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looking for a coding program that I can take part time - sher

Posted: Jan 03, 2012

I am currently looking for a coding program that I can take part time. I have an A.S.S. in Med. Transcription and work full time at a hospital. They are wanting me to find a program that is AHima accredited as my work will pay for it. I can't attend full time due to kids, work, etc. Any suggestions?

Who is "they"? - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Do they realize that many of those programs are just Introduction To Coding?

my employer - sher

[ In Reply To ..]
Sorry, my employer wants the program to be ahima accredited

To answer your question - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Many, probably most, courses are just Beginning Coding, not enough to get your credentials, but if your employer insists on going that direction, at least try to get one that has instructors. The AHIMA course gets lots of complaints because it's almost impossible to get anyone to answer a question. You might want to go down their list of "approved" schools and ask each one if they have instructors and what the credentials of the instructors are. If they aren't credentialed with the bare minimum of a CCS, you aren't going to learn how to pass it yourself. If they have more than a CCS, that's good. Find out if they are available to answer questions when you have them. If all you can get on the phone is a salesman or student representative, a person who doesn't know anything about coding, you can basically ignore anything they say. Try to get a real coder on the phone so you can talk coding to them. Find out their opinion on inpatient and outpatient coding. See if they even know the difference. I would not take a course unless a credentialed CCS coder is teaching it. Good luck finding one!

The thing that is going to be the absolute most important to you - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
When it all gets down to it, the most important thing to you personally is going to be whether the course you take prepares you for the CCS exam and possibly the CPC too. If not, you really haven't accomplished anything, whether your employer pays for it or not. Some courses are just not worth taking because they don't get you to the finish line, the CCS exam.

Career step - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
Their web site says AHIMA-approved. You could also check out the AHIMA site to find more. Good luck. I am just starting coding classes as well, but through Andrews (not AHIMA approved, but an excellent school, you might ask your employer to look at them and see if you can get an exception).

Second that recommendation - CCS, CPC

[ In Reply To ..]
That woud be my suggestion, as well. Get the program description from Andrews and see if your employer will agree to pay for it.

Thei course content is very good and their actual coding content exceeds that of most AHIMA programs. They use many of the same books. They teach ICD-9 coding twice, basically, once for outpatient and then again with an inpatient focus. That helps you keep them straight and gives you more practice with them. If you were not sure of anything the first time around, you will be the second.

Andrews is approved for transcription by the joint AHIMA-AHDI program, so it is clear from that that they are a worthwhile school. I think one big reason that they might not have sought cding approval is that they do not participate in federal student loan programs Another reason may be that they teach with the expectation that students should aim for the CCS exam. AHIMA programs had such poor luck with that that they came up with the CCA exam and the explanation that students cannot expect to pass the CCS. They should only go for the CCA and then expect employers to spend 3 years providing job training.

If that is what your employer expects and agrees to put you in a coding job then fine. If they will not guarantee that in writing, I would think twice. I would also think twice if they expect you to repay them if you do not finish the course or if you do not make a B or better in each course. Some of those programs have a very high dropout rate. It can also be very difficult to get decent grades because the courses are nearly always online without instructors-you are now at the mercy of online teaching models that are horrible and also flummoxed by college politics and turmoil.

If your employer insists on an AHIMA approved course, then do the online program offered by AHIMA. It has no instructors, but maybe your employer is AHIMA-credentialed and able to find someone to assist you or do it themselves. I think of all the programs they approve, that would be the least hassle. It is doable at your own speed, whereas a college will require you to move in lockstep with a class and participate in activities that have little bearing on learning to code. I would avoid schools that get a lot of student complaints, like another mentioned in this thread. The AHIMA program does use reputable textbooks, but some "approved" programs only have online screens, or skinny workbooks at extra cost, which consist of stripped-down, error-laden material they themselves wrote. Some dump students into chat rooms where they help each other, thus saving the cost of decent books and instructors.

Again, my vote would be for Andrews, which has good instructors, uses reputable books, and seems to offer quite a bit more considering what they teach, their student support, and the fact that their students are passing both the CCS and CPC (which is remarkable). But if your employer won't go for that and you must have them pay, then I would do the online AHIMA program itself. I would not choose a college or another school.

In case you are wondering how I got my credentials, it was because of Andrews. I also did college work in coding AFTER I was credentialed, as part of another program, and I can tell you that I ould not have learned enough in those classes to get a job, much less pass a credentialing exam. I have checked out a number of college and commercial programs for my employer and find most of them all wanting. A lot have very high dropout rates, wanting to get you enrolled and to pay and they do not much care after that. Colleges want you enrolled and paying, but if you have difficulty, they do not care. They just let you fall by the wayside.

Andrews is not like that. They provide a good course with good instruction and will not let you fall. I hope your employer will consider them. Their course content is on their website. You will see that it is comparable. If you look closely, you will see that much of it exceeds.

coding programs - jones

[ In Reply To ..]
Check into MediTec. Here is the link. They are AHIMA accredited.
http://www.meditec.com/

Aren't they the ones that send out all the mass e-mailings? - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
I thought I would never get them filtered out of my e-mail.

I think so and they will sell you home biz software - sigh

[ In Reply To ..]
Wonder why jones thnks they are accredited by AHIMA. No mention of that on their website. Can' t seem to find them in the AHIMA directory, either. AHIMA does not "accredit" coding or MT programs, so I wonder what jones meant. Hmm.

Their website say they provide the code books and that other schools do not, which isn't true, but makes no mention of any other textbooks. They seem to be online, onlne graded, so I would wonder if they use textbooks at all. You can have instructor support once a week in a chatroom or something.

They will also be happy to sell you some kind of home coding software (?) and if you pay in full in advance you get a free home biz book.

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