Medical Coding Team Lead

Medical Coding Team Lead

The Medical Coding Team Lead supports the day-to-day operations of the Medical Coding Department by serving as a resource to coding staff and partnering closely with Coding Managers to ensure operational efficiency, coding quality, productivity, and compliance. This position provides technical guidance, assists with workflow coordination, monitors work queues and performance metrics, resolves routine operational issues, and supports training and quality initiatives. The Team Lead serves as a liaison between coding staff and management, helping to maintain consistent operations while promoting a collaborative and high-performing work environment.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Provide day-to-day operational support to Coding Managers without assuming direct supervisory responsibility; to include workflow coordination in alignment with operational priorities.
• Monitor coding work queues, assign or redistribute workloads as directed, and escalate issues that may impact productivity or turnaround times.
• Serve as resource for coders regarding routine coding questions, workflow concerns, and operational issues.
• Provide technical guidance and mentorship to coding staff while promoting coding accuracy and compliance.
• Reinforce departmental policies, procedures, and quality standards.
• Assist Coding Managers in monitoring coding productivity, quality, and turnaround time metrics.
• Support employee development through coaching, knowledge sharing, and education.
• Escalate employee performance concerns, workflow barriers, or compliance issues to Coding Managers as appropriate.
• Assist with providing ongoing education related to departmental procedures.
• Assist with ensuring compliance with ICD-10-CM, ICD-10-PCS, CPT, HCPCS Level II, Medicare, Medicaid, commercial payer, and organizational coding guidelines.
• Support departmental projects, workflow improvements, system implementations, and process optimization initiatives.
• Stay current with coding regulations, payer requirements, CMS guidance, and industry best practices.
• Maintain confidentiality of protected health information (PHI) in accordance with HIPAA regulations.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

• Minimum of 5 years of progressive medical coding experience.
• Previous experience serving as a senior coder, lead coder, trainer, mentor, or similar role preferred.
• Current coding certification such as:
• Certified Professional Coder (CPC)
• Certified Coding Specialist (CCS)
• Certified Inpatient Coder (CIC)
• Certified Outpatient Coder (COC)
• Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT)
• or Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA) preferred
• Advanced knowledge of ICD-10-CM, ICD-10-PCS, CPT, and HCPCS Level II coding systems.
• Thorough understanding of CMS regulations, National Correct Coding Initiative (NCCI), Official Coding Guidelines, and payer-specific requirements.
• Experience using electronic health records (EHR) and coding software.