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So who does teach inpatient coding - sm - Coder-to-be

Posted: Apr 26, 2011

I saw on AHIMA's site that they say you are to work for a while before taking the CCS but here I keep reading people that took it BEFORE even having a job. How did you learn it well enough to pass the test w/o job experience?

Wide range of choices in coding education - From What I've Seen

[ In Reply To ..]
I'll tell you what I've seen and learned from my own experience. Most courses are more like 'Introduction To Coding' or are more academic than practical. Some are pretty much worthless because they have students write papers on all sorts of topics to keep them busy and students grade each others' work.

It takes a really solid coding course to get someone prepared for coding exams. Most courses aren't intended for that purpose and most students don't want to do the kind of work involved to reach that level.

Read the course description and you can usually tell if the course is designed to get you prepared for coding exams. If they are designed to reach that level of expertise, they will say so.

I am in a course already - sm - Coder-to-be

[ In Reply To ..]
What I want to know is, what specific program do you know of that teaches INPATIENT coding? Most teach outpatient only (the one I am in is outpatient only) and if I did want to do inpatient, does any course comprehensively teach only that?

inpatient coding - Raine59

[ In Reply To ..]
Andrews teaches both inpatient and outpatient. I am not familiar enough with the other schools to know for sure.

Thanks for that info - sm - Coder-to-be

[ In Reply To ..]
I thought they did but wow! prices way up there for Andrews. Plus now I am doing the outpatient, I couldn't go through Andrews since they mix everything together and I'd just want the inpatient.

I appreciate your thoughts :)

Correction - Coder

[ In Reply To ..]
Just a clarification so people don't get confused by what you said . . . Andrews DOES NOT "mix everything together." They teach outpatient and inpatient as completely separate courses.

I had spoken to the Andrews lady on the phone - sm - Coder-to-be

[ In Reply To ..]
She is the one that told me everything is mingled together, meaning you can't just pick and choose what you want to learn. So if I just wanted inpatient or outpatient, I couldn't do that because you have to take the entire course to get both. That was my understanding.

I see what you're saying. Everything is not 'mingled' but both are included - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Not the OP, but I also didn't understand what you were saying. Now I understand what you were trying to say.

That's true. Andrews does teach both OP and IP as a complete course. You don't study them both at the same time, but you do study and learn both. They will not allow students to just take one. It's a complete coding course including both.

Have you asked your instructor if there is an IP course they recommend? - Just a suggestion

[ In Reply To ..]
I'm guessing your instructor has been asked that question before and probably has recommendations. Have you asked him or her? That's where I would start, while waiting for more answers here.

Of course, I will have to do that - sm - Coder-to-be

[ In Reply To ..]
I am so focused on this class that I am not thinking of other questions I could be asking like this one. Duh! My instructor has like 10 credentials (no lie) so I will ask how she got her inpatient one. Thanks for suggesting something I should have thought of myself!

Inpatient courses - Curious coder

[ In Reply To ..]
I did the Career Step program and did inpatient and outpatient. I took the courses together (finished one, then started the other one), I don't know if they're available separately but you could check. AHIMA might have an inpatient only course. Andrews has a great reputation, and keep in mind that price includes books and everything you need, I think they're the only program that does that. I think I would want to ask why you want to learn inpatient coding only? There may be more job opportunities for you if you learn both.

As I stated above, I am in a program now - sm - Coder-to-be

[ In Reply To ..]
It is only outpatient. If I wanted to learn inpatient, I wondered who taught just that.

AHIMA - Curious coder

[ In Reply To ..]
Did you try the AHIMA website? Other than that I don't know. And sorry, I realized what you were asking after I had already posted my message.

Experience requirement - Coder

[ In Reply To ..]
They do not say that you "are to work for a while before taking the CCS." They recommend 3 years of experience. This is a RECOMMENDATION, not a requirement.

Why do they recommend this? Because people who complete AHIMA-accredited and approved programs seem to be unable to pass the CCS until they have 3 years on-the-job experience. They used to say 2 years, now they have upped this to 3.

Does this mean that everyone needs 3 years of experience? No, not at all. If you take a course that DOES prepare you adequately and you do learn the material, then you can pass it right away.

What is the purpose of the experience? It is to give the person a chance to learn what they didn't learn in school.

