Clinical coder
Clinical coders read patients' health records and translate diagnoses, procedures, and other clinical information into standard classification codes, such as ICD for diagnoses and a procedure classification for interventions. Coded data is used for payment, service planning, clinical audit, research, and public health statistics, so its accuracy matters well beyond the coding team. Coders work closely with clinicians to clarify records, and increasingly use clinical terminologies such as SNOMED CT and computer-assisted coding tools.
- Family
- Data
- UK GDaD PCF role
- None: this reference defines the role
- ESCO occupations
- clinical coder (ISCO-08 3252)
- On GitHub
- Role document · Role data
Levels
| Band | Role level | UK GDaD PCF level | Civil Service grades | Job evaluation points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Trainee clinical coder | — | — | 233 |
| 4 | Clinical coder | — | — | 282 |
| 5 | Senior clinical coder | — | — | 354 |
| 6 | Clinical coding auditor and trainer | — | — | 446 |
| 7 | Clinical coding manager | — | — | 500 |
In a digital health care organization
- Coders read complete case notes, which often describe serious illness, injury, abuse, self-harm, and death, so the work is emotionally demanding and teams need good support and supervision.
- Coded data drives payment for activity, mortality and outcome indicators, and service planning, so errors can affect funding, published performance, and decisions about care.
- Coding depends on the quality of clinical documentation, so coders query unclear records with clinicians and help improve how care is recorded.
- Coders handle full identifiable health records every day, so confidentiality and correct access are essential.
- Automated and computer-assisted coding, and mapping from SNOMED CT to classifications, are changing the work, and coders check that automated codes are correct.
ESCO occupations and skills
ESCO lists the skills and knowledge that employers usually need (essential) or may need (optional) for each occupation. Use them as a checklist for development conversations.
clinical coder
Clinical coders read patients' medical records. They analyse and interpret medical statements about diseases, injuries and procedures. Clinical coders convert this information into health classification codes in order to calculate treatment reimbursements, to produce statistics and to monitor health care performance.
Essential skills and knowledge (12)
Skills and competences
- adhere to organisational guidelines
- communicate in healthcare
- follow clinical guidelines
- maintain healthcare user data confidentiality
- manage healthcare users' data
- perform clinical coding procedures
- review patient's medical data
- use electronic health records management system
Knowledge
Optional skills and knowledge (11)
Skills and competences
- archive healthcare users' records
- collect healthcare user's general data
- collect statistics on medical records
- identify patients' medical records
- manage digital documents
Knowledge
Contains ESCO v1.2.1 data (https://esco.ec.europa.eu/). © European Union. Reuse authorised under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.