Inpatient Coding Specialist - Level 1 Trauma

University of Washington•Olympia, WA

3d•Remote

About The Position

UW Medicine Enterprise Records and Health Information is seeking an Inpatient Coder. This role is crucial for implementing the mission and goals of Enterprise Records and Health Information, fostering a 'patients are first' service culture. The Inpatient Coder will perform daily activities related to abstract Diagnosis Related Group (DRG) coding and billing. A key responsibility is analyzing medical records to assign International Classification of Diseases (ICD), Clinical Modification (CM) diagnoses, and Procedure Coding System (PCS) procedure codes. This ensures correct code assignment and optimal reimbursement in compliance with state and federal guidelines. The Enterprise Records and Health Information (ERHI) department supports all aspects of the patient medical record, including governance, integrity, documentation timeliness, completion, clinical coding, billing, release, and tracking, as well as management of access, retention, and destruction.

Requirements

High school diploma or equivalent and three years of coding experience or equivalent education/experience.
Certified as a Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT), Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA), Certified Coding Specialist (CCS), Certified Coding Specialist – Physician Based (CCS-P), Certified Professional Coder (CPC), Certified Inpatient Coder (CIC), Certified Outpatient Coder (COC), Certified Interventional Radiology Cardiovascular Coder (CIRCC), Radiology Certified Coder (RCC) or Radiation Oncology Certified Coder (ROCC).
Experience in a Level 1 Trauma center and/or teaching facility is required.

Responsibilities

Performs chart analysis and assigns ICD-CM and ICD-PCS codes using 3M computer assisted coding (CAC) to compute the final DRG assignment to diagnoses and procedures in an integrated system to ensure the appropriate coding for the facility inpatient billing and reimbursement.
Reviews patient records upon admission and at discharge to the inpatient Rehabilitation Unit; assigns codes to each record to assure proper Case Mix Group (CMG) assignment and appropriate reimbursement to the facility for Medicare Rehab patients.
Abstracts and/or reviews necessary patient data within EPIC and 3M 360 CAC to ensure data integrity, accurate reimbursement, proper case mix and hospital decision support.
Identifies the need for documentation clarity and works with the Clinical Documentation Improvement (CDI) department to review clinical documentation and/or request provider documentation clarification.
Maintains four day turnaround times for inpatient coding based on the discharge date and understand charge lag impacts, especially for high dollar accounts and long length of stays (LOS).