Advice from Coders?

[sunshine2515]

I am looking to switch careers and am considering medical billing. Before i spend money on more schooling and what not i was hoping to get and input from current coders (at home and in hospital,doctor office settings etc)

What is a typical day like for you? What do you like most and not like about it?
Any good schools?
A lot of interaction with people?

Thanks for your help!

[ThrivingDad]

There are other medical coder like professions out there. I believe there are data collection positions in the field of epidemiology for example.

[BarbB]

I'm not a coder but was looking into the field also. If I did train for this I would go through Medical Coding - Medical Billing - Medical Auditing - AAPC. They have a forum there so you might get more answers. I found it very discouraging because more people than not could not find employment right out of school. Everyone wants 3-5 years experience. I've decided not to pursue this career.

[Carmen29]

I know this post is old, but just wanted to say that I too am interested in pursuing this. I have looked into it before with interest. Signed up with 2 distance schools over the years but regretted it after because I don't know....just didn't seem like the right fit at the time. So this time it is the right fit and the right time in my life. I am going to take non credit courses online through my local college instead of a distance school. I have to take 5 courses plus the exam. In my county it's $195 for each course plus materials fee which I was told I believe was about $60 or so. I just had this phone call today and already can't remember if it was $60 for each course or all together.

For the first coding course there was also a fee of about $100 for something additional. I plan on starting with one course at a time, then if I feel comfortable doing 2 at a time until I finish. I was told that around here (I'm in NY state) even after you take the exam and pass, you are not considered certified with employers or potential employers until you have had 2 years experience. I am not worried about finding anyone to hire me. I am thinking about going through a temp agency to get started, to earn my 2 years experience. Good luck to anyone else considering this! My ultimate goal would be to eventually work from home doing this.

[HowToee.com]

Hi Carmen29, this one is for you. I have a few points which may be of use to you.
It is a career in high demand category. A skilled and experienced coder is never short of work.

Advantage of joining a good medical billing and coding school is that it has a placement wing which facilitates employment for it's students; or these schools at least ensure providing training opportunities, where the students can sharpen the skills. Irrespective of where you study, make sure (i) you study with the right people and, (ii) this qualification can help you find a job or internship opportunity in your area.

Coming to your ultimate goal of working from home - please do not fall prey to the `work from home as medical billers or coders’ scams which are all over the net. From my knowledge of the industry, experience, and observation I can tell you one thing that it is extremely tough to align a medical billing career that can be pursued from home. Unless of course you have worked with a hospital, an agency, or office for several years and they trust you enough and allow you to work from home for them.

Wishing you all the best.

[JobSeeker12]

Originally Posted by BarbB

I'm not a coder but was looking into the field also. If I did train for this I would go through Medical Coding - Medical Billing - Medical Auditing - AAPC. They have a forum there so you might get more answers. I found it very discouraging because more people than not could not find employment right out of school. Everyone wants 3-5 years experience. I've decided not to pursue this career.

Also be careful of a school's accreditation status. I know of a medical assistant who graduated from an accredited medical assisting program and could not find work after a year of graduating. One of the big Midwest medical systems would not consider her training because it was a school the medical system did not accept, even though the accreditation is in place. It seems some industries are getting even pickier with graduates. She is not even working in the medical field right now. That is sad.

[Carmen29]

Hello, I did not get this message until now! Thank you for all of the great advice, and trust me I have done my research and am aware of the scams, so I will be careful. Well not long after posting here I made the decision to go with Medical Transcription instead of the billing & coding. It seems like there's more opportunities to really get started working from home with transcription where as with billing and coding it takes 2 years of experience to get the foot in the door to work from home. I picked a good school, checked accredition and bbb.org. So far so good.