Medical Coder III, Inpatient Hospital Coding (Must reside in KPNW region)

Kaiser Permanente Northwest; Portland (OR); On-site; USD 78,187 - 101,192; Full time

Job summary

Kaiser Permanente Northwest is seeking a skilled Medical Records coder to translate clinical information into codified data for diagnoses and procedures, following ICD-CM, CPT, and HCPCS guidelines. The role emphasizes accuracy, compliance, and collaboration with clinicians and staff.

Responsibilities include reviewing records for abstraction, maintaining high-quality data, and supporting coding process updates.

Qualifications

• High School Diploma or GED with 4+ years coding experience, or 4+ years coding and 1 year corporate experience.
• CCS/RHIT/RHIA certifications required at hire.

Responsibilities

• Review emergency, outpatient, ambulatory, and inpatient records to abstract elements and codes.
• Build effective relationships and provide resources, information, and mentoring to team members.
• Ensure compliance with laws, regulations, and Kaiser Permanente standards.
• Update coding processes and ensure accuracy of codes and documentation.
• Translate clinical information into coded data for diagnoses, procedures, and services.

Skills

Medical Coding

Health Information Systems

Data Entry

Time Management

Compliance Management

Quality Assurance

Health Records

Data Quality

Maintain Files and Records

Medical Terminology

Education

Certified Coding Specialist (CCS)

RHIT - Registered Health Information Technician

RHIA - Registered Health Information Administrator

High School Diploma or GED

Job description

In addition to the responsibilities listed below, this position is also responsible for reviewing emergency, outpatient, ambulatory, and inpatient medical records to identify elements to be abstracted, as well as diagnostic and procedure codes.

• Pursues effective relationships with others by proactively providing resources, information, advice, and expertise with coworkers and members. Listens to, seeks, and addresses performance feedback; provides mentoring to team members. Pursues self-development; creates plans and takes action to capitalize on strengths and develop weaknesses; influences others through technical explanations and examples. Adapts to and learns from change, challenges, and feedback; demonstrates flexibility in approaches to work; helps others adapt to new tasks and processes. Supports and responds to the needs of others to support a business outcome.
• Completes work assignments autonomously by applying up-to-date expertise in subject area to generate creative solutions; ensures all procedures and policies are followed; leverages an understanding of data and resources to support projects or initiatives. Collaborates cross-functionally to solve business problems; escalates issues or risks as appropriate; communicates progress and information. Supports, identifies, and monitors priorities, deadlines, and expectations. Identifies, speaks up, and implements ways to address improvement opportunities for team.
• Contributes to documentation and coding compliance by: supporting compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations, The Principles of Responsibility, the Code of Conduct for Kaiser Permanente, internal policies and procedures, professional standards, and accreditation standards.
• Supports efforts to update coding processes and meet regulatory goals by: performing analysis/review to assure the accuracy of current procedures and diagnosis codes upon request from various sources; using and contributing to the teams use of internal resources (e.g., webinars, enterprise education team) to learn up-to-date knowledge of standards and regulatory requirements related to coding, documentation, and management compliance (federal, state, internal), and researching guidance for individual coding situations as necessary; and meeting and maintaining department standards for productivity and quality.
• Completes medical coding by: translating clinical information into coded data to enter appropriate codes for diagnoses, procedures, and other services rendered, following coding guidelines for the most current version of the International Classification of Diseases Clinical Modification (ICD-CM), Current Procedural Terminology (CPT), and Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) Level II for patient encounters; identifying and assigning appropriate codes for diagnoses, procedures, and other services rendered independently; resolving coding issues through partnership with clinicians, department administration, and other coding staff based on review, coding guidelines, and queries or issues with practitioner-submitted medical codes to reduce denials and improve time to submission; and assisting team members with providing consultation to staff and care providers on all coding and documentation questions.

Minimum Qualifications

• Minimum three (3) years of continuous hospital coding experience with Observation, Hospital Ambulatory Surgery, Emergency Department, and complex Hospital Outpatient Visit services.
• High School Diploma or GED or equivalent AND minimum four (4) years of coding experience. OR Minimum four (4) years of coding experience and one (1) year of experience in a corporate or business office environment.
• Certified Coding Specialist required at hire OR Registered Health Information Technician required at hire OR Registered Health Information Administrator required at hire

Additional Requirements

• Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs): Medical Coding; Medical Terminology; Health Care Coding; Time Management; Compliance Management; Quality Assurance and Effectiveness; Health Records; Health Information Systems; Data Quality; Data Entry; Maintain Files and Records

Preferred Qualifications

• N/A

Location and Schedule

Primary Location: Oregon, Portland, Kaiser Permanente Building

Scheduled Weekly Hours: 40

Shift: Day

Workdays: Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri

Working Hours Start: 08:00 AM

Working Hours End: 05:00 PM

Job Schedule: Full-time

Job Type: Standard

Worker Location: Flexible

Employee Status: Regular

Employee Group/Union Affiliation: NUE-NW-02|NUE|Non Union Employee

Job Level: Individual Contributor

Department: Kaiser Permanente Building - Centralized Medical Records - 1001

Pay Range

$37.59 - $48.65 / hour

Kaiser Permanente strives to offer a market competitive total rewards package and is committed to pay equity and transparency. The posted pay range is based on possible base salaries for the role and does not reflect the full value of our total rewards package. Actual base pay determined at offer will be based on labor market data, internal alignment, and a candidate's years of relevant work experience, education, certifications, skills, and geographic location.

Travel: No

Work Setting: Flexible

Worker location must align with Kaiser Permanente's Authorized States policy.

Kaiser Permanente is an equal opportunity employer committed to fair, respectful, and inclusive workplaces. Applicants will be considered for employment without regard to race, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic or status.