A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry
Need a trained eye - pending
Posted: Sep 17, 2012
Hey there wise, venerable coding veterans!
I'm looking for an opinion on the coding course linked below before I contact the school with any specific questions. Do you think this will teach enough for the CCS or just the CCA? How about the CPC? Should I look further into this course/school or scratch it off my list?
Many thanks 
http://www.hutchcc.edu/catalog/major/?major=5215
Everyone has different needs - what appealed to you about - this program?
[ In Reply To ..]Everyone is looking for something different, so your needs factor into your choice. It isn't easy for us to understand what you need unless you tell us more about what you wanted and what you found appealing about this program.
Giving it a quick look, this is what I can tell you.
The "parent" program, an associates in HIT, is accredited by CAHIIM, which is good.
A faculty member, Loretta Horton, is the author of a healthcare statistics book published by AHIMA, which might indicate that she is in tune with their educational objectives.
The coursework is standard for AHIMA coding programs. You will have to check carefully to see what credential students are getting when they graduate. Probably the CCA. You'll probably be able to pass the CPC, as well. Whether they mention that or not will depend on the extent to which the faculty buys into the age-old AHIMA vs. AAPC feud.
The program includes the standard stuff, plus what appears to be mandatory courses in some college requirements, like "college success." A total of 46 hours is required, taking 3 semesters full time, with not all courses available every semester. That is a year and a half. If you can only go part time, it will take you perhaps 6 semesters or THREE YEARS. Keep in mind that courses are not offered every semester and that some have prerequisites, and sometimes more senior students are given seats before newer ones, so you might have difficulty getting into the courses you need when you need them, and that might hold up others, etc. (I know one lady who spent 6 years trying to do a 2-year degree program, and I have spent hours sitting up at night waiting for online enrollment to open at 2 a.m. only to find that the on-campus students had gotten to enroll the previous day and there were no seats left.)
What's the "college hassle" factor with this course? Moderate if you are lucky, high if you are not. Plan on lots of time negotiating the maze of requirements, registrations, course schedules, payments, and busywork.
Nearly all online college programs require busywork to make up for the fact that you don't have to attend on campus. This is a totally online program, too. That means they probably use teaching modules purchased from publishers like Pearson and Saunders. If you are lucky, instructors will be helpful. (Their identities and credentials were not readily apparent on the website.)
Cost is $84 per credit hour for local residents (Kansas, I guess) and $115 for nonresidents. Books are estimated at $1000 a year. For this 46 hour program, the costs will be:
$84 x 46 = 3864 + 1500 = $5364 (if you are a Kansas resident)
$115 x 46 = 5290 + 1500 = $6790 (if you are from anywhere else)
So, you are going to spend 2-3 years studying for a certificate in coding at a cost of $6790. Some of the coursework is not going to transfer to a 4-year RHIA program, either. And, if you do decide to go with a 4-year RHIA, completing the last 2 years at another university, you will find that anything specific to Hutchinson ("college success") will not transfer. Keep in mind that the last 2 years at university often takes 3 years since you have to complete THAT university's requirements, too. That's a long time.
If it were me, I would look at that time and take a less expensive coding course that does not offer "college success" and get it done in 9-12 months so you can get a CCS and get a job before things change with the upcoming ICD-10 transition. You do not want to be sitting in a course taking ICD-9 now and then find out you have to take ICD-10 later to pass a certification test.
You might need the financial aid, though. In that event, I would seriously consider another route. With Hutchinson, you are going to spend more than $7K and 2-3 years for a coding certificate that MIGHT get you a CCA (and a lot of loan repayments) and MIGHT enable you to get a job. And then, if you want to finish their HIT program for an RHIT, it will take maybe another several thousand. And then, if you want to finish an RHIA, it will take A LOT more. (Some completer programs are in the $30K range and people pay it because of the job benefits.)
It would be a lot more practical to do the health informatics program at Western Governors University. It leads to the RHIA, on which they have a 100% pass rate, and you take the CCA as part of it, as well as several computer certifications that are truly helpful. You can probably finish it in not much longer than you would the entire RHIT program at Hutchinson and at about the same cost. Cost is based on time in the program, not on credit hours, and YOU control how long you take. You'll get financial aid, too, and they have scholarships. It is a real university, not a diploma mill, and they are completely focused on providing optimal online education. They are well-respected, with exceptional nursing and computer programs. I don't think you could go wrong with it.
Wow- what a great response! - another coding student
[ In Reply To ..]I am not the original poster, but thank you for the terrific explanation! :)
Also, this may help you see what "approved" means - Another Trained View
[ In Reply To ..]This college's coding program is not "approved" by AHIMA.
We said several times below that the "approved" status is NOT a "recommendation" and that it does not mean nonapproved schools are "bad," but we still have people saying that they chose a program because it was on the "recommended list" and asking what is wrong with that program that they aren't "recommended."
There may be nothing wrong. The school just might not feel the approval is necessary or that it is too expensive or meaningless.
AHIMA does not look for programs online and "recommend" the. The school has to apply.
The above college program certainly does meet the specifications but is NOT approved. It is even in an AHIMA accredited HIT program, but is still not approved.
Why? Who knows. It just does not mean anything bad. Probably means nothing at all. Might even mean the school could not afford the 50-99K donation required to become a "platinum" supporter of AHIMA.
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