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books for coding classes (sm) - digiti minimi

Posted: Mar 17, 2012

We are using the book "Basic ICD-9-CM Coding." I would like to know what other books other schools are using for Coding I. I do not think this book is the best for me! Can anyone suggest any others?

Please explain further - Coder

[ In Reply To ..]
I can probably help you. Can you answer some questions?

That is a fairly generic title. Who is the author?

Where are you in the book? What have you covered already?

Be specific about what is wrong. Exactly what leads you to say it is not the book for you? Or, what do you think the book should do that it does not?

What is your education level? Are you an MT?

The reason I am asking these things is because your book is probably quite good. I think I know which one it is, but I am not sure. It is more likely that the problem lies with your expectations about the book or your approach to using it.

All coding textbooks are incomprehensible at first. That is not a problem if you approach it correctly. You may be expecting the wrong thing. So, knowing which book, where you are, and what you think is wrong might enable me to steer you in the right direction.

One assumption I can make is that you think this book is too hard. I need you to tell me exactly why you think that.

Not 'Coder' But I Also Have A Question - Are you attempting this without help from an inst - nm

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

Sounds like a class, but instructor help can be iffy. - Coder

[ In Reply To ..]
Either way, I am sure I can assist. Happy to do so.

sorry didn't answer before!!! (sm) - digiti minimi

[ In Reply To ..]
No, on-line program.

Okay :) but an on-line program with or without an active instructor to help you? - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Do you have access to an instructor who can answer your questions? In other words, can you send an e-mail or ask a question on a message board and get an answer from an instructor, or is the instructor in name only?

I know there are some who claim to have instructors, but everything is computerized. If you get a wrong answer, there is no explanation why, and nobody to ask.

yes, I can ask (sm) - digiti minimi

[ In Reply To ..]
Just wanted to get some different explanations that might help ease the pain. LOL. Yes, I do have an instructor.

Understand perfectly! Makes it easier. - Err, possible.

[ In Reply To ..]
My college coding was taught by an RHIA who viewed her role as administrative in nature. She enforced assignment due dates, in other words. She never answered questions. Finally, after I complained to the program director, she fired off an angry email informing me that she could not answer questions, nor should I expect her to, because she had no coding background.

Oh My! But that doesn't surprise me since I've heard similar stories from friends - nm

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

It helps to know how to code before taking those classes - Sigh

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I would have flunked if not.

You mean know how to code before you take the coding class? - That is so ridiculous

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I don't mean that your idea is ridiculous. It's actually smart. It's just ridiculous that any college would have someone who can't code teaching coding. It happens way too often though. That's why you see so many coders who walk out in the middle of the CCS exam because they realize they aren't able to pass it.

Schraffenberger? - Coder

[ In Reply To ..]
Is it Schraffenberger? And is this AHIMA Coding Basics or a community college? If CC, is it mostly online? Tests online? Are they a problem?

Where is the OP??? Did we scare her off??? - Trying to Help

[ In Reply To ..]
I've checked this board twice last night and four times today to see if the OP came back. This did not look like something that could wait a week or two.

We can probably salvage your career here if we can get to it before you flunk.

Nope--didn't scare me off (sm) - digiti minimi

[ In Reply To ..]
just been busy with working and a night out! Yes, the book is the Schraffenberger book. I just think it could be easier. I am a displaced acute-care transcriptionist of 20 years. I was doing fine until Chap 14 Complications of Pregnancy. I am in an on-line course, so we have classroom time of about 1 hour each week. Seems like it would be easier to just start off slowly and not have all these huge codes thrown at you at once. You know, start with one code and build from there. That is the kind of book I am looking for. I have been trained on the job for every job I have had in a hospital setting since 1979 and this particular chapter has gotten my confused. I hope at the end of the course this all comes together. Is it normal to feel this way? Ending second semester of year-long course.

Ok, let's work with what you said. - Coder

[ In Reply To ..]
Schraffenberger is a little dense, but that is how most coding books are. S has a little more detail, maybe, but that is not a bad thing.

I can explain the pregnancy codes,. People often have difficulty with them. The conditons themselves are not a problem. The difficulty is usually with the 5th digit.

I am wondering what you meant by starting off with easy codes instead of having great big ones thrown at you. I don't think of codes that way. To me, they are all the same"size" and none are more difficult than others. This is not because of any extra brainpower I have, but just due to the way I think about them.

