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

Community College Program - enigma

Posted: Jan 18, 2015

I would like opinions on taking a coding program at a community college, then being properly prepared to become a successful coder and getting certified. Cost is important to me, which makes this an attractive option. What is the consensus about this? Thanks for your comments.

It depends on the program. - Which one?

[ In Reply To ..]
We have been discussing community colleges and how well they prepare students in several posts below.

If you want an opinion about a specific program, please tell us which one it is and provide a link.

generally speaking... - JOttS

[ In Reply To ..]
a community college is where you may find a program that's more economical than say an online course where the outcome could be questionable. Community colleges usually also have job placement departments for students and non-students. (I've already gone to our community college to get a typing certificate that a lot of employers are now expecting.) The next question you will want to ask is where can you find a coding job that pays a decent living wage. There are some small billing companies where you live that may treat you better and pay you better; but also keep in mind that EHRs have built-in billing programs, and billing and coding can be done in a clinic or doctor's office on their EHR system. So you may want to do some research before jumping full on into a strictly coding and billing course. Community colleges typically have medical assistant courses where they teach EHR programs, which go hand in hand with the coding and billing nowadays. I'm already seeing jobs posted for MAs who know EMR and how to do billing. Just sayin... Hope this info helps. Good luck! JOS

Jotts - MT2Coder

[ In Reply To ..]
I think you may be confused about the difference between medical office billing and professional coding. A lot of people here are confused about that. You may have picked up on the nonsense on the main board.

Your response to enigma talks about jobs in billing offices and warns about EHRs taking away jobs in doctors' offices. You are describing medical billing, not coding, and there never was a huge need for a coder to code in a doctor's office. Doctors have always selected their own codes for office billing.

Coders do not do that kind of work. Coding requires a college level training program and an expensive, difficult exam to earn certain credentials. Some colleges don't even teach enough to meet the requirements for some of the exams. Some online programs do. Some coders have 2 and 4 year degrees, and some coding jobs require master's degrees. With that, they don't aspire to jobs sending out bills in doctors' offices.

Coding is a great field if you like it. It is just not the clerical work you seem to think it is.

It is also part of the larger field of health information management. With that, there are many jobs that require coding skills, but which are not strictly front-line coding, like auditing, consulting, chargemaster development, compliance, clinical documentation improvement, and others. Even if front-line coding were to be replaced by computers, there are many other jobs to move into.

I hope this has educated you somewhat to what coding is, so that you won't feel the need to shoo others away from it. You might even consider it yourself.

Good luck with your typing certificate. While you are there, check to see if the college offers HIM and coding (not billing!), and see the AHIMA career map linked below. It might interest you. Your MT background will help.

one thing to watch out for - community college

[ In Reply To ..]
At my local junior college, they are proud to have "partnered" with ed2go. In other words, the college doesn't really provide the training, ed2go does. I will say that ed2go looks like it has improved its program in the last few years. It's just something to be aware of.

Community College Cost - Dorothy

[ In Reply To ..]
I am working through the Career Step program right now and I think it is one of the best choices out there. Their Medical Billing and Coding program is AHIMA approved so I know when it comes time for testing that I have covered the correct material to get certified. I had looked at a similar program through my local community college, but it lasts two years and would have cost me $15,000!

I am also very excited about graduating from the course because Career Step has recently partnered with a company called IOD who hires Career Step graduates to work from home.

They have an offer right now where you can get a free laptop or $300 off when you sign up. Here is the link for that offer:
http://www.careerstep.com/?uid=ref36530

Does the school give you the text to post? - Wondering

[ In Reply To ..]
Just wondering if the school prvides the advertising blurb for you to post, because you have posted the same text on at least three separate occasions.

What certification does the AHIMA approval cover, anyway? I thought it was the CCA.

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