RN Clinical Documentation Specialist

Banner Health; Phoenix (AZ); Hybrid; USD 52,000 - 87,000; Full time

Job summary

Banner Health is seeking a Clinical Documentation Improvement Specialist to enhance the quality and completeness of provider-based clinical documentation in the medical record. The role focuses on aligning documentation with DRG, SOI, ROM, and risk adjustment to ensure accurate patient care reflection and appropriate reimbursement.

The ideal candidate has 2–4 years of acute-care clinical experience, RN licensure (or equivalent foreign MD training), and strong ability to collaborate with

Qualifications

• RN license in state of residence.
• Bachelor’s degree in nursing.
• Two years of acute clinical care experience.
• Ability to interface with multiple software applications, work independently, and use strong critical thinking and time management.

Responsibilities

• Facilitate improvement in provider-based clinical documentation to reflect DRG, SOI, ROM and risk adjustment.
• Perform concurrent record reviews and develop documentation clarification queries.
• Ensure accuracy and completeness of the clinical information used for measuring outcomes and billing.
• Educate clinicians and facility management on clinical documentation opportunities and reimbursement issues.
• Work remotely across multiple facilities with limited travel (≤15%).

Skills

Critical thinking

Problem solving

Communication

Time management

Interdisciplinary teamwork

Education

RN license

Bachelor’s degree in Nursing

Job description

Department Name: Clin Document Integrity-Corp Work Shift: Day Job Category: Revenue Cycle

At Banner Health, health care is a team effort. One might be surprised by the number of people who work behind the scenes and play a critical role in ensuring the best care for our patients. The mission of the Clinical Documentation Improvement Department is to, “Facilitate concise clinical documentation to appropriately reflect patient acuity, risk of mortality, and resource utilization in order to properly reflect patient care given and optimize organizational goals.” This mission also supports the accurate translation of diagnoses into ICD-10 codes for patient billing and capture of quality metrics.

As a successful Clinical Documentation Improvement Specialist will need to have at a minimum 2-4 years of hospital acute-care or relevant clinical experience. Time in OR, ED or ICU may strengthen a candidates profile. Level of education may be either registered nurse with active licensure in state worked or graduate of foreign medical school with Doctor of medicine degree. This is a fully remote position and available if you live in the following states only: AK, AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, FL, GA, IA, ID, IN, KS, KY, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, ND, NE, NM, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WI & WY. This position is fully remote with travel less than 15% of the time to either a Banner corporate or hospital site. With this remote work, candidates must be self‑motivated, possess moderate to strong tech skills and be able to meet daily and weekly productivity metrics. You are required to work at least 75% of your shift within 7AM to 7PM AZT/MST. No holidays or weekends. Business hours are Monday‑Friday, 8 hour shifts with no weekends or holidays.

POSITION SUMMARY

This position is responsible for facilitating the improvement in the overall quality and completeness of provider-based clinical documentation in the medical record. This position is a member of the clinical team responsible for assisting treating providers to ensure that documentation in the medical record accurately reflects the diagnostic related group (DRG), severity of illness (SOI), risk of mortality (ROM), risk adjustment, and the complexity of patient care rendered. This position is responsible for reviewing content of the medical record and assisting in the clarification of documentation ambiguities.

CORE FUNCTIONS

• Provides subject matter expertise related to DRG, clinical documentation opportunities and requirements. Serves as an essential member of the clinical team, emphasizing their role in reviewing content of the medical record, assisting in the clarification of documentation ambiguities. Serves as the liaison between acute care coding and providers in order to capture accurate DRG, SOI, ROM, risk adjustment, reimbursement, and complexity of patient care rendered.
• Conducts accurate and timely concurrent record reviews, recognizing opportunities for documentation improvement through specialized training and software. Utilizes available resources to formulate clinically credible and compliant provider documentation clarification (queries) aimed at improving the accuracy of the documentation process.
• Ensures data integrity of the clinical documentation database through compliant, accurate and appropriate entries, which includes but is not limited to, accurate input of case data, correct assignment of documentation clarification types and provider responses, and ensuring precise case reconciliation with correct DRG shifts recorded.
• Ensures the accuracy and completeness of clinical information used for measuring and reporting provider and facility outcomes (e.g., DRG assignment, hospital acquired conditions, patient safety indicators, quality of care, facility and system initiatives) while maintaining compliance with HIMS dept time requirements for coding and billing revenue cycle.
• Educates customers through presentations and/or reports for clinicians and facility management on clinical documentation opportunities, acute care coding and reimbursement issues, as well as performance improvement methodologies.
• This position works independently in a remote work model and has multi‑facility/entity responsibility, with no direct budgetary oversight. This position requires extensive interaction with providers, HIMS professionals, nursing, and other ancillary staff.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Requires Registered Nurse (RN) license in state of residence. Must possess a strong knowledge of clinical care as normally obtained through the completion of a bachelor’s degree in nursing. Requires two years of acute clinical care experience. Must have the ability to interface with multiple software applications, work independently, possess demonstrated critical thinking skills, problem‑solving abilities, communication and time management skills. Must demonstrate ability to work effectively in an interdisciplinary team format.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

Experience with acute clinical documentation programs or coding. Certified Clinical Documentation Specialist (CCDS), Certified Documentation Integrity Practitioner (CDIP), Certified Coding (CCS) Specialist credential, or Certified Professional Coder (CPC). Additional related education and/or experience preferred.

Estimated Pay Range

$37.88 - $63.14 / hour Banner Health is committed to pay equity and transparency. The posted compensation range is a reasonable estimate that extends from the lowest to the highest pay Banner Health in good faith believes it might pay for this particular job, based on the circumstances at the time of posting. This range is based on possible base salaries and does not include the value of our total rewards package. Actual pay determined at offer will be based on years of relevant work experience, education, certifications, skills, and geographic location, along with a review of current employees in similar roles to ensure pay equity is achieved and maintained.

EEO Statement

EEO/Disabled/Veterans. Our organization supports a drug‑free work environment.

Banner Health is one of the largest, nonprofit health care systems in the country and the leading nonprofit provider of hospital services in all the communities we serve. Throughout our network of hospitals, primary care health centers, research centers, labs, physician practices and more, our skilled and compassionate professionals use the latest technology to make health care easier, so life can be better. The many locations, career opportunities, and benefits offered at Banner Health help to make the Banner Journey unique and fulfilling for every employee. We are proud to offer a comprehensive benefit package for all benefit‑eligible positions. Please visit our Benefits Guide for more information.