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Dr. Peter Whang attended Harvard University where he graduated with a degree in biochemistry and subsequently received his medical degree from the Duke University School of Medicine where he was inducted in to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society. He completed his residency in orthopaedic surgery at the University of California, Los Angeles and underwent specialized fellowship training in orthopaedic and neurologic spine surgery at the Rothman Institute at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. He is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation in the Yale University School of Medicine. Dr. Whang is interested in state-of-the-art approaches to spine surgery including minimally-invasive procedures, microsurgery, and the use of motion-preserving technologies including artificial disc replacements and interspinous spacers (e.g. X-Stop implant); he will soon be starting a clinical trial here at Yale to develop a new spinal implant. Dr. Whang is actively involved in clinical and basic science research, focusing on the biology of spinal fusion and bone healing, bone grafting substitutes, and evidence-based medicine; he continues to present the results of these investigations at various national and international meetings. Dr. Whang serves on the editorial staff of several publications and is a member of the Biologics and Basic Science Committee of the North American Spine Society.

American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC)

AAPC is a nonprofit association for health care professionals, founded in 1988 to raise the professional standards of coders by providing on going education, recognition and certification. National AAPC has over 13,000 members in all 50 states and internationally

Our Goals:

To enhance the professional standards for professional coders through continuing education and certification.
To increase awareness of the importance of procedural coding for medical practices and facilites and the impact of coding on reimbursement.
To provide ongoing support services information and products useful to professional coders.

Our Mission Statement:

To establish and maintain professional, ethical and educational standards for professional coders.
To provide a National Certification and Credentialing process.
To support the national and local membership by providing educational products and opportunities to network.
To increase and promote national recognition and awareness of health issues.

Why we started our chapter?

Those of us involved in coding and the healthcare field in general, realized that the responsibilites placed on coders and the emphasis given to CPT-4 and ICD-9 coding has increased tremendously. The accuracy of coding and the comprehension of its impact and importance for compliance and reimbursement have become essential to the physician practices in our area. We wanted to provide knowledge, networking and a certification process to the coding professionals in Connecticut, and to emphasize and promote professionalism and intergrity for our members.

This is our eighth year with the AAPC and our membership has grown consistently over that time period. We have established a Board of Directors to provide guidance to our officers, an outreach program for making our presence known in the community and to create a resource of colleagues and mentors within our geographic area.