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Transition from MT to coding - Lissybell

Posted: Sep 19, 2013

A question for anyone. Would you enroll in a community college program for medical coding at 57 knowing it would cost 5 grand to complete the course, and also with the knowledge that there are very few if any entry-level positions available in coding on the west coast. I see positions for in-house MT's and coders alike in other parts of the country all the time, but not so much on the west coast. I'm torn about this question, whether the commitment required would be worth it as I would still have to work 40 hours a week. Just looking for feedback. Thanks!

well i'm 35 and back in school full time, going for my master's - in social work

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working full time too. I don't think any education is a waste of money.

It actually can be a waste of money when you're nearing retirement years... - ItDepends

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I think learning is always good for personal development, fulfillment, etc., but when a person is nearing retirement years, then they do have to weigh things. I'm in the same boat as the OP. I am not far off from 60 and am on the West Coast. It seems that coding jobs are slim as it is, but I've never seen anything for a new coder. The question is whether or not to gamble, to accrue student loan debt with only a few years left to work towards a job that might not be available.

No, I wouldn't - sm

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Because I went back to school at 37 for coding, got my AA, RHIT certified, CCS certified, yet I cannot find a job in coding due to lack of experience. I have depleted my savings, still working in MT and unsure of my future. I am now nearly 40, and if I could do it all over again, I would have gone back to school for something more hands on.

exactly that's why i'm going back for social work - know quite a few coders

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that can't find work. One now is a manager at an apartment complex. ANYTHING you can get fast and easy like that will be flooded with competition.

I actually wish I would have gone into social work - sm

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I regret my decision big time. I was going back and forth between coding and social work. I wish I would have listened to my heart and gut. I would rather be helping people and doing something I know I would really enjoy rather than sitting at a computer all day. Good luck to you

thank you!!! my dream is to work in a Childrens Hospital - but ill be happy with anything.

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x

Then do it now! - Nothing is stopping you.

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It amazes me the number of people who are miserable in their current circumstances, yet continue wallowing in them.

If you don't like what you are doing, get out of it!!! There is nothing chaining you down but excuses.

New student debt in one's 50's? Pretty chancy. - on my way out of MT

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Who wants to spend their retirement paying off student debt - especially when there's no guarantee a career will be there at the end of one's studies? College is a business and as we see from all these MT and Coding schools, they oversell careers the same way MTSOs overhire MTs!

Student debt is not a given - Many no-cost and low-cost options

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I have no student debt because I chose an in-demand field that my employer would help with, selected training programs on the basis of quality and cost, and just didn't take out student loans. I paid cash up front and even sold my textbooks on Amazon.

I started out in the same boat you are in, with next to no income from MT work. I just did it one step at a time. Now I make enough that if I did have a few thousand in student loans, I could pay them off easily.

If you do this incrementally, you can start working and pay for it as you go.

Thanks, its food for thought! - on my way out of MT

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I do have tuition reimbursement possibilities with my new employer, so I will look into doing it the way you suggested.

My neighbor got a free education due to offshoring of work... - ETOHPRN

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She worked a factory job making shoes, and all that work was shipped off to China, so the government paid for her to go to school and get a bachelor's degree, and she chose social work.

That was about 7 years ago and she still hasn't been hired for any social work jobs (in our state) due to government hiring freeze. She's currently a janitor at a local college. She loves the work though, has great bennies, but to me it just seems like such a waste of an education.
:(

Off topic...sm - CaliMT

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I just had to say how much I love your nickname, ETOHPRN. It takes a group of MTs to understand and laugh at that! The way things are going in this career lately, I may just begin taking your prescription!

