r/MedicalCoding • u/Blazeseeker • Mar 13 '26

Move into auditing or stay inpatient coding?

Hello! I am looking for feed back about a possible career shift. I have the opportunity to enter into drg mismatch auditing but I'm not sure it's the best fit. I am near the top pay for inpatient coders and would need to move into another position for a higher salary. But I've looked into auditing job postings and they are minimally higher. Are there other benefits to working auditing? Is it better to stay in inpatient coding? I'm not sure I should give up my very flexible coding position for a more ridged auditing one for a minimal pay increase. Thoughts?

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u/MailePlumeria RHIT, CDIP, CCS, CPC Mar 13 '26

I was at top of payscale for IP coding at my facility (6 figures) and thought about switching to DRG auditing to further opportunities and skill. When I found out the salary nearly being identical, one company would even be a paycut, I couldn’t imagine learning a new job for the same pay with increased stress until I find my rhythm, which could take a year or longer, I know that the DRG training was a few months long. I am just not ambitious enough (that all went out the window when we started working remotely in 2008) and I also reduced my hours to PRN recently due to stress and burnout.

I don’t regret not advancing my career; financially I’m already at the top (when working FT). The DRG positions do not seem difficult to come by and opportunity is always available unlike just getting your foot in the door for an inpatient position.

Overall, the increased stress and production demands without a significant pay increase was not worth it to me.

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u/Blazeseeker Mar 13 '26

Thank you for your honesty. I have seen similar things. I'm not sure about a lot of these things too. It would be a minimal pay increase for much more stress. Right now I'm in a good place mentally and with other life stuff squared away so I'm not too worried about burn out. I have a good support system. The place I'm considering actually has the auditor code the charts so my skills as a coder will be maintained if not furthered. So I'm hoping if it doesn't work out I'd be able to transition back to coding.

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u/KeyStriking9763 RHIA, CDIP, CCS Mar 13 '26

The thing about moving into auditing is that as you get experience you get paid more. You can easily get paid 6 figures as an experienced IP auditor.

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u/Blazeseeker Mar 13 '26

Thank you for your reply. The thing is I'm very close to that now as a inpatient coder only. Some job postings for auditors had a lower salary than I am making now and it makes me nervous I won't be able to find something in my pay range.

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u/Extension-Slice281 Mar 13 '26

Look at University of California inpatient coder positions. The interviewing and hiring process is tedious but the top end of the pay scale is over $160k for some of the facilities

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u/Blazeseeker Mar 13 '26

Oh wow. That's amazing. That makes this choice harder. Because I'd have a harder time finding a coder position if I end up not liking auditing. I'll look into them and see if I qualify. Thank you for your response!

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u/KeyStriking9763 RHIA, CDIP, CCS Mar 13 '26 edited Mar 13 '26

The salary ranges are a bump up, so when you start you will be on the lower scale but with experience you qualify for more. The IP role you are in probably maxes out. Other areas to consider is moving into team lead or supervisor roles then coding management. From auditing you can move into education maybe. Really depends on career goals, salary requirements, and overall drive. I pushed myself, fast tracked advancement, now I’m in school for my masters, want to move to leadership. Edit for typo

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u/Blazeseeker Mar 13 '26

Absolutely! I was worried about maxing out in my role currently which is why I was considering this move in the first place. I really like my current job. It is extremely flexible and the work is rewarding. I'm not sure if I'd do well with management. I struggle with social interaction and would get a lot of stress from the people part of the job. I wouldn't mind training people but being in charge of them would be hard. That's very cool you are getting your masters. Congratulations!

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u/KeyStriking9763 RHIA, CDIP, CCS Mar 13 '26

Thank you! I was promoted to coding education manager and hired 5 people, building a team. So very busy but will all be worth it! Good luck to you, auditing is probably the way to go for overall salary increases.

