Hiring and Retaining Excellent Coding...
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3/24/2014 1 Hiring and Retaining Excellent Coding Staff A guide for managers and insight for job seekers Pam Brooks, CPC, CPC-H Disclaimer This presentation is for general education purposes only. The information contained in these materials is not intended to be, and is not legal or business advice. The laws regarding hiring and firing of employees are as published by the Department of Labor in the state in which you practice business. As a healthcare manager, you have a responsibility to seek private counsel with your attorney to determine how these laws apply to your specific circumstances before applying the concepts addressed in this presentation. Current Procedural Terminology (CPT®) is copyright © 2014 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved. CPT® is a registered trademark of the American Medical Association (AMA).
Transcript of Hiring and Retaining Excellent Coding...
3/24/2014
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Hiring and Retaining
Excellent Coding Staff
A guide for managers and insight for job seekers
Pam Brooks, CPC, CPC-H
Disclaimer
This presentation is for general education purposes only. The
information contained in these materials is not intended to be, and is
not legal or business advice. The laws regarding hiring and firing of
employees are as published by the Department of Labor in the state
in which you practice business. As a healthcare manager, you have
a responsibility to seek private counsel with your attorney to
determine how these laws apply to your specific circumstances
before applying the concepts addressed in this presentation.
Current Procedural Terminology (CPT®) is copyright © 2014
American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved. CPT® is a
registered trademark of the American Medical Association (AMA).
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Objectives
the steps involved in identifying coding staff needs, and deciding how to recruit the best candidates available
Learn techniques for effective interviewing to allow for the careful selection of the best employees available
Understand the concepts necessary to retain and develop excellent staff members who will complement an successful coding team.
Let’s Avoid the Fiasco
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Who am I looking for?
Help Wanted: Superhero!
Job Description
Duties and tasks
Overall responsibilities
Standards/guidelines/expectations—measurable so that you can quantify.
Examples: Using CPT® and ICD-9, HCPCS II, physician documentation and other approved resources, assign procedure, modifier and diagnosis codes to all professional services.
Serve as a definitive resource for physicians and administrative staff relative to technical guidance on professional coding issues.
Code with a 95% accuracy as evidenced by quarterly external and internal audits.
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Education
Degree
Coursework
Certification
Examples: BS in business required.
Post-secondary coursework in Anatomy,
Pathophysiology and Medical Terminology is required.
CPC, or CPC-H required, additional AAPC specialty
certifications strongly preferred.
Skills/Training Be specific.
Examples: The ability to assign and sequence all CPT ®,
ICD-9, and HCPCS codes with appropriate modifier
usage according to CMS, CPT ® and AMA guidelines is
required.
Understanding of Healthcare insurance guidelines as
relevant to correct coding initiatives is necessary.
Experience in working with multiple reports, graphs and
spreadsheets in an Excel format is required.
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Experience Time vs. Talent?
Examples: Two Years E&M coding/auditing experience
in any medical specialty. Five years preferred.
Prior experience with teaching and training the adult
learner is required, with two or more specific
experiences in teaching/training the adult learner
being desired.
The Human Experience!
Who are you? How do you come across? What can I
expect from you?
Examples:
Professional appearance
Communication skills
Multi-tasker
Will you fit in?
I’m
fabulous!
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Crafting the “help wanted” ad
Indicate job summary, education, experience
Use language that will attract the right people
Provide specific application instructions
Illustrate who isn’t qualified
Use language from your organization’s mission, vision
and value statements
Where to look?
It depends……
Coding/Billing schools
Temp agencies
Promote from within
AAPC local chapters
Job fairs/Job boards
References from other professionals
Other facilities/offices
Headhunters
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Job Search Engines
www.indeed.com
www.monster.com
www.yahoo.com
www.medzilla.com
www.thejobspider.com
www.medjobscout.com
www.jobs.biohealthmatics.com
www.careerbuilder.com
www.simplyhired.com
www.medhunters.com
www.job-search-engine.com
www.linkedin.com
Bonus: A great resource for job descriptions!
The Resume
Demographics
Objective
Certifications
Education
References (must be on a
separate page, verified
using supervisors only)
Limit to 2 pages
Experience
Not duties----outcomes in
bullet format
Give dates and explanation
of periods of
unemployment
Keep the experience
relevant to the position
New resume for each
application
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Resume Blunders
Poor formatting, or formatting that doesn’t upload correctly
Cookie-cutter format
No cover letter
Sent to the wrong person
Candidate did not follow directions: sent snail mail when e-file was requested
And even more resume blunders….
Typographical or Grammatical Errors
HIPAA not HIPPA
Pays attentoin to detail
Suspected to graduate in April
Funky or revealing e-mail
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But they looked great on paper….
The Phone Interview
Have sufficient time/quiet
Do they meet the minimum job requirements?
Do they know what you need?
Ask….can you do this job?
Avoid yes/no questions
Suggest an in-person interview?
Send them a job description
Do they know where to meet?
Wrap it up quickly
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The Onsite Interview
Arrive on time
Dress code?
