Job Description

Join us as we work to create a thriving ecosystem that delivers accessible, high-quality, and sustainable healthcare for all.

Drive coding accuracy and support revenue cycle efficiency as a Medical Coding Associate in Chennai, India (Hybrid) In this role, you will code across E/M outpatient and inpatient, neuro coding, denial coding, and surgery coding, applying medical coding guidelines to ensure correct documentation-to-code mapping. You will report to the Medical Coding Manager

Team summary:

The Medical Coding Associate supports effective and efficient operations by strengthening key areas of information flow and management, business process execution, and enhanced management reporting. This role applies multi-specialty medical coding knowledge to ensure consistent coding quality and help maintain strong operational outcomes. You will support operational performance by following established coding standards, performing discrepancy review, and partnering with internal teams to improve coding consistency, reduce rework, and strengthen reporting integrity. The role also supports root cause analysis to identify coding drivers behind recurring errors and to help implement practical improvements.

Essential Job Responsibilities

• Code medical records accurately using applicable coding guidelines across E/M outpatient, E/M inpatient, neuro, surgery, and denial coding assignments.
• Validate documentation support for diagnosis and procedure selections to ensure coding correctness.
• Review coded outputs for quality and consistency with internal standards and established references.
• Research coding discrepancies by comparing documentation, coding rules, and relevant guideline sources.
• Identify denial-related coding issues and support appropriate correction pathways to reduce preventable rework.
• Document coding decisions and discrepancy notes in required systems to ensure traceability.
• Support reporting accuracy by ensuring coded data aligns with operational and analytics requirements.
• Conduct root cause analysis for recurring coding errors and recommend targeted improvements.
• Use AI-enabled support to improve productivity by using AI-assisted suggestions (when available) to speed up case summarization and highlight potential guideline-relevant details—then applying human coding judgment to confirm correctness and document decisions.

Additional Job Responsibilities

• Assist with quality calibration and coding standard alignment activities.
• Participate in training and knowledge-sharing on common discrepancy patterns and guideline clarifications.
• Support internal audit readiness by ensuring coding evidence and notes are complete.
• Help maintain coding references and updates to ensure consistent application of standards.
• Contribute to operational reporting inputs by summarizing key learnings from coding trends.
• Collaborate with cross-functional partners to resolve coding-related workflow questions.
• Support special projects or process improvement initiatives as assigned.

Expected Education & Experience

• 6–8 years of experience in medical coding and revenue cycle coding workflows.
• Demonstrated experience coding E/M outpatient and E/M inpatient
• Demonstrated experience with neuro coding and surgery coding
• Experience with denial coding or denial-related coding correction workflows.
• Strong knowledge of coding guidelines and documentation requirements to support accurate coding.
• Ability to perform root cause analysis for recurring coding issues.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills for documenting findings and collaborating with stakeholders.
• Ability to work effectively in a hybrid environment based in Chennai, India

Travel: NA % travel annually.

About athenahealth

Our vision: In an industry that becomes more complex by the day, we stand for simplicity. We offer IT solutions and expert services that eliminate the daily hurdles preventing healthcare providers from focusing entirely on their patients — powered by our vision to create a thriving ecosystem that delivers accessible, high-quality, and sustainable healthcare for all.

Our company culture: Our talented   employees — or athenistas, as we call ourselves — spark the innovation and passion needed to accomplish our vision. We are a diverse group of dreamers and do-ers with unique knowledge, expertise, backgrounds, and perspectives. We unite as mission-driven problem-solvers with a deep desire to achieve our vision and make our time here count. Our award-winning culture is built around shared values of inclusiveness, accountability, and support.

Our DEI commitment: Our vision of accessible, high-quality, and sustainable healthcare for all requires addressing the inequities that stand in the way. That's one reason we prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion in every aspect of our business, from attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce to maintaining an inclusive environment for athenistas, our partners, customers and the communities where we work and serve.

What we can do for you:

Along with health and financial benefits, athenistas enjoy perks specific to each location, including commuter support, employee assistance programs, tuition assistance, employee resource groups, and collaborative   workspaces  — some offices even welcome dogs.

We also encourage a better work-life balance for athenistas with our flexibility. While we know in-office collaboration is critical to our vision, we recognize that not all work needs to be done within an office environment,  full-time. With consistent communication and digital collaboration tools, athenahealth  enables  employees to find a balance that feels fulfilling and productive for each individual situation.

In addition to our traditional benefits and perks, we sponsor events throughout the year, including book clubs, external speakers, and hackathons. We provide athenistas with a company culture based on learning, the support of an engaged team, and an inclusive environment where all employees are valued.

Learn more about our culture and benefits here: athenahealth.com/careers

https://www.athenahealth.com/careers/equal-opportunity