In-Demand Career Spotlight
Melissa Smallwood, Decatur Morgan Hospital When Melissa Smallwood began to pursue her career path in healthcare, she had been a stay-at-home mom and a pre-school teacher. She started by visiting Wallace State Community College in Hanceville to seek direction on which area of healthcare to pursue. “I liked the medical field, but did not want to be in a clinical role. I also liked computers, so they suggested a track in Health Information for me,” said Melissa. She completed an Associates of Applied Science Degree in two years in Health Information Technology. “I am a detail-oriented person, so I love what I do,” said Melissa. Her day-to-day activities involve reviewing patient charts and reading physicians’ notes to make sure there is a clear picture of the patient’s “story” for documentation purposes. This is necessary for reimbursement because of strict auditing guidelines. Melissa also checks IDC9 Coding, gets rid of extra info that does not need to be in the charts and makes sure everything is signed where in needs to be by clinical staff. Melissa also enjoys the building relationships with physicians to make sure patient information is correct. Melissa says the field is “wide open” and sees growth in the field because of the movement to electronic medical records and the new ICD10 coding being released in 2014. In her free time, Melissa enjoys spending time with her family and friends, watching Auburn football and going on mission trips to Guatemala. She tells people interested in the field to always be focused on learning because everything is constantly changing. Melissa loves to learn, and so she takes advantage of professional growth opportunities and recommends that others do the same. “Don’t settle for something that you aren’t passionate about,” says Melissa. Interested in learning more about in-demand careers in Morgan County? www.careerpathway.info and like “Career Pathway” on Facebook.
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