Coder I

Location: Buckhorn Office Building

Department: Finance

Work Schedule:  Days

Work Type: Full Time  

Job Summary:

Health information coding is the transformation of verbal descriptions of diseases, injuries, and procedures into numeric or alphanumeric designations. The coding process reviews and analyzes health records to identify relevant diagnoses and procedures for distinct patient encounters. Coders are responsible for translating diagnostic and procedural phrases utilized by healthcare providers into coded form such as ICD-9-CM, ICD-9-PCS, ICD–10-CM, ICD-10-PCS, HCPC Level II and CPT procedure codes that can be utilized for submitting claims to payers for reimbursement. A joint effort between the healthcare provider and the coder is essential to achieve complete and accurate documentation, code assignment, and reporting of diagnoses and procedures.

Performed by specially trained professionals, medical coding provides information for billing and reimbursement, gathering statistics, reporting and marketing. Follows established hospital and professional coding guidelines and utilizes Coding clinic, CCI, CPT Assistant, Computer Assisted Coding Technologies and other resources to ensure compliance with national and federal coding guidelines.

As a group, this position will be responsible to code all services provided at Geisinger to ensure accurate reimbursement and contribute to the overall fiscal health of the organization

Competencies and Skills:

MEDICAL INFORMATION CODING - Knowledge and ability to translate verbal and written descriptions of diseases, injuries and medical procedures to standard diagnosis and procedure codes used in healthcare reimbursement, assessment of clinical care, medical research, and public healthcare

COMMUNICATION SKILLS - Knowledge of, and ability to develop and communicate policies, standards and procedures that guide interactions with customers

COMPUTER SKILLS - Demonstrates competency in the use of computer applications including DRG Grouper Software, Siemens, IDX, software related Medicare edits, and all coding and abstracting software/hardware currently in use by Hospital and Professional Coding Operations.

MEDICAL INFORMATION CODING - Demonstrates proficient skills required for the ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS coding system.

ANALYZE - Proficient skills in extracting and analyzing clinical documentation.

MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY - Demonstrated understanding of medical terminology.

MEDICAL INFORMATION CODING - Demonstrates thorough understanding and application of new and expanded coding guidelines for both ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS.

MEDICAL INFORMATION CODING - Demonstrates accurate assignment of procedural codes in the complex ICD-10-PCS code set.

MEDICAL INFORMATION CODING - Demonstrates accurate assignment of CPT 4 procedural codes and HCPC Level II code sets.

Education and or Experience:

High school diploma or GED required.

Formal education of coding required. Curriculum to include Anatomy & Physiology, Medical Terminology, ICD-10-CM and CPT Coding guidelines and procedures

Previous coding experience in an acute care hospital or outpatient setting preferred.

Working Conditions/Physical Demands:

Work is typically performed in an office environment.

The specific statements shown in each section of this description are not intended to be all-inclusive. They represent typical elements considered necessary to successfully perform the job. 

The specific statements in this profile are not intended to be all-inclusive. They represent typical elements considered necessary to successfully perform the job.

OUR PURPOSE & VALUES: Everything we do is about caring for our patients, our members, our students, our Geisinger family and our communities. KINDNESS: We strive to treat everyone as we would hope to be treated ourselves. EXCELLENCE: We treasure colleagues who humbly strive for excellence. LEARNING: We share our knowledge with the best and brightest to better prepare the caregivers for tomorrow. INNOVATION: We constantly seek new and better ways to care for our patients, our members, our community, and the nation.

ABOUT GEISINGER: Geisinger is a physician-led health system comprised of approximately 30,000 employees, including nearly 1,600 employed physicians, 13 hospital campuses, two research centers, and a 583,000-member health plan Geisinger is nationally recognized for innovative practices and quality care. Geisinger serves more than 3 million people in central, south-central and northeast Pennsylvania and also in southern New Jersey with the addition of National Malcolm Baldridge Award recipient AtlantiCare, A member of Geisinger. In 2017, the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine became the newest member of the Geisinger Family.

We offer healthcare benefits for full time and part time positions from day one, including vision, dental and domestic partners.* Perhaps just as important, from senior management on down, we encourage an atmosphere of collaboration, cooperation and collegiality. For more information, visit www.geisinger.org, or connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.

** Does not qualify for J-1 waiver.  We are an Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity Employer Women and Minorities are Encouraged to Apply.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability or their protected veteran status.

*Domestic partner benefits not applicable at Geisinger Holy Spirit.