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The future of coding the cover story of For The Record mag - MT2coder2

Posted: Jan 28, 2012

Timely!

Computer-aided coding and its impact upon the coding job market is the feature story of the just-released For The Record magazine.

Some excerpts:

"...From what I've heard from those hospitals for years now is that it's not that they need fewer coders." Instead, Bronnert sees coders being used more effectively and at a higher skill level. "They become even more valuable to a facility. I don't see their roles or positions diminishing at all. I see them flourishing," she says.

"...I think what's going to happen is we're going to need less entry-level coders, but we've been seeing that trend for years, she says, adding that CAC will exacerbate the differences between new and experienced coders."

"...A third reason Ryan isn't buying the idea that few coders will be needed with CAC is that existing coders may now finally have the time to make more use of their expertise and get involved in clinical documentation improvement....He believes facilities that implement CAC "want to take the coders they have and get some extra bandwidth out of them."

There's more, as well as a section for advice for coding students. See link below.

Looking in the employment section of the mag - MT2coder2

[ In Reply To ..]
I see several ads for clinical documentation specialists, compliance auditors, and the like. All are looking for CCS (or RHIT, RHIA) plus experience. This is in keeping with what the cover story said as well as the coders here. Plenty of room to move up.

There is a little Alaskan hospital looking for a (read: "the") coder. The pay is $25.57 - $27.66 per hour, *plus housing allowance* (and relocation), plus 25 personal days and 13 holidays. Asking for 1-year experience (which means they'll take a newbie). Anybody feeling adventurous? It's 350 miles from the Arctic Circle!

It also speaks volumes that there are NO MT jobs in this HIM professional magazine/journal. (It's not a magazine just for coders.)

Employment section - Just an observation

[ In Reply To ..]
Having been an Alaskan resident for a number of years (though not currently), the cost of living there was WAY higher than the "lower 48" states, and employers often pay a incentive in ackowledgement of the extreme isolation of the region. Given these 2 factors, the pay being offered is kind of average, IMO. If I were qualified, however, I'd jump at the chance.

That's what I've heard. But I was thinking - MT2coder2

[ In Reply To ..]
the housing allowance, which does include your utilities, would really sweeten the offering.

This has been on my mind all night. With a background in MT, one of us might actually be a true blessing to this hospital. It's a little dink of a hospital -- just 14 beds -- and I couldn't imagine that would take a, I mean THE, coder 40 hours.

The adventurer in me would really give this some serious thought! Imagine just getting up there for the interview/test.

Remember the Saudi Arabian MT jobs?

Response - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Funny you should mention the Saudi Arabian jobs. I once had a manager who was abruptly fired by the MTSO corporate office, and she quickly, and desperately, accepted an on-site Saudi position (everthing included -- housing, food, clothing allowance, etc.) to train their wanna-be MTs. Training the competition? You BET. She had to dramatically alter her lifestyle, but she earned hundreds of thousands of dollars and was able to retire afterwards. Often wish she hadn't made that choice, knowing what we now know about globalization of MT.

Have you checked the salary surveys? - ASuggestion

[ In Reply To ..]
Yes, the compensation is little higher because this is in Alaska. It would be a fun job and they would appreciate you.

If you think there wouldn't be very much to do, you may not be seeing the whole job. Transcription for a facility this size would involve transcribing what was dictated and that is about it. When that is done, there isn't anything else to do. You can see that in remote MT jobs, where there is no work when the queue is empty.

If you see coding as the sole process of applying codes to each service, similar to typing the letters on the page, after which there is no more to do, you are making a serious mistake. You are seeing only one part of the job. That misconception is exactly what makes the MTs here think that CAC will eliminate coders. That is what the article referenced above was pointing out. The roles mentioned in the article would be things this coder would do.

If you have not yet reviewed the salary surveys on the AAPC website you really need to do that. There is also a report describing what coders do. These were focused on outpatient coders in 2011. Both can be found using the tabs at the top of the main page. AHIMA also has one, but you may need to google it. That one shows a lot ore of the expanded or other coding roles.

Really, everyone interested in coding needs to see those surveys. It is not in your best interest to wonder, speculate, and guess about salaries or the nature of the job.

I see a lot of people here thinking of some really low-pay, low-satisfaction, low-respect jobs as alternatives to MT. Or of high-business risk, low-opportunity situations or of other jobs in which positions are few and far between.

