Outpatient Coding Assistant Director
About the role
The Health Information Management and Coding department at UCSF is a dynamic group of individuals working towards excellence. This position typically manages multiple or all units in the health information management department, ensuring operations are in place for retention and security of patient care information. This role interfaces with departments from across the organization such as clinical, research, legal, and reimbursement.
Responsibilities
Directs all outpatient coding operations across multiple coding specialties, including surgery, ancillary, emergency department, and HCC coding.
Sets annual strategy and goals for the outpatient coding staff, identifying key priorities, increase revenue opportunities, educational needs, and DNB expectations.
Establishes departmental goals, performance standards, and strategic priorities for outpatient coding services.
Led the outpatient coding compliance program, including RAC audit response, coding quality initiatives, and regulatory readiness activities.
Serves as a member of the Coding senior leadership team and participates in departmental strategic planning and operational decision-making.
Develops and implements coding policies, procedures, and operational standards impacting coding operations across UCSF Health.
Provides leadership for major coding transformation initiatives, workflow redesign, and organizational performance improvement efforts.
Ensures implementation of all health information and coding policies; establishes and revises procedures as needed.
Researches best practices to maintain currency with industry trends.
Ensures timely follow up on aging accounts, answers coding questions, trends findings and works with other departments to address ongoing issues.
Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree in a related area and/or equivalent experience/training.
5+ years in a health information management or coding management position.
Certification: Certified Coding Specialist (CCS) or Certified Coding Specialist - Physician-based (CCS-P) coding certification for AHIMA or AAPC.
Strong knowledge of healthcare coding, revenue cycle operations, concepts, and policies and their impact throughout the organization, with an in-depth understanding of related functions and issues, including ICD-10-CM, CPT 4, and HCPCS coding, billing, reimbursements, and charge capture.
Strong project management skills with the ability to organize, manage multiple priorities, meet deadlines, and delegate assignments efficiently.
Demonstrated leadership and managerial skills, with the ability to create and maintain a goal-oriented climate of teamwork and cooperation across departments for effective problem solving, conflict resolution, support for organizational values, and consistent achievement of targets and objectives.
Strong critical-thinking, project-management, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to troubleshoot, analyze, and interpret complex data and systems, to quickly identify problems and implement solutions.
Strong written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills to prepare and present reports and convey complex information and instructions in a clear, concise, and specific manner. Ability to cultivate a strong commitment to quality, teamwork, collaborative problem-solving, and achievement of objectives.
Associate’s degree in health information management.
Certification: RHIA, RHIT certification from AHIMA.
Ability to work effectively with leadership on establishing operational goals and providing for technological upgrades, tools and systems to maximize revenues.
Strong knowledge of metrics, analytics, and data synthesis in healthcare revenue cycle management and their use to identify trends, produce reliable forecasts and projections, and create reports, dashboards, and presentations.
Strong knowledge of all relevant information technology, including systems, tools, applications, processes, and methodologies.