Who stands behind this data
You are a professional staking a certification on getting codes right, so you should know who is telling you what a code means. The codes themselves come straight from the CMS/NCHS public-domain releases — that part is not our opinion, and our data sources page names every file. The guidance we add on top is shaped and checked by the people below.
The coding review panel
Credentialed coders who review our guidance content. When one of them has reviewed a page, that page names them with the date — a page without a byline has not been reviewed yet, and says so. How that works is in our editorial policy.
Deborah “Deb” FranklinCPC(AAPC)
Certified Professional Coder with 22 years across inpatient, outpatient, and specialty clinics. Former coding supervisor at a Level 1 trauma center, with deep knowledge of specialty-specific ICD-10-CM, CPT, and HCPCS Level II coding.
Michael TorresCPC, CCS, CRC(AAPC / AHIMA)
Director of Coding Operations for a large physician management group, managing a team of 45 coders across 30 specialties. Focused on coding accuracy, automation, and denial reduction through precise code assignment.
Dr. Emily NakamuraMD
Family medicine physician and certified coding educator with 16 years of clinical practice. Teaches E/M coding and documentation best practices to residents and attending physicians.
Rachel SimmonsCIC(AAPC)
Certified Inpatient Coder with 11 years of hospital-based coding experience. Specializes in complex surgical coding, DRG validation, and query management.
Kevin O’DonnellCCS(AHIMA)
Revenue Integrity Analyst and Certified Coding Specialist with 14 years of experience in charge capture, coding reconciliation, and denial prevention.
Cynthia HarperCPMA(AAPC)
Medical Coding Compliance Officer with 20 years of regulatory and auditing experience. Leads internal and external coding audits and develops compliance training aligned with OIG guidelines.
Thomas BennettAHIMA-approved ICD-10 trainer(AHIMA)
Senior Medical Coder and Coding Workflow Specialist with 13 years in outpatient and telemedicine coding. Expert in coding software implementation and workflow optimization.
Clinical and operations advisors
The physicians and HIM leaders who keep the product honest about how coding actually happens in a practice and a hospital.
Dr. Sanjay PatelMD
Orthopedic surgeon and practice owner with 18 years of clinical experience, personally involved in coding and documentation improvement within his multi-provider group.
Brian FosterRHIA(AHIMA)
Director of Health Information Management at a 500-bed hospital with 17 years of leadership across coding, CDI, and release of information.
Dr. Lisa ChangMD
Chief Medical Information Officer and practicing hospitalist, certified in clinical documentation improvement. Leads physician education on documentation that supports accurate code selection.
What we believe
Reference data should show its source and its date. Errors should be corrected in public — every fix we ship is in the corrections log, dated. And nothing on this site claims a review, a credential, or a capability that is not real: where there is a gap, we say so rather than papering over it.