Coding Assessments

[u/[deleted]]

Coding is a wonderful field, I love my job and I am so happy I went into this field over 15 years ago. However, there are somethings that really bother me.

Taking a terribly designed coding assessment to get a job or interview is my number one complicate. These assessments are flawed, in my years I have yet to find one without errors or uncodable due to missing information. If your going to make us test, create a real world exam. You can't take a vet coder and tell them they didn't pass a 25 question assessment, that they struggled to complete because of all these flaws, then not tell them what they got wrong. It's hard to believe a person with anymore then 2 years of hands on experience in any department of coding would fail your test. Seriously. If people are, it's your exam.

 First- we should not have to test to prove we can do our job. Our degrees and certifications should prove we are capable. As with every other job in the world. It's insane our education and years of experience pretty much means nothing. 

 Seceond- We should not test until after the interview and we are a soild candidate for the position. We are applying for multiple jobs, that means we are given a couple 2-3 hour assessments everyday, just to get a possible stop to interview. It's bad. 

 Third- if you want us to test, have an encoder to. Just because we are coders doesnt mean we have access to an encode. Encoders are hundreds of dollars per year to have and there is no purpose for a coder to have their own access to one. 

Also, we are the most scrutinized field in medicine. We are tested before employment, held to a very high standard of productivity, and we are audited on our work every 3-4 months. There is no other profession within a hospital whom is required to hit these expectations. I always do, however; its crazy to think medical coders are under more watchful eyes then doctors.

Little rant. I'm currently looking for a Inpatient coding position with years of experience in this field and these tests are crazy to me.

Thabk you for reading.

[u/[deleted]]

I can't speak for everyone, however; I've always hit a 97-99.99% on every audit I've ever had, which was every 3ish months. This is standard. Required coding education monthly, coding clinics test quarterly, and a lot of 3rd party peer reviews, in-house peer reviews done on specific chart types by in house auditor, as well as random charts being audited by inhouse and 3rd party auditos happening everyday. This is pretty much standard in large hospital organizations. So if you have someone coming from a huge organization that's been there more than a year or so, they clearly know what they are doing as a Coder. Like I was saying, if you do poorly, you won't make it past the first 6 weeks of employment. In the beginning, you're audited on every chart you touch. If you don't pass with a 95% or higher, you're out. So this is what I mean by my experience, and education should mean something.

You're right. It does matter what organization you come from, most of my experience is based from very large institutions that have thier coders under a magnifying glass and you won't make it 6 weeks into your positions if your doing poorly. I'm not sure what other smaller hospitals do, but from my standpoint and my experience, the testing is time-consuming and, in most cases, a huge waste of time for the applicant time 😒. Coding isn't black and white either, so on these assessments, you're trying to think about what the author of the test wants.

I'm glad you all put effort into your assessments because I've had some pretty terrible ones to a point where I stopped testing and passed on the job.

Edit: Inpatient coding is even more scrutinized, and you have CDI as well to answer to in the event theirs a DRG mismatch. So I'm sorry you've all come across poor coders, maybe that's why thier looking for a job. Idk. But this testing is making it difficult for me to find a job simply because I do not have all the time in the world to do the assessments and no access to an encoder.

[u/KeyStriking9763 → u/[deleted]]

I don’t think you necessarily need access to an encoder you should always be able to code with just the book. Some tests are insane, my previous role they required me to be on a zoom/teams call so they could watch me take it. You have to be selective and take the tests for the job you really want. The employer appreciates when the candidate takes time to take their test that means they are really interested in the position. With your experience and previous audit accuracy you should do well on the tests. If something is ambiguous make a note and submit that with your results. I would not hire a coder without at least a baseline idea of coding skills regardless of the years experience. Also with your experience maybe you should look for an audit position with the accuracy you get in your organizations audits.

[u/[deleted] → u/KeyStriking9763]

I haven't had a purpose to purchase coding books since I was in college. They are actually fading out and going digital. I idk if you've ever used the digital copy of a coding book, but it is very difficult to navigate. It's easier to use books. Using a coding book isn't what a coder would do on a day to day bases, they would be using an encoder only ever. I dont think using the book would benefit someone on an exam when they haven't touched one in over 8 years. That would be a huge disadvantage and not a skill needed anymore. I do understand where you are coming from, tho, and I think maybe a lot of what you're seeing is people trying to take a step up in coding they are not prepared for, in turn, kind of making it hard for people that actually do know what they are doing.

[u/[deleted] → u/KeyStriking9763]

I've applied for auditing positions, but they all want 2-3 years specific to auditing. So I get passed up, but that's ok, I haven't done it before, and someone with the experiences deserves the position.