We do not memorize codes . . . we look them up. What is the difference between these codes and the ones you already covered in previous chapters? Those were fine, but these are not? Why? (I am asking to try to get you to tell what the problem is, even if you do not know what it is.)

By "big" do you mean they have 5 digits? You have seen codes with 5 digits before so I don't think that is the issue.

So, let's try something and see if it reveals anything. Kind of like a diagnostic test. Priscilla Patient has gestational diabetes. What code are codes are appropriate? What goes through your mind as you code that? If you need more information, what information do you need and how will you use it?

Something else . . . what ICD-9 code book are you using? Generic, Ingenix, or some other

gestational diabetes - digiti minimi

[ In Reply To ..]
The book we are using is Ingenix. Okay, so I would go with 648.83. I guess that is it. There would be no V code. Thanks for much for your help. Sorry so late in getting back. Lots to do - working FT and school FT. This is what really scares me...I don't know where to start -- Transferred from hospital A to hospital B with spina bifida involving the dorsal region with hydrocephalus; repair of myelomeningiocele with insertion of ventriculoperitoneal shunt (assign codes for hospital B) --- I don't know where to start with this one. Help! I'm scared!!!

How did you decide on a 5th digit of 3??? - Coder

[ In Reply To ..]
That's what I am trying to find out. What goes through your mind when you select the 5th digit. That is usually the issue with the pregnancy codes. Notice that I did not tell you what episode of care this was. How did you choose 3?

You are also just telling me a number. What are the words that go with it? A lot of times, if you are not saying and writing the words, you will end up with a kind of unsure disconnect and not be able to tell if you are right or not.

In your next example, you start by writing out what you want to code. That is the first step in getting a grip on it. It becomes clear in your mind. When I look at a problem like that, I think "Aaack," so I make list. When I do that, I find that I have a better understanding of it.

There are two steps here . . . deciding WHAT to code and then looking up the codes.

It is exactly the same with the procedure. So, now write out the procedure and its parts. In words, what got done?

When you have written all of that out, THEN you can just look up the codes. You did most of the work when you wrote it out.

You do not need to know anything about the codes. Just look them up and read what the code book tells you. It will tell you everything you need to know. For instance, you might be sitting there paralyzed thinking that you do not know if the VP shunt is part of the myrlomeningocele repair. You may think coders know that kind of thing. Some might, if they code this often, but I do not. I would find out when I looked up repair of a myelomeningocele and a VP shunt insertion. The book will tell me.

FIRST:
Diagnosis/es: What are the diagnoses? List them. In words, not numbers.
Procedure/s: What are the procedures? List them in words.

SECOND: Just look up the numbers for the above.

answer - digiti minimi

[ In Reply To ..]
I chose 3 because I assumed the patient was treated, did not deliver and went home, but I guess that is wrong. This is the "If it isnt documented rule." I guess it should have been 0 if nothing else but that was stated. Thanks for your help. You did help me. I will print your instructions out, refer to them, and see if it helps! I will let you know. Thank you so much. I think it will help!!

Ah ha! I see part of the problem. - Coder

[ In Reply To ..]
I didn't really give you enough information to choose a 5th digit. You assumed it was an inpatient stay and that the patient did not deliver. It could have been an office visit.

This WOULD seem confusing if you are not clear on the information that is required and how to use it. I think you understand that the 5th digit describes the episode of care. An office visit or hospital stay.

Be sure you look at the long descriptions of the 5th digits, not just the short ones. The long are more informative. The short are in the pink box above the codes you are using. You have to go back a few pages to find the long ones. Page back until you find them. See how much better they are?

In school questions, there is often a lot of ambiguity about whether the visit is inpatient or outpatient. This will be very clear in real life, though. For now you will need to figure it out. You should not feel as if not knowing which it is is YOUR problem.

coding - digiti minimi

[ In Reply To ..]
I did look in pink box. Guess I interpreted incorrectly. True about real life comment. love you!!! I feel lots more confident now!!!

Yes, I know you looked in the pink box. - Coder

[ In Reply To ..]
I want you to look in a DIFERENT pink box. The BIG pink box. It is closer to the beginning of the 600s. The whole explanation is there.

What is the first code after the pink box you looked at?

I'm happy that you feel more confident. It is way less hard than it seems right now.

coding - digiti minimi

[ In Reply To ..]
Thank you again!! This is exactly the guidance I was looking for. I am now excited to get back in the game!!

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