A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry

Coding future - SusieMT

Posted: Jul 11, 2013

I am thinking about going back to school to get into another profession. Coding is popular with MTs. I am really afraid that coding will be going down the same road transcription has. I am hearing things now with coding as I heard less than 10 years ago with transcription, i.e. off shoring, technology etc. Does anyone have any helpful info about the coding field and what the future outlook is? I have gone to websites to try to find this info and nothing seems helpful. I am not posting this under coding because there seems to be people in denial there that say it cannot happen to their profession, I do not need that kind of info.

I don't understand - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
So, you have no interest in hearing from people who actually WORK in the field you're interested in to find out the real story? No, I'm sorry, You don't BELIEVE the people who work coding and know what's going on because They're in denial.

Frankly, you don't want real information. You want someone with no real information to confirm your own misinformation.

Have at it and good luck to you.

good info - camt

[ In Reply To ..]
There is a lot of good, helpful information already posted on the coding board if you will go back and read it. If someone is happy in their job, they are not in denial nor are the other posts explaining what people think about healthcare in general uninformative. You have to make your own decisions about your own life and future. Iâ��m not sure what you are looking for either, but you already got good advice.

Coding future - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
I am scared of the same thing but like another coding student told me, inaction is worse than jumping into the unknown. I am going to be enrolling at Andrews. Personally I am scared BUT I did my due diligence and I have not heard one regret from coders I have talked to or current coding students that have made this decision. I have also been informed by experienced coders that this field is not going to go the way of MT. I believe it is better than sticking around to see where we all land in the MT world, which I know for sure is going into nonexistence.

balls - me

[ In Reply To ..]
crystal ones, that is, none of us have one, so we can't really tell you what the future holds.

I can tell you I'm an MT who went and became a coder. I can tell you my expectations had to adjust. It's very difficult to find work-at-home positions for coders, especially on the ground floor. Next to impossible. This is fact.

I can tell you that if you look at websites for jobs in India- they are being hired as coders. This is fact.

I can tell you that as the point and click and other similar programs become more proficient, they will do coding. They will not be able to do ALL of the coding so there will be jobs for coders, but the jobs that a newbie would do? Software can likely do. This is fact.

So if you are asking is it a good move for an MT to move into coding, then my response is this: I like to think no education is wasted. Could it make you a more valuable MT? Maybe. Does it mean you will stay employed? No one can tell you that.

Are coding jobs changing? Yes. Just like MT, they are going to be affected by bottom-line, save-a-dollar thinking. Just like MT, those who are highly skilled will likely still be employed, so will highly skilled coders.

But you also have to realize there is a very high percentage of MT who figured they could easily slide into coding and just keep working at home only in a different field. LOTS of MT. I'd venture to guess a whole bunch of them will never code a diagnosis once they are out of school.

This is the best info - Still an MT

[ In Reply To ..]
about switching from MT to coding that I have read yet, and I have read a lot. Not what most want to hear, including myself, but very frank and honest IMO.

don't understand why everyone is so hellbent - on working from home

[ In Reply To ..]
It's not all it's cracked up to be. It's lonely and boring. I would have never chosen to work from home, but my hospital closed and Medquist took us on. I'd be thrilled to be back in an office with people.

Some are just introverts - I am!!

[ In Reply To ..]
I love my home office, my space. I also love to spend time with people, people of my choosing, when I choose and where. I'm good one on one. Spending too much time with too many people drains my energy. We all cannot be extroverts : )

I agree sm - me

[ In Reply To ..]
I picked MT because it was something I can do at home, away from people. I was very shy and socially anxious. Doing it for 9 years on and off has made me more of a hermit. I'm ready to learn how to socialize with people. However hard it is at first, I need to do it.

I understand there are outgoing people who can do MT at home and still be fine socially. I'm not one of them.

Working from home was only option - sick and tired

[ In Reply To ..]
My choice to work from home had nothing to do with being introverted. I love working outside the home BUT I have small children and working from home saved me from sending my whole paycheck to daycare and let me raise them myself. I do want a job outside the house but they are only 11 and 8 right now so I am kind of stuck on that one.

Hate working at home. Been doing it for - TOO LONG!

[ In Reply To ..]
I loved it the first 5 years. Now it makes me want to shoot myself.

