Professional Coder II/III - Ob/Gyn

What we do here changes the world. UTHealth Houston is Texas' resource for healthcare education, innovation, scientific discovery, and excellence in patient care. That's where you come in.

The Professional Coder II working in our Ob/Gyn Department is responsible for reviewing medical documentation provided by physicians or other health care professionals to validate or assign and sequence CPT/HCPCS, ICD-10CM, and modifiers for both clinic and hospital based professional encounters. The Coder applies coding conventions in accordance with official coding and regulatory guidelines, third-party payer policies, and departmental procedures. This role is responsible for inpatient/outpatient E/M encounters including office or hospital outpatient procedures, radiology and emergency department visits.

Once you join us you won't want to leave. It's because we reward our team for the excellent service they provide. Our total rewards package includes the benefits you'd expect from a top healthcare organization (benefits, insurance, etc.), plus:

• 100% paid medical premiums for our full-time employees
• Generous time off (holidays, preventative leave day, both vacation and sick time - all of which equates to around 37-38 days per year)
• The longer you stay, the more vacation you'll accrue!
• Longevity Pay (Monthly payments after two years of service)
• Build your future with our awesome retirement/pension plan!

We take care of our employees! As a world-renowned institution, our employees' wellbeing is important to us. We offer work/life services such as...

• Free financial and legal counseling
• Free mental health counseling services
• Gym membership discounts and access to wellness programs
• Other employee discounts including entertainment, car rentals, cell phones, etc.
• Resources for child and elder care
• Plus many more!

Position Location:

UTHealth Houston Ob/Gyn

Position Key Accountabilities:

• Resolves edits and assigns diagnosis and procedure codes.
• Responsible for reviewing encounters in the coding work queue in a timely manner and resolving all coding related edits.
• Reviews medical record and accurately assigns and sequences CPT, ICD-10CM, and HCPCS codes/modifiers ensuring compliance with all applicable guidelines.
• Approves and assigns ICD-10 and CPT codes suggested within Code Ryte CAC application for Radiology and Emergency Medicine services.
• Reviews and assigns ICD-10 and CPT codes for office and hospital EM services including Critical Care, bed side and other less complex procedures.
• Generates basic physician queries in accordance to established procedures.
• Provides feedback and education as required.
• Confirms that all applicable UTHealth and Coding Guidelines are being followed when resolving edits.
• Performs charge entry of professional services including but not limited to non-invasive tests, anesthesia, hospital or office-based visits.
• Abstracts information needed for billing of ancillary procedures or other outpatient services.
• Resolves any applicable system errors during charge entry.
• Performs charge reconciliation when applicable to the department via logs, visit schedules, and other reports.
• Meets the required coding quality and productivity expectations per department policy and procedure.
• Completes all education assigned by the Charge Capture and Coding department in collaboration with Clinical Documentation Improvement (CDI).
• Stays up-to-date with all federal, state, coding & departmental guidelines and procedures.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Certification/Skills:

• Analytical skills, ability to interpret data, and maintain spreadsheets.
• Knowledge of ICD-10 CM and CPT coding conventions
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite, the ability to abstract data and maintain a database required
• High level understanding of all federal/government regulations, coding guidance and the revenue cycle policies and procedures.
• Effective verbal and written communication between internal and external customers.
• Excellent time management skills required.
• Self-motivated and able to work independently without close supervision.
• Ability to work effectively under pressure due to changing priorities, interruptions, and workload variability.
• Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA) by American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) required or
• Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT) by American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) required or
• Certified Coding Specialist (CCS) by American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) required or
• Certified Coding Specialist
• Physician-based (CCS-P) by American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) required or
• Certified Professional Coder (CPC) by American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) required or
• Radiology Coding Certification (RCC) by Radiology Coding Certification Board (RCCB) required

Minimum Education:

High School Diploma or equivalent required.

Minimum Experience:

• 3 years experience in Health Information Management (HIM) coding required
• Clinic or hospital E/M coding preferred
• Clinic and hospital outpatient-based procedures preferred

May substitute required experience with equivalent years of education beyond the minimum education requirement.

Physical Requirements:

Exerts up to 20 pounds of force occasionally and/or up to 10 pounds frequently and/or a negligible amount constantly to move objects.

Security Sensitive:
This position is a security-sensitive position pursuant to Texas Education Code §51.215 and Texas Government Code §411.094. To the extent that a position requires the holder to research, work on, or have access to critical infrastructure as defined in Texas Business and Commerce Code §117.001(2), the ability to maintain the security or integrity of the infrastructure is a minimum qualification to be hired for and to continue to be employed in that position. Personnel in such positions, and similarly situated state contractors, will be routinely reviewed to determine whether things such as criminal history or continuous connections to the government or political apparatus of a foreign adversary might prevent the applicant, employee, or contractor from being able to maintain the security or integrity of the infrastructure. A foreign adversary is a nation listed in 15 C.F.R. §791.4.
Residency Requirement:

Employees must permanently reside and work in the State of Texas.