I did speak to my instructor last night - sm - Coder-to-be

[ In Reply To ..]
She is actually going to be teaching an inpatient course in the fall with another woman who has been in the inpatient field for 25 years.

I personally like the classroom setting where you have a physical person to ask questions to and other students you can learn from.

She said as well, when you are done with the course you are taking, take the test right away while it is freshest in your mind.

What a great solution to your problem! - Glad to hear it.

[ In Reply To ..]
I'm glad you found a solution to your problem!

Personally, I tend to fall asleep in classroom situations. I work better independently. That's probably because I've worked all my life and I just don't have time to sit around listening to lectures (I can read for myself), and I would go insane having to listen to other students ask questions when those are not questions that I have. When I was in classroom situations in the past I always kept jiggling my foot, tapping my finger, and thinking, if I were just at home, I could be getting something done, will this lecture never end?! LOL. That's why they have different kinds of learning situations for people with different learning styles. If I never, ever have to go into a lecture-style classroom situation again, I will feel very blessed, but I understand that others feel differently, and I respect that. I've just done it both ways and I've grown too independent to sit still that long I guess.

Good luck with your course. I hope it is everything you want it to be! Please stay around and update us on how it's going.

Honestly, I didn't think I'd be the classroom type - sm - Coder-to-be

[ In Reply To ..]
This instructor came highly recommended and she is very good and interesting. I was told by a few people (maybe not right for everyone but it was for me) to learn coding in a classroom setting. I honestly didn't think I'd care for it as I can't sit still anymore either but it seems to go fast and I find it interesting. I don't like when the "pain in the butt" student (see below) pipes in every 5 minutes but I try to tune him out. At least with him, I feel I could never ask a dumb question because his comments are the WORST, LOL!

I know what you mean about the pain in the rear fellow students asking stupid questions - Ex-Student

[ In Reply To ..]
Brings to mind the group of girls who got in a personal discussion about lingerie, and I won't go further into the details about that, but they actually brought them to class to show each other, during class. I will only go into another classroom situation if I get to hand-pick my classmates. LOL. Seriously, I prefer to study alone and take breaks when I need them and study when I want to. Sometimes I want to study in the middle of the night and other times I get up before the crack of dawn for some reason and I'm really motivated to study. My schedule wouldn't allow me to go to classes if I had to be there at a certain time, and sometimes my brain is just not in the mood to learn anything. On those days I'm just grateful that I can give my brain a rest and come back and hit the books, not coding books right now, but other studies, when my mind is ready to learn.

A few years ago everyone always recommended classroom lecture-style courses because they'd always done it that way and it shouldn't be done any other way. I still have some friends who feel that way. I've done both and I prefer learning at my own speed. In my classrooms in the past, sometimes they went so fast that they skipped over the parts that interested me and then spent way too much time on areas that I already understood and was bored with. I know people who like the social aspect to being around people in a classroom and I also know a few others who really need to have an instructor with them in person or they won't do the work. I already have enough social life and enough motivation, so the advantages to working in the comfort of my own home is important to me when I study anything these days. Thinking back on it, I can't remember ever having a classroom situation that I enjoyed other than one, eons ago, on word processing. That was a one-day course and I enjoyed it.

I agree about taking the test right away while it is fresh in yoru mind - My Opinion

[ In Reply To ..]
I definitely agree with your instructor that it's good to take the test right away while it is fresh in your mind. As far as learning from other students is concerned, not so much. It sounds like you have good instructors that you can learn from. In that case, you won't need to learn from other students. I've tried learning with and from other students in study groups and by listening to them in the classroom. Stick with the instructors and you won't learn things wrong as you may from students who don't know as much as they sound like they know. That's a story for another day. Good luck with your training!

Well, I'm trying not to "learn" from the others - sm - Coder-to-be

[ In Reply To ..]
I just think when they ask a question, it might be something I want to know, too. Of course there is one person in class (there is ALWAYS one) who asks the dumbest questions, says the dumbest things, talks out loud, swears, you name it and is just annoying. He is the one who initiated this class so I think the instructor just deals with him but if not for him, everyone else is great! There are only 9 of us so that is a nice number to deal with. Thanks for your thoughts!! :)

Good talking with you too! - nm

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

Coder to be - Curious coder

[ In Reply To ..]
I'm glad that is going to work out for you, good luck with your class. I live in a rural area and our community college does not teach coding so I did an on-line course. I also think I would have liked to have the student/instructor interaction, maybe not for all of it but for some of the training, for feedback and to learn if others have the same challenges. Enjoy!

