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

On main board there is a thread scaring me - called "Gotta Vent" sm

Posted: Dec 12, 2011

On the main board there is a message titled "Gotta Vent" and the following replies regarding coding have made me sick to my stomach, especially because a couple people stated seeing their coding departments wiped out by the EMR systems.

Could someone shed some light on this? I am in a coding class now and I am not feeling so hot....but be honest.

Thank you!

What's been scaring me - shivers

[ In Reply To ..]
I've been spending some time on the AAPC boards--there's a lot of new CPC-As who Cannot find jobs.

Can anyone out there speak to that please? =/

How are your job searches going?

That is nothing new - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
A new graduate with a CPC-A has always had a tough time finding the first job. That's nothing new. Most jobs require a CCS, but it's very smart to have both the CPC-A and the CCS. You'll have a better chance of finding a good job.

As far as the overall job market is concerned, it's a mixed bag for coders and other hospital personnel. I've heard that some small hospitals are going under. You have to think that before they go under, they probably cut back. The job outlook for healthcare is supposed to be better than for other sectors of the economy, but when hospitals cut costs, it hurts all departments, even nursing and other hands-on patient care jobs.

If your situation is that the only hospital within driving distance is a small one, your job options are limited. You'd better do a little research and see if that hospital is in good shape or threatening to close, as many small hospitals have done. If you have large hospitals within driving distance, you're in better shape, as long as you have credentials, but don't just stop at the CPC-A. That isn't enough in this environment.

One more thing - You need both ICD-9 and ICD-10 - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
New coding graduates who know both ICD-9-CM and ICD-10 are going to be ahead of some experienced coders. That's going to be a huge plus in getting your first job.

Hospitals lose hundreds of thousands of dollars if coders aren't - credentialed

[ In Reply To ..]
Hospitals have played around with different ways of cutting coders out. It always has and always will come down to one thing, money. That's why it's so important to them that a real, credentialed coder is doing the coding. They tried automation in place of coders a few years ago. That failed miserably. Huge amounts of money were lost. Now they are fine with using a combination, but where money is concerned, you'll find credentialed coders doing the coding. If they hospital doesn't get paid for what they do, they really will go out of business.

Coders are training in India too - medtranusa

[ In Reply To ..]
I just lost my job in a big hospital system as a transcriptionist just as I was finishing an CAHIM associates degree in HIM with coding. They were looking at some programs that automate coding like SR does. It codes the chart and the coders review it. Also coders are training in India and found some of their sites online. One major hospital in Orlando already has outsourced their coding so coding is going to be affected much like transcription has been and pay rates are probably going to drop as well. With the electronic record all the info can be sent out to be coded. Sorry.

CPC and CCS - Anonymous

[ In Reply To ..]
Those exams are in the neighborhood of $300 per exam. I haven't figured out how someone just out of school or someone who is unemployed and looking for work is supposed to afford that. Sure, it's great to have both, but people need to know that there is expense involved. And, if you don't pass, there's a waiting period before you can re-test.

I would consider it an investment - and a fact of life

[ In Reply To ..]
It's just a fact of life that everything costs money. You get the best education you can get and do your best to pass the first time. People do it every day. It's just like everything else though. It costs money. Whether it's worth it or not is up for each person to decide.

For me, an education that doesn't lead to credentials is not worth my time, effort, and money, no matter how cheap it is or how fast I can get through it. For someone else, cheaper and/or faster is better.

It's worth it - Anonymous

[ In Reply To ..]
That is not the issue; first a person has to have the money to spend. You've probably noticed that it doesn't grow on trees.

you also have to - keep

[ In Reply To ..]
Your credentials by getting a certain amount of CEUs per year, which cost money. If you have an AAPC credential you also have to pay for your membership with them. Some employers do help with this, but not all. There is some expense to being a professional with a credential. If you are afraid of the exam fee, you might want to know this also.

Coding is a profession, credentials go with it - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Coding is a profession. Becoming credentialed is expected. It is pretty much a prerequisite for success in the field. Right now, it's pretty much a requirement to get a job in the field.

In other words, credentials aren't optional. Professional people expect to do what they need to do. Accountants expect to take the CPA. Lawyers expect to pass the bar exam. Health information administrators expect to pass the RHIA exam. Nearly all health professions expect to be licensed. Coders expect to certify in their specialties.

How can people afford this? Faced with the choice of being accepted in a profession and not being accepted, you find the money. I consider it an investment, just like my suits, shoes, handbag, and nice briefcase are investments.

Yes, I pay dues to several professional organizations every year. That and the cost of references are just part of being in the career field I'm in.

As for CEU expenses, I pay for very few CEUs --you can nearly always get enough for free.

If you cannot understand this, then you're going to be unhappy in a professional field unless you can adjust your beliefs and expectations.

Yes, that's me - CPC-A=no job - sm - Coder-to-be

[ In Reply To ..]
Would I do it all again - yes. I really loved the class. Would I like a job - yes but no one wants someone with no experience but how do you get experience if no one will hire you. I thought I would be helped by all my MT experience but it didn't matter. I personally would take a chance on an experienced MT rather than the people in my class who had absolutely no medical background but maybe that's just me.

