Case Study

Objectives

• Develop a job posting for an HIM coding position
• Collaborate with the HR department to decide the recruitment methods most appropriate for recruiting for HIM coding positions
• Develop specific HIM coding job-related questions to be asked during the interview process

Instructions

Review the scenario provided and the Clinical Coding Job Description in figure 7.2 to develop a job posting and appropriate interview questions. Provide a written report to the HIM director that contains all the deliverables outlined.

Scenario

A large healthcare organization is expanding HIM centralized coding services based on the recent acquisitions of a rural hospital, long-term acute-care hospital, skilled nursing facility, and a behavioral health facility. All the coding functions for these newly acquired facilities will be centralized within the HIM department. Based on a work volume study it is estimated the HIM department will need four additional full-time equivalent (FTE) clinical coding specialists to perform the additional coding from the acquisition of these new facilities. Laura, the HIM coding manager, is responsible for working with the HR department consultant to develop a recruiting plan for these four open positions. Laura will need to provide a written recruitment plan to the HIM director of the organization.

Assumptions

• The job description for the clinical coding specialist has recently been updated by Laura and is provided following this case study in figure 7.2.
• Interviews for both internal and external candidates will be performed as structured interviews.
• Follow the standard HR department recruitment process: All jobs are posted internally for two weeks and qualified candidates will be referred to the coding manager for interviewing. If qualified individuals are not hired internally, the job posting will then be advertised externally using the recruitment methods identified in the recruitment plan.
• A different advertisement may be necessary for the internal and external job postings.

Deliverables

Develop a clinical coding specialist recruitment plan in collaboration with the HR consultant. The plan needs to include the following items.

• 1. Three recruitment methods outlined in this chapter with an explanation as to why each of these methods was chosen.
• 2. A job posting based on the clinical coding specialist job description in figure 7.2 that advertises for these positions. If necessary, a different one may be done for the internal and external job postings.
• 3. Two interview questions for each of the four categories of questions: situational, behavioral, job knowledge, and work requirement for a total of eight questions. The questions must be specifically focused toward clinical coding specialist job tasks.
• 4. Create a clinical coding specialist recruitment plan report (in a memo) that includes the previous items.