Prepared (Certification,
CEUs, References)
Let them do the talking!
Do they know who you are and what you
need?
Have they researched your office/facility?
Have they read the job description?
Do they have a five year plan?
Are they available when you need them?
Are they willing to grow?
How do they think they will fit in?
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Behavioral Interviewing
(are you right for the job?)
Tell me about a time when a colleague created a
problem for you?
What would happen if I asked you to do something you
didn’t agree with?
What would you not want to be responsible for in this
position?
And is the job right for you?
What were you doing during this time of unemployment?
What do you think are your best skills? Weaknesses?
Do you like to work on a team or independently?
How do you like to have information communicated to
you?
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To Test or not to Test
Does the job level require
testing?
You can judge the
competency of the coder.
Some coding (E&M) can
be interpreted differently.
Can you replicate the
workplace in a test
situation?
Involving the team
Can be stressful for the
candidate
Can be time-consuming
Gives the team some
ownership in the process
Gives the team the
opportunity for
responsibility for the new
hire’s success
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I’m afraid this isn’t going to work out…..
15 minute limit…..don’t waste anyone’s time.
Get back to them with a ‘thanks but no thanks’ e-mail.
Offer to provide feedback.
Would they be a better fit for someone else? Offer to
forward their resume.
It’s ok if it’s personal.
We’re gonna check you out
Credit check and background check (notify in
writing and get written permission)
Social Security Trace
Criminal Record Search (Current and prior residence)
Federal Criminal Record Search (Current and prior residence)
Employment History – Last 3 Employers
Education Verification
Violent Sex Offender & Predator Registry Search – 7 Years FACIS Search
Professional Licensing Verification – All licenses
Certifications & Designations Verification Professional Disciplinary Search
OIG/Health & Human Services List of Excluded Individuals Search
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We’re still checking you out.....
Physical exam/drug testing (need permission, employer responsibility)
AAPC discussion board
References
Was the employee forthright about potential issues?
Making the decision: Compile the data
Candidates demographics
Copies of documents (resume, certification, etc.)
Checklist of job requirements met
Comments and concerns
Answers to questions
Availability, other issues
Did they thank you?
Trust your “gut” reaction
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Candidate Location Certification Experience Comments
Leslie Pryor Portsmouth, NH CPC, CPC-H 12 years
has cardiology
experience. Not as
comfortable with E&M.
Bob Lahey Kittery, ME CPC 8 years
Has worked as an
auditor and has
management
experience.
Barbara Clayton Bangor, ME CPC, CIRCC 24 years
Has multi-specialty
experience. Lives out of
area.
Wanda Grayson Portsmouth CPC, CEMC 11 years
current employee,
wants specialty
experience.
Putting it all Together
You’re HIRED!
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Orientation
Intro to staff
Workspace/supplies
Safety
Policies/Procedures
HIPAA
Workplace Ergonomic
Assessment
We’ve hired them.
Should we keep them?
Periodic new-hire check-ins How’s it going?
Feedback from Staff/colleagues
Management reports/productivity
Audits for accuracy
Patient feedback
DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT!
90-day review
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Keeping them long-term
What do employees want?
To be rewarded
To be acknowledged
To have great management
To have a pleasant working experience
Rewarding your excellent staff
Pay them
Benefits
Flexibility
Family-friendly
Educational opportunities
Provide an employee-
friendly work space
Temperature
Space
Politics-free
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Appreciate your excellent staff
Challenge them
Don’t micromanage
Allow them “ownership”
Provide decision-making opportunities
Set the bar high
Let them work to their strengths
Listen--welcome suggestions, comments and even criticism
What managers can do
Act like a manager
Have an open door policy
Recognize excellence
Provide feedback
Share info
Hold people accountable
Be honest and fair
Know when NOT to act
Offer incentives
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Free or low-cost morale builders
Breakfast days
Jeans day
Coder’s night out
Team volunteer projects
Theme days
Celebrations
Walk together at lunch
Warm and fuzzy board
Muffin Morning
Coding Staff Development
Technology
Coursework
Leadership
Communication
CEUs
Let’s talk about what this
means.......
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Coding Staff Development
Create an education budget
Identify needs and prioritize
Cost per coder?
Tax benefit
Consider group education
Bring the teacher to you
Tap into local resources
Grants
Coding Staff Development
Encourage AAPC Meetings
Low or no cost
Variety of topics
CEUs available
Great networking (for your next employee)
Share experiences
Accepting an officer position can help with skills development
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Coding Staff Development
Look to your local hospital
Community programs
Schwartz Rounds
Nursing programs
Job shadowing
Education department
Physician mentor
Coding Staff Development
Career Counseling
Where do you want to be?
What don’t you want to do?
What new skills would help?
What about a degree?
Consider additional AAPC certifications
How can I help?
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Coding Staff Development
In-house training:
Mentoring
Job Shadowing
Cross Training
Train the Trainer
Give opportunities—
you get back
what you give out!
Questions?
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CEU Code