I already have that 'script and I keep refilling it! :) nm - Soon to be ex-MT

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x

Transition - Lissybell

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Thanks to all who provided input on my question. It saddens me that folks study hard to get through a program, study even harder to earn credentials only to be shot down and not be able to get a job in coding. I also think in my case, age is a factor. I had considered coding really only for the money as I went from taking home 3400/month to less than half of that after my employer decided to outsource and eliminate the transcription department. As I have 10 more years of working, I will continue on at my current place of employment (Precyse) and see what opportunities I can find out there. I have no problem going to an office for work, or working from home. I just think I really need a change some days! Trying to stay positive in this industry is difficult. I think most of us could get a job at McDonald's and perform that job easily, but how many people do you think can just walk in and do transcription or editing? The skill set we use every day is just not commensurate with what we are being paid. Those of us who have been MTs for a long time and used to get paid good money, are now just disillusioned. I wish everyone luck in their endeavors for a brighter future.

Thanks again all :}

Lissybell - sm

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There is no occupation where *everyone* who completes training gets hired. Not even nursing.

I don't know what it is about MTs that makes them think everyone who completes a school is guaranteed a job. It may be that MTs used to be hired by MTSOs almost automatically. If you pass the test, you were hired and either sunk or swam. Once you got good enough, you could get any job out there.

It isn't that way in any other field. Coding is actually pretty good in that respect. There are some things to consider, though.

The first is that new graduates often have to take training or entry level positions. No matter how valuable you feel your MT experience is, it is not coding. As a new grad, have no experience coding, which is the skill you are being hired for. However, your experience with medical report content IS valuable in learning coding and can sway an employer in your favor if you present it appropriately.

Second, employers NEED you to be certified. This is not a whim, but a requirement for THEM. They have to hire credentialed coders to meet CMS and their own compliance expectations.

Third, the credential itself has a lot to do with getting hired. AAPC credentials are focused on outpatient coding. Right now, 25% of newly certified CPCs can't get jobs.

AHIMA's are focused on hospital and inpatient coding, are much harder to get, and may be strongly preferred by hospitals simply because the HIM staff at hospitals are AHIMA credentialed members who will support their organization.

There are several ways to improve your chances. One way is to get a job in or around coding, like a hospital HIM dept., or a clinic business office, before you graduate which you can use for experience. Employers really don't know what to do with folks who have been at-home workers for 10 or 20 years. Coding is no exception.

Another is to look for jobs in all circumstances. Be aware that there are far fewer jobs in hospitals than outside them. If you refuse to look anywhere but hospitals and there are only two in your area, you are unlikely to get hired. Having a CCS may help.

Stick with standard certifications like the two old standbys, the CPC and CCS. Don't think employers recognize that the CPC-H means you are an expert in hospital coding...the credential is too new, it does not cover inpatient coding, and hospital employers are more likely to want a CCS. The specialty certifications may limit you more than help you if you don't have the CPC first.

The certifications from other organizations are not respected like the above. They are what career colleges offer at the end of "medical office billing coding" programs. Offices and nursing homes might hire you after a course like that, but not hospitals because the coding is too watered down.
The course you take has a lot to do with it, and so does the credential.

Inexperienced, but appropriately credentialed, coders do get jobs. They often have to really market themselves, but they do get jobs.

I don't know why some coders don't get hired. I can only suggest that you consider the coder market in YOUR area very closely, along with your personal characteristics.

Started out coding, then switched to MT - on my way out of MT

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I hated coding/billing with a passion! The liability is as bad or worse than that of an MT as far as blame goes, and you will be dealing with lots of people fighting over the payment of claims. You will argue with patients who have no clue why they needed pre-approval from their insurance company in order to get a procedure (and they'll blame your incompetence that the claim wasn't paid), insurance denies many claims automatically on first billing and you have to rebill and rebill and recode and rebill to get anything paid, and doctors offices "forget" to percert most radiology and don't give a hoot if the radiologists ever get paid at all. I am not a people person and I hated that job so bad. I loved transcription because I was allowed to work in peace without arguing with everyone on the bill chain. I would never go back to coding/billing if I could help it. Just my opinion.

That is billing - Coding

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has nothing to do with billing.

Really? Coding has nothing to do with billing? - on my way out of MT

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In a small Dr's office it most certainly does, and they are the ones most likely to give an newbie coder a chance. Even if coding and billing are completely kept separate, the billing department WILL ask you to recode rejected claims in hope that they will be paid with a different code. I find it really amusing to be told coding has nothing to do with billing - without the coding nothing gets paid. I assume you haven't actually done either, to make such an amusing statement.