I posted one of the replies to gotta vent - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Both of the departments I saw wiped out were in clinics so I can't comment on hospitals.

In both instances I was responsible for entering the charges and I have NO formal training in coding. In the first office I trained the doctors and nurses on the EMR. In the second office, I entered the charges when the patient checked out using the fee ticket and ICD-9 book.

I was a little overwhelmed with trying to keep straight what was allowed with each insurance and what needed modifiers. The nurse entered the surgeries and deliveries. I think that having the formal training, especially since you're already taking classes, will be a good thing and make you more marketable, but in a position that is different than traditionl coding.

Thank you! I appreciate your time - and info. nm

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

What you were doing WAS NOT CODING - Credentialed Coder

[ In Reply To ..]
What you were doing in that office was clerical work, not coding. Many such offices CALL it "coding," but it is NOT coding. It is NOT what I do as a coder. It is not what credentialed coders typically do. Few CPC-credentialed coders do it, and it is definitely not what a CCS-credentialed coder does.

Before you advise others about the viability of coding as a career and/or about what coding IS, you should be a genuine coder.

The clerical work you described was always low-paying and it IS able to be done by an EHR. It is no surprise that those kinds of jobs are disappearing.

Legitimate coding is not something an EHR can do, though. It is not able to miraculously happen because a doctor clicks buttons. In fact, a hospital would be insane to allow their coding to be done that way. They'd go broke through lack of reimbursement or huge fines for fraud. Probably both.

Coders are the life-blood of hospital reimbursement. We do not make the salaries we do for no good reason. If you don't know how much we make, you might want to check a salary survey or two.

And, yes, there ARE lots of jobs that branch off from coding. Electronic records are enhancing those jobs, not eliminating them. It is opening up a world of opportunity for coders.

Set your sights a little higher than clerical work and you'll do ok in coding.

That entire thread was silly - Coder

[ In Reply To ..]
That thread shouldn't scare you. The scare-mongering was being done by people who don't know what coding is and/or who regularly appear here to terrorize others. A lot of them seem to be people who hated MT and now hate coding, too, and it isn't clear if they ever coded.

Please do yourself a favor and find more accurate information from a website devoted to coding, like the AAPC and/or the coding forums on AHIMA.

My organization has been fully electronic for more than 10 years. We haven't gotten rid of any coders and we now have MORE jobs for people with coding training than ever before. Every one of them is an advancement from coding. Some of them are jobs working directly with the EHR, with its data, with its documentation, and with providers.

Please also be aware that there are jobs for inexperienced coders. You just have to work to get one. EVERY WORKING CODER I KNOW MANAGED TO GET THEIR FIRST JOB WITHOUT EXPERIENCE. If you want to be one of them, then you'll need to make it happen. Nobody else will do it for you.

No matter what you are now, get MORE education than you think you need, get MORE credentials than others have, improve your personal self, improve your manners, improve your attitude, lose weight, get appropriate business attire, and get a makeover. The people you want to hire you see lawyers, doctors, and pharmaceutical/equipment representatives all day. They dress just like them and think that's the way business people are supposed to look.

Get a suit, shoes, and makeup from someplace that isn't Walmart. Get your hair professionally styled and colored at a quality salon--none of that home-do blackish brown with the skunk stripe up the center. Don't show up soaked in cigarette stink, alcohol, mildew smell, perfume, or BO.

If you have to, DO VOLUNTEER WORK to get some experience. There must be a free clinic or hospice in your area which could use some help.

In any field, there will be new graduates who are unemployable for any number of reasons. They would be unemployable in ANY field. Don't let their unhappy selves affect your ability to learn and succeed in a new career.

India is going to make an impact on US coding - medtranusa

[ In Reply To ..]
http://www.globalhealthcareresource.com/
http://www.outsource2india.com/services/outsource_medical_coding.asp
http://www.outsource2india.com/services/outsource_medical_coding.asp

These are only a few of the sites for Inida and coding. They are going to make an impact on the shortage of coders in the US with the attitude towards globalization and the electronic record. Not scare mongering but truth!

I get spam mail from weird companies that sound like what you describe - They have been there for years

[ In Reply To ..]
There are people who work very hard at finding reasons to be afraid to succeed. In fact, there are people who are afraid to breathe the normal air that the rest of us breathe because they have inappropriate phobias. Some have these same kinds of phobias about work. No career choice is okay because..(fill in the blank). It's all hopeless doom and gloom. Just trust them! Well, I don't. There is good and bad just as there always has been. No career is 100% perfect. There are scam artists out there ready to convince you of anything you are willing to believe. A little common sense will tell you that yes, people overseas will do their best to take all of our work, because they need it and want it. Common sense also tells me that management of some facilities will fall for it and others will not. I wouldn't want to work for the ones who go that direction. I prefer to be invested in quality work, and there always will be people in America who will honor quality work. It's also true that everyone is struggling these days in a very bad economy. Who knows if we will ever recover, but I plan on being one of those who stays with the plan, because there will be jobs for those who do quality work.

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