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

Answers to my questions - CT

Posted: Mar 12, 2014

So I asked my HDSM a host of questions, which I put on here in a response to someone sometime yesterday, and it seems she's as in the dark as the rest of us are. Here's a synopsis of the answers to my quetstions, since obviously I can't include the email.

Recognized and accredited program? Accreditation after training? CCS, CCS-P, RHIT, RHIA? Not sure about this.
Available to SHDAs also? Available to any production employees.
Guaranteed weekday shifts available for those who cannot work weekends/evenings on a regular/reliable basis? Not sure of, would have to be discussed with them.
What will this be paid? Per chart? In-patient v Out-patient? What is the anticipated average hourly based on that rate for someone out of training? 6 months, 12 months, 2 years? Believe it’s hourly, but do think there is a quota involved. As far as pay that varies, but you can Google coding salaries and see what starting pays are. It is more than transcription/editing work though. Well that's really helpful...about as helpful as the original email...
Does this move from FT to PT based on the 20 hours of training and only 20 hours of production time? No you still stay a FT classification with FT benefits and PTO accrual.
Do you still accrue PTO at the same rate? Yes
Does this affect any benefits? No
Are you eligible for bonuses/OT as before outside of the training 20 and production 20? Production time OT? Yes, if OT is needed to help cover the account.
What is the cost of "paying back" the training if you leave MM before the 2-year period? Imagine it would be the hourly paid time for the number of training hours.
How are teams formed and what are the upward mobility possibilities? Do not know. Could discuss that with the coding department during training. Um no, I'm not waiting until I'm in training to discuss this.
If you are moved to a position outside of coding within MM, are you still required to payback training? If you fail out of the program, you will not be expected to pay back training costs and you would be able to return to an HDS position. If you electively leave the program, you will have to pay back training time, and you can still return to your HDS position, but probably not the same team/accounts because there are no guarantees in the land of MM. I suspect that the answer to my question is that if I elective choose to take another position offered within the company, outside of coding but not back in transcription I wouldn't have to pay it back.... I guess.

I don't know if any of this makes any sense to any of you, but I thought I'd offer a brief summary of the answers I'd received. They were less than no help really. I won't be pursuing this program now or in the future. To those who are willing to take the chance and jump in with both feet, good for you! For me and my family and my future, I need a little more clarity before I start making decisions. Not looking for guarantees, but I would like to be a fully informed participant, and the information I've been provided has not been fully informative.

Good luck everyone who's decided to test! I hope you guys do great, and please be sure to come back and tell us how the test went and certainly how training is going. I know we'll all be waiting with bated breath.

I understand this is a pilot program . . . - coding student

[ In Reply To ..]
But the most important thing is certification. Seriously, otherwise it's a waste of time. They NEED to be able to tell you if you will be eligible to sit for the RHIT or CCS, or if their program will be enough to pass the CPC-A. Find that out. If not and you still want to code, get your coding education elsewhere.

Poor planning - CT

[ In Reply To ..]
As I told my manager, to all those going for it, Good luck to them!

But for me, this screams of poor planning, or at the very least a subtle unwillingness to share crucial and critical information with key players. You'd think that the HDSMs at the very least would have answers to some of these very basic questions, but...

Management knows the answers to these questions, at the very least they have anticipated figures. If they don't, well it's non wonder they're saddled with the residual debt of bad decisions. As a C-level executive you don't make these sort of sweeping changes/offers without having all of your information, and if you do, you don't deserve to have the power to make those decisions.

Coding for me would be a huge advantage: Transcription+Coding+MBA = anything I want to do in a hospital would be within reach. Will I be coding for MM? Not likely. Not without a modicum of a guarantee on my personal investment in time, energy, and who knows maybe even short-term earning power.

Show me it's worth my while in actual numbers, not just pipe dreams and vague offers.

You are right - coding student

[ In Reply To ..]
They SHOULD be able to tell you about certification. If they know anything about coding at all, they know that it is the single most important thing for a coder. If they teach you to code but not enough to get you certified, you will not be employable by anyone but them. Coding certifications are HARD. They should not waste your time by giving you inferior training.

To sit for certification, you don't have to even take classes, just - pass the test. NM

[ In Reply To ..]
x

but is MM training enough to pass the test? - CT

[ In Reply To ..]
I think the concern is that MM will not train up its coders to a level which will make them proficient enough to sit for even the most basic credentialing exams. People are not looking for a guaranteed credential I don't believe. What many are looking for is the guarantee that the quality of information and training will be such that if an individual should choose to sit for the exam, they will have the knowledge and skills necessary to actually pass it. We want to know we would stand a chance.

Exactly, CT - coding student

[ In Reply To ..]
You hear of a lot of coding students taking classes and then being unable to pass the certification exam, because of inferior education. You don't want that. You don't want to waste your time on that. I'm not saying that is what is happening with MModal, but they need to be able to tell you the level of training you will receive. As stated, the RHIT, RHIA and CCS certifications require a very specific level of training that I doubt MModal will provide. The CPC-A might be a possibility. Does anyone know the level of education of MModal's coders in India? Perhaps it will be the same?

maybe not right away - but after you have been on the job awhile

[ In Reply To ..]
Many coders with the CPC learned on the job, never took formal training at all. For the CPC, it doesn't matter how you learned it, just that you have the knowledge to pass the test. The CPC is recognized throughout the US.

For the CCA, you need the following:
â�¢6 months coding experience directly applying codes; OR
â�¢Completion of an AHIMA approved coding program; OR
â�¢Completion of other coding training program to include anatomy & physiology, medical terminology, Basic ICD diagnostic/procedural and Basic CPT coding.

The CCA is an apprenticeship that can lead to the CCS, the gold standard in coding.

In order to sit for the RHIT or RHIA exams - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
You need to attend and graduate from a 2 year program (RHIT) or 4 year program (RHIA) that is accredited through AHIMA. These programs are at a post-secondary level. MM is not a post-secondary educator, thus you cannot sit for the RHIT or RHIA just by going through MM coding training. In order to sit for the CCS, you need to take specific classes that are required by AHIMA, which I can imagine MM is not offering. You can check out AHIMA if you need to know the exact classes as there are quite a few.

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