Team Lead, Coding

Surgical Information Systems•Alpharetta, GA

11d

About The Position

The Team Lead, Coding combines hands-on outpatient surgical coding with team mentorship, quality oversight, and client interaction. The role supports coding best practices and coder development while working with revenue cycle partners to promote coding accuracy, compliance, and financial integrity. The position interfaces daily with clients and internal Revenue Cycle teams, assists the Coding Manager with client management and denial-related work, and supports leadership in handling escalations. It reviews production coders’ work, provides feedback, identifies coder or documentation deficiencies, and participates in production coding as department needs require. The role applies current coding conventions, guidelines, classification systems, and official resources to assign codes supported by health-record documentation. It seeks clarification from physicians when documentation is conflicting or ambiguous, supports compliant documentation practices, and strives for the optimal legally permitted facility payment. Coding accuracy must average at least 90%, and coding coverage is provided according to client needs and capacity.

Requirements

High school graduate or GED certification.
Coding certification through AAPC or AHIMA, such as CPC, COC, RHIT, or CCS; apprentice designation is not accepted.
Successful completion of formal education in basic ICD-9-CM/ICD-10/CPT coding, medical terminology, anatomy and physiology, and disease process.
Five years of outpatient surgical coding experience.
One year of team lead experience or a successful display of leadership qualities.
At least two years of acute care coding experience across inpatient, SDS, and ER patient types, with strong inpatient experience.
Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
High degree of flexibility and professionalism.
Excellent organizational skills.
Outstanding verbal and written communication skills.
Knowledge of computers and Windows-driven software.
Excellent command of written and spoken English.

Responsibilities

Interface daily with clients and internal Revenue Cycle teams to respond to requests, questions, and information needs.
Assist the Coding Manager with client management, including email, phone, and video interactions with client staff and physicians.
Assist with denial management and client coding reviews to support client education and satisfaction.
Support Coding leadership in addressing and managing client escalations and concerns.
Review production coders’ work for quality and provide clear, concise, compliant written feedback.
Identify coder and documentation deficiencies and communicate them to management as needed.
Participate in production coding daily as defined by management and department needs.
Promote accurate, complete, and consistent coding practices to produce quality healthcare data.
Follow applicable ICD-9/ICD-10 coding conventions and official coding guidelines approved by CPT, AMA, AAOS, and CCI.
Use current coding and classification systems and official resources to select diagnostic and procedural codes.
Assign and report codes clearly supported by health-record documentation.
Consult physicians for clarification or additional documentation before code assignment when health-record data is conflicting or ambiguous.
Seek the optimal payment to which the facility is legally entitled.
Assist and educate physicians and other clinicians by advocating proper documentation practices.
Maintain and enhance coding skills and awareness of changes in codes, guidelines, and regulations; maintain a coding accuracy average of 90% or above.
Provide coding coverage according to daily client needs and capacity.