Job summary
CLINICAL CODING SPECIALIST
Are you an experienced ACC Clinical Coder looking for an exciting development and progression opportunity? Find out more below!
We are looking to recruit highly motivated and enthusiastic Specialist Clinical Coders to join our Trust to support the department in achieving mandated reporting and financial requirements, whilst also having the opportunity to progress professionally. You will be working in a large team alongside other coders and additionally with other specialist coders as part of a more expert team sharing knowledge and providing assistance to less experienced coders.
The post holder will be responsible for coding across all specialities at the Trust and will work as part of the centralised coding team with coding offices on two sites. As the Trust supports a positive work/life balance, coders can choose where they work:-
On site full time
Hybrid work approach (home and office based)
Fully remote (an on-site presence is expected for business needs such as certain training, equipment failure etc).
This will ensure that staff can build and maintain relationships with other team members - the existing team work successfully mainly from home.
R&R is also offered to ACC qualified coders.
Main duties of the job
To work closely with the Clinical Coding Delivery Team Manager to support the delivery of and ongoing improvement to clinical documentation and accurate clinically coded data. To advise on data recording practises to ensure clinical coding accurately reflects inpatient care delivered.Undertake clinical coding validationhighlighting training and data quality issues to the Clinical Coding Trainer and Clinical Coding Auditor.
Act as a support to the Clinical Coding Delivery Team Manager to facilitate contact with designated Divisions or specialties and communicate complex coding issues to medical and non-medical staff on coding queries and National coding standards to ensure accuracy and consistency of information.
To analyse and abstract diagnostic and procedural information from patient records across all specialties.
To translate diagnostic and procedural information using ICD-10 and OPCS and enter coding onto the Trusts PAS via encoding softwarein an accurate and timely manner adhering to the Trust's deadlines.
Act as a mentor and assist in the education of less experienced clinical coders. Ensure accuracy and completeness of the clinical coding to national clinical coding requirements. To work with clinicians on a regular basis to validate clinically coded data.
About us
Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of over 600,000 with a workforce of over 9000 dedicated and skilled staff across 21 sites.
We strongly believe that the communities we serve should all have access to Five Star Patient Care.
Our Services:
Acute Care
Providing emergency and maternity services at Whiston, Southport and Ormskirk hospitals, and medical and surgical specialties across all our sites.
Primary Care
Providing primary care services at Marshalls Cross Medical Centre situated in St Helens Hospital.
Community Services
Providing adult community services for St Helens and a wheelchair service in Chorley, South Ribble, and West Lancashire. Our inpatient unit at Newton Community Hospital is where patients needing acute hospital beds can continue rehabilitation, freeing up space for more unwell patients. We also provide urgent care at our Urgent Treatment Centre located in St Helens town centre.
Specialist Regional Services
We provide the Mersey Regional Burns & Plastic Surgery Unit at Whiston Hospital and the Spinal Injuries Unit at Southport Hospital to more than 4 million people across the whole of Merseyside, West Lancashire, Cheshire, Isle of Man and North Wales.
Achievements:
o Rated Outstanding by CQC Inspection August 2018
o Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & Health Service Journal)
o National Preceptorship Accreditation (2023) for Nursing & AHP Preceptorship Programme
Job description
Job responsibilities
- To operate on own initiative referring more complex cases to the Clinical Coding Delivery Team Manager for advice.
- To act in the capacity of coding expert and provides advice to junior team members on coding queries ensuring adherence to national clinical coding guidelines.
- Responsible for the Knowledge Skills Framework appraisal process for Senior Clinical Coding staff in line with Trust policy.
- Assign codes from the International Classification of Diseases (ICD10) and the Office of Populations and Censuses and Surveys (OPCS4) applying National and International rules to agreed standards.
- Responsible for the accurate entry of clinical coding against inpatient activity for the Specialty/Division.
- Use a variety of knowledge resources to translate procedures where the coding process does not fully apply.
- Responsible for summary reports for coding reviews undertaken.
- Participate in Departmental meetings and present the results of relevant reviews.
- Demonstrate good presentation skills to colleagues, the multi-disciplinary team and clinicians.
- Assist the Clinical Coding Delivery Team Manager to coordinate engagement between Clinical Coders, Clinicians and Management for Divisions.
- Responsible for planning own workload to ensure that the objectives of the whole team are achieved.
- Maintain a professional standard of behaviour with all Trust staff.
- Take responsibility for keeping up-to-date with current issues and developments within the coding department.
- Participate in creating an environment conducive to the acquisition of further knowledge and skills.
- To take every reasonable opportunity to maintain and improve your professional knowledge and competence.
- Assist the Clinical Coding Delivery Team Manager to work with Divisional Managers, Operational Teams and Clinicians to improve and sustain accurate clinical data recording to support clinical coding to National Standards.
- Raises clinical coding issues with the Clinical Coding Delivery Team Manager and Clinical Coding Trainer.
- Undertake clinical coding reviews as agreed with the Clinical Coding Trainer and Audit Manager and the Division.
