Oops - I mispelled "EDUCATION"..... - DJ

Coding education - coder

Coding Education - Lynne

Thank You! - DJ

RE: - Coding Education

What about the AHIMA course? - kmw58

Coding Education - Lynne

re: - coding education

Coding Education - Lynne

Coding schools - Looking

See message - Linda Andrews

Found Andrews School way too expensive, at least for me... - Just my opinion

What is a board exam? - Wondering

Ooops..meant certification examination - Just my opinion

Schools - Future coder

AAPC course - JM

??Costs - Comparing

Thanks for the breakdown nm - JM

Coding Schools - Coderx

totally agree - cj

Education - Lynne

Accredited program advantage example - Coderx

Accredited versus non-accredited. - Coder/biller/MT

Everyone will pick out something different - Coderx

Certification is the main thing in getting coding jobs - AHIMA Member

Also an AHIMA member - Coderx

Point - JM

Why don't you ask them? - One way to find out

There's a lid for every pot . . . - Redpen

This is an interesting discussion!  Linda asked if I might stop by and share some perspective with you.   I'm an RHIA, CCS, CCS-P, CPC, CPC-H, and am familiar with employer desires and prospective coder needs.  And, yes, I teach for Andrews, but I'll try not to let that interfere with giving you a balanced, objective view.

First, let's clear up the difference between accreditation and approval.  No one accredits coding programs--there is an approval which AHIMA offers.  Their accreditation applies only to 2 and 4-year degree programs in health information management.  College HIM programs teach generalist HIM subjects, along with English, math, and coding.  The only way to qualify to take the RHIT or RHIA exams is to complete an AHIMA-accredited HIM program. The main disadvantage is that they are often quite expensive, take 2 or 4 years full-time,  and may take 3 to 5+ years part-time.  If you are looking for a job SOON, a less lengthy coding-only program might be a better choice.  And less expensive. 

The confusion comes in when a college HIM program runs a coding certificate (i.e., not a certification, but just a certificate of completion) program.  Those teach mostly coding, with some HIM, and can usually be completed in a year full-time.  However, there may be prerequisites and requirements that take a semester or two prior to that.  To add to the confusion, there are schools, like other colleges and Andrews, which offer coding certificate programs but which are not affiliated with an accredited HIM program.  These types of schools may seek AHIMA approval.  AHIMA's online coding program is a certificate program.

Other coding programs are typically shorter.  When they are short, they usually focus on outpatient coding.  This can be fine, depending on the type of job that you'd like. 

AAPC certifications are geared toward outpatient services -- coding for physicians.  AHIMA certifications are geared toward inpatient services -- coding for hospitals.  Coders in hospitals and large facilities usually work for medical record departments, and those are usually managed by AHIMA-credentialed folks like RHIAs and RHITs.  AHIMA individuals tend to gravitate toward AHIMA credentials, since they understand them, but they are flexible.

When you think you are seeing "most" jobs requiring AHIMA programs, it is only because you are not seeing THE REST of the job market in coding.  Outpatient jobs are often filled by agencies and/or through the local AAPC chapter.  (I sometimes get 2 or 3 emails a day from them with job announcements in my area.)  

The job ad above doesn't say that the candidate had to have graduated from an AHIMA-accredited program.  It establishes graduation from a nursing school or a 2 or 4-year HIM degree program as a baseline.  But, it says that experience in coding may substitute.  It then goes on to what really matters -- regardless of whether you're a nursing grad, an HIM grad, or you just have experience coding, they expect you to be credentialed as an RHIA, an RHIT, an RN, a CCS, a CCS-P, or a CPC. 

What's important here? The credentials.  Are they valuing an HIM degree and RHIT/RHIA over coding credentials?  No.  Why not?  Because they would never find enough applicants--there aren't enough graduates out there.    

Remember above I said the only way to qualify for the RHIA and RHIT exams was to complete an AHIMA-accredited HIM program?  Well, the AHIMA CCS and CCS-P, and the AAPC CPC and CPC-H certifications do not require completion of a program at all.  If you can pass the test, the credential is yours.  AAPC does require 2 years of relevant, full-time experience before they'll grant the full credential. 

Few people today can afford to drop everything and go back to college full-time.  Most have to work.  So, what do you do? 

A lot of people start off in coding and do so well that they just stay there.  Others  start in coding and then go back to school to pick up a degree in HIM that will lead to an RHIT or RHIA--you can learn, then earn, then earn while learning. 

There is an educational solution for every student.  What works for one student might not work for another.  If you need explanation from an instructor,  you might not do well in a course or college which uses online canned teaching modules and computer-graded tests.  If you want to be able to work in any coding setting, a short outpatient course might not be a good choice for you. 

Different types of coding appeal to different people.  If you are highly analytical and read very, very well, then you can probably do quite well in both hospital and large facility coding.  If you think you might be a slower reader, or if you just don't enjoy reading all that much, or you find you cannot abide having to figure things out all day, then you would do better in a physician office setting where the work wouldn't involve much of that.   Either way, when you get bored, there is another challenge around the corner, right up to interventional radiology and consulting.

There is a lid for every pot, and there is a solution for every student.  I think what's important is that we try to avoid discrediting certain types of solutions because we  misunderstand them.  There are a LOT of historical misunderstandings in the HIM/coding arena, and we might not realize that is what we're hearing and/or that we're perpetuating them.   When people talk to you about HIM and coding, there is about a 95% chance that they're . . . inaccurate . . . so beware.

Before you settle on ANY school,  find out what they are teaching and to what level they teach it.   Find out if there are instructors and how you'll relate to them, or if the school has online software.  Find out if they use traditional textbooks which you'll have as references or if you'll have to print the screens from the software.  Find out if they teach coding using the same accuracy standards that working coders experience or if they think 70 or 80% is ok.   What happens if you don't do well on something?  Too bad, so sad?  Or will they work with you until you finally get it? 

I sympathize with the difficulty of this decision.  Remember that it's not so much the end goal, but the process of getting there that is important, and take all the time you need PLUS some before committing yourself.  Gather accurate information to make a factual, well-balanced decision that suits YOU. 

Redpen-couldn't have said it better - Coder/biller/MT

Is that really what she said... - Coderx

95% - cj

Graduates and Certification Results - Linda Andrews

exams - anon

coding - mj