Thanks! I have a small class - sm - Coder-to-be

[ In Reply To ..]
There are only 9 of us. The instructor teaches at the community college but also has private classes, one I am in. When hospitals need their people certified, she comes in to teach private classes and I got in one of those classes (even though I don't work at that hospital). Kind of nice to take just coding instead of all the other stuff the college courses want you to take.

Thanks for the positive thoughts!

Suggestion . . . - Redpen

[ In Reply To ..]
There are very few courses that teach just inpatient coding. There isn't a large market for it.

My suggestion would be that you finish your current course and get an outpatient certification. Once you have that secure, do ICD-9-CM again -- literally, study it all over again -- on your own using Faye Brown's ICD-9-CM Coding Handbook. There are exercises and cases in the back. (Be sure to get the version with answers--just use a piece of paper to obscure the answers in the exercises until you have figured them out.) Also do all the inpatient exercises in Clinical Coding Workout (AHIMA). AHIMA also has texts that cover the inpatient reimbursement things (like DRGs) that you need to know. When you look up the requirements for the CCS exam, you should see them.

After that, you might consider HCPro's inpatient coding bootcamp to polish it all up.

Be aware that if you are only taking a coding course right now, unless you have a very good handle on A&P, pathophysiology, lab, and pharmacology, you will struggle with inpatient coding. You do need more than med terms to function in inpatient and that material does seem to be tested on the CCS. So, in addition to the coding itself, you might want to set up a self-study program that includes those subjects.

Thanks for the information - sm - Coder-to-be

[ In Reply To ..]
As I said below (lots of threads here, LOL), my current teacher is going to hold an inpatient course. Not sure that is the way I am headed yet. Want to see where the outpatient stuff takes me. I think there may be more opportunities in my area for outpatient than inpatient. It also sounds a little more in-depth than I may want at this point in my life, to be inpatient. I have been an MT for over 25 years in every field so I feel I have the basics down. Just taking this one step at a time to see where it leads me. Thanks!

3 year requirement - wannacode

[ In Reply To ..]
Early on in my transcription career I had the opportunity to become certified through my job. AAMT recommended that you have transcribed for 5 years before taking the certification exam. I had been transcribing for 2 years and not even all acute care. I studied AAMT's study guide and took the test. I passed it the first time. I just made sure that I followed the guidelines in their preparation guide. My supervisor who had been transcribing for 10 years took the test with me and did not pass.

I think that may be the case with the experience requirements for the CCS. If you study the AHIMA prep guide for the test, you should be able to do it. I am in their course right now and I plan to go straight to the CCS after I complete the course and study their prep guide. Good luck to you. Let us know how you do.

Can you tell me which exact course you are doing? - sm - Coder-to-be

[ In Reply To ..]
Curious as to which AHIMA course you are taking. I looked at them all and couldn't decide and they didn't have an exact inpatient one. Do they have a prep guide on their site? Thanks :)

Do they have someone to contact when you have questions like this? - Just wondering

[ In Reply To ..]
I'm not the person you were talking with above, but is there an instructor you can contact when you have questions like this? How does that work during the course you are taking?

AHIMA coding course and supporat - Coder WannaBe

[ In Reply To ..]
As far as getting questions answered during the course, I have not had to ask for assistance yet. I have been in medical records for 15 years, so I do have an advantage here. When I was trying to register for their courses, it was very difficult to get things going and I almost went to another school because of their lack of interest in my situation. Some of the people were not very professional. It took me almost 3 months to finally get started. I did have to go back and re-take my A&P prerequisite because they did not like the course that I had taken in college. Much of the time I was very discouraged by their lack of cooperation in getting things started. I did have a very unusual situation in that my course was being paid for by a 3rd party, being a government agency on top of that.

