CODING SPEC III - OUTPATIENT

UT Southwestern Medical Center•Dallas, TX

About The Position

The Coding Spec III - Outpatient is responsible for retrospective outpatient account coding using ICD-10-CM and CPT in compliance with official coding guidelines and conventions. The role identifies appropriate reasons for visits, primary and secondary diagnoses, procedures, and modifiers to support medical necessity and applicable edits. It also abstracts required account data, may review denials and recommend actions to the Coding Manager, and completes coding reviews when queries or documentation are available. The position maintains quality and productivity standards, may mentor or train on designated coding service lines, and requires expert knowledge of coding guidelines and practices.

Requirements

High school diploma or equivalent.
Three years of acute hospital-based coding experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
One of the following credentials: RHIA, RHIT, CCS, COC, CPC, AAPC Certified Professional Coder-Hospital (CPC-H), or CIRCC.

Nice To Haves

Associate's or bachelor's degree in Health Information Management or a closely related field.
Experience working in a remote environment; remote experience is required for PRN coders.

Responsibilities

Code retrospective outpatient accounts using ICD-10-CM and CPT in compliance with official coding guidelines and conventions.
Identify the appropriate reason for visit, first-listed (primary) diagnosis, procedures, modifiers, and secondary diagnoses to support medical necessity, LCD/NCD edits, and CCI edits.
Abstract required data elements, including discharge disposition and destination, procedure dates and physicians, occurrence codes, and other designated data.
Review accounts in denials work queues when assigned and make recommendations to the Coding Manager.
Identify when a physician query is appropriate and recognize missing or incomplete documentation, routing accounts appropriately.
Validate chargemaster-driven CPT code assignments and route accounts appropriately.
Complete review and final coding when query responses or documentation become available.
Maintain UT Southwestern/HIM Coding quality and productivity standards.
Mentor or train on designated coding service lines as requested.
Maintain expert-level knowledge of coding-related guidelines and practices.
Perform other duties as assigned.

Benefits

PPO medical plan, available day one at no cost for full-time employee-only coverage.
Preventive healthcare coverage at 100% with no copay.
Paid time off, available day one.
Retirement programs through the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS).
Paid parental leave.
Wellness programs.
Tuition reimbursement.
Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) qualified employer.
Paid holidays.
On-site childcare.
Merit increases.