The 229 Podcast: Exploring How Emory Cut Denials in Half with Carla Haack, MD

October 30, 2025: Healthcare systems often lose millions in revenue, not because clinicians aren't doing the work, but because critical informatics get lost between the operating room and the billing department. Dr. Carla Haack, Chief Financial Informatics Officer at Emory Healthcare, discovered this gap firsthand when she stepped away from surgery during the pandemic. In this conversation, she reveals how a change to surgical debriefs resulted in a million dollars in just 21 days and how Emory reduced its denial rate from 20% to 10%. Discover why bridging clinical care and revenue cycle management requires more than technology—it demands translation, trust, and understanding across vastly different worlds within the same healthcare system.

Key Points:

• 01:22 The Role of a Chief Financial Informatics Officer
• 05:49 Innovative Solutions for Revenue Cycle Issues
• 13:22 Debriefing in Clinical Settings
• 25:17 Navigating Patient Information Challenges
• 31:25 Collaborating Across Departments
• 39:41 Hiring for Chief Financial Informatics Officer

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