Went from coding to MT 'cause I had spent

• coders turned MT? Any of you out sm - jan
  • Love coding - D.avia
  • I used to code in house - happier now
  • i used to be a coder inhouse. sm - LMT
  • How exactly are coders from home paid? - Hourly/per claim?
  • Went from coding to MT 'cause I had spent - a huge amount on coding education and
    • But, you enjoyed doing coding? Did you - jan

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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.

and work on building your expander, macros, etc. you could get your line count up faster.  Don't know if you have a line per day committment or hourly committment, but if you have lines you can get them finished quicker with a better expander and have more time to play or do whatever.  I am NOT a morning person, but I feel so much better when I do make myself get up and then by 9:00 I've made my line committment and I've got the rest of the day to do what I want/need to do and if I need more lines I can work an hour or two after dinner.   I almost feel like I have a 3-day weekend because I'm finished so early that on Friday I'm done early, my DH has an early day at work and is home by 10 usually so we have an almost full day to play.  

Reassess your situation.  What were your reasons for coming home to work?  If you didn't have to work at all, would you spend all day sitting in front of the TV watching all that mindless garbage and letting the housework go?  Maybe you're burned out or depressed.  Maybe you just lack self-discipline as somewhat else suggested and you really need structure.

Just some things to think about.  Working at home isn't the fairly tale that most people think it is. 

trying to get my supervisor to understand I DON'T NEED TO BE TYPING IN 10 HOSPITALS!

I need to be left in one hospital that I can learn. That means I need to know the surrounding doctors, doctors in other hospitals, streets, area SNFs, all that comes with the territory.

I never got one glimmer of hope that she understood.  Dense as a brick.

That's what happens when you have people in charge of MTs who HAVE NEVER TRANSCRIBED!

They think we can just sit down.........turn on the "machine" and just spit out transcription because we know medical terminology.  WELL SORRY - IT DOESN'T HAPPEN THAT WAY.

Yet they want HUGE LINE COUNTS.

They aren't going to get good TATs or HUGE line counts flipping me from one hospital to another at THEIR LEISURE. 

Somewhere along the line they have me CONFUSED WITH A MACHINE

Have you tried the realtor sites?  If you are looking to rent, use rent.com, apartmentguide.com, forrent.com.  Also, go online and look at the online newspaper for that area.

The price of real estate is ridiculous there because of the demand. We once looked at a mobile home and I kid you not, the insulation was hanging out the bottom, no skirting, chickens running around, and the neighbors horses within 5 feet of the back door (free flies too).  They wanted 800 a month with 2400 to move in.  Even the apartment prices are pretty high for what you get there. 

Filling out their interview questions, answering questions about my computer, and it would be just my luck they would either send an e-mail in just four  words, "we can't use you" or not send one at all.  That would just bite. 

The test was not really difficult just that I have no control over it, I cannot speed it up, slow it down.  I kept stomping the floor looking for my nonexistant foot pedal. LOL.  I am afraid there might be something I missed on the test.

Here I wanted to apply for a few more companies to see if one could offer me a better deal than another, but I bet I will have to go through the same thing, and I am not real sure I want the job.  What if they offer too low of pay?  What if their line quote is too high? 

That is my vent.  whew.!!!!  I am going to bed.

I agree--this is a losing battle.

The world is becoming one big place and I foresee a time when you'll not be identified as a citizen of a country but rather an employee of a company. Government is not supposed to be micro-managing business or our lives. Social responsibilities should be handled at the "ground level"--where we live, work, and worship. When the churches stopped doing the social work needed, government stepped in and now government is not doing the job so who's next--companies. There are many companies that are doing the right thing.

There is so much energy being spent here on trying to stop change. That's just not possible. You would better serve yourself if you would adapt to the change in whatever way necessary so that you are ready when it happens.

listening to papers shuffle!  Even when I fast forward these annoying reports there are minute-long paper shuffling that goes on and on throughout the paper!  I wish these doctors would get organized!

thanks for vent.

I spend more time on the electronic, computer, mechanization of this stuff - I can't even do transcription.

I use to think being a hooker would be bad, but now I'm having second thoughts.  And I definitely am having doubts that "creature comforts" are worth the pain of living in the so called civilized world we are in now. 

