listen to the Gloryanne Bryant tribute.