Harmony Healthcare is committed to investing in leaders in the Outpatient Clinical Documentation Integrity (OP CDI) space, adding further depth and expertise to ensure all Harmony solutions are physician-centric. As a result, we’re expanding our clinical support services and capabilities to help clients better leverage their existing Electronic Health Record (EHR) technology to drive change and best practice programs.
We’re thrilled to announce the latest addition to the Harmony Healthcare team, Katie McLaughlin, DNP, FNP-BC, RN, CRC, CCDS-O. As Harmony’s newest Senior Director of Clinical Solutions, Katie will lead the design and strategic growth of best practice initiatives that support clinical operations, technology, and healthcare provider workflows.
As a certified Epic builder with an innate understanding of regulatory guidelines, Katie brings hands-on experience designing, building, and training more than 500 Primary Care providers to leading Outpatient CDI program initiatives. The implementation of streamlined processes within pre-visit chart reviews, HCC coding, retrospective audits, and customized EHR alerts has shown to improve efficiencies and allow for quality patient care.
“With my clinical perspective and experience leading coding and documentation practices, I’m able to deliver tools and workflows that not only meet the regulatory requirements but have the clinician and patient in mind throughout the process,” said Katie. “The ability to be that intermediary between the clinical and coding worlds lends itself to improved documentation quality, accurate data, and overall better patient care.”
Katie started her career in the healthcare industry as a surgical ICU Registered Nurse. She went on to earn her Master’s degree as a Family Nurse Practitioner (MSN – FNP) followed by her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree thereafter. Throughout 10 years of managing patients within a large Internal Medicine office, it was evident to Katie that there was a disconnect between the patient care and coding worlds. When an opportunity arose to bring her clinical knowledge to the Risk Adjustment community, she jumped in.
Not only does Katie hold certifications in Clinical Documentation (CCDS-O) and Risk Adjustment Coding (CRC), she’s also certified as an Epic Physician Builder in Healthy Planet, Ambulatory and Analytics.
Having the clinical perspective while building EHR tools and workflows has shown to be instrumental to the end user. While accurate and efficient EMR tools are imperative for patient care, Katie recognized the value in tailoring peer-to-peer provider training focused on coding and documentation Best Practices so the message was not lost.
Katie’s clinical experience paired with her Risk Adjustment industry knowledge allows her to bridge the gap between clinicians and coders in order to drive accuracy and efficiencies while improving patient outcomes.
Katie and her new role further highlight Harmony’s promise to deliver expert talent across all care settings to empower healthcare organizational success, enhance clinical and financial outcomes, and enable the transition to value-based healthcare.
We’ve welcomed Katie to our team; now let’s introduce her to yours.
