Coding does not take "forever." - Coder Posted: Oct 16th, 2015 - 7:21 pm In Reply to: Thank you - It is interesting
How long you take to learn coding is up to you. It can take forever, but it does not have to take forever.
You began learning it before, so you have the general idea, you know that you like it, and you are also an MT, so it should go much faster for you. You should already know a lot of the background material like A&P, medical report content, surgical procedures, and how medical care is provided.
A college program probably will take forever because you have to get accepted, complete prerequisites, get enrolled in classes, and move in lockstep with their schedule. That can add a year or more to how long it takes.
The AAPC's online CPC course is 80 clock hours and takes less than 4 months. That covers outpatient coding.
There are other online courses teaching only outpatient or CCA that typically take 4 months, with varying results on certification exams and in the job market.
There is also at least one program that teaches both outpatient and inpatient coding to the CCS level. It is self-paced and planned for one year, but with what you know already, you should be able to move through it faster if you are motivated. It has good results on the CPC and CCS, as well as in terms of jobs, with many students getting remote jobs.
If you want to do this, you can. I think it would only take 4 to 9 months.
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