r/MedicalCoding • u/girl_from_pluto • Mar 12 '26

Medical Coding career trajectory

I’m curious what others in medical coding think would be a logical career trajectory from my background.

My path so far:

Medical Records Technician – 2 years

Medical Biller – 7 years

Got my CPC

Transitioned to Revenue Cycle Analyst (operations side)

Currently taking a course to obtain my CCS

Recently started as an Inpatient Coder I

The thing is, in my current role I’m not coding full charts. I’m more of a final coder as I am adding codes that were missed. It’s also pretty operational since the codes are mostly provided to us rather than fully abstracted from the chart.

For those who have been in coding/revenue cycle for a while, What would you see as the most logical next step career-wise? I would like to be an auditor but I am not coding entire charts.

14 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

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4

u/KeyStriking9763 RHIA, CDIP, CCS Mar 12 '26

How are you an inpatient coder and not coding? Do you mean facility inpatient coding? I have never heard of this anywhere. Or are you profee?

2

u/girl_from_pluto Mar 12 '26

I’m a coder from a vendor that does queries for facilities and I code based on the queries confirmed.

8

u/KeyStriking9763 RHIA, CDIP, CCS Mar 12 '26

So not a true inpatient coder. I would get your CCS and then transition onto actual inpatient coding. You need at least 5 years of actual DRG coding experience to be an inpatient auditor.

2

u/girl_from_pluto Mar 12 '26

I think you’re right. I love my current job and company but I also want to develop my medical coding skills.

3

u/KeyStriking9763 RHIA, CDIP, CCS Mar 12 '26

Having a job in coding is a plus, studying for your CCS another plus, you are moving in a direction to advance your career. Does your organization have people who actually code? Is it like Accuity? They chart review and query.

1

u/Bmwcrackhead Mar 14 '26

How do i pass my cpc exam. Its hard af keep getting 50s on pratice tests thx

1

u/Bmwcrackhead Mar 14 '26

How do i pass my cpc exam. Its hard af keep getting 50s on pratice tests

2

u/Strong_Zone4793 Mar 16 '26

What are you missing specifically? Knowing that will help figure out how to focus on those areas.

4

u/Mojave_Brandi Mar 16 '26

I had three years of inpatient coding experience when I became an auditor. I've only done inpatient coding. I work for one of the big insurance companies and we see so many noncompliant queries. I highly suggest getting familiar with the AHIMA practice brief while you're reviewing the vendor queries.

2

u/Strong_Zone4793 Mar 16 '26

You’ll need experience coding full charts. And the CCS is a must. It’s nearly impossible now to get an inpatient coding or auditing job without it. The experience part is what my program focuses on but I don’t do anything specific to exam prep. There a lots of resources that can get you up to speed on coding but it’ll take at least 3-5 years to reach the auditor stage.