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

Question for Working Coders - sm

Posted: Apr 28, 2015

I am an MT thinking about switching to coding. The thing that disuaded me from choosing coding in the first place is that I thought I might be put in a position where I experienced pressure from an employer to code in a wrong way in order to get bigger reimbursements for them. Just wondering if that is something any coders here have experienced. Thanks for your help!

Yep. - Been There

[ In Reply To ..]
As a coder, your job is to code accurately, ethically, and honestly. That includes offering providers advice and instruction.

There are also jobs in coding which involve auditing providers at their request and the request of their employers to ensure that their coding is correct, so that it gets paid optimally and there is no risk to them or the facility.

So, it is not so much that you may be pressured to code wrongly, but that it is part of your job to know what is right and wrong, and to instruct accordingly.

EVERY DAY I tell someone that we can't do something because it is improper. They are usually grateful to hear it. Seriously, they will pay you to tell them what to do.

If you are working for a facility, you are far less likely to be pressured to code inappropriately. If you work in physician offices, it can happen. That is why I work for a facility and will only consider consulting for a private practice.

What happens when you are their employee and they continue pressuring you inappropriately? You document, establish a pattern, tell them in writing it is inappropriate and why, look for a new job, report them to CMS, and quit. I do know coders who had to do this. Administrators went to jail.

Your credentials, incidentally, will not allow you to do anything inappropriate. You cannot knowingly continue working for criminals, which is what it would be.

If you worked at the corner deli, you might have the owner setting the scale wrong so that customers were cheated, or knowingly serving food that was old or contaminated. If you worked in a restaurant, you might be expected to serve watered down drinks. There are unethical practices in any occupation. In coding, however, unethical practices are out in plain view, and are often federal crimes, so you have clear expectations and an avenue of recourse.

This should not turn you away from coding. It is not something "bad,"per se. It is just part of the job. Be a competent coder so you can be on the side that counsels, not on the side that is subject to pressure, i.e., minimally trained office staff and billers, etc.

Thank you! Your information is very helpful and - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
gives me some idea of what to watch out for if I do decide to switch.

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