EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the second installment in a three-part series by Sarah Laird on the issues and solutions associated with coder burnout.
Remote work settings can constitute an adjustment for anyone, whether a team member or leader. The remote work setting typically provides flexibility in work hours, eliminates stressful commutes, and increases productivity. It also highlights the need for communication in order to stay engaged with team members.
In this article, we will be focusing on the communication efforts that were necessary to create open-door leadership in remote settings we have implemented at Novant Health.
It is important to first gauge your remote team members’ expectations about communication. The term “communication” can be vague, and each team member has his or her own perspective on what constitutes effective communication. While these expectations can vary, being aware of them allows you to build a communication plan that meets everyone where they are. Our planning efforts are further supported by the values of Novant Health that allow us to include the following elements:
Once you have developed a communication plan that addresses the individual needs of your team, how are you going to gauge success? You could consider a Survey Monkey quiz that allows for anonymous feedback; you’ll want to take action on the feedback provided before asking your team to take another survey. Phone calls with team members and their direct leadership team members also allows for open and inclusive conversations. These should involve all levels of leadership within your department, which can help create additional transparency into the topic and ultimately allow all to work on building the necessary elements of trust within the team. This also provides an opportunity to demonstrate listening for understanding, which fosters compassionate communication.
Lastly, emails can help ensure that day-to-day work is connected to the big picture of goals, projects, and the creation of an avenue for feedback, questions, or comments. Your communication plan can include a variety of other options and should be unique to your individual team members and their expectations.
When team members have a consistent way to bring forward concerns without the fear of repercussion, it helps build up courage. When leaders can listen for understanding instead of listening for responding, it helps build compassion for their team.
When we use our diversity and inclusion for problem-solving and strategic planning, it helps build a high-performing, change-ready, and resilient atmosphere required to excel in business. When leaders use transparent and compassionate communication in every setting, it helps build the trust necessary to have an open-door leadership style while working in a remote setting.
2026 has arrived, and for many coding professionals, the lower extremity revascularization overhaul is quickly shifting from a future concern in 2025 to a day-to-day
Which telehealth provisions were adopted in the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) final rule for CY2026?
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Accurately determining the principal diagnosis is critical for compliant billing, appropriate reimbursement, and valid quality reporting — yet it remains one of the most subjective and error-prone areas in inpatient coding. In this expert-led session, Cheryl Ericson, RN, MS, CCDS, CDIP, demystifies the complexities of principal diagnosis assignment, bridging the gap between coding rules and clinical reality. Learn how to strengthen your organization’s coding accuracy, reduce denials, and ensure your documentation supports true medical necessity.
Denials continue to delay reimbursement, increase administrative burden, and threaten financial stability across healthcare organizations. This essential webcast tackles the root causes—rising payer scrutiny, fragmented workflows, inconsistent documentation, and underused analytics—and offers proven, data-driven strategies to prevent and overturn denials. Attendees will gain practical tools to strengthen documentation and coding accuracy, engage clinicians effectively, and leverage predictive analytics and AI to identify risks before they impact revenue. Through real-world case examples and actionable guidance, this session empowers coding, CDI, and revenue cycle professionals to shift from reactive appeals to proactive denial prevention and revenue protection.
Sepsis remains one of the most frequently denied and contested diagnoses, creating costly revenue loss and compliance risks. In this webcast, Angela Comfort, DBA, MBA, RHIA, CDIP, CCS, CCS-P, provides practical, real-world strategies to align documentation with coding guidelines, reconcile Sepsis-2 and Sepsis-3 definitions, and apply compliant queries. You’ll learn how to identify and address documentation gaps, strengthen provider engagement, and defend diagnoses against payer scrutiny—equipping you to protect reimbursement, improve SOI/ROM capture, and reduce audit vulnerability in this high-risk area.
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As AI reshapes healthcare compliance, the risk of biased outputs and opaque decision-making grows. This webcast, led by Frank Cohen, delivers a practical Four-Pillar Governance Framework—Transparency, Accountability, Fairness, and Explainability—to help you govern AI-driven claim auditing with confidence. Learn how to identify and mitigate bias, implement robust human oversight, and document defensible AI review processes that regulators and auditors will accept. Discover concrete remedies, from rotation protocols to uncertainty scoring, and actionable steps to evaluate vendors before contracts are signed. In a regulatory landscape that moves faster than ever, gain the tools to stay compliant, defend your processes, and reduce liability while maintaining operational effectiveness.
Get clear, practical answers to Medicare’s most confusing regulations. Join Dr. Ronald Hirsch as he breaks down real-world compliance challenges and shares guidance your team can apply right away.
Federal auditors are zeroing in on Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (IRF) and hospital rehab unit services, with OIG and CERT audits leading to millions in penalties—often due to documentation and administrative errors, not quality of care. Join compliance expert Michael Calahan, PA, MBA, to learn the five clinical “pillars” of IRF-PPS admissions, key documentation requirements, and real-life case lessons to help protect your revenue.
During this essential RACmonitor webcast Michael Calahan, PA, MBA Certified Compliance Officer, will clarify the rules, dispel common misconceptions, and equip you with practical strategies to code, document, and bill high-risk split/shared, incident-to & critical care E/M services with confidence. Don’t let audit risks or revenue losses catch your organization off guard — learn exactly what federal auditors are looking for and how to ensure your documentation and reporting stand up to scrutiny.
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