That was billing, not coding - Yes, they ARE different

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The post above mine that said coding has nothing to do with billing meant that the WORKof coding is nothing like what billers do. That is an accurate statement.

You did something that is BILLING, not coding. Coders do not mess with claims, collectjons, or phone calls to insurers or patients.

Coders review medical records, determining what conditions to code and the correct code assignment. They educate providers regarding dcumentation required to code appropriately.

Coders, at least real ones, do not change codes to get something paid. First, we don't do it because there is one correct code and not some kind of get-it-paid options assortment. We also know what meets medical necessity well in advance, so we work with providers to match that *ethically*, not through fraudulent code assignment.

I AM a multi-certified coder with considerable coding experience, so don't say I don't know what I am talking about.

I did get my first job in a major medical center. Many coders do.

Oh, I see, YOUR experience is the ONLY one possible - on my way out of MT

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I'm so sorry I don't fit neatly into your little box that tells you what a coder MUST do to be "real".

I was hired to do both coding and billing. I worked in a small office for 2 doctors. The other 3 ladies in the office also did BOTH coding and billing. I did it for 2.5 years - and I CODED every day, I BILLED once a week, I POSTED payments daily, I received and made phone calls regarding BOTH billing and coding every day. I was asked to change codes and rebill by my office manager on a regular basis - if the patient had chest pain and asthma, and I'd coded for asthma which got rejected, maybe I should recode for chest pain instead. I find it amusing you think there can only be ONE possible code - that would mean that a patient could only have ONE symptom? How interesting! When we got busy we were allowed to take reports home and code them on the weekends. Unfortunately you had not yet informed us we weren't "real" coders - our paychecks for doing it caused us to think we were, so it was an understandable delusion on our part, wasn't it?

I am amazed that you think there is no place in the entire world that a person could be both a biller and a coder, but there are many small offices where a person is expected to do both. I've recently seen quite a few ads in the paper for private practices that make it clear in the job description that is what they want. I guess you need to call any doctors with these ads and explain to them that its impossible, so that people will stop pulling double duty and be ONLY a coder or ONLY a biller per YOUR direction, and if they dare to do it they will not be "real". And make sure to tell any patients you see that there is only ONE symptom with ONE code that they are allowed to have, and any other they might have will not be "real" because you and their provider say so!

Enjoy your "real" coding career, and hopefully you won't meet anymore outlaws that have the nerve to bill and code simultaneously and ruin your "reality". Similar to MT, some people with certifications think that makes them "real" and makes anybody else drawing a paycheck for doing it "less" real. Maybe you should take a Valium before my next confession - I only ever learned to type radiology - so I'm not a "real" MT either - but darned if I didn't draw a paycheck for acting like one for 10 whole years. Now I'm off to my next career adventure - my job experience is "real" to that hospital, imagine that!

Coding/billing - Me again

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Based on the facility where I work (it is quite large) the billers code and vice versa. Heck, even the nurses and doctors assign codes because we all want to get paid. Any "real coder" who does not see how the 2 are related is clueless, it's actually kind of scary. Diagnosis codes are used in many other ways too, but reimbursement is probably the main one. Having to rebill is also common, you are not mistaken.

Explanation for readers - Clearing up the confusion

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There is only one code for any disease, condition, or situation. It is selected using a formal structured process intended to result in the correct code.

There are formal, structured rules for determining the code(s) which describe any medical encounter and/or procedure. Insurers will only pay for services that they cover and are for conditions they feel warrant being treated with that service or procedure. In other words, that "meet medical necessity." Insurers disclose their rules and coverage requirements in advance, so no guesswork should be required.

Outpatient claims allow for several diagnoses. The reason for a particular condition is linked to that condition. You check in advance to be sure it meets medical necessity. Coding software will examine your coding for this, as well.

Errors result in claims being denied. ERRORS, not optional code choices. Denials related to coding indicate a coding problem.

