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Wage difference between inpatient and outpatient - anon

Posted: Mar 21, 2012

My local hospital starts at 26 an hour for inpatient coding. I am wondering how much outpatient coding pays.... not that anyone would know this, but is it generally a lot lower than the inpatient coding?

Just curious because I need to gain experience before I can land a hospital inpatient coding position and just curious as to how much outpatient coders make.

My local hospital pays - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
$18 an hour for inpatient and $13 an hour for outpatient, so quite a difference. I am in Montana, though, where wages are low. I would love to make 26 an hour!

I would do it a different way - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
I would sit for the CCS exam and you'll be able to go straight to hospital inpatient instead of waiting and hoping you'll get the right job with the right experience to prepare you. Is there some reason why you can't take the CCS exam now?

Yes, my reason - Anon

[ In Reply To ..]
Yes, I am still in school. I am at Andrews and I feel like I will be able to pass the CCS exam. However, I think I may like outpatient better. I have always worked in the field of orthopedics and would love to work for a large orthopedic group doing coding if possible.

You should do fine then, for inpatient or outpatient - nm

[ In Reply To ..]
If you are at Andrews, you'll have it covered either way.

what state? - Starts at?

[ In Reply To ..]
that is good.

See the salary surveys. - Yes, coding pays well NM

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nm

Salary survey - Not accurate for

[ In Reply To ..]
my area. They post a much higher scale than what I am finding. I think they go by the big cities in the state, but out in the rural areas it is not the same.

No, the surveys are very accurate--you have to interpret them correctly. - Coder

[ In Reply To ..]
No, unless it says they are rural and urban, they are not. The survey tells you exactly what the numbers represent and that is what they are. Coders and HIM professionals simply report the numbers.

Keep in mind, too, that these surveys are not done on the general public. They do not get the figures from income taxes or employers. They are surveys of MEMBERS of the AAPC and AHIMA. Literally, members get a request to go to an online site and complete a questionnaire.

MEMBERS often make more than people who are not affiliated with professional organizations--that's one of the benefits of affiliating with a nationally recognized organization. Members are usually credentialed more than nonmembers--credentialing increases income. Members often have formal training, meet experience and competency criteria, and engage in continuing education--those are reflected in higher income.

The salary surveys represent (generally) an average of what coders report, or sometimes median incomes. If 35K is cited as the pay rate, that is not "the only" pay rate. That does not say that all coders make 35K, or that none make less, or that none make more. Some DO make less, some DO make more, and some might make exactly 35K. When you all them all up and divide by the number of coders who reported, you get that 35K. That's what an average is--some higher, some lower, some close to the average number itself.

When you look at the jobs in ads locally, you are going to see the lowest pay, i.e., what they are willing to pay a person -- any person -- to begin with. People do not stay there, though. They make more and more as time goes on.

You are seeing numbers that employers often expect to negotiate. They set them lower to begin with to allow for increases depending on someone's experience, credentials, education level, etc. I have seen coders apply for jobs that advertised 30K, but ended up with 40K after negotiation.

You are also looking at the kinds of jobs that look for employees using ads, which are often the kind of jobs that pay a bit less. You are going to miss the ones that use medical recruiters, professional organizations, and personal recommendations, as well as jobs with national organizations like insurers and software companies, large healthcare concerns, and the federal government.

So, yes, when you look at job ads in your area, you might find they start off lower than the, say, $35K reported in the survey. That is because $35K is in the middle of what was reported by the coders in that category. Some of them may be making $30K with no benefits because it is a small-potatoes operation. Some may make $35K because they are in a middle-of-the-road operation. Others might be making $40K with 30% benefits with the federal government.

And, yes, you might get less locally in a rural area than in an urban area. Pay in urban areas is higher than rural. That does not mean the survey is wrong or that is was done in cities. You just have to expect rural pay to fall on the lower end of what was reported.

In addition to urban coders tending to make more, there are also more urban coders. There are thus more reported urban incomes than rural, and thus more higher urban incomes being reported. That raises the bar a bit.

All of these factors come together on those surveys. What you see locally is something I would expect. It isn't an indication that the survey is wrong or that it doesn't apply to you. It does, but you have to interpret it correctly.

Guesswork not necessary - Knows where it is

[ In Reply To ..]
Look up the salary surveys on the AAPC and AHIMA websites. They are easy to find. Everything you ask is answered there.

Suggestion and clarification - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
There are salary surveys on both the AAPC and AHIMA websites. You can locate them easily using the tabs on AAPC. For AHIMA it may be easier to Google "AHIMA salary survey 2011."

You mentioned that you needed experience for a hospital coding job. I just want to point out that believing what you see in job ads or what people tell you is going to be limiting and possible self-defeating. EVERYONE wants experience, but what they will often take is credentials. They cannot find coders with all that experience.

Also, no amount of outpatient coding experience will prepare you for inpatient coding. They are very different. You will spend years getting experience in a clinic only to discover that other specialties and hospitals won't consider it.

Outpatient coding is fine, but keep in mind that it is easily automated so do not put all your eggs in that basket. You need to continue developing into advanced areas. You may even have difficulty finding a job challenging enough. Most office jobs are little more than copying codes from a charge ticket to a claim form. I do not think you spent all that money on Andrews to do glorified billing, nor do I recommend you do it because it will disappear with an EHR.

The easiest thing for you would be to pass both the CPC and the CCS as soon as possible. The longer you are out of school the more difficult it will be. After you start working in outpatient, the CCS may become impossible. Many inpatient coders cannot pass the CPC. You cannot afford to limit yourself like that.

Exactly! No amount of experience doing Outpatient Coding Prepares you for Inpatient or CCS - My Thoughts

[ In Reply To ..]
I am so glad you said this. I always think it when I read of people who are just taking a short or introductory (incomplete) course that, if they are lucky, prepares them for the CPC exam. That isn't enough. You are setting yourself up for failure.

You wrote what I've been wishing I could say to those people. Don't shortcut yourself. If you want to be a medical coder, you need all of it, not just part. It would be similar to an MT learning SOAP notes or maybe a clinic account and going out to get a job in a hospital as a medical transcriptionist. It doesn't work. The idea of getting a job doing outpatient so you can get experience before you take the CCS exam doesn't work. You need the whole thing, inpatient and outpatient, and you need to get the CCS, not just a CPC, certainly not just a CCA (employers want someone with a CCS, not a CCA), and you need those credentials as soon as you can get them.

I totally agree with what you wrote, especially this part:

"Also, no amount of outpatient coding experience will prepare you for inpatient coding. They are very different. You will spend years getting experience in a clinic only to discover that other specialties and hospitals won't consider it. Outpatient coding is fine, but keep in mind that it is easily automated so do not put all your eggs in that basket."

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