Mindy Pownell
Mindy grew up in Minneapolis and earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Winona State University. She has been in coding since 1990 when she moved to Tucson. She was initially hired with no experience in the medical field but knew a little about computers! She worked for a pediatrician for 6 years and became certified with the American Academy of Professional Coders in 1993. She then moved to Sioux Falls in 1996 and started a career with Avera Health.
She is currently the Director of Coding for Avera Medical Group. The Avera Medical Group has over 1400 physicians and advance practice providers across five states. They provide the education of new physicians/APPs as well as ongoing reviews of notes. They also provide education to the coders as well as helping with coding of surgeries and procedures when the local coders need assistance.