Professional coders are trained to code correctly. Certification exams by the 2 major professional organizations test for accuracy in this. Professinal coders are not copying codes from what doctors circle on charge tickets. They should not need to look further back in a record to find a better diagnosis, because they know to find the correct diagnosis first.

There is nothing wrong with being a biller or biller-coder or coder-biller, but they are not professional coders. The fact of doing some code-finding, which is what they do, does not make someone a professional coder. There is more to coding.

The jobs are so different that employers of coders do not normally consider coder-billers qualified. If they had furthered their education and gotten certified, it would be different.

Just trying to present the other side of the story. It is one thing to be discouraged from a job for legitimate reasons, but you don't want to be taking advice from someone who doesn't understand the job.

Just as CNAs are not RNs, yet refer to themselves as nurses, coder-billers are not professional coders, yet refer to themselves as coders. The CNA does nursing, yet does not perform the same duties or fill the same roles an RN. The CNA is usually clear about the difference because it is a matter of state licensing. Educational programs are different and they make this clear.

A coder-biller does some "coding" but does not perform the same duties or fill the same role as a professional coder. The coder-biller is NOT usually clear about this because it is not a matter of licensing. The roles are not defined by laws, but by professional organizations and certifying groups. It is possible to learn some these jobs without attending formal programs, and billing-coding programs in career colleges often misrepresent them, so the distinction between them can be blurry.

I prefer - the ivory tower

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When I decided to become a coder, I wanted to code. I did not want anything to do with billing, data entry, answering the phone, filing, or claims. No thank you. I code. I read charts, assign codes, use coding software. I work in hospitals. These days the physician offices and clinics are often connected to the hospital. In these cases, there are coders who code their office visits. But these coders are either in the hospital or employed by the hospital and they just code the office visits and procedures. Billing is done elsewhere. I know a lot of offices do have people who do many jobs, like the person above. If you do and have some of that experience, that would be a good segway into coding. Some doctorâ��s offices do not have official coders, but if they are owned by a hospital they will have.

I was not afforded that luxury by my employer - on my way out of MT

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She told me it wouldn't be fair to the other employees if I got to pick and choose which parts of the job I wanted to do and delegate the rest to others. I always felt it was good to be multitalented instead of putting my eggs all in one basket. I have experience in nearly every clerical area you can name. It has helped me segue from one job to another quite easily - I can manage your office, keep your books, do your data entry, process your payroll accurately, edit your letters for typos, etc. etc. Skill/experience versatility is a lifesaver when your favorite career (in my case MT) becomes obsolete.

seÂ·gue [sey-gwey, seg-wey] verb, seÂ·gued, seÂ·gueÂ·ing, noun
verb (used without object)
3.
to make a transition from one thing to another smoothly and without interruption: The conversation segued from travel anecdotes to food.

Thanks for the segue - you

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can't tell I used to be a transcriptionist from that now can you? oops! Been gone too long. A segway is one of those little wheely things you drive around.

Thanks for the explanation, but one paycheck is as "real" as another - on my way out of MT

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"Insurers disclose their rules and coverage requirements in advance, so no guesswork should be required." "Coding software will examine your coding for this, as well."

I did coding/billing from 1999/2001. We had no coding software to rely on with preloaded codes for us to select. We had no feedback from insurers - in fact we got "black boxed" lists from Medicare that deliberately hid payable codes from us. If things have changed since, fine, but that was not my experience when I did it.

"There is nothing wrong with being a biller or biller-coder or coder-biller, but they are not professional coders. The fact of doing some code-finding, which is what they do, does not make someone a professional coder. There is more to coding."

Personally, I feel a paycheck for doing a job as directed by my employer is all that is ever needed to be "professional".

proÃ�Â·fesÃ�Â·sionÃ�Â·al [pruh-fesh-uh-nl]
adjective
1.following an occupation as a means of livelihood or for gain: a professional builder.

"The jobs are so different that employers of coders do not normally consider coder-billers qualified. If they had furthered their education and gotten certified, it would be different."

That is a matter of choice between employer and employee. Some employers have different ideas as to what suits their needs. My employer in this case deliberately hired people off the street with no training. That was her choice and her preference, as she wanted people with a fresh perspective that could be trained to do things the way she wanted, instead of by someone else's rules and standards.

