[Hiring] Medical Coder Specialist @Duke Health

Role Description

The Medical Coder Specialist will have frequent and daily interactions with internal and external clients, including but not limited to physician and non-physician surgical providers. Responsibilities include:

• Primary diagnosis and procedural coding for designated major surgical specialty areas.
• Capture of applicable Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS).
• Reconciliation of all surgical cases performed at each hospital.
• Focus on detailed physician surgical chart abstraction.
• Liaison to documentation improvement and optimization of physician coding practices.
• Identification of codes based solely on source documentation for CPT and ICD-10-CM.

Work performed includes:

• Primary coding from final surgical/procedural operative reports signed by the provider.
• Reviewing complex medical records and accurately coding primary/secondary diagnoses and procedures using ICD-10-CM and/or CPT coding conventions.
• Maintaining a thorough understanding of anatomy, physiology, medical terminology, disease processes, and surgical techniques.
• Correlating information from approved supporting clinical documentation.
• Providing education/training to physicians and other providers on coding and clinical documentation.
• Communicating with nursing and ancillary services personnel for needed documentation.
• Providing real-time feedback to surgical/procedural providers on proper coding and clinical documentation.
• Engaging in provider/department contact and education as the primary liaison for documentation and coding clarification.
• Mentoring and assisting in the training of other coders within the department.
• Participating in the development of coding policies and procedures.
• Coordinating/mentoring the work of designated coding employees.
• Assisting with research and development of presentation materials for continuing education programs.
• Interacting with and providing high-level analysis of trends to management.
• Researching and identifying trends in unbilled accounts.
• Coordinating quality reporting measures with providers and revenue managers.
• Collaborating with appeal and edit coders for expedient resolution of accounts.
• Using authorized electronic media/systems for documentation and coding abstraction.
• Performing other related duties incidental to the work described herein.

Qualifications

• Bachelor degree in medical record administration or associate degree in medical record technology or one year coding diploma or courses in Medical Terminology, Anatomy & Physiology with extensive training in coding.
• Requires four years of coding experience, with at least two of those years in surgical abstraction.
• Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA) or Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT) or Certified Coding Specialist (CCS) or Certified Professional Coder (CPC).

Requirements

• Extensive knowledge of coding surgical procedures and applicable modifiers in a multi-specialty setting.
• Understanding and application of appropriate Center Medicare Services guidelines to coding.
• Advanced ICD-10-CM & CPT-4 coding conventions.
• Knowledge of anatomy and physiology, medical terminology, and extensive DRG/APC reimbursement knowledge.
• Coding software familiarity.
• Effective written and verbal communication skills.
• Data entry/CRT skills.

Benefits

• Now offering a $10,000 sign-on bonus that will pay out in 4 equal installments over 24 months - 6-month increments.