Job Description

At Northwestern Medicine, every patient interaction makes a difference in cultivating a positive workplace. This patient-first approach is what sets us apart as a leader in the healthcare industry. As an integral part of our team, you'll have the opportunity to join our quest for better healthcare, no matter where you work within the Northwestern Medicine system. At Northwestern Medicine, we pride ourselves on providing competitive benefits: from tuition reimbursement and loan forgiveness to 401(k) matching and lifecycle benefits, we take care of our employees. Ready to join our quest for better?

Job Description

The Inpatient Coder II reflects the mission, vision, and values of NM, adheres to the organization’s Code of Ethics and Corporate Compliance Program, and complies with all relevant policies, procedures, guidelines and all other regulatory and accreditation standards.

The Inpatient Coder II is the coding and reimbursement expert for ICD-10-CM diagnosis coding and ICD-10-PCS procedure coding for complex inpatient acute care discharges. This person possesses a strong foundation in coding conventions, instructions, Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting and Coding Clinics. The Inpatient Coder II has a deep understanding of disease process, anatomy/physiology, pharmacology and medical terminology.

Responsibilities:

• Utilizes technical coding expertise to assign appropriate ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS codes to complex inpatient visit types. Complexity is measured by a Case Mix Index (CMI) and Coder II’s typically see average CMI’s of 2.2609. This index score demonstrates higher patient complexity and acuity.
• Utilizes expertise in clinical disease process and documentation, to assign Present on Admission (POA) values to all secondary diagnoses for quality metrics and reporting.
• Thoroughly reviews the provider notes within the health record and the Findings from the Clinical Documentation Nurse in the Clinical Documentation Improvement (CDI) Department who concurrently reviewed the record and provide their clinical insight on the diagnoses.
• Utilizes resources within CAC (Computerized Assisted Coding) software to efficiently review documentation and select or assign ICD-10-CM/PCS codes using autosuggestion or annotation features.
• Reviews Discharge Planning and nursing documentation to validate and correct when necessary, the Discharge Disposition which impacts reimbursement under Medicare’s Post-Acute Transfer Policy.
• Utilizes knowledge of MS-DRG’s, APR-DRG’s, AHRQ Elixhauser risk adjustment to sequence the appropriate ICD-10-CM codes within the top 24 fields to ensure correct reimbursement and NM’s ranking in US News and World Report.
• Collaborate with CDI on approximately 45% of discharges regarding the final MS or APR DRG and comorbidity diagnoses.
• Educates CDI on regulatory guidelines, Coding Clinics and conventions to report appropriate ICD-10-CM diagnoses.
• Interprets health record documentation using knowledge of anatomy, physiology, clinical disease process, pharmacology, medical terminology to determine the Principal Diagnosis, secondary diagnoses and procedures.
• Follows the ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting, ICD-10-PCS Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting , Coding Clinic for ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS, coding conventions and instructional notes to assign the appropriate diagnoses and procedures.
• Utilizes coding expertise and knowledge to write appeal letters in response to payor DRG downgrade notices.
• Resolves Nosology Messages/Alerts and Coding Validation Warning/Errors.
• Meets established coding productivity and quality standards.

Qualifications

Required :

• 3 years of inpatient coding experience in an acute healthcare setting
• RHIA, RHIT or CCS credential
• AHIMA membership

Preferred :

• Associate’s degree in related field
• RHIA, RHIT with CCS or CDIP/CCDS credential
• 4 years of inpatient coding experience in a teaching hospital

Additional Information

Northwestern Medicine is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of age, sex, race, color, religion, national origin, gender identity, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation or any other protected status.

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