Oh yeah, by the way, I spent 2 hours on hold altogether just trying to get to a tech support at NORTON! an hour trying to get tech support for my internet provider, another 6 hours screwing around with the computer - 2 hours the other day just moving it from one room to the other.

I am so out of here!  They (the MT companies) can find some other *patsy* to sucker these costs onto.

in my computer.  Eventually I couldn't even use Email.

It took hours and hours of being on hold to get tech support at Norton/Symantec!  Then they were all Inidan/Chinese/French - couldn't understand a word they said!

They were having me call my internet provider - internet provider making me call Norton - back and forth back and forth! grrrr

Finally they sent me to www.symantec.com/symnrt and I had to literally break my computer down and rebuild it. 

My computer kept saying "you are already running a Symantec program on your computer....then it said you have done an illegal action/every time I did anything!....then it said the Configuration Wizard is still working (had to figure out how to turn that stupid thing off....it changed the settings in my internet options panel/I never touched it but when internet provider looked in there it had totally been changed.

I couldn't update my LIVE UPDATE! Whatever it was kept locking me out of dialing out or loading the new updates which of course left me vulnerable to viruses.

I have Windows98 - but the Norton Antivirus program is for both Windows XP and 98.

Good luck if you have Norton!

booze - really knocks you for a loop. 

What most don't realize is while there are laws protecting your medical data in the United States, these laws are unenforceable overseas.  So basically, a patient's supposedly "protected health information" isn't really protected at all once it electronically crosses the borders out of the U.S.  I think it is important that all patients be aware of this fact and have a say whether or not they want someone in India having access to their medical data!

I've been talking to a newspaper reporter in my area who is interested in running a story on this subject especially because I have firsthand knowledge of a local hospital who is outsourcing all of its transcription to a MTSO that offshores to India.  I'm very excited because I've been pushing for public awareness of this subject for a while and I feel like I'm finally on the threshhold of effecting real change in my little part of the industry.

Anyway, change has to start with us, the MTs.  We are MTs and we are patients.  We have valuable knowledge as MTs about what happens to our protected health information and we should pass that knowledge on to those patients who don't have the benefit of being employed in the healthcare industry and are unaware of what happens to all that electronic information that makes up their medical record.  I've told my whole family to ask "who does your transcription" at the doctor's office, the hospital, etc.  When the doctor's office or the hospital hands you a HIPAA disclosure, that's your opening to ask questions about who all sees your medical record, who does the transcription, and is your medical information protected even if it is sent to India to be typed.

Okay, that was my soapbox speech for the day. 

I hate it when I spend so much time looking up things I do not know (terms or medications, or even a referring or copied doctor's name and address) and then the doctor changes his/her mind and says to just take that back out.

Or, you spend all that time looking things up and researching, then at the end they say 'Oh, by the way, here's all the information you just wasted your time looking up.'

Ggggrrrrrrrrrrr. 

I'll be back to rant more later because this has REALLY been getting on my nerves lately, and seems to be happening a lot more often.

My company has been having conference calls on one of my accounts in which they request that you attend (they take roll call) to learn new rules, changed rules, updates, etc. on the account.  This has turned into a real pain because it takes so much time out of your production that day.  They say it will become more "routine" as time goes by because of the volume of the rules, etc. 

I was wondering, do any others have had that situation and, if so, have you been compensated for that time? 

I should note, I am an employee, not an IC, and am paid by the line.

Thanks!  

I have been thinking for quite a while about getting into coding.  Are there any MTs here who are also coders?  Are there any reputable "on-line" coding schools?  I really would like to do this.  27 years is enough.  If anybody knows about this, feel free to e-mail me.

Thanks

I used to work in a Doctor's office and do coding, electronic insurance billing, statements.  I loved it, but I had to quit because of my kids.  If my kids were older, I would still be doing it now.  I fell into coding when I was a Medical Assistant and it lasted 16 years.  Maybe I will get into it again when the kids get older. 

As far as any online schools that good, I don't know.  But what I can tell you is from my experience, working from an office or hospital is the best place to be for coding!!

I will try to be brief (please don't think me curt but there is much more I could say that I just don't have time to go into).

