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Margaret is a nationally recognized educator in Health Information Management (HIM) and an expert in ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS. She has been in the HIM profession for 40 years. She is professor emeritus at the Indiana University Northwest campus in Gary, Indiana. She owns and operates MAS, Inc., a consulting group operating from Frankfort, Illinois since 1989. The group provides consultation to hospitals, physician practices, and ambulatory surgery centers.

Margaret understands coded data, the importance of accuracy, and the ties to reimbursement. She performs effective audits of clinical documentation and follows this up with on-target physician education and feedback. She was on the ground floor of teaching ICD-10-CM/PCS nationwide as faculty in the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) Academies. At Indiana University, she taught courses in diagnostic and procedure coding, quality management, and other aspects of HIM. Her lifetime in academia have given her a solid knowledge of the core of HIM and the opportunity to be an author as well as an educator. She also maintains a strong commitment to the HIM profession with her work in speaking and assuming leadership roles in the national association, the AHIMA, and, previously, the state association in Indiana: the Indiana HIM Association. She was recognized by the University of Illinois Department of HIM as the Alumnus of the Year in 2004.

Early in her career, Margaret worked at a suburban hospital in a management position in the HIM Department. She also worked as the Interim Director of Education for the AHIMA in Chicago, and did consulting in ambulatory care, long-term care, and physician practices. She continues to do extensive speaking and consulting in the profession. Margaret and Karen Zupko teamed up in 1989 and developed the Code-Its™ tool—a popular diagnostic coding aid.

Margaret received her master’s degree from Purdue University in Education and Personnel Services. Her bachelor’s degree is from the University of Illinois in Health Information Management. She carries a certification from AHIMA as a certified coding specialist (CCS). She was also named a Fellow in the AHIMA in 2008, and received the AHIMA Distinguished Member of the Year award in 2010. This is the highest honor AHIMA bestows. She was the national President of AHIMA in 2000 and served for six years on the Board of Directors. Most recently, she was named a Chancellor’s Professor in 2015 at Indiana University Northwest.

Margaret and Richard Skurka are the proud parents of three grown children all making their way as young professionals in the city of Chicago. Margaret enjoys playing in an 18-hole golf league and skiing in Steamboat Springs in the winter as time allows.