Medical Coder

Health Information Coding Coder Level I

Health information coding is the transformation of verbal descriptions of diseases, injuries, and procedures into numeric or alphanumeric designations. The coding process reviews and analyzes health records to identify relevant diagnoses and procedures for distinct patient encounters. Coders are responsible for translating diagnostic and procedural phrases utilized by healthcare providers into coded form procedure codes that can be utilized for submitting claims to payers for reimbursement. A joint effort between the healthcare provider and the coder is essential to achieve complete and accurate documentation, code assignment, and reporting of diagnoses and procedures.

Job Duties:

• Reviews the content of the medical records from multiple EHR's and on-site for both hospital and professional inpatient or outpatient records to identify principal diagnosis, secondary diagnoses and procedures performed.
• Carefully reviews details of documents such as laboratory findings, radiology reports, various scan reports, discharge summary, history and physical, consultations, orders, progress notes and other ancillary services treatment records needed to ensure all pertinent diagnoses and procedures are recorded.
• Failure to properly identify diagnoses and procedures may have a dramatic negative impact upon payment received by The Health Plan.
• Assigns codes based on hospital and professional coding guidelines, Coding Clinic directives, federal regulations, CCI coding initiatives, CPT Assistant or other standard coding guidelines.
• Provides material to the RACE team to educate physicians as needed to clarify documentation within the patient's record to facilitate complete and accurate coding.
• Assists in decision making relevant to physician coding education and HCC targeting purposes.
• Provides encoder software and EMR (EPIC) expertise and uses these tools along with their knowledge in the anatomy and physiology of the human body and disease processes in order to understand the etiology, pathology, symptoms, signs, diagnostic studies, treatment modalities, and prognosis of diseases and procedures to be coded.
• Ensures strict confidentiality of financial and medical records.
• Develops and maintains expertise in non-EPIC EMR systems as deemed appropriate by the Chart Retrieval team.
• Updates and corrects historical file data by submitting delete files and notifying the RACE team.

Work is typically performed in an office environment. Accountable for satisfying all job specific obligations and complying with all organization policies and procedures. The specific statements in this profile are not intended to be all-inclusive. They represent typical elements considered necessary to successfully perform the job.

This posting reflects an opening for Coder level I and we are seeking candidates for that position. Geisinger reserves the right to consider applicants for higher levels of this role based on their skills, qualifications, and experience. We encourage all qualified individuals to apply.

Position Details:

One relevant certification from AHIMA or AAPC is required upon hire. Acceptable certifications include:

AHIMA (American Health Information Management Association):

Certified Coding Specialist (CCS)

Certified Coding Specialist – Physician-based (CCS-P)

Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT)

Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA)

Certified Coding Associate (CCA) – Candidates with only a CCA are required to obtain a CCS, RHIT, or RHIA within 12 months of hire.

All certifications are acceptable from AAPC (American Academy of Professional Coders) except:

Scribe, Documentation, Instructor, and International Credentials

Certified Professional Biller (CPB)

Revenue Cycle Management Specialist (RCMS)

Certified Value-Based Administrator (CVBA)

Certified Physician Practice Manager (CPPM)

Certified Professional Compliance Officer (CPCO)

Education:

High School Diploma or Equivalent (GED)- (Required), Graduate from Specialty Training Program- (Preferred)

Experience:

Minimum of 1 year-Related work experience (Required)

Certification(s) and License(s):

Relevant coding certification within 12 months - Default Issuing Body

Skills:

Computer Literacy, Critical Thinking

OUR PURPOSE & VALUES: Everything we do is about caring for our patients, our members, our students, our Geisinger family and our communities.

• KINDNESS: We strive to treat everyone as we would hope to be treated ourselves.
• EXCELLENCE: We treasure colleagues who humbly strive for excellence.
• LEARNING: We share our knowledge with the best and brightest to better prepare the caregivers for tomorrow.
• INNOVATION: We constantly seek new and better ways to care for our patients, our members, our community, and the nation.
• SAFETY: We provide a safe environment for our patients and members and the Geisinger family.

We offer healthcare benefits for full time and part time positions from day one, including vision, dental and domestic partners. Perhaps just as important, we encourage an atmosphere of collaboration, cooperation and collegiality.

Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, pregnancy, genetic information, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other protected category under applicable federal, state, and local laws.