Professional Coder I-Rev Cycle

Professional Coder I

What we do here changes the world. UTHealth Houston is Texas' resource for healthcare education, innovation, scientific discovery, and excellence in patient care. That's where you come in.

UTHealth is hiring for a Professional Coder I to join their team of professionals in Revenue Cycle - Charging Code and Capture. The Certified Coder will be responsible for coding Emergency Medicine and resolving edits. Cardio, Emergency, and Gastro coding experience and familiarity with Epic are a plus!

• Department: Revenue Cycle
• Status: Full-time
• Location: Remote (2 weeks onsite for training @ 1851 Crosspoint Ave, 77054)
• Must live in Texas and can attend required onsite trainings and meetings. We do not provide lodging or mileage reimbursement for onsite trainings or meetings.

Once you join us you won't want to leave. It's because we reward our team for the excellent service they provide. Our total rewards package includes the benefits you'd expect from a top healthcare organization (benefits, insurance, etc.), plus:

• 100% paid medical premiums for our full-time employees
• Generous time off (holidays, preventative leave day, both vacation and sick time all of which equates to around 37-38 days per year)
• The longer you stay, the more vacation you'll accrue!
• Longevity Pay (Monthly payments after two years of service)
• Build your future with our awesome retirement/pension plan!

We take care of our employees! As a world-renowned institution, our employees' wellbeing is important to us. We offer work/life services such as...

• Free financial and legal counseling
• Free mental health counseling services
• Gym membership discounts and access to wellness programs
• Other employee discounts including entertainment, car rentals, cell phones, etc.
• Resources for child and elder care
• Plus many more!

Position Summary:

The Professional Coder I is responsible for reviewing medical documentation provided by physicians or other health care professionals to validate or assign and sequence CPT/HCPCS, ICD-10CM, and modifiers for both clinic and hospital based professional encounters. The Coder applies coding conventions in accordance with official coding and regulatory guidelines, third-party payer policies, and departmental procedures. This role is responsible for less complex coding and is limited to inpatient/outpatient E/M encounters and/or simple ancillary diagnostic procedures.

Position Key Accountabilities:

• Resolve Epic Coding and Optum Claims Manager edits.
• Responsible for reviewing encounters in the coding work queue in a timely manner and resolving all coding related edits.
• Reviews medical record and accurately assigns and sequences CPT, ICD-10CM, and HCPCS codes/modifiers ensuring compliance with all applicable guidelines.
• Generates basic physician queries in accordance to established procedures.
• Provides feedback and education as required.
• Confirms that all applicable UTHealth and Coding Guidelines are being followed when resolving edits.
• Performs charge entry of professional services including but not limited to non-invasive tests, anesthesia, hospital or office-based visits.
• Abstracts information needed for billing of ancillary procedures or other less complex outpatient services.
• Resolves any applicable system errors.
• Performs charge reconciliation when applicable to the department via logs, visit schedules, and other reports.
• Meets the required coding quality and productivity expectations per department policy and procedure.
• Completes education assigned by UTHealth Compliance.
• Maintains continued education hours relevant to coding credential.
• Completes all education assigned by the Charge Capture and Coding department in collaboration with Clinical Documentation Improvement (CDI).
• Stays up-to-date with all federal, state, coding & departmental guidelines and procedures.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Certification/Skills:

• Analytical skills, ability to interpret data, and maintain spreadsheets.
• Knowledge of ICD-10 CM and CPT coding conventions
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite, the ability to abstract data and maintain a database required
• High level understanding of all federal/government regulations, coding guidance and the revenue cycle policies and procedures.
• Effective verbal and written communication between internal and external customers.
• Excellent time management skills required.
• Self-motivated and able to work independently without close supervision.
• Work may involve handling biohazardous, chemical, and radiological materials, as well as operating associated equipment. Required safety training and appropriate engineering and administrative controls including the use of personal protective equipment must be followed.
• Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT) by American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) required or
• Certified Coding Specialist (CCS) by American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) required or
• Certified Coding Specialist - Physician-based (CCS-P) by American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) required or
• Certified Professional Coder (CPC) by American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) required or
• Radiology Coding Certification (RCC) by Radiology Coding Certification Board (RCCB) required

Minimum Education:

High School Diploma or equivalent required

Minimum Experience:

2 years experience in a Health Information Management (HIM) coding required May substitute required experience with equivalent years of education beyond the minimum education requirement.

Physical Requirements:

Exerts up to 20 pounds of force occasionally and/or up to 10 pounds frequently and/or a negligible amount constantly to move objects.

Security Sensitive:

This position is a security-sensitive position pursuant to Texas Education Code 51.215 and Texas Government Code 411.094. To the extent that a position requires the holder to research, work on, or have access to critical infrastructure as defined in Texas Business and Commerce Code 117.001(2), the ability to maintain the security or integrity of the infrastructure is a minimum qualification to be hired for and to continue to be employed in that position. Personnel in such positions, and similarly situated state contractors, will be routinely reviewed to determine whether things such as criminal history or continuous connections to the government or political apparatus of a foreign adversary might prevent the applicant, employee, or contractor from being able to maintain the security or integrity of the infrastructure. A foreign adversary is a nation listed in 15 C.F.R. 791.4.

Residency Requirement:

Employees must permanently reside and work in the State of Texas.