Honestly, I wouldn't do it if you have more than 10 years - of work left in your life. sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Coding is being outsourced now to MTSO's, just like MT was 10 years ago. It started exactly the same way. There is absolutely no reason that someone in India can't do this work too. Precyse, an MT company, is an even bigger coding company and they outsource to India. Trust me on this, if I had understood the trajectory MT was going to take 10 years ago, I wouldn't be here now. Coding is going to go the same way. Its just a matter of time.

You do not know this - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
You are assuming this based on your experiences in another career field. You do not know anything about coding and the larger field it fits into, health information administration. You just assume that the work is the same and that the same market conditions exist, neither of which is true.

You also seem to hold the notion that people should keep performing the same exact job function for their entire lives. That is what prompted the comment about not going into coding if someone had more than ten years left.

In reality, everyone needs to expect that any job will change and that adaptation will be required. Being willing to change, learn new things, and adapt is now necessary. It is also becoming a key factor in hiring decisions.

Some aspects of coding will change, but it will remain a viable career field. There will also be other jobs in HIM to move into.

In 1989, I worked at a small MTSO that switched to computers. One MT refused to switch, insisting on using an IBM Selectric. She made corrections witb white-out and sometimes had to retype entire reports because a dictator changed something, or she typed added material sideways in a margin. She believed her work was "better" because she used a "real typewriter." She felt doctors wanted that added quality and personal effort.

Pretty soon, clients were refusing to accept her work. They thought it was a mess, not "quality." She couldn't work on any account that needed electronic reports. Everyone in her office was sick of her prima-donna-ing over this, with its accompanying chirping and exclaiming about her superior work, not to mention the clatter and dinging of her Selectric.

She finally had to be let go, and away she went sobbing about how technology had eliminated her job.

Technology HAD eliminated her job just as it eliminated jobs for some MTs who refused to switch to tape dictation, preferring to take it in shorthand.

Things change. You have to change with them.

There's a difference between learning new - equipment and moving to India.

[ In Reply To ..]
Learning new technology is one thing, but if jobs are shipped out of the country, there's not much you can do about it.

Why you are posting this here - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
You are posting this here because you just want to stir up consternation to support the view you hold. A search on your name reveals that nearly all of your posts are focused on staging walkouts, disgruntlement with your job, and other rabble-rousing. You are now just adding coding to your list of pet topics of abuse. You have already determined that the coding board won't give you what you want ... a big stink ... so you are trying it here.

There are several websites that have pretty clear career information. If you can't accept that then you aren't going to be happy coding and should not go into it. If you can't find them or understand what you see on them, then you are unlikely to be successful in coding and should not go into it.

SusieMT - Coding student

[ In Reply To ..]
At one time, I had the same concerns as you have. After weighing my options and trying to decide what I wanted to study to get out of MT, I finally decided on coding. While it's always in the back of mind that what happened to medical transcription can happen to some degree in coding, I decided I was willing to take the risk.

What I have been learning throughout my studies is that coding is hard! While they may be able to offshore some of it, I can't see all of it going away. Look how bad some of the work of the offshore MTs is. I can only imagine how bad their coding skills could be.

I guess only you can decide what's best for you and there are absolutely no guarantees in this life. As for me, I haven't regretted my decision once and I'm almost done with my course.

Had meeting with college career counselor about coding...his advice was - RM

[ In Reply To ..]
that it is extremely difficult to break into coding and that it is in a state of flux. He said that not too far off, waiting in the wings, in fact, is a point and click system that will be extremely easy to use. He said it is on the horizon. He told me that it might be a waste of time, money, and energy to learn this very challenging program right now and better to either hold off or go into something else. This is a person who also sits on a board that oversees several colleges and their curriculum. They are constantly evaluating which programs are worthwhile and which are not so great, even eliminating many, such as medical transcription. I decided to not go into coding after listening to him. Instead, I'm enrolled in the nursing program. I hope this is helpful for you!

This is the best comment on this topic. Everyone should read it - who thinks coding is the answer. nm

[ In Reply To ..]
xx

Nobody thinks coding is "the answer" for everyone - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
It isn't the answer for everyone and no one here ever said it was.

Coding is very hard to learn, difficult to do, nearly impossible to keep up with, requires good interpersonal skills, does not make a good "at home" job, and -- exactly like most nonclerical career fields -- is going to require constant change. And, there is no guarantee of a job.

