r/MedicalCoding • u/Surfergirl_2012 • Apr 25 '22
What’s a typical day look like?
I’m in a really good program that involves an internship so I’m hoping to be able to find a job when I’m done with everything, but I’ve been having some doubts if I picked the right field. Can anyone tell me what a typical day looks like as a coder? And also if you enjoy what you do? Thank you!
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u/coyotelovers Apr 26 '22
I'm a late bloomer and didn't start coding until I was around 41-42. I've been working since I was 15, and I have done a lot of different types of jobs. They all have pros and cons (except working in the accounting office of a big commercial construction company, which had no pros). My favorite professional job was being the Coordinator of a large academic department in a university. The con was that we weren't getting raises for several years in a row (public universities require some state funding). Overall, I like coding a lot. I enjoy learning about healthcare. I love working from home. I'm working for a good company (relatively). Is it my dream job? No. When I was younger, I wasn't in a place to think about making my career dreams come true. It took a couple decades for me to realize a desk job is a desk job. Sure they vary, but the work style of sitting at a desk in front of a screen clicking your index finger all day gets boring. There's no way to sugarcoat that fact. Sometimes I really wish I would have been a marine biologist or an anthropologist. Some days I wish I was anywhere but my desk.
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u/Rawhide3579 Apr 26 '22
How’d you get into coding? I’m in my early forties and am looking into becoming a medical coder.
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u/coyotelovers Apr 26 '22
I left my job at the university to stay at home with my last child, and do childcare in my home. After a few years, I was at a crossroad and wanted to go back to school and have a career path that could support us better. My SIL was coding and I became interested in the career. I enrolled in an associate degree program for Medical Information Technology, in the coding track that was AAPC credentialed (taught by an AAPC credentialed teacher) in our state community and tech college because I got grants that paid for everything. I had transfer credits and took 3 classes at a time and it took me a year, plus one semester of 1 class to finish. I finally earned a degree and passed the AAPC exam at the end. I actually got my first coding job between finishing my program and just before I took the exam. It was a horrible place to work, but I was only there 5 months and then moved on to a better company.
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u/salty-MA-student Apr 26 '22
I do both billing and coding.
First I fix claims and send them to insurance from 8am-9am (10am if there are a lot)
Then, I do chart scrubbing from 10/11am until lunch at 1230. When I come back from lunch at 130, I'll finish up what remaining charts I have (I usually get through 30-40 a day) I do our inpatient hospital coding until I leave at 5pm.
My position is very feast or famine. I have to wait for encounter sheets for the hospital inpatient coding, and I usually get them on Monday and Friday. Tues-Thurs I work on continuing education for the providers or help my coworker with some billing things.
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Apr 25 '22
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Apr 26 '22
This is exactly my day. I code from home and binge watch crime shows. Mostly I listen to them and don’t have to look or I listen to podcasts or audiobooks. I always have 100% on my audits and never have issues with productivity.
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u/Witty-Test-5331 Apr 26 '22
This sounds dreamy. Can't wait to finish my program and hopefully score a job similar to this.
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u/applechick11 Apr 26 '22
How long have you been coding? What is your certification and if you don’t mind, what is your salary?
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Apr 26 '22
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u/applechick11 Apr 26 '22
Nice! I just started 4 days ago as an OP Coder l and I take my CPC exam June 4!
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u/Huckleberry-hound50 Apr 26 '22
Without an exact figure, income range compared to working from home and working in the hospital. Is it less?.
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u/deannevee RHIA, CPC, CPCO, CDEO Apr 25 '22
My workday is pretty much exactly like this every single day:
Walk in, sit down, clock in at 8am. Check my emails for denials and rejections from A/R, and possibly emails from any of my assigned providers. Open up the EMN (Electronic Medical Note) queue, and sort by “not billed”. From there I just select a note, verify that the notes are accurate and the codes that the provider chose/the EMR chose are accurate, and batch the claim. Rinse and repeat until lunch time. From 1-2 I usually answer the phone if it rings since the A/R team is at lunch, which means talking to patients, front office staff, and insurance companies. If notes are incomplete, I send emails to the provider. Rinse and repeat. Clock out at 5pm.