"Just trying to present the other side of the story. It is one thing to be discouraged from a job for legitimate reasons, but you don't want to be taking advice from someone who doesn't understand the job."

Again, YOUR job experience is not the ONLY job experience possible, and YOUR employer's needs are not EVERY employer's needs. As evidenced by the multitude of job ads by small offices that require their coders to do double duty as billers.

"A coder-biller does some "coding" but does not perform the same duties or fill the same role as a professional coder. The coder-biller is NOT usually clear about this because it is not a matter of licensing. The roles are not defined by laws, but by professional organizations and certifying groups."

There are employers/employees that have no desire or need to participate in professional organizations and certifying groups in order to accomplish their goals.

"It is possible to learn some these jobs without attending formal programs"

You're darn right it is, and not everyone "needs" a certification to feel "professional". I'm old school - a firm believer that if you can do one type of clerical work, you can learn to do any other, and that's all any of this is really - and if you think a certification or title is going to cause someone above you (like a doctor or administrator) to see you as something else, they won't. I've learned on the job at all my employers, and in this case, my employer sent us to coding optimization seminars now and then. "Professional" coders and "professional" MTs may get certified to their heart's content and thump their chests and do the Tarzan yell because THEY got certified, but that does NOT necessitate that EVERYONE must do exactly that in order to do that job. I'm actually very glad I never wasted the time, money and effort to become a certified MT, as it would have given me nothing greater than what 10 years of "unprofessional" MT experience has gotten me - in the long run.

Sorry, but coding is not clerical work - sm

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You are missing the point. No one is disrespecting what you do or did. This has nothing to do with what your employer made you do or whether you got paid for it.

It has to do with the nature of the job. A job, I might point out, that you claim to have hated and which you now recommend that others avoid.

You aren't getting that the job you hated is not the job we are talking about when we say "coding."

I have no doubt that you hated that job. I would, too. It WAS clerical work. IT WAS BILLING.

You are confusing and misleading others with your arguing. Stop turning this into a personal attack. Your former job that you hated just wasn't what we are talking about.

"Professional coder" is not chest thumping. It is the title of the job that you did not do, but which you confuse with the job you did. Professional coders are people who do that job. The job of professional medical coder is not clerical work. Billing IS clerical work, but professional coders are not considered clerical workers. They are categorized as ancillary medical professionals by the federal government -- the same as health information administrators, pharmacists, nurses, laboratory technologists, speech therapists, and audiologists.

Yeah, it is - nm

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%

Some would lead you to believe no job is "real" - without certification

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And usually the people selling this train of thought are also selling certification or have purchased that certification themselves! Yes, folks, nowadays a college education and certification is needed to file a piece of paper, answer a phone, or swab out a toilet! Just ask a college with such a program or someone "certified" in filing/phones/toilet swabbing and they will tell you all about how THEY are professional and anybody who does it minus certification is an unwashed heathen that will do a substandard job. On this board we know better - many of us never became certified MTs and we're all being devalued equally - certified or uncertified, our career is still being killed by corporate greed. Coding could just as easily go down the same path in the future.

Good luck getting a coding job without it - nm

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Nm

I DID get one without it. You're not paying attention - on my way out of MT

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I got a coding job without certification, in fact I was hired to code with no experience whatever! Don't fret that I am taking work away from "real" coders, I decided I didn't like it and don't want to do it any more. I will not split hairs any further with anybody who feels I wasn't a "real" coder - the job was advertised as coding, I learned coding, I have 5 coding seminar certificates hanging on my wall at this very moment. I wore my ICD-9 manual to rags coding, I have coding on my resume, my ex-boss gives me good recommendations to this day. Set me down in a room with nothing but a list of diagnoses and an ICD-9 manual and I can code the entire list correctly without a computer babysitting and confirming my choices.

I also got many transcription jobs without certification. I've just been hired as an Informatics/PACS assistant by a hospital that gave me credit for my entire coding/billing/transcription history (they based my pay on my years of experience). My entire medical career has been without certification - yet my skills are recognized by employers and I can prove those skills to anyone who cares to test them.

