March 2023 Member Spotlight
Jacque Osburn, MSHI, RHIA, CPC
Professional Shares
Where do you work and what is your job title?
CARTI – Director of Patient Access and HIM
How long have you been a member of ArHIMA?
19 years?
What certification types have you received or are seeking to receive?
MSHI, RHIA, CPC
Which college/university did you attend?
Arkansas Tech University for both my Bachelor’s and Masters degrees.
What made you decide to pursue a career in HIM?
Wanted to be in healthcare, just not bedside.
What other jobs and/or titles have you held prior to the present one?
Release of Information Tech, Business Manager, Coder, HIM Director, HIPAA Privacy Officer, Coding Director, Access Director – all but the HIM Director were roles that I held at UAMS.
What are some of your responsibilities at your current position?
Manage department that oversees all new patient referrals for hematology, oncology, and imaging – they gather all records, create chart, and get the patient scheduled. Turnaround time from referral receipt to calling the patient to be scheduled is 3 days. Team responsible for getting appointments scheduled for inhouse patients with outside providers. Team of switchboard operators that handles all calls that come into CARTI. HIM department- chart prep, ROI, transcription. Pre-Reg team that does insurance benefit verification for all CARTI patients
What is a typical day like for you?
Depends on which area needs the most help that day whether it be due to vacancies or staffing in general. Most of my time currently is spent helping verify insurance benefits for patients that have been referred to have imaging scans due to that being the smallest team under my purview and even one outage can lead to a lot of extra work. The Central Referral Office receives an average of 450 new referrals each week. The switchboard handles approximately 6000 calls per week.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
Knowing that I helped a patient get seen quickly when they have just received what could be a potentially life changing diagnosis.
Any other professional tidbit(s) you want to include?
Don’t limit yourself or say you don’t want to do something. Do your research on the company you are applying to work for.
Personal Shares
What is your favorite food?
Absolutely love Mexican food. Give me chips and salsa and a margarita any day.
What’s something about you (a fun fact) not many people know?
I grew up in Texas and moved to Russellville during Spring Break my sophomore year of high school.
What’s your favorite family tradition?
Everyone gets matching PJs on Christmas Eve.
Who had the most influence on you growing up?
My cousin. We are both only children and lived across the street from one another. He is 4 years older than me, and we were like brother and sister. He walked me down the aisle at my wedding.
What was the first concert you ever attended?
Vince Gill and Reba McEntire in Texas
What’s something you want to do that you’ve never done before?
Climb a mountain in Colorado. I get the chance to climb Mount Massive in August, a 14er. I hope to summit it and have a mimosa at the top as the sun rises.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever heard?
“keep your side of the road clean” It does not matter what another department is doing or trying to do, as long as you are doing as you are supposed to and sticking to the plan you can’t be found at fault. Keep an open mind and don’t be afraid of change.
Do you like to cook? If so, what is your favorite thing to cook?
Love to make a traditional New Year’s Day meal – greens, hoppin’ John, and cornbread.
If you could get on a plane tonight and travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Anywhere in the Caribbean. Love the blue water, the sound and the smell of the waves.
Where is one place in Arkansas you would suggest people to visit?
Anywhere in the Ouachita Mountains. There are so many trails and waterfalls to be found. Having grown up in Texas that was mostly flat, I am still blown away by the mountains, creeks, and hiking that can be found less than an hour from my house.
Any other personal tidbit(s) you want to include?
My husband graduated from ATU with the HIM degree 2 years prior to me. We both worked at UAMS together for 14 years, just in different areas.