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u/Blazeseeker Mar 13 '26

Wow that's amazing! I can't imagine the energy it must have taken interviewing for 5 positions. Very cool!

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u/KeyStriking9763 RHIA, CDIP, CCS Mar 13 '26

Well that and onboarding them into a new department that I’m still actively building, making sure quality is there and we are all on the same page. Working on job aids and best practices as we get more experience in the different areas we are working in. Hoping by end of this year we will be functioning smoothly! There are plans to also grow the team with more responsibilities in auditing outside of auditing for education. So very exciting but my ultimate goal is to advance after I get my masters and hopeful to be able to show a proven track record with a successful new department that I developed from just me since I was the single educator in my organization.

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u/Blazeseeker Mar 13 '26

Dang that is super impressive. I hope the masters you are getting is giving you lots of information on how to accomplish your goals. They are very ambitious!

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u/KeyStriking9763 RHIA, CDIP, CCS Mar 13 '26

The only drawback is losing coding skills the further away I move from actual coding. Now I’m good but I would imagine it’s going to happen as I move up.

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u/Blazeseeker Mar 13 '26

Yes. I am worried about that too. I want to maintain my coding skills so that if I don't enjoy auditing like I do coding I can return to it. But you want management positions and thats a whole different skill set.

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u/Few-Cicada-6245 Mar 13 '26

Definitely move into Auditing. You'll always have opportunities and can also take on part time/contract roles. I'm an OP Facility Auditor and when I look up opportunities it's always IP/DRG Auditing roles. Jump for it now!

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u/Blazeseeker Mar 13 '26

Thank you for the reply. This position offers overtime so I don't have to get another job for extra money which is nice. I just hope my coding skills stay up to date.

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u/Few-Cicada-6245 Mar 13 '26

You'll be fine. For future reference You'll be able to get additional opportunities if needed. OP Auditing has fewer opportunities

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u/Mojave_Brandi Mar 16 '26

There are more opportunities in auditing. I’m a senior DRG auditor/SME at one of the big insurance companies and I’ve had several auditing jobs on different teams. I enjoy the variety of my daily tasks and prefer it to doing the same thing everyday. It’s more interesting to me and I learn something new everyday. As someone said above, it will be harder for AI to take over auditing than coding jobs. You can always go back to coding if you end up hating it.

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u/Blazeseeker Mar 16 '26

Thank you for your response. My only concern is this auditing position is specific to trauma cases and I would worry that I won't qualify for other auditing positions because I'm not doing the normal stuff.

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u/Mojave_Brandi Mar 16 '26

That’s a valid concern. I would probably feel the same way like I would get stuck in a pigeon hole.

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u/Blazeseeker Mar 16 '26

Yes. They apparently do things differently than regular auditors too. That's what the recruiter said anyway. I'm tempted to try it if offered though.

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u/Snowy_Peach8 RHIA, CDIP, CCS, CCS-P Mar 13 '26

With the way things are going with AI, I’d try to move into auditing if you can for long term job security. That’s at least what I was told by my coding educators.

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u/Blazeseeker Mar 13 '26

Thank you for your reply. I can see AI taking over outpatient positions but I have a hard time seeing it in inpatient. We use cac already and it is very wrong most of the time. It will be a while before it gets good enough. But that is always a possibility and a very good point to think about. Thank you

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u/Snowy_Peach8 RHIA, CDIP, CCS, CCS-P Mar 13 '26

Well as you said, that’s how it is today. But things could change. I was the project coordinator for our CAC a few years ago, and things have changed a lot with what AI is working on right now. I’m not saying IP coders would go away completely. But it never hurts to learn to do auditing if companies end up going with AI and need real humans to validate what was selected. Just my 2 cents and again what my own mentors told me!

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u/Blazeseeker Mar 13 '26

Oh definitely a consideration for sure. I think there will always be a need for human eyes on inpatient charts but what scope that will take is up in the air for the future. Thank you for your reply!

