Spencer Thielmann, CHFP

Vice President of Operations at The Wilshire Group Associates

Prairie Village, Kansas, United States

About

A dynamic, well-rounded leader with more than a decade of Epic healthcare software and operational experience. Extensive knowledge of hospital and clinic revenue cycle business practices, comprehensive understanding of how revenue cycle disciplines interact and how revenue cycle and clinical processes integrate. Was an implementation leader at Epic with a focus on revenue cycle customer success. Background implementing Epic software products and worked with nearly 100 of Epic’s ~170 Hospital Billing clients; spanning the sales process, implementation/support, and post-live optimization. Oversaw operations in the hospital space with responsibility for Registration, Scheduling, Admissions, Financial Counseling, Hospital Billing, Professional Billing, and Collections. Involved with and managed annual/quarterly reporting, customer service, quality improvement, service line evaluation, and vendor selection. Currently hold VP of Operations with The Wilshire Group and am involved in project execution, business development, marketing, and daily operations activities. Strong public speaking skills and experience presenting to large convention audiences and C-level executives. Member of HFMA as Certified Healthcare Finance Professional (CHFP). Familiarity with Business Objects InfoView and Epic Reporting Universes. Certification in the following Epic products: Hospital Billing, Prelude (registration), ADT, HIM (release of information, chart tracking, deficiency tracking, coding and abstracting), Hospice Billing, Home Health Billing, Tapestry (managed care/accountable care), Cadence (scheduling)

Experience

  • Revenue Cycle Executive Advisor at Optimum Healthcare IT
    Jan 2025 - Present · 1 yr 6 mos

  • The Wilshire Group Associates (11 yrs 6 mos)
    • Vice President of Operations
      Jan 2015 - Present · 11 yrs 6 mos

      Responsible for creating and developing service line offerings, implementing supporting corporate strategies, and monitoring long-term success. Maintain involvement in sales, marketing, project execution, and daily operational activities.

    • Vice President of Revenue Cycle (Interim)
      Jan 2019 - May 2019 · 5 mos

      Oversaw entirety of Revenue Cycle operations (~650 staff) for five hospital health system. Functions included scheduling, registration, authorizations, revenue integrity, HIM/coding, business office, vendor management.

    • Director of Business Office (Interim)
      Dec 2017 - Aug 2018 · 9 mos

      Oversaw operations of medical center business office (~350 staff) including billing, follow-up, collections, cash management, outsource agency management.

  • Revenue Cycle Manager at SSM Health Care, Purcell Municipal Hospital
    May 2014 - Dec 2014 · 8 mos

    Responsible for revenue cycle operations across hospital and clinic business reporting directly to CFO. I have oversight of 20+ staff in Registration, Scheduling, Financial Counseling, Admissions, Hospital Billing, Professional Billing. • Review and set financial targets for departments and staff • Create and update policies and procedures related to revenue cycle (Self-Pay Collections Policy, Charge Code Request Protocol, etc.) • Design and managed CMS QI (Quality Improvement) Program within revenue cycle • Resolve financial disputes and approve settlements with patients, payers, and legal representatives • Manage payer contracting for facility and professional services • Liaison between operational staff and IT team, set priorities for system fix/enhancement and monitor progress/timelines • Own revenue cycle reporting with extensive knowledge in Epic report solutions and Business Objects InfoView • Brought new Central Scheduling unit live • Interview and hire candidates for revenue cycle positions • Perform annual performance reviews and set personal goals with staff

  • Healthcare Revenue Cycle Expert at Independent
    Jun 2013 - May 2014 · 1 yr

    A content expert advising healthcare revenue cycle and marketing companies.

  • Epic (Madison, Wisconsin Area)
    • Revenue Cycle Management Advisor
      Jul 2009 - Jun 2013 · 4 yrs

      Created new position at Epic to focus on operational customer readiness and how to successfully prepare for a revenue cycle implementation by focusing on business practice optimization and risk mitigation. • Point person meeting with customer executives and new clients and outline financial impacts of a revenue cycle implementation • Provide customers with revenue cycle best practices to minimize adverse financial impacts. These include preparing financial reserves, creating staffing plans, reviewing workload distribution, and implementing change management • Ensure success across all hospital revenue cycle implementations, 180+ sites, by meeting with customer executives and key Epic staff to identify issues and outline next steps • Adopted US revenue cycle management concepts to Dutch business model • Maintain monthly call with Epic Europe Revenue Cycle Team to provide guidance and develop strategies to deal with customer challenges

    • Product Management, Revenue Cycle Sales Content Expert
      Jun 2009 - Jun 2013 · 4 yrs 1 mo

      Regularly involved in sales meetings to discuss revenue cycle planning and ways to prepare financially for an implementation. Demonstrate revenue cycle products (Prelude, Cadence, ADT, HIM, Hospital Billing, Claims) to prospective customers across the US. • Create scenarios based on customer requests • Lead sales follow-up calls to discuss system functionality, client requirements, and vendor relations • Evaluate sales leads and identify potential clients at major vendor conferences (HIMSS) • Coordinate with R&D leadership to plan and vet future development projects

    • Staff Manager
      Jul 2006 - Jun 2013 · 7 yrs

      In charge of staffing all Hospital Billing, Home Health Billing, and Hospice Billing implementations. Personally manage 15 direct reports responsible for ~40 concurrent projects. • Evaluate new implementation project needs against staff ability and capacity • Manage all Hospital Billing staff transitions to ensure customer stability is maintained • Coach direct reports on how to manage priorities and juggle multiple projects successfully • Facilitate staff growth and identify appropriate roles based on strengths of individual staff • Consistently deliver positive/negative feedback that results in improvement of staff performance and increased motivation • Work directly with Human Resources and staff on personnel issues including salary, role change, and termination • Review staff performance and capacity with other managers • Plan revenue cycle project staffing to handle accelerated implementations due to ICD-10 • Create revenue cycle staffing models for prospective sales to allow Epic to extend into untapped market segments