Clinical Coding Engagement Lead

Job overview

The post involves close liaison with and advising on coding issues to a wide range of multidisciplinary staff, both internal and external to the Trust, including clinicians, senior managers, divisional leads, executives and clinical directors.

The post holder should assist the Clinical Coding Services Lead in the promotion of clinical terming and clinical coding throughout the local health community and work with clinicians to promote coding awareness.

The post holder must produce high quality clinical information in a timely and accurate manner for both internal and external use. To be responsible for ensuring patient records, across both hospital sites, are accurately coded to National Standards within the required timescale.

The Clinical Coder role is vital to the funding of the Trust. Coded clinical data is essential for the effective management of the Trust. It is used to support Service Level Agreements, clinical governance reporting and benchmarking and it has a direct impact on the Trust’s income (via “NHS Payment Scheme”).

CHFT offers rotation across all specialties, in house training and/or remote with NHS Approved Trainers and has a good audit programme with the benefit of dedicated qualified NHS Approved Auditors

Main duties of the job

It is the responsibility of the Clinical Coding Engagement Lead to work closely with multi-disciplinary teams, divisional managers and ward managers on coding issues. To liaise, attend meetings and deliver presentations with clinicians and other medical staff on a regular basis to ensure that defined data quality standards are met, and maintain an ongoing expertise to discuss and validate complex clinical terminology and procedures with clinicians. Taking a special interest in HRG’s, HSMR, specialty-based presentations and strive to improve quality and accuracy of coding.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Support the Clinical Coding Auditor and Trainer to develop a regular programme of internal audits, providing reports and recommendations to identify any problems that may arise in the clinical coded data. To be responsible with the Clinical Coding Services

Lead for the subsequent implementation of those recommendations including assessment of training needs.

Investigate and analyse complex patient records and exercise judgement in interpreting patient cases to apply national coding rules, regulations and conventions and to ensure all episodes are coded to a very high standard within the timescales set.

To critically examine and make independent judgements on whether coding should be carried out where diagnosis and procedural information is not transferable to exact codes or whether a more detailed investigation is required for accurate coding.

To provide complex specialist coding advice and basic HRG information for financial and audit purposes.

To manage own workload, without direct supervision, to ensure all relevant inpatient episodes are coded within the agreed deadlines to enable a complete financial assessment to be made

To provide consistently recorded data to well defined standards. The Clinical Coding Department uses the ICD10 and OPCS4 classifications to record all diagnoses and procedures for inpatient and day case admissions.

To adapt coding practice to incorporate new and additional codes released in the regular classification upgrades.

Play an active part, within the team, to influence changes in operational practice to achieve the overall aim of improving the quality of information.

Participate in the strategic development of the department including the resolution of local coding issues.

To attend meetings both internal (divisional/clinical) and external as and when required.

To assist with the investigation and correction of coded clinical data rejected or queried as a result of data quality analysis.

To monitor the departments performance against agreed targets and highlight any variances, taking corrective action where appropriate and bringing any key issues to the attention of the Clinical Coding Services Lead.

To be responsible with the Clinical Coding Services Lead for the ongoing development of the Trusts electronic encoding system required to deliver accurate and auditable coding.

To participate in on-going clinical coding training to meet national standards and in accordance with the requirements of the post and personal development. This may require travelling to other organisations outside of core working hours.

To take responsibility for raising coding issues with the Clinical Coding Services Lead to ensure maintenance of standards and update the Policy and Procedures Manual as required by either the clinical coding Clinics or local policies and agreements.

To use the Trusts clinical systems to maintain coding accuracy and facilitate completion of all coding within the timescales specified to meet the Trusts NHS Payment Scheme targets.

To take an active role in the identification and highlighting of data quality problems.

To provide codes to CHFT as required by the divisions.

To assist in the promotion of the professional image of the Clinical Coding service throughout the Trust.

To be proactive in the development and continuous improvement of the role.

Any other duties as specified by the Clinical Coding Services Lead.

For a full list of responsibilities please view/download the the job description and person specification.