APMA News - November/December 2019 - 42

The Coding Resource Center: 10 Years of Memories
In the last issue of APMA News, we highlighted the history of the
Coding Resource Center (CRC), from pre-launch to its current iteration. In this issue, we hear from some of the individuals who have
guided the site during the last decade.

Elias Ocasio, technical director, Educational Awareness Solutions (EAS). EAS is
responsible for the back-end technology
and data infrastructure that make the
CRC possible.
"It all began in a meeting with
Heather [Palmer, then APMA director
of Development] and Harry [Goldsmith, DPM, then APMA Coding
Consultant], where they handed us a CD with more spreadsheets than I care to remember, along with a document with
more pages than I could count. These files contained massive
amounts of data which seemed to hold the 'secrets of medical
coding.' I must admit that it was a bit overwhelming. They asked
us to put it online and create mechanisms to allow subscribers
to search, filter, and dig numerous levels down into the data to
facilitate coding. Oh yeah, and we had three months to do it. I
still can't remember where we found the time to sleep.
"Through the years, there have been many updates and
upgrades to the system. When Scott [Haag, JD, MSPH, APMA
director of Health Policy and Practice] took over the team, it
was apparent that APMA wanted to beef up an already-robust
service offering. For a developer working behind the scenes,
there is great satisfaction in knowing that you are working
with an organization that truly cares about its products and
customers. As for working with the CRC team, I honestly
can't say enough good things about them. They are as smart
as they are thoughtful in every conversation and interaction.
It is a rare thing to find, but perhaps that's why the CRC system is the great product that it is."

Harry Goldsmith, DPM, was one of the
major driving forces behind the CRC. Dr.
Goldsmith was a tireless advocate for the
site until his death in 2018. His son, Jon
Goldsmith, DPM, shares his memories of
his father's work on the CRC.
"When he was building it, he was
obsessively meticulous about it. He
loved to brag about how many hours
42 APMA News November/December 2019

in he had. I would always tease him, asking what is taking him
so long. After it was up and running, he still treated it like
his own baby. It was a daily joy for him to work on maintenance of the CRC. He even left behind a couple of little fun
codes that remind us of the work and joy he put into the CRC.
He loved suggestions and discussions about any ways to improve it.
"He took the annual updates of codes very seriously. It was
a tremendous source of pride that we could provide a product
that was so perfect. Promoting the CRC was also very important to him. He shamelessly plugged the CRC in any lecture,
webinar, and conversation. He was always shocked that there
was any podiatrist in the United States who would not be
using the CRC."

Scott L. Haag, JD, MSPH, APMA director, Health Policy and Practice (HPP).
Haag started working at APMA shortly
after the CRC went live.
"Shortly after starting at APMA
in March 2009, I sat down with Dr.
Harry Goldsmith over the phone and
discussed the Coding Resource Center. I didn't know much about foot
and ankle coding, but it sounded to
me like we were sitting on a potential treasure.
"Dr. Goldsmith was always the leading proponent for
the CRC, and in many cases his advocacy could rise to the
level of zealotry. My fellow staff and I would sit back and
smile when we would hear Dr. Goldsmith admonish a member and potential subscriber for not taking advantage of
such a great offer that was so critical to the success of his or her
practice. It is still difficult to imagine its success without his
initial vision.
"After attending my first couple of Annual Scientific Meetings, I was blown away by how many members had positive
feedback or anecdotes to share about their use of the CRC. The
sheer enthusiasm of the true everyday users matched Dr. Goldsmith's enthusiasm and confirmed to our staff what a great
member benefit and extremely valued and useful tool we had in
the CRC.

APMA News - November/December 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of APMA News - November/December 2019