AHA Central Office Speakers

Searching for a coding expert to speak at your next educational event, seminar or meeting? Reach out to codingclinicsupport@aha.org for inquiries or more information. 

Denene M. Harper, RHIA

Denene M. Harper, RHIA is Director, Coding and Classification, Content with more than 20 years of experience as a coding consultant. Ms. Harper develops ancillary instructor materials for the ICD-10-CM/ICD-10-PCS Coding Handbook. Ms. Harper manages the AHA Central Office, the official U.S. Clearinghouse for medical coding and the proper use of the ICD-10-CM/PCS systems and level I HCPCS (CPT-4 codes) for hospital providers and certain level II HCPCS codes for hospitals, physician and other health professionals. Previously, she managed the AHA coding video series.

Prior to joining AHA, Ms. Harper had experience as a hospital coder as well as in quality improvement at a health plan. In addition to her RHIA credentialing, she has a BS in Health Information Management. Ms. Harper is also an AHIMA-approved ICD-10-CM/PCS Trainer.

Tammy Love, RHIA, CCS, CDIP, and CMA

Tammy Love, RHIA, CCS, CDIP, and CMA, is the Director of Coding Classification and Policy who brings more than 25 years of experience in health information management (HIM), coding, auditing, clinical documentation improvement (CDI), and regulatory compliance to the AHA. Among her primary responsibilities with the AHA is facilitating discussions among industry HIM, coding, and CDI experts focused on the annual Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) Inpatient Prospective Payment Systems (IPPS) proposed rule comment development. She works closely with the AHA Central Office coding team on regulatory and coding topics and facilitates the Coding Clinic Editorial Advisory Boards for HCPCS and ICD-10-CM/PCS. She also serves as the AHA subject matter expert and representative on the CPT Assistant Editorial Board and CPT Editorial Panel.

Ms. Love has a Bachelor of Science in Health Information Management. She is in the process of pursuing a Master of Science, in Health Informatics to enrich her knowledge and expertise.

Gretchen Young-Charles, RHIA

Gretchen Young-Charles, RHIA is a Managing Editor of AHA Coding Clinic® for ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS, and is responsible for developing the publication and serving as Secretary for the Editorial Advisory Board for Coding Clinic with the American Hospital Association’s (AHA) Central Office on ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS. The AHA Central Office serves as the official U.S. Clearinghouse on medical coding for the proper use of the ICD-10-CM/ICD-10-PCS systems and Level I HCPCS (CPT-4 codes) for hospital providers and certain Level II HCPCS codes for hospitals, physicians and other health professionals.

In her current role, she develops articles on official coding advice for publication in AHA Coding Clinic® for ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS. She is part of the team responsible for the annual revisions to the ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS Coding Handbook published by AHA Press. She has presented at numerous educational seminars including a featured speaker for the popular AHA Coding Clinic® webinar series. She is an AHIMA-approved ICD-10 Trainer. She also served as the Secretary to the Rehab Coding Workgroup, a collaboration between the AHA Central Office and the Uniform Data System for Medical Rehabilitation Gretchen has over 30 years experience in the HIM field, and has worked in numerous HIM roles, including education, quality, hospital based outpatient and acute care, as well as a number of years spent with the Peer Review Organization (PRO) for the state of Illinois. Gretchen holds a BS in Health Information Management.