First to be a professional coder, you will need to be nationally certified.  There are 2 national organizations that provide proctored certification.  The first was AAPC and has an excellent program for both office-based and hospital-based coding certifications.  You can do the home program or find a company who provides classroom instruction and testing.  Either route will cost you about $1500 and about 3-4 months investment.  The other national is AHIMA.  You would need to look at their website to find the details for them, as I did not utilize them.  They cater more to people who are already in the field and need certification.

Because AHIMA's umbrella covers more than just coding, hospitals tend to give more credibility to their credentialling, but since AAPC set the standard and has the largest number of members, they have to be doing something right.  Both companies require prior coding experience, personal recommendations and membership in their organization.  If you have no previous experience, they have apprenticeship programs.  The CEUs to maintain your certification is about 20 per year with each organization.

Your investment in resources to perform your job is greater than in MT.  You will probably need a lap top and several programs to perform your job if it is not provided by an employer.  You can be a consultant if you can't get a job as a coder.  You could get additional certification and become an instructor and teach.

The next issue is home versus on-site work.  Some MT companies are beginning to combined MT and coding into their at-home programs; however, if you have no experience and no liability insurance and no support network, you could find yourself out of a job if you cannot produce quantity and quality quickly.  Finding a on-site coding position is difficult without experience unless you get lucky and find an office to give you a chance.  Many, many times your best bet to find a job is by networking through your local national's chapter or showing exceptional talent in the classroom setting and getting a referral from the instructor.

Coding is different from MT in that you are held liable by the federal government if you make a mistake.  Yes, the doctor is ultimately responsible, but the wording in the law states that the person who submits the bill is as guilty as the provider.  There are monetary and jail time penalties - and how much of each depends on how well you can prove it was accidental because the government assumes the fraud was intentional unless proven otherwise.  Better have insurance.  Because of this law, that is why you are seeing a greater need for certified coders...hospitals in particular do not want to expose themselves to the liability of the Office of Inspector General with unqualified personnel.

I got a coding auditor position on the outpatient side of a hospital.  I went to the clinics and performed audits of the previous quarter for every doctor at each clinic.  I scored everything, compiled reports, provided education to the doctors who failed the audits, provided monthly ongoing education and a coding hotline for daily unusual circumstances.  I was paid about $20/hr which was the low end of the spectrum for a hospital employee.  Physician offices tend to pay $12-15.  When I relocated to a different part of the country, I could not immediately find a coding position, so I went back into MT.  It took another year before I found a management company where I could code, but by then I needed to return back across the country due to family issues...and I let my certification lapse and continued with MT.

what is the best way to get into coding?  I have thought about an online course. 

I have experience in medical billing for 12 years and transcription for four years and I am also going back to school to pursue coding and take the national exam to get my CPC.  Coding is the new future as this transcription business is falling apart everyday.  It is so hard to make a decent wage.  These National companies are indeed a sweat shop taking advantage of the DR’s and paying us a pathetic price.  I make 12 cents a line working for a local physician, but I have lost 4 doctors already due to outsourcing.  I am running fast back to school because I think in the next couple years there will be VR everywhere.  What a shame to such a good profession.  This is just because someone was a little bit too greedy.

Good luck with coding. 

I am taking a continuing education class through my college for 8 months with medical terminology, which I really do not need as I have enough of that, but I am sure it will not hurt, and anatomy and physiology plus the coding.  I have also heard of the Carol J. Buck books and I am also going to purchase them once they come out in the first of January.  I heard these are good books.  I am one of those persons that needs someone to teach me and do better than trying to read out of the book and doing it on my own, but the Carol Buck book would not hurt as an addition.  This is the way to go for me as I have been burned too many times in this transcription industry in the last four years.  It is a shame it is like this way.  There is too much negativity.

I've actually thought about coding as well.  I was an ART/RHIT so I've done a bit of it and liked it, but I liked transcription better.  That was then; this is now.  If HHS would ever stop messing about, the US would start using ICD-10 like the rest of the civilized world.  This is very different from the current ICD-9-CM, so even experienced coders will have to take classes.  Some of my coder friends say they would consider retirement at that time.  Perhaps it would be our opportunity to make a switch. 

Airline job, huh?  I hope he means Southwest because the old major carriers aren't doing well.  I do wonder about Sir Richard Branson's new Virgin America, though.  Of course, maybe you'd get free/reduced fare miles and the paid vacation time to spend them on as part of the benefit package.  Got anywhere you'd like to go?  Taking son along is optional. (she smiles)