Team Leader Inpatient Coding Operations

Inpatient Coding Specialist

Responsible for assisting Inpatient Coding Operations Manager with daily activity to include assisting coding associates with coding questions scheduling and mentoring.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities

• Contributes to the achievement of established department goals and objectives and adheres to department policies procedures quality standards and safety standards. Complies with governmental and accreditation regulations.
• Abstracts and ensures accuracy of diagnoses procedure patient demographics and other required data elements.
• Adheres to all compliance regulations and maintains annual compliance education.
• Maintains continuing education and seeks ongoing education to improve job performance. Maintains credentials as required for job classification.
• Contacts physician when conflicting or ambiguous information appears in the medical record. Adheres to the MedStar Coding Query Policy and procedure.
• Meets established Quality & Productivity standards as defined by policies.
• Manages coding reports (e.g. Patient Financial Reports InfoMart Error Reports etc.)
• Reviews medical record documentation to identify diagnoses and procedures. Assigns correct diagnostic and procedural codes using standard guidelines and automated encoding software maintaining departmental accuracy standards. Determines the sequence of diagnoses according to Uniform Hospital Discharge Data Definitions and assigns appropriate DRG (Diagnosis Related Groups).
• Exhibits knowledge of the 3M system and other work-related equipment.
• Assists with coding as needed.
• Monitors accounts receivables daily and works with various departments (e.g. Health Information Management Patient Access etc.) to resolve problems.
• Provides input into the evaluation system.
• Responsible for coordinating and maintaining daily work flow for assigned staff.
• Serves as a resident expert on coding and assists coding associates with resolving coding questions and provides mentoring.
• Under the direction of the Coding Manager assist with coding related tasks such as associate onboarding system testing writing reports working outstanding PFS (Patient Financial Services) accounts monitoring staff productivity or quality etc.
• Responsible for the timely reconciliation process for any internal or external department coding reviews (e.g. Core Measures Coding Quality Reviews etc.) to ensure compliance.
• Participates in meetings and on committees and represents the department and hospital in community outreach efforts.
• Participates in multi-disciplinary quality and service improvement teams.

Minimal Qualifications

• High School Diploma or GED required
• Associate's degree in coding related degree preferred or
• Bachelor's degree in coding related degree preferred and
• Courses in Medical Terminology Anatomy & Physiology ICD-CM and CPT-4 required

Experience

• 3-4 years Inpatient coding experience. Experience with clinical information systems (3m grouper electronic medical records computer assisted coding) required and
• Experience with APR-DRG (all patient refined diagnosis related groups) grouper or MS-DRG (medicare severity diagnosis related groups) grouper preferred and
• 2 years operational and/or supervision experience required

Licenses and Certifications

• CCS (Certified Coding Specialist) required and
• RHIT (Registered Health Information Technician) preferred and
• RHIA (Registered Health Information Administrator) preferred

Knowledge Skills and Abilities

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Basic computer skills required.
• Clinical system software skills (e.g. 3M electronic medical record).
• Strong knowledge of APR-DRGs (All Patient Refined Diagnosis Related Groups) or MS-DRG (Medicare Severity Diagnosis Related Groups) Maryland Payment and regulatory systems.

This position has a hiring range of USD $31.28 - USD $56.39 /Hr.