Inpatient Coding Educator - REMOTE

POSITION SUMMARY:

Reporting to the Manager, of Coding Audit and Education, this position provides system wide education and training to Inpatient Coders and Corporate Coding Audit staff members across Steward.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:
(Use bullets for specific responsibilities)
• Responsible for researching and creating educational materials regarding current coding concepts for the Steward Health.
• Responsible for training all new and existing coders and Inpatient Auditors and developing educational resources, covering coding guidance for Inpatient coding.
• Responsible for delivering education sessions within the coder education program, including the remote onboarding program and ongoing coder education.
• Coordinate’s training and orientation of new staff, lead training sessions and present high-level education on coding guidelines/information to coders and trainees, which includes presenting PowerPoint presentations and webinar-type meetings.
o Provides monthly formal educational sessions to all Steward Inpatient Coding Staff
o Provides yearly updated educational sessions on new and/or updated ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS codes each September and March.
• Per the direction of the Manager, Coding Audit/Education, work with the Coding leadership to identify promotional and cross-training opportunities for coders depending on their skill level and performance.
• Assesses coders' comprehension of training, and track and reports coding education results to coding leadership.
• Identifies need for one-on-one coding sessions and develops follow-up educational plans as needed.
• Collaborates with coding leadership to ensure coders receive sufficient and focused education. Independently develops and maintains coding educational tools/resources, including training curriculum and training handbook, presentations, web-based coding education programs, learning and training materials.
• Research coding guidelines and updated coding information as published in ICD-10-CM/PCS, CPT and HCPCS coding systems, and communicates any changes and new findings to coding staff.
• Maintains knowledge and provides educational content and direction with AHA Coding Clinic and AMA CPT Assistant.
• Maintain knowledge of ICD-10 and CPT and MS-DRG classifications and coding of diagnoses and procedures.
• Clarifies changes in coding guidance or coding educational materials.
• Assist in maintaining the Steward Coding SharePoint website ensuring updated coding guidance is published.
• Responsible for identifying and publicizing external continuing education opportunities for hospital coding team.
• Participate in the clinical documentation improvement (CDI) and coding team DRG alignment process by identifying areas of opportunity.
• Recommend educational topics for coders and clinical documentation integrity based on chart review findings.
• Stays abreast of Agency Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) core measures, as well as severity and risk of mortality and other indicators affecting benchmarking and reimbursement for the organization. A
• Attends and participates in team meetings as required.
• Performs other duties as requested by the Coding Manager, Audit/Education and/or VP HIM/CDI Operations.

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS:
(Examples: Ability to work independently and take initiative; Good judgment and problem-solving skills; Communication skills; Interpersonal and organizational skills; Level of confidentiality)
• Position requires self-directed, independent decision-making, analytical teaching, and articulate communication skills, both verbal and written.
• Demonstrates knowledge of National Council on Compensation Insurance, Inc. (NCCI) edits, and local and national coverage decisions.
• Expert knowledge and experience in ICD-10-CM/PCS and CPT coding systems, G-codes, HCPCS codes, Current Procedural Terminology (CPT), modifiers, and Ambulatory Patient Categories (APC), MS-DRGs (Diagnosis related groups)
• Demonstrated enhanced knowledge of anatomy and pathophysiology to facilitate the increased need for granularity and specificity within the clinical documentation with the transition to new coding systems.
• Ability to accurately utilize and provide instruction related to coding guidelines, software systems and resource material.
• Excellent public speaking ability. May be required to complete a Speech class and/or join a public speaking organization such as Toastmasters.
• Excellent communication and reading comprehension skills.
• Demonstrated aptitude, with high attention to detail and accuracy.
• Ability to take initiative and work collaboratively with others.
• Experience with remote work force operations required.
• Strong sense of ethics.

EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE/LICENSURE/TECHNICAL/OTHER:
I. Education: Associates Degree in Health Information Management or related field required; Bachelor’s Preferred.
II. Experience: Typically requires 5 years of experience in hospital coding for a large complex health care system, which includes hospital coding, denial review and/or coding education functions. Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
III. Certification: Coding Specialist (CCS) certification issued by the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), or • Health Information Administrator (RHIA) registration issued by the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), or • Health Information Technician (RHIT) registration issued by the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), or Degrees
IV. Software/Hardware: MS Office Suite. Advance knowledge in Microsoft Applications, including but not limited to: Excel, Word, PowerPoint and Microsoft Teams.