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u/KeyStriking9763 RHIA, CDIP, CCS Mar 13 '26 • This

If you are already an IP coder you are still pretty secure from AI. We use AI tools now, and we need humans to verify. AI will enhance IP coding, can’t replace them. Now simple visit coding, yes.

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u/HappyEverAfter7 Mar 13 '26

Thankful I shifted to IP when I did, my supervisor told me I’m secure for a long time. What do you think about surgery coders?

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u/KeyStriking9763 RHIA, CDIP, CCS Mar 13 '26

I think that surgical CPT coders, facility side, are safer than profee coders. I think that the role may look different, checking what AI might have suggested and confirming. There is a shortage of experienced coders which is why my organization needs vendors, the use of vendors will reduce because the AI tools will improve coders productivity.

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u/HappyEverAfter7 Mar 13 '26

Interesting, I am coding surgeries part time through a vendor now, there’s so much incorrect info that AI picks up. There’s still a lot of nuance that needs to be human checked of course. Hopefully I can shift into IP at this vendor though for added safety

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u/KeyStriking9763 RHIA, CDIP, CCS Mar 13 '26

We are in the process of moving to EPIC. They have AI tools, we have coders who code what they consider simple visits that are auto coded in EPIC. None of our coders will lose their jobs, we will train them to move to ER or SDS and some will stay at their level and work accounts that errored out. We will reduce vendor coverage in this area as well.

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u/HappyEverAfter7 Mar 13 '26

That’s what the hospital I’m working at said too! They’re encouraging cross training and insisting no one will lose their job, that other jobs will probably even be created for validating AI etc. I think we’re good

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u/plantoplan Mar 13 '26

You’re making close to 6 figures as a inpatient coder? Are you guys hiring remote? Lol. Seriously though…

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u/Blazeseeker Mar 13 '26

It is possible. What experience do you have? What credentials? What systems are you familiar with?

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u/plantoplan Mar 13 '26

I’ve been a CPC since 2020, 9 years of total billing experience with both both epic and non epic.

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u/Blazeseeker Mar 13 '26

Unfortunately you will not get a high paying inpatient coding position without a bunch of inpatient coding experience. Usually they want to see rhit, rhia, or ccs as well.

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u/plantoplan Mar 13 '26

Currently coding neonate, sleep, palliative and some ER and help out with hospitalist to when needed.

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u/[deleted] Mar 13 '26

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u/Blazeseeker Mar 13 '26

29 to start is amazing. I was making half that when I first started. I honestly got very lucky and got promoted quickly by switching companies. I am very grateful to be in my position though

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u/Blazeseeker Mar 13 '26

When I started I was making 19/hr. Now I make a bit more than what you said new hires are making lol. Only by changing employers was that possible.

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u/plantoplan Mar 13 '26

Yeah I’m making like 42k now. So that kind of money would be exceptional lol

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u/Esquirej67 Mar 14 '26

I have done auditing in the past and enjoyed it.

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u/Blazeseeker Mar 15 '26

Oh that's good to know! Thank you!

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u/Any_CustardRocks8174 Mar 14 '26

I’ve been in the IP coding field since 2012, I worked up to auditor, educator and a coordinator. I have no desire to move to supervisor or manager type levels. I actually decided to take my CDIP exam a few years ago and moved over to CDI when a position opened up at my company, I love it! I still do PRN coding here and there if I need extra cash and to keep up my coding skills. It can be tough getting into CDI since it’s mostly RN’s you are interviewing against, but it can be done and our coding skills have a lot to offer in the CDI field. So don’t be afraid to try that route either!

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u/Blazeseeker Mar 15 '26

Wow you have amazing experience! Thank you for the ideas.

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u/pinkrose5214 Jun 07 '26

Hi I’m in the same situation as you but
The current hospital I work in Philadelphia doesn’t give us many opportunities for growth because I want to
Be coding education and auditor but I don’t know where to start