Aveline Miller, RHIA, MSHIM, eastern iowa division, manager for health information management at MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center
Aveline Miller, RHIA, MSHIM, started at Northeast Iowa Community College with the intention of becoming a nurse and obtained a job as a certified nursing assistant. But while working part time and after starting nursing school, she realized that path was not for her.
“I want something where I can work 9 to 5, have holidays off and not work any weekends,” she said. “I soon had the opportunity to get a taste of that while working at Medical Associates, where I learned a lot about health care, but also the insurance world.”
While working at Medical Associates she discovered coding, and it opened the way for her to pursue a degree in the field at NICC.
“The best part of this program was, one, all my nursing credits transferred and, two, it was 100% online,” Miller said. “Once done with this degree I had the opportunity to learn coding at Medical Associates both as an insurance representative and from a clinic standpoint.”
She decided that learning more about the field was her next step, and eventually she obtained a bachelor’s degree in health care information and become a lead coder.
“From this point on, my passion for learning has not stopped,” Miller said. “I recently obtained my master’s in health informatics management and have also obtained the title of eastern Iowa division manager and I oversee three hospitals: MercyOne Dubuque, Clinton and our newest member of the MercyOne family, Genesis.”
And, while she’s enjoying her current success in the field, she’s hoping to continue advancing, with the eventual goal of becoming CEO or COO of a health care facility, as well as obtaining a doctorate in health care administration.
Tell us about your field and what attracted you to it.
How do I explain health information management? A lot of people always think we are the department that sends out bills, but we are not. We are the department that codes that bill. CPT code and diagnosis codes is what my department deals with.
But that’s not all we deal with. We have two other areas. One is chasing providers around making sure they do their documentation and, two, making sure when other providers or insurance companies are wanting medical records, we follow the correct guidelines to releasing medical records.
How has your field changed in the time you’ve worked in it? How have you adapted?
AI is the big talk in health care. We know the advantages of AI, yet we don’t really know what AI will offer once we go that route. Since it’s still new, everyone is trying to understand it.
Is there a person or people who have had a tremendous impact on you?
I would say my husband. We both came from nothing, but he saw something in me that I didn’t even see. He has pushed me to be the best version of myself. How many people can say they love their job? I am happy to say I do and that I love learning more every day.
Do you have any advice for young people and/or new graduates?
I would say continue to push yourself even though you don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel because before you know it, the light is there and when you look back you will be so happy that you pushed yourself.
Is there a story or an anecdote that illustrates your philosophy either in life or in your chosen field?
If you believe in yourself, it will happen. There were times that I wanted to give up, but in those times, I kept telling myself, I will get through this; I will overcome that obstacle even though I couldn’t the first time there is always a second time.
What have you found to be the most valuable resource for learning? Are you an on-the-job learner or do you prefer another way?
On the job is the best source of learning. One will understand the daily workflow that the career path will take you to.
Math vs. creativity. People person vs. introvert. Slow and steady vs. quick and nimble. Where do you fall on those divides? Do you believe there even is a divide?
I am totally a people person; I love to interact with everyone. I love the opportunity to understand the different point of views that everyone has. When it comes to projects, I like taking my project slow and steady. I want to understand the project before deciding on what I must do.
Everything in life has its moments where you must decide if it will be slow and steady or quick and nimble, there are times where you must do both. It all depends on the situation.
When you think of the future, what kind of changes would you like to see in your field? In the broader world?
When it comes to the future, I would like to see all of health care being in one universal electronic health record system. This will help all the providers be on the same system and the ability to see other providers’ documentation in real time. This gives the patient the best outcome necessary and avoids having to run the same tests again.
How has your professional life helped you grow as a person?
My professional life has helped me become the mom I am today. I have three girls, two of whom are 15 and 12, and to me being able to explain different situations and have them understand different points of views and how we came down to the results has helped them in their decision making.
How do you strike a work/life balance?
I wish I could say I leave my work at work, but in my shoes (heels) I sometimes can’t. But one thing I can say is it helps having a significant other where you both are in the same type of positions, and you are able to bounce ideas off each other.
