Senior Outpatient Coder

Houston Methodist; Georgia; Presencial; USD 60.000 - 90.000; Jornada completa

Descripción de la vacante

Houston Methodist is seeking a Senior Outpatient Coder to ensure accurate ICD-10-CM/ICD-10-PCS and CPT coding for day surgery and observation encounters, following regulatory guidelines.

The role requires strong knowledge of coding conventions, proficiency with EHR systems, and effective communication with physicians and care teams. This on-site position emphasizes accuracy and productivity within a collaborative coding department.

Formación

• Three years of outpatient coding experience or completion of the Houston Methodist Senior Outpatient Coder Transition Program.
• Knowledge of coding guidelines and compliance requirements for outpatient settings.
• Strong reading, writing and verbal English skills for documentation and communication.

Responsabilidades

• Assign diagnostic and procedural codes to outpatient encounters with accuracy.
• Query physicians to clarify diagnoses and procedures when needed.
• Ensure coding quality and regulatory compliance across all cases.

Conocimientos

Medical terminology

ICD-10-CM knowledge

CPT knowledge

Communication skills

EHR proficiency

Educación

Associate degree in health information management

Herramientas

Encoder software

EHR systems

Descripción del empleo

At Houston Methodist, the Senior Outpatient Coder position is responsible for ensuring diagnostic and procedure codes are assigned accurately to day surgery and observation encounters based upon documentation within the electronic medical record while maintaining compliance with established rules and regulatory guidelines.

FLSA STATUS

Non-exempt

QUALIFICATIONS

EDUCATION

• Associate’s or higher degree in a Comission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Managment accredited program or additional two years of experience (in addition to the minimum experience requirements listed below) in lieu of degree

EXPERIENCE

• Three years of relevant outpatient coding experience or successful completion of the Houston Methodist Senior Outpatient Coder Transition Program

LICENSES AND CERTIFICATIONS

Required

• Must have one of the following: RHIT - Certified Health Information Technician (AHIMA) RHIA - Registered Health Information Administrator (AHIMA) CCS - Certified Coding Specialist (AHIMA) CCA – Certified Coding Associate (AHIMA) CCS-P – Certified Coding Specialist Physician-Based (AHIMA) CPC – Certified Professional Coder (AAPC)

SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Demonstrates the skills and competencies necessary to safely perform the assigned job, determined through on-going skills, competency assessments, and performance evaluations
• Sufficient proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing the English language necessary to perform the essential functions of this job, especially with regard to activities impacting patient or employee safety or security
• Ability to effectively communicate with patients, physicians, family members and co-workers in a manner consistent with a customer service focus and application of positive language principles
• Knowledge of coding classification systems, DRG and APC systems, official coding guidelines and coding compliance
• Knowledge of an electronic medical record and imaging systems
• Working knowledge of medical terminology, anatomy and physiology
• Proficiency with electronic encoder application
• Extensive PC knowledge - must be able to work effectively in common office software, coding software and abstracting systems

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

PEOPLE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Interacts and communicates effectively with members of the coding team and the appropriate stakeholders.
• Participates and provides good feedback during coding section meetings and coding education inservices as well as takes initiative to assist others and shares knowledge with the appropriate stakeholders.

SERVICE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Responds promptly to internal and external customer requests. Responds promptly and appropriately to requests to code or review coded accounts for accuracy.
• Initiates queries with physicians to obtain or clarify diagnoses and/or procedures as appropriate, utilizing the established physician query process.

QUALITY/SAFETY ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Responsible for assigning diagnostic and procedural codes to encounters of high complexity.
• Maintains and achieves departmental standards of coding quality by assigning accurate ICD-10-CM/ICD-10-PCS and CPT codes and APC assignment utilizing an electronic encoder application in accordance with hospital policy and regulatory body guidelines.
• Maintains and achieves departmental standards of abstracting quality by reviewing the discharge disposition entered by nursing and corrects if necessary in order to achieve the highest quality of entered data. Assigns and enters physician identification number and procedure date correctly in the medical record abstracting system.
• Reviews medical record documentation and abstracts data into the encoder and Electronic Health Record (EHR) to determine principal or final diagnosis, co-morbid conditions and complications, secondary conditions and procedures. Utilizes all tools/resources for accuracy.
• Complies with the Standards of Ethical Coding as set forth by the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) and adheres to official guidelines.

FINANCE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Utilizes time effectively. Consistently codes and abstracts at or above departmental standards of productivity while ensuring accuracy of coding.
• Supports meeting organizational goal for Accounts Receivables (AR) associated with uncoded accounts.
• Maintains coding timeframes within established departmental standards by ensuring all work items assigned to the coding queues are processed in a timely manner.

GROWTH/INNOVATION ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Critically evaluates own performance, accepts constructive criticism, and looks for ways to improve.
• Displays initiative to improve relative to job function. Contributes ideas to help improve quality of coding data and abstracting data.

SUPPLEMENTAL REQUIREMENTS

WORK ATTIRE

• Uniform: No
• Scrubs: No
• Business professional: Yes
• Other (department approved): No

ON-CALL*

*Note that employees may be required to be on-call during emergencies (ie. Disaster, Severe Weather Events, etc) regardless of selection below.

• On Call* No

TRAVEL**

**Travel specifications may vary by department**

• May require travel within the Houston Metropolitan area Yes
• May require travel outside Houston Metropolitan area Yes