In this episode of the MGMA Insights Podcast, host Daniel Williams sat down with Jimmie Richmond, MPH, CHFP, CMPE, CPC, Financial Analysis Consultant at Banner University Medical Center. Their conversation explored unbilled revenue recovery, post-pandemic workforce challenges, the power of connection in leadership, and the ways MGMA members can grow through learning communities.

Richmond, a longtime MGMA member and newly appointed volunteer on MGMA’s new Human Resources & Compliance Advisory Board, shared practical strategies for medical practice leaders seeking to improve financial viability while strengthening culture, compassion, and communication. He and Williams also discussed the easy camaraderie that comes from years of collaborating in MGMA’s Book Club — a space that not only builds leaders but also builds genuine friendships.

The Power of Connection in Career Development

Richmond entered healthcare through a chance opportunity — a temporary position “answering the phone at a surgery center under construction… in the middle of a room with a card table, a chair, and a phone.” But what propelled him forward were human-centered skills: listening, calm under pressure, and relationship-building.

“They liked me. They saw something in me and promoted me… my career over 25 years blossomed,” he shared.

His early experience in hospitality and call centers taught him how to defuse difficult situations. “Thinking of those skills of, 'Hey, I hear you. I’m not the one that can solve this issue, but I can get it started for you,'" he explained. "Making connections has been a reoccurring theme in my career.”

Richmond’s emphasis on deep listening and empathy offers a practical toolset that requires no additional budget — only intentional practice.

How MGMA Resources Helped Shape a Career

When Richmond reentered higher education in midlife, MGMA’s tools and community played a transformative role. He recalled that early in his career, people told him MGMA “was for the elite, not for you.” 

But returning to graduate school changed everything. “In the finance courses, MGMA came up for the benchmarking type of exercises," he said. "And so I got a reduced cost student membership, and that started the journey.”

MGMA’s scholarships and grants provided not only financial support but also validation. “They weren’t just awards. They were a vote of confidence to a person that was trying to find a place to belong.”

Richmond later completed both CMPE certification and Fellowship, describing walking across the stage as significant. "Reaching back to that voice going, 'Oh you don’t really belong here,' to 'Yes I do, and look at the people I’m standing with,'" Richmond reminisced. 

The MGMA Book Club: Leadership Development with a Side of Community

One of the most genuine and joyful parts of this episode centered on the MGMA Book Club, in which its members have built a close-knit community of leaders who challenge each other, support each other, and — occasionally — even bond over Daniel’s drifting Southern accent! But beneath the humor was a real message for MGMA members: Community matters.

“If you are not participating in the book club, it needs to be your very next task,” Richmond said. “The connections to other people, hearing their shared experiences and insights… it is so valuable.”

Williams echoed that sentiment, describing meetings full of vulnerability, problem-solving, and genuine support — without any requirement that participants finish the book before joining. After all, leadership is not just built through technical skills and strict requirements, but through belonging, discussion, and shared growth.

Identifying and Recovering Unbilled Revenue

One of Richmond’s primary responsibilities at Banner is uncovering unbilled revenue — an often-overlooked opportunity for medical groups to strengthen financial performance. He emphasized that this work is complex and requires cross-functional collaboration. His team digs into EMR workflows and revenue cycle issues to find where dollars are slipping through the cracks. 

“My small team looks for the root causes of why aren’t we billing everything out, so there are hard dollars attached to that work," he said. "And it’s hard work. It’s tedious — often delicate — because we’re dealing with providers and execs and operational managers, but it is always rewarding.”

Richmond’s process underscores the importance of routine auditing, cross-departmental communication, and proactive exploration of “missed” charges — all essential elements of revenue integrity. Proactive analysis of EMR workflows, coding practices, and revenue integrity gaps can reveal immediate revenue lift opportunities without increasing patient volume.

Addressing Challenges: Patient Access, Retention, and Provider Strain

When asked which challenges deserve urgent attention, Richmond pointed to a triad of pressures: “Patient access, employee and provider retention, and recruitment — and those are intertwined.”

He noted that the post-pandemic landscape has made healthcare interactions more strained on all sides. “It’s so difficult to be a patient; it’s so difficult to be that employee who is facing the public… it’s very difficult to be a provider.”

Richmond's recommendation is not purely operational but human-centered. “All of these forces, I think, need to be addressed in a very compassionate way… recognizing our humanity in each other.”

Leaders can operationalize this by incorporating compassion into performance reviews, scripting, communication training, and patient access improvement plans — aligning business needs with a more resilient culture.

Making Remote Teams Thrive Through Structure and Communication

Richmond works remotely in Colorado while supporting a Banner practice in Phoenix, giving him a firsthand view of how remote and hybrid staffing models can strengthen medical groups if implemented intentionally.

His first piece of advice: “Have very good tools such as we’re using right now. We use Teams… and it actually works out to improve productivity substantially.”

But technology alone is not enough. Leaders must create purposeful connection. “Be sure that you are putting on everyone’s schedule reoccurring meetings where you’re touching base with each other," Richmond said. "It’s good to begin with the niceties of life, and then let’s get into the business.”

As practices struggle to recruit and retain qualified staff, Richmond’s experience shows that remote work can expand talent pools — provided leaders invest in communication, rhythm, and relationship-building.

Leadership Rooted in Human Connection

As the conversation drew to a close, Richmond reflected on what years in healthcare have taught him about leading teams through uncertainty, turnover, financial pressure, and shifting expectations. For him, the strongest throughline — in every role and every organization — has been simple but transformative: Leaders thrive when they create spaces where people feel valued and heard.

He summed up this philosophy with a thought that applies to every practice trying to build something meaningful: “The table that we sit at always has open chairs.”

Resources:

• Jimmie on LinkedIn
• MGMA Book Club (Align the Mind – December's selection)
  Send an email of interest to Daniel Williams - dwilliams@mgma.com
• MGMA Volunteer Opportunities 
• MGMA DataDive (Benchmarking Tool) 
• MGMA Education & Certification (CMPE & Fellowship)
• MGMA Conferences