Andreea Newtson, MD
Since 2019, SGO has mentored trainees and early career gynecologic oncologists in coding, billing, and health care economics through the Coding Fellowship program. Through a two-year mentorship program, the Coding Fellowship aims to provide the fellow with the tools necessary to develop educational tools for the SGO membership, advocate for reimbursement issues affecting gynecologic oncology on the national level and take a leadership role in this key area in the future.
At this year’s Annual Meeting, Coding and Reimbursement Subcommittee leaders, David Holtz, MD, and Kevin Schuler, MD, MBA, proudly presented Katherine (“Kat”) Tucker, MD, with a certificate of achievement, acknowledging her outstanding efforts as the fourth SGO member to complete the two-year program. Below are Dr. Tucker’s reflections on her experience.
“With a few years of “real world” experience under my belt after finishing fellowship, I was ready to accept the reality that I needed to spend some time learning about coding and billing. At first, as a new attending, I focused on taking care of patients and adjusting to my new role. But, in a specialty where services and procedures are already under reimbursed compared to other specialties, I soon realized that knowing how to code for what you do is paramount to getting reimbursed and proving your value within your department or health care system.
The highlight of the fellowship was my fellow project. With the mentorship and help of the subcommittee’s leaders, as well as key other stake holders, we created a list of data variables that will allow us to create a multi-institutional database to compare peripartum hysterectomies done for placenta accreta spectrum to those done for other indications. Such a database will facilitate publications, a necessary component for any CPT application. With enough supporting research, we hope to one day soon be able to submit an application for a new CPT code that better captures and reimburses the work we do for PAS hysterectomies.”
If you would like to participate in the PAS data collection effort, please email Dr. Tucker and Katie Martino, MPH, SGO’s Senior Manager of Clinical Practice and Research.
The Coding and Reimbursement Subcommittee welcomes Andreea Newtson, MD, as the next Coding Fellow.
“I have an interest in workforce preservation in health care—specifically, how to mitigate burnout and support our providers,” said Dr. Newtson. “In my few short years of practice, I have had the persistent feeling that there are not enough resources to support our patients’ needs. We do what we can with what we have, but we always wonder if we could do more. I think SGO is doing a great job with education and advocacy, and I would love to learn more and help with those efforts.”
Katherine Tucker, MD, is a gynecologic oncologist at the University of North Carolina Hospital in Chapel Hill, NC.
Andreea Newtson, MD, is a gynecologic oncologist at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, NE.