Today we’d like to introduce you to Karen Linsteadt.
Karen, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I grew up in Plano, TX and have been here most of my life. While no one dreams of growing up to be a Medical Biller you never know where your journey will take you.
I graduated from University of North Texas in 1988 and went to work in the hotel restaurant industry. After a few internships, I decided to join the family businesses. We had a Property Management Company, a CPA firm and Med Group.
Med Group was established in 1986 by my father, Chuck Barker. He is a CPA and was auditing the ER at Medical City Dallas when he was asked to start a billing company.
I joined the firm in 1989 and after many years of running the day to day, operations purchased the company in 2015.
Med Group handles revenue cycle management for physicians. We have billed for Multiple Specialties and clients over the past 30 years.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Med Group has had ups and downs as the Healthcare Billing Landscape has changed a lot over the years.
Some challenges we have faced over the years were the Y2K scare, the implementation of Electronic Health Records in physician practices, changes to the electronic billing formats, implementation of compliance plans for providers, coding changes like moving from ICD9 to ICD10, physician practice consolidation, and Medicare Quality Payment models which all have resulted in changes to our client base over the years.
I have had to keep up with the coding and regulatory changes and continue to educate myself. We joined the Healthcare Business Management Association in 1994 and maintained a Certified Healthcare Billing & Management Executive (CHBME) credentials, attended yearly meetings and I served many committees and even on the National Board of Directors for a few years. I have also maintained Certified Professional Coder (CPC) credentials thru the American Academy of Professional Coders since 2001.
My advice to young women who are just starting their journey is that education does not end with graduation from school/college. You will need to continually grow and evolve within your chosen industry. Join and participate in organizations that have people in them that do what you do, attend meetings, get active in the organizations and continue to network and develop friendships with your peers. Also, never ever give up!
Please tell us about Med Group Billings.
Med Group is a third-party billing and revenue cycle management company. We specialize in providing back office professional billing services to Texas Physician practices.
We have an exceptional staff that is experienced professionals that have been with our team for years. We feel that our dedication to the clients and employees has kept us in the business for over 30 years.
We bill for surgeons (general, breast, cardiothoracic, vascular), OB/Gyn, wound care, radiology, and many other specialties. We provide quality services that we customized to each specific clients needs.
We are a small Texas Woman Owned and Operated business.
Do you think there are structural or other barriers impeding the emergence of more female leaders?
The biggest barriers to female leaders in our industry are the growth of competition of the larger corporate entities in our industry.
Traditionally, the billing/coding industry has had a majority of its leaders that are female. The coding industry I would say is still dominated by female coders.
HBMA has over 500 member billing companies and 75% of those are owned by smaller companies (less than 50 employees). However, the increase in the need for technology such as electronic health records, increased consolidation of physician practices and employment of physicians by hospitals, has resulted in some huge players in our arena.
We face the same barriers as other industries. As the big box stores take over market share, there is a declined amount of business available for the local small business. We provide better quality and personalized service but cannot always compete with the “big box” players in our industry.
Contact Info:
- Address: Karen Linsteadt, CPC, CHBME
3900 American Dr. Ste 104
Plano, TX 75075
972-644-3232 - Website: www.medgroupbillings.com
- Phone: facebook @medgroupbillings
- Email: twitter @klinsteadt
Image Credit:
Glamour Shots Dallas, American Academy of Professional Coders Logo, Healthcare Billing And Management Association Logo
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