Team Lead Medical Coding

ROLE OVERVIEW

As a Coding Analyst - Interventional Radiology at Annova, you will be the domain specialist 

responsible for accurate and compliant coding of interventional radiology procedures, with a specific 

focus on vascular studies, for US-based healthcare accounts. Interventional Radiology is distinct 

and highly technical specialty - and this role demands someone who has actively coded IR cases in 

their most recent experience, not a general radiology background.

Beyond throughput, you will contribute validated, well-documented coding data to Annova's inhouse AI automation model. Precision, clinical reasoning, and documented rationale are as 

important here as production speed. You will also participate in client interactions as directed by 

your Team Leader.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Medical Coding – Interventional Radiology & Vascular

• Assign ICD-10-CM, CPT-4, HCPCS Level II codes and modifiers for interventional radiology 

procedures - with primary focus on vascular studies including peripheral vascular interventions, venous access procedures, angiography, angioplasty, stenting, embolisation, and thrombolysis.

• Accurately distinguish and apply separate coding rules for the interventional (surgical) component and the imaging guidance (supervision & interpretation) component of IR procedures - these are not interchangeable with diagnostic radiology coding.

• Interpret clinical documentation specific to IR: procedure notes, operative reports, fluoroscopic documentation, catheter placement records, and physician attestations.

• Apply CMS guidelines, AMA CPT rules, NCCI edits, LCD/NCD policies, and payer-specific requirements for Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial payers on US IR accounts.

• Correctly apply CPT add-on codes, bilateral procedure rules, and modifier usage (e.g., -26, -TC, -59, -XU, -51) as applicable to IR and vascular coding scenarios.

• Meet or exceed daily production targets and quality benchmarks defined per account SLA.

• Raise clinical documentation queries (CDI/CDQ) when IR procedure documentation is ambiguous, incomplete, or does not support the coded level of service - with clear written rationale.

• Maintain a personal coding accuracy rate of 95% or above; 98%+ is the standard of excellence for this role.

Vascular Study Coding - Focus Areas

• Arterial vascular: diagnostic and therapeutic procedures on aorta, iliac, femoral, renal, mesenteric, carotid, and other peripheral arterial systems.

• Venous vascular: inferior vena cava (IVC) filter placement, venoplasty, PICC/port/tunnelled catheter placements, and venous access coding.

• Non-vascular interventional procedures as required per account scope — including biliary, genitourinary, and musculoskeletal IR procedures.

• Imaging guidance coding associated with IR procedures: fluoroscopy, ultrasound guidance, CT guidance - applied distinctly and correctly per procedure type.

Analysis & Quality

• Conduct self-audits and review QA feedback to identify recurring error patterns in IR coding and self-correct proactively.

• Analyse denial root causes at the claim level specific to IR procedures - including bundling denials, modifier misuse, and documentation-based rejections.

• Participate in root cause analysis (RCA) sessions for IR-related claim rejections, audit findings, or payer coding disputes.

• Contribute structured observations on IR documentation gaps or payer-specific IR coding behaviour patterns to the Team Leader.

AI Data Contribution

• Annotate and validate IR coding outputs that serve as ground-truth training data for Annova's AI-driven coding automation initiative.

• Apply consistent, well-documented coding logic to ensure annotated data accurately reflects IR guidelines and clinical intent - particularly for complex vascular cases that challenge pattern-based automation.

• Flag edge cases, unusual IR procedure presentations, or CPT guideline conflicts to the AI team with written explanation.

• Participate in model evaluation exercises - reviewing AI-generated IR codes, identifying errors, and providing structured feedback on vascular coding scenarios.

• Maintain rationale documentation in a format that supports supervised learning workflows.

Client Interaction (As Required)

• Join scheduled client calls - as directed by the Team Leader - to address IR coding queries, documentation questions, or education needs specific to vascular accounts.

• Prepare professional written responses to client coding inquiries, dispute explanations, or compliance correspondence related to IR procedures.

• Represent Annova with accuracy, clarity, and professionalism in all client-facing interactions.

QUALIFICATIONS

Education

• Graduate in any discipline - Science, Healthcare, or Life Sciences preferred.

• CPC (AAPC) or CCS (AHIMA) certification is mandatory for this role.

• CIRCC (Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology Coding) certification is strongly preferred and will be given significant weight in selection.

• CRC (Risk Adjustment / HCC) or CPMA (Auditing) are additional advantages.

Experience

• Minimum 3 years of hands-on medical coding experience in an RCM or healthcare BPO 

environment.

• At least 1 year of experience in Interventional Radiology coding in the most recent role is mandatory - this is a non-negotiable requirement. General radiology coding experience does not satisfy this criterion.

• Demonstrated proficiency specifically in vascular IR coding - peripheral vascular interventions, venous access, angiography, and related procedures.

• Note: Diagnostic radiology (DR) and Interventional Radiology (IR) are distinct specialties with different coding frameworks, documentation requirements, and CPT rule sets. Candidates with only diagnostic radiology experience will not be considered for this role.

• Experience working on US payer accounts - Medicare, Medicaid, and/or commercial payers - with familiarity of payer-specific IR coverage policies.

• Working knowledge of encoder tools such as Optum360, TruCode, or 3M (or equivalent platforms).

• Familiarity with EMR/EHR platforms (Epic, Cerner, athenahealth) is advantageous.

Skills

• Strong clinical documentation analysis ability - able to read and interpret complex IR procedure notes and extract codeable elements with precision.

• Thorough understanding of CPT coding rules specific to interventional procedures: add-on codes, bilateral rules, component coding (professional vs. technical), and correct modifier application.

• Working knowledge of NCCI edits, unbundling rules, and payer-specific LCD/NCD requirements for IR procedures.

• Intermediate MS Excel proficiency for self-audit tracking and productivity reporting.

• Clear written and spoken English - professional conduct in client-facing and internal settings.

• Analytical mindset: comfortable identifying denial patterns, questioning coding anomalies, and documenting reasoning.

• Adaptable to evolving workflows as AI tools are integrated into IR coding operations.