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#99350 - 06/03/08 02:45 PM
When is it a good time to start a coding course?
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5xBlessed
Member
Registered: 01/05/04
Posts: 320
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I'm already working from home as an MT and have been for almost five years. I do want to learn coding, also, just to be that much more flexible. My hope would be to do some coding from home, but if I MUST start in an office setting there is no guarantee I could get a job out of the home right away. Would it be completely stupid to take a coding course now if I'm not sure I can jump right into doing the work if it has to be done out of the house, or is coding a skill that will "stick" for possibly a few years down the road if need be? Thank you!
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#99496 - 06/04/08 10:42 PM
Re: When is it a good time to start a coding course?
[Re: 5xBlessed]
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mommajones
New Member
Registered: 06/04/08
Posts: 4
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Hi there, I am a new member to this site and just saw your post. I have 13 years experience in the Medical Billing/Coding field. (As a matter of fact it is the only job I have ever had.) I would just like to throw out there for you to ponder, a degree in anything is ALWAYS a good thing. I would have to say that coding is a skill that will "stick" for a few years to come. I did begin a course for Coding, just so I could be certified, and I didn't finish because I was having such a hard time finding anyone to employee me doing it from home. I switched to MT schooling and haven't finished it yet. I am having a hard time finding someone to hire a newbie that doesn't have a degree yet.
Back to your question. If you want to learn the coding skill, learn it. The best time to learn is when YOU are ready. I LOVE it and always have. It isn't anything that will change over time. As long as I have been doing coding, the codes have been the same, ICD-9 and CPT codes. The only things that ever change are the rules governed by the insurance companies. The only time you have to worry about that is when you do insurance billing.
I say "go for it and enjoy". If I have to be candid about it, I would say that it is a thousand times easier than transcription.
Best of luck.
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#99564 - 06/06/08 12:07 AM
Re: When is it a good time to start a coding cours
[Re: mommajones]
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Craig
Member
Registered: 01/07/05
Posts: 228
Loc: Seattle, WA
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I say "go for it and enjoy". If I have to be candid about it, I would say that it is a thousand times easier than transcription.
Huh? 
As long as I have been doing coding, the codes have been the same, ICD-9 and CPT codes.
I've been misinformed. I wasn't aware that the CPT codes have been the same for 13 years.
Edited by Craig (06/06/08 12:31 AM)
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#99580 - 06/06/08 11:56 AM
Re: When is it a good time to start a coding course?
[Re: 5xBlessed]
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Glory1863
Member
Registered: 03/27/08
Posts: 364
Loc: Beyond Antares
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You might want to see if any of the coding schools have a clue as to when/if the US is ever going to switch over to ICD-10, which, for the most part, the rest of the world uses. This system is very different from the current ICD-9-CM. If you can, compare a sample of ICD-9-CM with a sample of ICD-O, the code book cancer registrars use. You'll see what I mean. It would be a shame for you to spend a lot of time and money learning a system just as it is on its way out.
_________________________
The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. Abraham Lincoln
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#99593 - 06/06/08 02:30 PM
Re: When is it a good time to start a coding course?
[Re: Glory1863]
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5xBlessed
Member
Registered: 01/05/04
Posts: 320
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Thanks for the replies. When I do this, I'll be going with Andrews. They gave me a great transcription education, so I trust they'll do the same for coding.
Lucy
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#99733 - 06/08/08 02:50 PM
Re: When is it a good time to start a coding cours
[Re: Craig]
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mommajones
New Member
Registered: 06/04/08
Posts: 4
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You are correct, the CPT codes do change over time. They replace old ones with new ones and they even add new ones that have never been used before. I apologize for that error, I haven't been in the billing field for the last year and that was one little thing I forgot.
SORRY!!!!
Thanks for pointing out and reminding me.
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#101165 - 06/21/08 10:44 PM
Re: When is it a good time to start a coding cours
[Re: mommajones]
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Redpen
Member
Registered: 12/31/69
Posts: 969
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I never recommend that anyone forgo getting started in coding due to fear of the switch to ICD-10. Why would anyone forgo even a year of productive employment for fear that some new system might be implemented at a later date?
There are changes to coding every year. You just adapt. There is also more than one code set in use, so you might need to learn to use a new set even if there isn't a change to ICD-10.
When you study coding, you should be learning how to use the code sets. This isn't limited to just learning some codes. Nobody can learn that many codes even once, much less keep up with the changes every year. Learning coding should include learning how to keep up with changes, how to use reference material, and how to learn by reading coding books and instructions. In other words, you should be learning how to learn, not just learning a limited set of information.
Once you have learned to use one code set, you've learned more than just the code set. You've learned how to learn! Or, you should have.
The background information you learn in coding -- all the basic medical sciences -- won't change with ICD-10. There is really no reason to fear this change.
_________________________
Redpen
(The Andrews School)
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#102137 - 06/29/08 02:06 PM
Re: When is it a good time to start a coding cours
[Re: Redpen]
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5xBlessed
Member
Registered: 01/05/04
Posts: 320
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Hi Redpen,
In your opinion, would it be a smart more or a not-so-smart move to take coding now? I can't guarantee I'll be able to work in an office or hospital immediately after finishing the course, but I'm also trying to think ahead in this bad economy. I want to make sure I have more than transcription under my belt, but I worry if I take the coding now and don't work immediately I'll "lose" the skill. My thinking is knowing both transcription and coding will be an asset if I DO have to leave the home sooner than expected to work. I remember when I took transcription we were told we shouldn't take it if we weren't going to be able to work right away because we could "lose" the skill.
What would you recommend? I don't want to regret not doing it in a few years, but I don't want to do it any sooner than recommended. Thanks!
Lucy
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