Its so amusing to be told things I've done are impossible. I guess they are - for YOU. If you care to read the fine print in the coding want ads - many of them say certification "preferred" but guess what - they truly like experience and no certification OVER certification with no experience. Competence - I can prove it. Only the insecure need a title to feel their skills are solid.

OK, you win! - You are an expert!

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In my organization, your "informatics/pacs assistant" job would be a level 4. The department that has those jobs would be thrilled with your coding background, too, because they don't know any better, nor do you need it in that job.

We require coders to be certified. They are 6-10s.

Certification is expected by Medicare. Facilities have to expect it as part of their compliance program.

When you worked in that job, it was years ago and things were different. A lot has changed since then. Coding now involves more than diagnoses, for one.

Congratulations - on

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your new job. You are going down a path due to where youâ��ve been and what you know. All of those skills are valuable and it is working for you. You donâ��t need certification for those positions. You are happy, they are happy. Youâ��re path could have gone towards coding, but you donâ��t like it, so you went a different way. Follow your path. Others may choose to do coding, which is a different path, thatâ��s all.

Your sarcasm is poetry to my eyes - slowrhythmichandclap

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It isn't often I see such an expert display of sarcasm. I have a tear in my eyes. That was truly great.

Brava, sister!

(and that isn't sarcasm)

I beg to differ - Me again

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You have never heard of an insurance claim being denied because the diagnosis codes were inadequate or not explained clearly enough? I guess what you are saying is that you are never wrong. It is not unethical to resubmit a bill, and on occasion there is not only "one correct code." The billers/coders I know sometimes do have to dig deeper and do additional record review research to make sure their facility gets paid. You apparently never deal with insurance companies from your ivory tower, but they can be difficult, and you'd be amazed at the reasons they have for denying claims or paying at a lesser level. Very few coders educate providers unless they work in compliance or auditing. I'm not saying you don't know what you are talking about, but perhaps that you might be misinformed.

That sounds like medical office admin - not coding

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.

In the same boat. sm - Kindred

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I'm 51 and have been considering the coding avenue.

I got my MT certificate from our local community college, so would absolutely not recommend a community college from my experience for coding classes. Even though I had 4.0 average with MT classes, absolutely was not prepared to do real MT work upon completion. Thank goodness I found an in-house internship opportunity (Roder/Atlanta) and learned what I needed to know through hard work and perseverance and the help of many hands-on, in-house mentors!

I was considering the Medline "bridging course" if I do anything.

I don't mind going to work out of the home, not a problem at all, but like all the other posters are stating, how in the heck are you supposed to get your foot in the door?

Not to mention that according to what I read in the Sunday paper, and which I believe, is that the age 50-60 group is having the hardest time finding work.

It seems we are all either going back to school or toying with the idea to learn another trade. Would it even be feasible?

I am holding on to the idea that with all of our transcription experience, it should blend well with coding knowledge, but who the heck knows.

I wish I had majored more in medical assisting, but my local community classes only offers those courses at their satellite school an hour away, no on-line courses, etc. I cannot seem to find another option.

I don't think coding is going to be the answer for me.

I actually thought of doing this... - anon

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I went to my family doc recently for a simple annual visit, used to take an hour at most. I was there 4-1/2 hours. My doc and her nurse were almost pulling their hair out trying to figure out the computer system, the EMR. It took an hour for the nurse to go through it with me and another hour for the doc to go through it when I finally saw her. I don't have major medical issues, so it was mostly answering, "no" to questions, not like they had to fill out a bunch of hairy stuff.

My doc said they absolutely hated the EMR system. She said she used to see 20 patients a day, and now they see about 10. Also other docs she knew had also started seeing about half the patients they normally did, all due to fussing with typing in the EMR.

She knows I'm an MT, and she showed me the screen, the finished product, which she said was a "choppy" read, she hated it. She mentioned she was thinking about hiring someone to type it in for her. She said she could use someone like myself to do that part for her, as she cannot type well and is unhappy she doesn't have face-to-face contact with patients because she has to spend so much time entering info into the computer, backing up in the system to make corrections, just navigating it took too much of her time.

