Description

Key Responsibilities
As an Inpatient Coder, you will be responsible for the integrity of the clinical data for high-acuity patient encounters. Your daily workflow will include:

Complex Case Review: Assigning ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS codes for various inpatient stays, including but not limited to multi-system failures, transplants, and advanced trauma.
DRG Validation: Ensuring accurate MS-DRG and APR-DRG assignment to reflect the true severity of illness (SOI) and risk of mortality (ROM).
Clinical Documentation Integrity: Collaborating with CDI specialists to clarify ambiguous or incomplete documentation through the formal query process.
Compliance: Maintaining a minimum 95% accuracy rate while adhering to Official Coding Guidelines, AHA Coding Clinic, and internal hospital policies.

Requirements

Required Qualifications
To be considered for this role, you must possess at least one of the following AHIMA credentials:

Certified Coding Specialist (CCS) – Strongly Preferred
Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA)
Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT)

Experience Requirements:

Complexity Expertise: A proven track record of coding complex inpatient records within an acute care setting.
DRG Mastery: Deep understanding of the prospective payment system and reimbursement methodologies.
Academic Exposure: Experience coding for an Academic Medical Center (AMC) or a large teaching hospital is highly preferred.