Why I joined Fathom: Mallory Kohn

From time to time, Fathom invites recent hires to share their experience in deciding to join our team. In this blog, Mallory Kohn, CPC, CPMA, tells the story of her decision to join Fathom and make a difference in the world of healthcare.

Receptionist, medical assistant, office manager, scribe, biller, EHR implementation lead - you name it, I've done it.

My career began in an ObGyn office, where I had the chance to don many hats (see list above!). When my boss at the time brought a billing department in-house, I moved to the revenue cycle side. I was asked if I would be willing to learn coding, so I tried it and loved it – I obtained my CPC in 2012 and my CPMA in 2023.

From there, I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to build out a team from two people to 50 people, with a complete coding, billing, collections, and payment posting team. After leaving, I worked at a few hospitals where I oversaw the physician billing practices encompassing various specialties, from ED to Ophthalmology. Before Fathom, I worked at Northwell Health, focusing on external payer and physician auditing and education.

The AI edge

I joined Fathom in June 2023 as part of the Coding Quality team. What attracted me to Fathom was the chance to be part of the healthcare and AI conversation. AI's been at the forefront of so many discussions in the revenue cycle community, even before computer-assisted coding, and to be frank, it scares most coders and auditors. The fear comes from the threat of their skills becoming obsolete. That's why the chance to learn more about the technology and see how it reshapes the auditor's role – rather than replace it – was incredibly intriguing to me.

Being a part of a company like Fathom, especially in the work-from-home era, gave me the unique opportunity to be a part of something different. The culture here is interactive and connected, even though we're not all in the same place. Working with a rapidly growing company keeps me on my toes. There's always a new piece of work that crops up, and the fast pace encourages me to grow my skill set and career.

My favorite part of my job is being challenged daily. To feel like I'm continuously learning and being able to finish a day with a sense of accomplishment or knowing I made a productive contribution is an incredible feeling.

Coding conversations and healthcare contributions

The healthcare industry has been part of my entire career, and I've already seen massive change. I was there for the conversion from paper to electronic charts and the update from ICD-9 to ICD-10. AI in medical coding and auditing is the next significant transformation in healthcare, and I'm proud to be a part of it.