Coding
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Posted By:
cj on 2008-06-26
In Reply to: Are any of you familiar with medical coding? - sm - I need a better job!
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I was in the same situation but for different reasons. When my wrists were just getting too painful, I thought coding would be a good transition. I work at a large level 1 trauma center which is a teaching facility. I went to school for a year and spent A LOT of time studying. I finished my program in one year. It entailed 33 credits total. I also was in the "middle aged' bracket and was a little tentative about returning to school. I was hired as a new grad at a level 1 trauma center facility shortly after I graduated and had one year to earn my credential. There are 2 different credentials you can earn. CC-A which is a certified coding associate and is designed for new coders with little experience. CC-S certified coding specialist is for people with several years of experience, and taking that test is probably the worst experience of my life! Very, very difficult. The work is challenging but never boring, but I think part of that challenge is because of the facility I work in. I am always learning something new. there is a significant requirement to earn CEs in order to maintain that credential so we do a lot of inservicing, but I learn new things every day in this work. It is also quite stressful as we are always under the gun to meet TAT goals and also have $$ goals (we need to have our accts receivable at a particular level every day and must be coding within XX number of days from service/ discharge). I would not suggest learning by any method other than on campus as you will have many questions and will need face-to-face contact. We have 27 coders in our dept and 99% will tell you they love it. The pay is good (for me it is better than transcription, but that is subjective of course) and the benefits are good. The demand is great, but it is not easy to break in to the field and get a job without experience. Most facilities are going to remote coding so you can work from home. I have a laptop computer (company provided) and can work from any location so I spend time in midwest in summer and southwest in winter, a really nice perk! |
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Coding - cj
