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

Going from MT to medical coding - Tam

Posted: Feb 04, 2010

Any informatioin regarding medical coding and billing? I am thinking about going back to school. I recently lost my MT job.

Thanks!

There's a couple of things you could do - Ideas

[ In Reply To ..]
You could check the coding/medical billing section here. Then you could call or e-mail all the coding schools and get more information. Some will be very honest with you and point out the advantages and disadvantages of a coding career. Others will just try to get you to sign on the bottom line. Some of them just have people answering the phone who don't know anything about coding. You'll know after you talk to them which ones you're interested in pursuing.

Medical Billing - Vikefantam

[ In Reply To ..]
Hmmmm. Well, if you're like me, you'll eventually burn out on medical billing, but I have serious ADHD and it wasn't diagnosed until last year. I was put on Vyvance and never realized that I could concentrate on 1 task at a time.

Anyway, coding pays big bucks in bigger cities. It's especially a good idea to become certified. My burnout was caused by my job itself - enter patient name, DOS, etc., put in procedure code, then diagnosis. My day was "John Smith, 99213, 728.71, date of service, etc. All day long. I get bored too easily for a job like that A word on diagnosis codes - you're going to have to know which diagnosis codes to attach to which procedure. For example, if a patient has pes planus (flat foot), almost no insurance covers that diagnosis, so you have to look for another one. If a patient gets foot orthotics, your diagnosis had better be plantar fasciitis or a couple others. You have to know which ins. companies pay for what diagnoses. I'm glad to be gone. My first love always was being an MT but with a military husband and us moving around all the time, I couldn't always find a job doing MT. so I ended up doing billing. Also, a lot of insurance companies like Anthem, Medicare and United Healthcare will download the payments, adjustments, etc. for you if you buy your software company's add on for that.

And keep in mind - ins. companies are a pain to deal with. I went to several billing seminars and at one, a girl, who used to work for an ins. co. told me that she was told to just throw away 1 out of every 10 claims. When we call about it, they just say they never received it. You see - it's an ins. co. tactic - the cost is high to appeal claims and something like 35% of the doctors just write off the claim when that happens. So they know they can save money.

Again, if you live near a big city, you can make big bucks if you're certified. A girl I know who is a CMT, works in Pittsburgh making well over $20 an hour. You see - the medical transcriptionists *cost* the hospital money. The coders and billers bring it in, so even though it's a warped reason, the hospital pays coders more. And what's ironic is they couldn't do their job without us doing ours - they have to look off of the reports for their procedures and diagnoses.

Let me know if you have any other questions. Feel free to E-mail me. :-)

I agree. Billing Not So Good But Coding Can Be. - Linda Andrews

[ In Reply To ..]
I can see how billing could get old really fast. I did that for years. Coding still fascinates me though. I don't think I would ever get bored with Coding, unless I got stuck in the wrong job. As with any industry, there are good ones and bad ones, terrific bosses and awful ones. Sometimes it's just a matter of timing. At some times in my life I would have preferred one over the other, and then years later, my preference changed along with my needs, time and financial, etc. I hope that makes sense. I'm writing with what feels like a sinus infection and my brain is telling me it doesn't want to 'work' on a Saturday morning. :)

Medical Coding - MT who knows

[ In Reply To ..]
You know, I would really consider my options before I go into medical coding. Really, it is prime for automation and, frankly, I think that the system should do away with the diagnostic coding schema anyway. I mean where else in the business world is someone charged for a code that is placed in a "group." People (patients) should be charged for what they have done just like any other business. It should be a line-item charge just like everything else in the world. I mean when I get my car fixed or house worked on or whatever, I am charged for what was done and I can seem each item listed and what the charge is. If it were me, I think that the first thing I would work on with healthcare reform is definitely the medical billing and coding procedures, which seem to be setup not in the patient's best interests. For healthcare reform, I would actually do away with the diagnostic "coding" procedure and do something else -- more open and transparent.

I'm an MT student going back to school too...for HIT - mt2b

[ In Reply To ..]
Hi there, I am a current MT student who is planning on going back to school this summer to complete my degree in health information technology then plan on continuing to get my bachelors in health information management/administration.

I truly love MT but I don't see this career offering me the ability to support myself and my son. I do not want to struggle or be insecure in my job, and I see so many current MTs doing that. Not to say any job is 100% secure, but I'm being realistic with myself. I see the admin side of health care will offer me more opportunities.

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