Are any of you familiar with medical coding? - sm

Needing a better job than the one I've got, I've been spending my late nights searching the far reaches of the internet.  It seems the only MT jobs that will actually support a person are in-hospital jobs, and the few that still exist are rare, and difficult to find.  They're definitely not listed on our Job Board, that's for sure.  When I do find them, they all seem to be part-time, or too far away, or involve heavy phones.   Answering phones and transcription are NOT compatible activities!

So I keep seeing LOTS of ads for Coders.  Obviously that would mean school.  Ick.  Being the hater of school that I am, I would want to be sure that's what I wanted to do, so I thought I'd see what all of you think of Coding as an alternative to MT work.

-  Have any of you worked in coding before, or are you currently in school to learn that profession? 

-  How hard would it be for a late-middle-aged MT to learn? 

-  Do you think coding is worth spending time in school to learn?  (i.e., Decent pay, not about to be offshored, etc.)

-  If you've done it or are learning, do you LIKE it?  Is it interesting?  Tedious?  Stressful?  Boring?  Rewarding in any way?

-  Are you learning it on-site, or at home?  How many hours per day are you devoting to your studies?  How long does it take to get credentialled?

Thanks in advance for any input you may have on this subject!

• Are any of you familiar with medical coding? - sm - I need a better job!
  • coding - me2
  • I took coding classes and took the - anonymissy
  • coding - not my cup of tea - pumpernickel
  • Unfortunately there aren't very many work-at-home coding jobs. NM - deb
  • Coding - cj
    • coding pay - curious girl
      • coding - cj
        • What sort of mistakes can be made, and - sm - I need a new job!
          • forgot to say - cj
            • also forgot - cj
          • coding - cj
            • Pray tell, what exactly is coding? - HappyCat

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background and anatomy and physiology knowledge, a transition into coding wouldn't be hard at all.  From what I can tell by looking through my husband's books, an MT would have to learn insurance regulations and legalities.  We've basically got all the medical background down or we should be if we're worth our salt as an MT.

I even contacted AHIMA and found that the qualifications for taking the CCS or CCP coding exams are completion of the a coding program, RHIT program, or RHIA or related work experience.  Transcription is part of HIM, albeit the red-headed stepchild of the HIM department, but a part nonetheless and so satisfies the qualification of having work experience.

The test is tough though.  My husband didn't pass it his first time out and I think I read something like only 20% or so pass it the first time.  So it would probably be best to take some sort of formal coding class, in my opinion.

Use the link below that I wrote a few months ago.  It is a very honest review of today's coding needs and environment.  Good luck!

http://forum.mtstars.com/company/v/1/13589.html

alliedschools.com

Has anyone tried either their medical billing or coding training courses??

Did you like it, would you recommend it?? I'm tired of working at a restaurant and would like to learn a career but I just want make sure that I am learning from a school that will actually lead me somewhere(specially that it cost 1600 dollars)

So please let me know what you think about them and if there is other schools that you will recomment over them!

Thanks

My husband is curious and wanting to get into Medical Billing/Coding and work from home like I do with transcription.  Does anyone know of a website, like this one, that offers so many jobs from home and information regarding coding and/or billing?  Thanks.  Also, if anyone has input on this please let us know.  Would love to find out which course is the best, etc....thanks!

and Tessier's The Surgical Word Book, 3rd edition.  Books you could buy used I would say would be Stedman's Pathology and Lab Medicine and Cardiology/Pulmonary word book.  These are all the books I use the most during my day.  You could buy other speciality word books as you need them and could probably go used with those.

I wouldn't bother with buying a drug book, new editions come out every year and I just stick to the FDA website and RXList as my drug references.

Also FYI, not a book, but I use my Stedman's Electronic Medical Dictationary a lot.  It's easier to open the program than it is to pick up a huge 30-pound dictionary.

Thought maybe it had its own shortcut program. 

I need to find digital recorders for a few doctors.  I am looking at the DS 30, but want to make sure its a decent recorder, but don't want to spend too much $$.  They want to email me the digital files--so I was wondering if this recorder is pretty easy to use/set up?

Thanks for any info

VoIP companies called Phone Power or ITP?  I've decided against Magic Jack because of the problems.  I did some research and found the two above companies were pretty reasonable or maybe I should just stick with Vonage?

She is my 4th out of 4 and, believe me, times have really changed over the years.

Some of these 5th grade girls come to class all made up, tight jeans, etc., and their parents ALLOW it!  One of my daughter's classmates has cable TV in her bedroom and can watch MTV and horror movies, etc. AND she has her own cell phone!  That's just plain nuts. 

Maybe I'm old fashioned, but when I hear, "well Susie gets to do this and that," I say, "You're not Susie and you know the rules."  Sure she'll experiment. My older kids did, but they knew in their hearts I didn't approve.

One thing I did do was yank the cable.  Oh pity, too bad, you don't get to watch garbage on TV now do you?  I'm such a MEAN MOMMY.

My 23-year-old daughter pulled a ton of stuff on me growing up and now she's a mom.  You should hear her talk about setting curfews, etc.  I'm like, "Uh, you have a good 6 months before potty training yet."

I currently work for xxxxx, but recently saw an ad for Landmark Transcription that sounded interesting.  Anyone have experience with this company or know their protocols?

Edited to remove current place of employment.  BuckeyeLil (Moderator)

x

    It's crunch time - I am using TranscriptionGear Model DA-127D for first time (replacement after demise of Dictaphone C-phone) and do not have instruction manual.  I've navigated through a report and need help with the following:  Everytime I take my foot off the pedal, I get the recorded "To sign off you must be at the end of the report."    Then, when I actually got to the end of the report, it signed off automatically with the foot pedal.    I must sign reports off manually on this acct.     Any help would be greatly appreciated.  TIA.

I have a new account that I'll be using this for and am wondering if it is hard to teach an office to use.  I've used it before as an IC and loved it.

Do I need to go down to the office or can it be done over the net.

     This is a personal question, not exactly related to work.  I am going in circles with at least 2 doctors now (and several unrelated specialists) who are not concerned about my lab values, but from what I have looked up, it seems they should be doing something, even if it is just explaining what is going on and why.

Since August last year, my GFR has been 55-59, and from what I've read, that means kidney damage.  I am still on indomethacin, which I believe can contribute to kidney damage.  I don't know what else could be contributing or what might make things better, or if like they say, it's "within normal limits" and "nothing to worry about".

Any input?

I thought I had heard of one that you could order for a yearly subscription of about $30.  Thanks in advance.  I have Smartype, but it acts oddly sometimes and races to the end of my document and the cursor keeps running down the page.  I had them send me a new copy but had the same troubles with the new copy even with putting it on a new computer.  Can't get the company to do anything, so I am out $200 now and need something else.