That us the exact opposite of what most MTs seem to be looking for.

Coders here suggest it in case some of you might like it. It works well for us, after all.

If you don't think it is appealing, there is no reason you have to bash it..You can keep your negativity to yourself.

Actually - sounds to me

[ In Reply To ..]
like they have a lot of frustrated grads that went through their program. Chances are, they don't teach enough, so their grads don't pass certification tests and can't get jobs.

As far as an "easy to use point and click system" please explain to me what bearing, exactly, that would have. Most hospitals are already on "point and click systems," and they still need coders.

Thereby lies the problem in listening to "career counselors" - What this sounds like to me

[ In Reply To ..]
Well, there you have the problem with listening to "career counselors." They are in business to sell students on particular programs, fill certain programs, and place students in programs best suited for the school. A large part of his job involves placing students in courses where they can succeed so the school looks good on federal financial aid disclosure forms.

In your case, Mr. Counselor is likely to have identified you as a good candidate for the nursing program. That is important for the school. He will steer you away from programs that are overloaded, unsuccessful, or which he thinks aren't suited for you.

No counselor steers students away from the school's own programs entirely. He has students filling his coding courses already -- he just doesn't think you need to be in them.

One comment he made tells me he thinks coding is too hard for you..."very challenging program." Believe it or not, nursing programs can be a lot easier, but I think his college simply has a crummy coding program. It is challenging because it is poor.

It is also likely that the program teaches only low-level coding, because he can't see past that.

As for "point and click" taking over, that is just ignorant. It is so off-target it makes your entire post look like something the anti-coding faction here cooked up. (I'm not going to tell you what is wrong with it, either.)

This man has absolutely no clue what he is talking about in terms of the health information career field. He might be steering you away from his coding course because it is crummy and he thinks it is too hard for you, but what he says about coding is moronic.

Me too - Jen

[ In Reply To ..]
I was thinking about coding myself but my mother talked me into doing something that required a physical being, not a computer. Maybe coders will always have jobs but I'm afraid of taking that chance. I'm going to ultrasound tech school. Gotta admit, it's going to be a lot more interesting to me than sitting at a desk all day hoping I don't leave out a comma or misspell a doctor's name in a town I've never heard of!

Do you truly think ultrasounds are going to be around forever? - Really?

[ In Reply To ..]
Really, think about it. Do you truly think ultrasounds will be around forever? Unchanged? And that you will never have to learn anything more? Or switch to something else?

Sounds like that is your goal, after all. That is what your mom is betting on ... a job frozen in time.

Here is the reality. Coding is not just the rote, plop in codes, clerical function you must believe it to be. That is certainly not what I do for a living. It is so far from the truth and implies such unprofessional work that I find your view a bit insulting.

You are going to need to re-define your skills in echosonography just as you would in coding. You are going to need to continuously improve and be ready to move into new areas in either field.

Do not mistake my comments here for any kind of upset that you are not choosing my field. I am annoyed that you would attempt to discourage others from an excellent career by using bogus reasons, but I think you recognize your limitations and that you are not suited for coding. If you are frustrated with accuracy and provider issues now, believe me that coding is not for you.

Oh, not RN! - Me

[ In Reply To ..]
I did exactly the same thing- went from being MT into nursing. Seven months later, no job opportunities available- only nursing home work. I am not the type of person who enjoys being around gloom and doom all the time. It really wears me down. I have been putting in app after app after app to get into a hospital. No one around here will hire a new RN grad. Before you go spend a ton of money on an RN program, make SURE you are doing it because you love nursing and love to help people. I simply did it because I wanted to stay in the medical field and didn't want to work from home anymore.

Agree...known problem in nursing - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
I agree with being very cautious about going into nursing. The unemployment rates for new nurses are very high. Suggest you google to find articles about it.

Coding - SusieMT

[ In Reply To ..]
Thanks for all comments, I have seen over the past couple of weeks things that are helpful, I keep my eye open for what jobs are listed and trends. There seem to be more coding jobs listed lately which is a good sign. I have also talked with school counselors who have told me that every ones jobs are in danger at some point unless it requires an actual human to be present. So I am chosing nursing, hopefully to get me until retirement age which is about 15 years in the future. Thanks again, I was not trying to offend anyone, just wanted some info on the inside of what is going on.

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