I told her some MTs were wanting to do this job, called "scribes," but some thought it would be a passing fad. Her response was she would love to hire someone like that and she knew of other docs who would, too.

After I got home, I seriously thought about contacting her to ask if she would consider hiring me as a scribe. But I'm full time in school, working PT, and luckily my MT schedule allows me to take evening classes. With this semester and next to go, I'm reluctant to get into a job that would interfere with school, so I'm waiting it out for now.

Anyway, I know many MTs go out in the community and acquire their own clients and accounts for MT work. I think it is feasible for MTs to advertise themselves as scribes, shop around and see if docs are interested. If docs see hiring a scribe could increase the number of patients they see, well, I think it's worth thinking about. If I were not getting close to finishing school, I would have seriously looked into whether my doc would hire me in a scribe capacity. We have the typing skills, familiarity with how a medical record is formatted and put together, we know how to navigate computer programs related to medical recs. Who better to do a scribe job?

By the way, I'm not trying to start a debate about scribes, good job to get into or bad. I just saw a doctor who seemed to want one.

I would LOVE that! sm - Kindred

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That would be right up my ally!

I really did used to be a people person, I swear!

By golly, I am going to look into that!

Kudos to your insight!

I did it - Would do it again

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I learned coding, got hired in a trainee position, coded for a large facility, and then went back to school for an RHIA. I was able to move into informatics because of my coding background.

Would I do it again? Yes, absolutely. Health information administration is one of the fastest growing fields around, is achievable through online study, and can be done in an incremental fashion. Salaries and working conditions are good.

Your mileage may vary.

Hey I'm headed into informatics too! - on my way out of MT

[ In Reply To ..]
Start my new job next week as a PACS assistant in my hospital's Rad Informatics department - they gave me credit for both my coding/billing and transcription experience to decide on my starting wage. :) They did say 1/3 of my work will be transcription/editing and the rest will be cleaning up messes in PACS and scheduling. :) :)

Good for you! - Would do it again

[ In Reply To ..]
Once you get situated, see if they will pay for school. The health information administration program in informatics at WGU leads to several computer certifications, is affordable, and can be done in less than 4 years if you are motivated. Your chances of being accepted are better if you are already working in something related.

Lissybell - Please sm

[ In Reply To ..]
I am living proof that the transition from MT to coding can be done. I am a little younger than you but I don't think that matters here. I have been working FT as an MT while attending coding school for about a year. I spent less than the $5000 you mentioned, books included. I am just now finishing my course, am already a CPC-A and I am scheduled to take the CCS.

I say where there's a will, there's a way. I was also worried about the "experience needed" aspect for new coders, but everyone has to start somewhere. For me, it looks like I may have a job lined up. The reason for this is because I have been researching my options BEFORE I finished my course and I have been persistent (maybe to a fault). Anyway, I just thought I'd tell you that nothing is impossible, no matter what you may read on these boards to the contrary. I say if it's something you're interested in, go for it!

no way - me

[ In Reply To ..]
I was an inpatient coder for a number of years then went back to MT because at that time it paid better. Spouse coded in military and went on to get certified, yet everybody he talked to told him they required 2 years of experience.

Comments on that - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Not to criticize you or your husband, but certification can mean a lot of things in coding. Certified as what by whom? And when? Some credentials are not accepted by nearly all employers. Some were not accepted by certain types of employers until recently, and still might not be by some.

The "sorry, we require 2 years of experience" excuse is a euphemism for "we don't feel confident with you for some other reason." In your husband's case, my guesses would be his recent military experience. That worked against him because a lot of employers fear hiring the military, worrying about PTSD, aggression, having to hold jobs open during deployments, and other stupid things. There is also a belief that the military does not do real coding, that the coding is "different" and does not include reimbursement issues, involve Medicare, and so forth. All of those things need to be addressed in the application process.

He would probably have no trouble getting on with the VA. Another option would be to try to work through a veteran reintegration program for that first job placement.

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