Executive Director of HIM

AHIMA; Fort Worth (TX); On-site; USD 180,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

AHIMA is seeking an Executive Director of Health Information Management (HIM) to provide enterprise leadership for HIM and coding across inpatient, outpatient, and professional services. The role ensures accurate, timely, and compliant documentation and coded data to support high-quality patient care and sustainable reimbursement.

The Executive Director partners with CDI, Revenue Integrity, Compliance, Finance, IT, and Quality to reflect care delivered and optimize value-based reimbursement

Qualifications

• 10+ years in HIM, coding, or related field.
• 5+ years of progressive HIM/coding leadership with enterprise oversight.

Responsibilities

• Lead enterprise HIM and Coding strategy aligned with organizational objectives.
• Set documentation standards, coding practices, and data integrity.
• Drive automation, analytics, and performance optimization initiatives.
• Oversee inpatient, outpatient, and professional coding operations; audits and denials.
• Develop budgets, staffing, training, and succession plans.

Skills

Leadership

HIM strategy

Coding governance

Data analytics

Regulatory compliance

Education

Bachelor’s in HIM

Master’s in HIM preferred

Tools

Epic Systems

BI tools

Job description

The Executive Director Health Information Management (HIM) provides enterprise leadership for all HIM and coding operations across inpatient, outpatient, and professional services. This role is responsible for ensuring the accuracy, integrity, timeliness, and compliance of clinical documentation and coded data to support high-quality patient care, compliant reimbursement, and organizational sustainability. This position within Revenue Cycle, this position partners closely with clinical leaders, CDI, Revenue Integrity, Compliance, Finance, Managed Care, IT/Epic, and Quality to ensure the medical record accurately reflects care delivered and supports both fee-for-service and value-based reimbursement models.

Essential Job Functions & Accountabilities:

• Leads enterprise HIM and Coding strategy aligned with organizational clinical, operational, and financial objectives.
• Serves as the executive authority on documentation standards, coding practices, and data integrity.
• Drives modernization through automation, analytics, and performance optimization initiatives.
• Oversees all HIM and coding operations, including inpatient, outpatient, and professional coding; record completion; release of information; audits; DNFB; and coding-related charge lag.
• Establishes standardized workflows, productivity benchmarks, and quality controls to ensure operational excellence.
• Ensures timely, accurate coding to support cash flow and overall revenue cycle performance.
• Ensures the integrity of clinical documentation and coded data across the enterprise.
• Partners with Revenue Integrity, CDI, Denials, Compliance, and Managed Care to reduce revenue leakage and coding-related denials.
• Leads coding audits and oversee corrective action plans to ensure accuracy and compliance.
• Supports accurate reporting of CMI, SOI/ROM, risk adjustment, quality metrics, and value-based care initiatives.
• Promotes a culture of ethical coding, accountability, and transparency.
• Ensures compliance with all federal, state, and payer regulations, including CMS, OIG, HIPAA, and accreditation standards.
• Serves as executive representative during audits, regulatory reviews, and external engagements.
• Acts as executive sponsor for HIM and coding technologies, including Epic workflows, tools, and reporting capabilities.
• Partners with IT and Analytics to leverage data for performance improvement and strategic decision-making.
• Leads, develops, and mentors HIM and Coding leadership teams to achieve high performance.
• Oversees workforce planning, recruitment, training, and succession planning.
• Fosters a culture of continuous improvement, accountability, and professional development.
• Prepares department operating budgets on an annual basis and monitors areas of responsibility for compliance within the current budget; develops cost estimates, forecasts, and expenditures to optimize rewards mix and ensures good governance and compliance processes.
• Oversees the development and implementation of organizational policies and procedures.
• Establishes departmental productivity and quality standards and measures performance against industry best practice benchmarks.
• Participates in leadership development activities; implements strategies and processes to improve employee morale and performance.
• Job description is not an all-inclusive list of duties and may be subject to change with or without notice. Staff are expected to perform other duties as assigned.

• Bachelor’s degree in Health Information Management, Health Administration, Business Administration, or related field of study from an accredited college or University.
• 10 plus years of experience in HIM, coding, or related field.
• 5 plus years of progressive HIM and/or Coding leadership experience to include enterprise-level oversight with demonstrated experience managing inpatient, outpatient, and professional coding.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in Health Information Management, Health Administration, Business Administration, or related field of study from an accredited college or University.
• RHIA, RHIT, CCS-P, or CPC.
• Experience in a public, academic, or safety-net health system.