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RHIT certification - mtt2

Posted: Jan 05, 2010

Looking at college courses at the local community college, I figure I am two semesters away from an associates degree and ability to be RHIT certified. Are you guys certified? Is there online work for coding? Is the pay decent? In your opinion, is this a good move to make?

RHIT - cj

[ In Reply To ..]
An RHIT would not only allow you to get a coding job but also other jobs in HIM. I am credentialed but not RHIT. Almost any place will require you to be credentialed to work as a coder, and most will ask for a minimum of CCA or, preferably, CCS for a coding job, especially is you wish to work remotely (on-line). A lot of places will hire a CCA now wish the expectation that in x number of years you will progress to CCS. My company doesn't require it so I personally just maintain the CCA as it requires less CEs. There is work available, but oftentimes not easy to get a foot in the door working remotely without some in-house experience. Pay is decent to very good depending on a number of factors. If you check AHIMA web site, they have a salary survey broken down by region of country, type of facility, what credential you hold, and years of experience. It is pretty helpful. Hope this info helps.

RHIT - mtt2

[ In Reply To ..]
Thank you. Your answer was very helpful.

RHIT - Linda Andrews

[ In Reply To ..]
That's interesting information. I just posted a message and mine disagreed with you just a little, about the CCA. I was interested that you said that a lot of places will hire a CCA now and your own employer doesn't require the CCS. That's very interesting. That is a sign that they really need coders and aren't being as strict as they have been.

My RHIT friends tell me that they don't have as much coding education as they would like. I suppose that differs from perso to person and may depend on where you got your education.

As far as remote work is concerned, do you seeing more remote opportunities for coders? I know from our graduates that some require that you spend a couple of years before they let you go home to work and some just a couple of months, but the only ones I know of also require that you have a CCS credential. I'm interested in hearing more from others about their experience in all of this. Good discussion!

The CCA..... - cj

[ In Reply To ..]
I don't necessarily think it is that they are not being as strict but that they are starting to recognize the CCA as a valid credential. After all, it is relatively new, and a lot of facilities were not even familiar with it for a while. I live and work in a very large metropolitan area and we see more and more facilities hiring CCAs. As far as remote coding goes, I do see more and more opportunities for such. I don't think there are any facilities in our area that do not have at least some of their coders working from home. I do work for a company but am contracted to a large trauma center/
hospital/medical college facility. We have 37 coders, and currently only about 8 work on site. we also rely about 10 or 12 regional coders (people who are scattered throughout the US who do our backup work) so basically 8 our of almost 50 of us work on site, and it is their choice to do so for one reason or another. They have all been offered the opportunity to go home if they chose to. I do agree with you about the RHIT and coding education. obviously it is because an RHIT is not only a coder. If one is pursuing an RHIT, they probably want coding to be one skill is a particular skill set, not their only option.

CCA - Linda Andrews

[ In Reply To ..]
I'm really glad to hear that more and more facilities are hiring CCAs.

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