Medical coding can be a quiet job. There’s not much social interaction involved, but a whole lot of reading and research required. Medical coder Kimberly Cumberbatch loves it. “I think it really suits my personality,” she said. “Healthcare is never one size fits all. Everyone is different and comes with a different condition and complexity. You get to see all these cases. That is what keeps it interesting. “No two cases are the same. The challenge of coding is to code to the highest level of specificity so that these codes can tell a story without you actually having the story in your hand. That is what I like about it.”After 14 years as a medical coder at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, she opened her own company, Convergence Med Ltd, in September. “We are a revenue cycle management company,” she said. “We offer services to small and medium-sized medical practices. We go in and help them to streamline their whole billing and collection process. We will help them manage their health claims and their medical coding so they can capture the maximum possible reimbursement for their services.”She doesn’t know of any other company in Bermuda providing these services. “There is a possibility that some people are doing it remotely, but I don’t think there is anyone else in Bermuda,” she said.Ms Cumberbatch was born in Jamaica, but grew up in Toronto, Canada. In her late teens, she was always interested in medicine, but didn’t want to be hands on with patients.“I went to my guidance counsellor and he pointed me to health information management,” she said. She did a two-year programme at George Brown College in Toronto. She hated it, at first. “I stuck with it and passed the certification exam, and got an opportunity in the field about three or four months after I graduated from the programme,” she said. “I started out in an area that not many people gravitate towards, dealing with healthcare law and privacy surrounding patient information.”After graduation, she worked for one year in Canada at Scarborough Hospital and Oshawa General Hospital before she saw an online advertisement for a medical coding specialist position at KEMH in Bermuda. She applied and got the job.“I was one of the coders who helped KEMH to transition from fee for per day, like a hotel, to the fee for service that they have now, based on the complexity of the case,” she said. Ms Cumberbatch decided to form her own business when she came to the end of her work contract. “This is an idea I had for quite some time,” she said. “I couldn’t shake the idea. A friend who’d heard me speak about it, called me up and said I know your employment situation is about to change. “Maybe we should sit down and talk about this some more? I said, sure, let’s do it. It becomes more real when you start having a business plan. I got two partners in business with me who saw the vision and decided to get on board.”She said it was scary going out on her own, and still nerve-racking four months later. “Running my own business is definitely new waters for me,” she said. “It is nothing I thought it would be. Marketing the business and getting out there is the challenge. Currently, we have three clients and we are looking to spread the word and expand some more.”She feels there is a definite need for her services, but not every clinic or practice knows that. “Some people need you to show them why they need us,” she said. “They think they are okay, but are they really, when you look under the hood? They might be getting by, but they could do so much better.”At the moment, she shares office space with Abacus Accounting at 91 Reid Street in Hamilton. “I would love to see us expand and employ more people and do good business on island for these providers,” she said. For more information see www.convergencemed.bm