- Identify key areas impacting on HRG assignment and tariff making recommendations to the Clinical Coding Clinical Coding Delivery Team Manager.
- Work with the Clinical Coding Delivery Team Manager to identify key areas for clinical coding review.
- Plan meetings with Senior Clinicians as and when necessary to undertake review of clinical information where queries have been raised.
- To validate complex clinical data and procedures with Clinicians in order to assure depth of coding for accurate payment.
- Possess motivation and persuasion skills and uses these with Senior Clinical Coders, Management and Clinicians to achieve high quality information and clinical coding.
- Participate in complex audits of their own work and supports the audits of other clinical coders.
- Analyse external audit reports and recommend to the Clinical Coding Manager, Clinical Coding Delivery Team Manager and Divisions any corrective measures that need to be put in place to improve data quality and clinical coding outcomes.
- Supports the Clinical Coding Delivery Team Manager on obtaining clarification on new interventional procedures and clinical practice within the Divisional specialties to ensure correct understanding for code assignment cascading this information.
- Raise anomalies within the HRG Grouper to the Clinical Coding Delivery Team Manager and National Casemix Service to support accuracy in income reimbursement through the NTPS.
- To liaise with clinicians and their support staff concerning interpretation of case notes documentation affecting coding.
- To prioritise Senior Clinical Coders workload and reallocate work to cover sickness or leave at short notice.
- To work with the Clinical Coding Delivery Team Manager to ensure all coding timescales are met and ensure that Senior Clinical Coders meet their targets.
CLINICAL & PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES
- To maintain own high standards of clinical coding accuracy and productivity.
- To participate in ongoing clinical coding training to meet national standards and Trust Requirements.
- Ensure own coding skills are kept up to date.
- To take responsibility for developing and pursuing his/her own professional development skills in accordance with an agreed PDP.
ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITIES
- To validate the hospital admission details on the EPR system against the information in the casenotes. To report any details found to be incorrect to the Data Quality Team and to highlight areas of concern with information in the casenotes.
TEACHING & TRAINING RESPONSIBILITIES
- Ensure all staff managed receive individual appraisals in line with Trust policy, including formulation of personal development plans (PDPs), and that identified training and personal development are progressed.
- Actively assist staff to further develop their coding skills by supporting the delivery of agreed objectives during staff appraisals.
- Participate in creating an environment conducive to the acquisition of further knowledge and skills.
- To act in the capacity of coding expert and provide advice to junior team members on coding queries ensuring adherence to national clinical coding guidelines.
- Attend local mandatory training and ensure Clinical Coding team staff receive updates in line with Trust policies.
- Demonstrates good presentation skills to colleagues, the multi-disciplinary team and clinicians.
LINE MANAGEMENT/SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES
- To effectively manage the day-to-day supervision of the Clinical Coding team providing professional, technical, guidance and motivation.
- To supervise the workload, priorities and resources of the team to be able to meet the demands upon it and ensure achievement of the highest standards of service.
- To identify training needs and help staff development.
- Attend and actively participate in departmental meetings.
RESEARCH & AUDIT
- Undertake clinical coding reviews as agreed with the Clinical Coding Training and Audit Manager and the Division.
- Participate in complex audits of their own work and supports the audits of other clinical coders.
Person Specification
Other
Essential
- Flexible approach to work
- Ability to travel across the various sites of the Trust
Knowledge, Experience and Skills
Essential
- Knowledge of National Tariff Payment System
- Knowledge of inpatient and outpatient coding process
- Knowledge of data protection legislation, Caldicott and other relevant guidance
- Knowledge of SNOMED CT
- Ability to work on own initiative and as part of a team
- Ability to exercise initiative and produce required results
- Self-reliant and able to deal with a high degree of ambiguity
- Planning, organising workload to meet deadlines
- Effective interpersonal skills to liaise with consultants, clinical and administration staff on issues of clinical coding and the associated administrative process
- Excellent IT skills including use of Microsoft applications
- Excellent concentration skills with attention to detail
- Excellent communication skills
- Excellent medical terminology, anatomy and physiology knowledge
- Experience of working with clinicians and/or senior staff
- Experience of undertaking presentations relating to clinical coding
- Broad experience of clinical coding a minimum of 5 specialties
Desirable
- Experience of the HRG Grouper
- Experience of clinical coding audits
Qualifications
Essential
- Excellent standard of education
- Accredited Clinical Coding Qualification (ACC)
Desirable
- Degree level education or equivalent experience
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Certificate of Sponsorship
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Employer details
Employer name
Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Address
Whiston Hospital
Warrington Road
Prescot
L35 5DR
United Kingdom
Employer's website
https://www.merseywestlancs.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)
This listing was aggregated from publicly-available sources. The employer holds an A-rated sponsor licence at the time of this listing, but sponsorship of this specific role is not guaranteed — the employer's offer and UK Visas and Immigration are the final authority. Details may have changed since our last update — verify with the employer via the Apply link.