All in all, I believe that they offer the best training and since they are the ones giving the certification exam, I think that they would be the best to teach it. Their course is not difficult to do on your own and I am moving through it pretty easily, although, like I said, I do have a background in medical records/transcription. I have not yet had to ask for support, but there is a contact where you can post questions and they will respond in 24-36 hours, which is not great. There is also a board on their site that you can network with other students, and this can be helpful but you have to be careful and double check what they are telling you since they are also students.

There can be problems with taking a course with a live instructor also. I have previously taken coding classes where the instructor (an excellent coder) sat and read to us directly out of the book. Some of the community colleges that I have seen require very little from the instructors themselves, so check out their background first.

Please email if I can answer further questions.

Do you know of anyone who passed certification after taking their course? - Please see message

[ In Reply To ..]
Thank you so much for posting all of the information, both good and bad, about the program. It does sound like you are way ahead since you have a very strong background in medical records to help you.

Funny that you mentioned the instructor who sat and read directly from the book. There is a truly brilliant coder who instructs locally. Students come in, sit down, open their books. He opens his book. He reads to them word for word. I would go insane! I can read for myself. LOL. I think that's probably a case of someone who can code, but can't teach. I think it's important to get an instructor who is a successful coder but also knows how to teach.

Do you know anyone or know of anyone who took just this particular course and successfully sat for the certification exam? I've been waiting to hear from someone on here or elsewhere to report back that they passed it after taking the AHIMA course. Maybe you will be the first. I hope so because the message you wrote above was very helpful. Thanks again!

AHIMA coding course - WannaCode

[ In Reply To ..]
Are you asking if there is anyone who took just the coding classes or the whole coding basics course? I was going to take just the coding classes myself without going through AHIMA's coding basic course, but I ran into an unbelievable opportunity where I am being sponsored by a state program. I figured I might as well, although the first part has been a bit of a nuisance since I am taking classes that seem like just filler classes and are a pain in the behind. It is no different in other programs so I am just trying to go along with it. Who knows, may be of some use down the road, but do I really care about the history of healthcare delivery and how the Greeks developed the first healthcare system? Not too much.

I think that if you have some kind of background in medical records such as transcription, then you may be able to pass the CCA exam with just taking coding courses on your own. Just depends on how motivated you are and how much work you are willing to put into it.

Like I said, if I had not come across the opportunity to have someone sponsor me, I would have only taken the coding classes and tried to pass on my own.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

Excellent information. Thanks! - Please see message

[ In Reply To ..]
Thanks so much! That is good information to know, especially about the filler classes. I had to take one once with filler classes that required me to understand the various departments of a hospital and what they do. That was such a waste of time! I didn't learn anything that ever helped me, but it took up valuable time that I could have used to learn something useful. I didn't want an academic course. I wanted practical skills.

Good luck with your training. Please come back and write more as you get further into the course. Your information is always very helpful.

What about those assignments like - see message

[ In Reply To ..]
Interview three people working in the industry.

Describe the duties of the

Write a paper on

Hey! When do I get to learn to code? LOL.

I truly believe they assign these filler tasks when they just want to keep students busy so they won't notice you aren't learning the main thing you came to learn. I know a girl who just graduated from a course in MT and was asked to teach the next semester. She had no idea how to teach it, so she kept making assignments to write essays on various topics. It did keep the students busy.

So is your goal to pass the CCA or the CCS or both? - Just wondering

[ In Reply To ..]
It sounds like you already have an 'in' with medical records, plus a lot of common sense, so it's a good idea for you to start with the CCA and then get your CCS. Most newcomers to HIM are going to have to have a CCS first though if they don't have those advantages that you have, because most of the jobs require either CCS or CPC. You are very fortunate to have all of that past work experience plus a sponsor. Let us know when you pass the CCA exam, will you? Do you know when you will probably be ready to take it?

Another question, LOL - Thanks In advance

[ In Reply To ..]
I'm just curious to know if you have had the opportunity to talk to any other students or graduates of the course you are taking that were able to pass the CCS when they were finished.

I realize you said your goal is to pass the CCA. Have you talked to any of the course's graduates who have got their CCA if they didn't try for the CCS? What do they say about it? Is it a hard test? Did they pass the first time? Did they give you any hints about what you should put more time studying before you take it? Did they give you any helpful information and did they tell you if they were able to get a job with the CCA or not and how they are doing on the job?

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