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

If you are a certified coder... - just curious

Posted: Nov 05, 2011

what other jobs would you be qualified for if by chance coding does disappear. There are quite a few posters saying it will. Thanks

Other jobs - Confident Coder

[ In Reply To ..]
I have both a CCS and a CPC. I am not concerned about coding "disappearing." Those who post that it will disappear do not seem to be very well informed and it is not something I am concerned about.

Another Viewpoint - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
I'm also not worried about coding jobs disappearing. Another viewpoint though would be how you can use those same skills in other ways. More and more attention is being given to data mining. The same skills that coders use to code can be used to retrieve data, which makes for another job option for coders. There are all sorts of potential jobs that use the same skills in case someone wanted to do something different, but I think coding is rewarding.

Where do you look for data mining jobs? - mt2coding2

[ In Reply To ..]
Is there a particular place we can look for coding, data mining, or data abstractor jobs type jobs? All I see are scams unfortunately.

Hospital jobs boards - usually available online - nm

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

Suggestion - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Are you a coder or are you just thinking about wanting to switch to coding? You sound very unfamiliar with the job market, so that makes it sound as if you have not had any training yet. Coding training should include an explanation of different types of jobs in and around the field of coding. You should know what these are.

If you have been to school, you should ask your school to help you. If all you are seeing are scams, you are looking in the wrong places. Coding jobs aren't advertised in scammy places -- they're professional jobs that are advertised in professional places.

Coding jobs are advertised through employment agencies, job notices on websites belonging to professional organizations like AAPC and AHIMA (you usually have to be a memeber to see them), local chapters of professional organizations (websites and emails), and through the HR departments of hospitals, large facilities, medical centers, insurers, etc.

You probably won't find jobs called "data mining." Jobs in that field are not entry-level, either. It isn't something you do by hand. It involves computers, large amounts of data, programming ability, analytical skills, etc. While that may use coding skills, it uses a lot more skills that aren't taught in basic coding classes.

Data abstraction jobs are found in medical records departments. They are just people who work in medical records, looking through records to identify specific information that is entered into a computer database, registration system, or something like that. You definitely should already know what data abstraction is, because coders often do this as part of the coding process.

If you don't know what these jobs are, you're probably not qualified for them. The first thing you should do when you see an unfamiliar job title is google it. Do some online research to find out what it is. If you google "data mining" or "data abstractor," you will come up with loads of information.

Coders do a lot of online research and employers know this. They value this skill and expect coders to be able to know how to do this and to do it on their own. They are going to react better to someone who looks things up and sounds confident than they will to someone who doesn't know and expects someone to tell them. Now would be a good time to learn more about coding and get some practice looking things up--it can only help.

Suggestion - Appreciative One

[ In Reply To ..]
This makes an overwhelming amount of sense. I do appreciate the time taken by the poster to provide this coherent, well-thought-out, and comprehensive answer.

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