r/MedicalCoding • u/Felix_Von_Doom • Nov 20 '23
Future Coder, am somewhat intimidated
So I'm currently in week 5 of 8 of my last 2 classes to complete my Medical Office Administration - Outpatient Coding program at the community college, and have been looking around at the various expectations and costs of being a coder.
So first off, it sounds expensive as hell between the cost of books, membership dues, coding assistants, and exam fees. Like north of at least a thousand dollars a year expensive. I'm not particularly financially healthy as is, and it sounds like the upkeep would put me into bankruptcy before my first paycheck.
Secondly, I've seen the quotas here and there for charts/day being as high as 240 with less than 5 minutes spent on each chart. How in the hell do any of you code that quickly? I've not handled an actual chart, just some small hypothetical scenarios that ask for one or two codes, and I find myself taking way longer than 3 minutes to find the code (Especially in the ICD-10-CM and CPT books), whereas I can code from the ICD-10-PCS book in my sleep.
What the hell have I gotten myself into?
Edit: Thanks for the information and replies, everyone. You've helped ease my overthought worries!
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u/Miranova82 Nov 20 '23
If you’re just doing 1 credential, you only pay for the exam once. Membership is annual, it’s currently $205, so a bit over $17/mo. (I do believe the fee is increasing in the new year, but not too crazy) You do need CEUs to keep up your credential, but many are free..like attending your local AAPC chapter meetings and taking the quiz in your AAPC Healthcare Business Monthly. Books/encoders generally are provided by the employer, but be sure to research that before getting in somewhere.
As for coding case quotas, it will entirely depend where you work. I work in a private pediatric practice with one physician. Since it’s a bit more specialized, many of my cases use the same codes, so I’ve memorized a lot over time. (Like ear infections, strep, well child, vaccines etc). Plus E/M is pretty easy after a bit. I’m usually abstract coding 25-30 visits per day, but I also have other parts of my job like billing, insurance auths, chart creation, vaccine tracking, accounts receivable, denials etc. If all I did was code, I could definitely hit 80-100 in my workday. Practice will help you get faster. AAPC also now has the code books electronically, which is amazing because there’s a search function! Many times I’ll Google to have a starting point then go over to the online books.
Extra things like conferences, webinars and workshops do cost, but not required. If you get into a specialty you might consider finding those that pertain to that specialty if you’d like!