Clinical Documentation Educator

Essentia Health • Duluth, MN

12d • Remote

About The Position

The Clinical Documentation Educator works to improve provider clinical documentation and ensure it accurately reflects each patient’s clinical picture, including severity of illness, risk, professional services, and resource utilization. The role serves as an education liaison between coding services and operational leadership, medical professionals, and departments throughout Essentia Health. It supports physicians and advanced practice providers through orientations, section meetings, individual education sessions, and other guidance, particularly when documentation and coding complexity or risk is moderate to high.

The educator collaborates with providers on coding concepts and conducts concurrent review, feedback, and education to improve inpatient medical-record documentation. The role also analyzes data to identify opportunities, recommend improvements, and lead projects with moderate to high complexity, risk, and scope. This is a remote position with on-site visits as needed for special projects or department and section meetings.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited health information management program (RHIA), business program, or healthcare management program.
• At least 1 year of experience within Revenue Cycle, Health Information Management, or a hospital/clinic.
• Must obtain one of the following coding/documentation certifications within 2 years of hire: CPC, CCS, or RHIA.

Nice To Haves

• Knowledge of clinical documentation areas, including Evaluation & Management, coding, DRG, value-based care, risk adjustment, Accountable Care Organizations, population health, and quality initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the education liaison between coding services and operational leadership, medical professionals, and departments throughout Essentia Health.
• Support physicians and advanced professional providers through new-provider orientations, section meetings, one-on-one education sessions, and other education, especially for moderate- to high-complexity and risk documentation and coding.
• Collaborate with providers and provide guidance and education on E/M, CPT, ICD-10, and HCC diagnosis coding concepts.
• Conduct active concurrent review, feedback, and education to improve documentation of conditions and treatments in inpatient medical records.
• Help ensure documentation accurately reflects patient conditions in associated MS-DRG assignments, case-mix index, severity-of-illness and risk-of-mortality profiling, and reimbursement.
• Identify opportunities through data analysis, develop recommendations, and lead projects with moderate to high complexity, risk, and scope.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance, with supplemental options.
• 401(k) plan with employer contributions.
• Professional development through training, tuition reimbursement, and educational programs.
• Flexible scheduling.
• Generous time off.
• Wellness resources focused on physical, mental, and emotional health.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level