You all need to find out what coding is. Several of us here have that opinion, so it is not just me. If you are not interested in that, if you prefer waiting for others to give you information, if you are unaware that it is possible to find information like that, if finding information is not something you enjoy, or if you are lacking in the ability to figure out what to find and the motivation to go find it, then you are not are not suited for coding. You are particularly unsuited for any expanded roles in coding.

Lots of jobs in medical care require little in the way of independent thought, self-direction, or continuous learning. Coders start at salaries higher than those and end up far more.

Just wish I knew who to trust - ILoveBarneys

[ In Reply To ..]
Was just reading a jobs forum and INDEED (hint), it sounds like in a few years, with new software and outsourcing that US-based coding will go MOSTLY the way of MTing. Yes, you can get an MT job but you won't be able to makes ends meet on it. Plus, new grads of different coding schools are finding it difficult to jobs as 2-3 yrs exp is desired. Was just about to pick up the phone to call Andrews and then saw that forum. Have more research to do.

If that is the same forum I saw . . . - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
The forum I saw said the some of the same things, so I think it is the one you are talking about.

Did you happen to notice that the majority of those posts were 28 and 24 months old? Their predictions should have come to pass by now.

Did you notice they were written largely by people who were not coders? There were, in fact, a lot which appeared to be from MTs who were talking about MT, not coding. You even picked that up in your post. ("Yes, you can get an MT job, but . . .")

Did you notice that some of the posts were from people in other countries who knew not one thing about coding in the US? The lady from the UK, for instance?

Did you notice that some posts were written by people who had never been able to pass a certification exam? Sure, they're disgruntled about coding! Could it be that you are seeing a lot of craziness on that website because it is an employment forum? Aren't a lot of people who hang out on those forums UNEMPLOYED? For a reason?

The changes you (and they) claim will happen in a few years didn't happen. US-based coding did NOT go the way of MT. New grads of lots of different coding schools have ALWAYS had difficulty getting jobs because MOST OF THEM CAN'T CODE. This is no surprise. It isn't a surprise that employers want 2-3 years experience, either. Employers in ANY field want 2-3 years experience. Do you know of ANY jobs that yammer on about wanting people with no experience? ("Hey! I prefer people with NO EXPERIENCE!")

I can't decide if your post is another attempt at pot-stirring or if you are not thinking critically about what you read.

You're correct that you do need to do more research. You need to do it in the right place, too . . . on legitimate websites belonging to professional organizations, not garbage forums populated by cranks and wanna-bees.

I'm not sure we're talking about the - ILovebarneys

[ In Reply To ..]
forum. It was one of several I looked at to get different viewpoints and there were a few threads, some older, some recent. The reference to MT jobs was regarding how MT is still being marketed as a hot job, when it is not. Good grief - pot-stirring?? What pot?

The "coding is dead just like MT" pot - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
It's the pot filled with "Coding is dead! It's being taken over by computers! It's being sent to India! No one will hire new grads! Everyone is lying about coding salaries! Certification is a ripoff!"

If you look below, you can see it being resurrected every few weeks. It just isn't being resurrected by actual coders.

I think it would be more useful if you look at more reputable websites, like those of the professional organizations. Public-access job sites are not going to contain reliable information because you have no idea who is posting there. It's difficult to identify who is posting here, but at least the people who provide information here are recognizable as coders.

Indeed is no more a good source of coding career information than a forum where people talk about their ailments is a good source of medical information.

Someone posted some links to reputable sites. I think if you visit those sites you will come away with a different perspective on coding and the careers related to it.

I cannot imagine that anyone could explore the CMS website and take a few MLN online courses and not have their fears of computerization and offshoring replaced by a completely different view. That view is the one which will help you decide if coding is something you might like to do. You will either be utterly terrorized at the apparent difficulty or overjoyed that it is something that will never bore you.

We're not trying to sell you on signing up for a coding course, but we think you deserve better than the questionable opinions of poseurs and unemployables.

I've asked a couple and a manager, too. - anonEmoose

[ In Reply To ..]
No, coding is not and will not be taken over by computers. The coding manager actually laughed when I asked her.

Hospitals don't seem to give a care these days if the transcribed reports are correct, but they DO care that the coding is correct. It's their income, after all. There's no way they'll let a computer do that without at least a human auditing every line. (Not to mention the Feds coming down upon the hospital like a ton of bricks when things start being coded badly.)

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