To our prospective physician advisory teammates,

I am the Associate Chief Medical Officer who supports Sound’s physician advisory program at ARH Harlan Hospital in Harlan, Kentucky. ARH is part of the Appalachian Regional Health System, the largest provider of care in KY, and includes southern West Virginia. I’ve been with Sound Physicians for five years and take pride in the Medical Director of Advisory Services program we’ve developed nationwide. We invite physicians interested in this field, or those considering a career change, to explore what Sound and ARH Harlan offers. As you contemplate your options, allow me to provide insights into our people, practice, and purpose:

People

• Our advisory team includes 23 Sound-employed onsite physician advisors spread across the nation, working directly within various hospitals, and an additional 39 onsite physician advisors employed directly by the hospitals we support.
• Our network includes Sound physician leaders collaborating to enhance hospital services through the Medical Director of Advisory Services role in our partner hospitals.
• Our onsite physician advisors are spread across states, including Arizona, California, Florida, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nevada, Washington, and West Virginia.
• We lead efforts in utilization management (UM), compliance, and clinical documentation improvement (CDI) in our partner hospitals.
• We work closely with hospital administrations to identify and address performance improvement opportunities, such as length of stay, readmissions, enhanced documentation, and regulatory compliance.

Practice

• Since 1956 ARH Harlan Hospital has been one of the original nine Miners Memorial Hospital Association facilities, providing care for the residents of Harlan County and surrounding counties in Kentucky and Lee County, Virginia.
• Harlan ARH Hospital offers a variety of services including pulmonary rehabilitation, inpatient dialysis, women’s health, and pediatrics.
• Harlan ARH Hospital has 120 acute beds and 30 behavioral beds.
• The hospital, which serves as an internal medicine residency site, operates one pharmacy and three clinics.
• Harlan ARH Hospital is a Level IV Trauma Center and has been designated as a Wound Care Center of Excellence.
• As visible physician leaders, we advocate for improved regulatory compliance, documentation, and better utilization of hospital resources.
• Collaboration with case management, clinical documentation improvement, and regulatory and revenue cycle leadership helps us identify and develop action plans for performance improvement opportunities.
• We provide one-on-one and group education to the medical staff and provide support to address and reduce payer denials.
• Timely and effective consultation is provided to case management, coding and documentation specialists, physicians, and other hospital staff, including concurrent assessments with documented determinations and observations.
• We stay connected through monthly advisory team meetings (virtual), fostering ongoing education.
• Our schedule typically runs Monday to Friday without evening calls or weekends.

Purpose

• Our primary focus is always putting patients first.
• We are a community-minded team, encouraging team members to contribute both within and outside the hospital to help our local community thrive.

To inquire further, please reach out to my recruiting partner, who will facilitate a connection with me.

Melissa Buchner-Mehling aCMO, Sound Advisory Services