Have you had a bad educational experience with either a transcription or coding program? Do you feel you received a substandard education and now can't get a job? Do you feel like you were "ripped off" and the program may not have been legitimate? Well, feel free to complain here, but according to the 11/7/07 issue of Vitals, the e-newsletter of AHDI and MTIA, there are some steps you can take.

If you have spent money and time on a work-at-home program and now believe the program may not be legitimate, contact the company and ask for a refund. Let company representatives know that you plan to notify officials about your experience. If you can't resolve the dispute with the company, file a complaint with these organizations:

• The Federal Trade Commission works for the consumer to prevent fraud and deception. Call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357) or log on to http://www.ftc.gov/.
• The Attorney General's office in your state or the state where the company is located. The office will be able to tell you whether you're protected by any state law that may regulate work-at-home programs.
• Your local consumer protection offices.
• Your local Better Business Bureau.
• Your local postmaster. The U.S. Postal Service investigates fraudulent mail practices.
• The advertising manager of the publication or television station that ran the ad. The manager may be interested to learn about the problems you've had with the company.

I'm so glad to finally see someone recognizing and talking about this issue.  I've been saying for years I needed to author an article on this topic--as both a former "victim" in being "cheated" out of a degree and having recovered from that setback. 

 Recently I ran across an ad in a common monthly publication (non-healthcare).  The ad was for both a coding program and an HIM degree.  Knowing that the HIM program was not accredited by AHIMA standards, I contacted them for information.  The claims they made were infuriating!  On one hand it made HIM jobs appear high-paying, low demand and downright common sense.  On the other, it mentioned salary surveys by both AAPC and AHIMA, but never bothered to inform prospective students of the organizations themselves, nor the concept of credentialing through either group. 

That "educational institution" received a letter from me detailing the woes with their marketing and how that adversely affects our qualified HIM pool.  I'm sure that letter ended up in the recycling bin, but needed to be written.  I do not know to whom we lobby about these things, but some control needs to be tightened in relation to these places.  We all worked very diligently to arrive in our careers and programs like what you mention lead folks away from valid employment in our field.  Their tactics are pathetic.

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Kevin B. Shields, CCS, CPC, CCS-P, CPC-H, CPC-P, RCC, CCP-P

I just graduated in May from a college that teaches coder and billing.
They tried to teach this program in one semester. Though my teacher was great and did her best to teach us everything there was not enough time to do it. I haven't been able to find a job because I cannot get certified or register without experience or the education I received. I am now applying to a accredited college that will allow be to graduate with a register degree. My last college wasn't even accredited. I think that if you are going to teach this kind of program you should at least be accredited for it. Your students trust you to teach them and give them the best education you can provide. I was left high and dry with our education and now I have to go through this again. I am an older women and I need to find a job soon. It wasn't fair to me or the others.

Medical coders are in demand. "There is a nationwide shortage of certified medical coders in hospitals, physician practices, and other healthcare facilities. According to the United States Bureau of Labor, employment of medical record and health information technicians is expected to grow much faster than the average field." AHIMA

It is frustrating and sad to see so many unqualified training programs that promise a coding certification or a diploma, which will neither be recognized by most employers nor adequately provide the education and entry-level skills required for the job.

What can we do to help? We could start with our local and national professional associations. AHIMA (and AAPC) does post some valuable information. Some of the AHIMA State Component Associations also have information on approved coding programs. However, one must first know about the existence of these organizations to "enquire within".

As Kevin suggested, we could write articles to professional journals, such as Advance for HIM Profesionals, to identify the specific certifications that are required along with the contact information for the certifying bodies.  We could also encourage HR department to better understand the coding certifications and to identify the requirements in job postings. Local papers or neighborhood newsletters may also be interested in a short, helpful description of job requirements.

Any other thoughts?

I suggest we (as an industry) require that any school or program teaching coding, billing and other HIM-related career programs abide by either AHIMA, AAPC or another recognized curriculum.  AHIMA obviously has its accreditation out there already; AAPC has the PMCC instructor programs and those can be of use to institutions who do not wish to pursue AHIMA/CAHIM accreditation. 

 For the entities who refuse to meet that requirement, the Dept. of Education and Labor should bar them from marketing their coding/billing/transcriptions programs.    While there aren't specific licensing issues (like RNs and Resp. Therapy), college accrediting bodies do have specific mandates for holding/keeping accreditation.  Petitioning those accreditation bodies to hold colleges accountable for their actions and programs might gain some national attention or appropriate response.

If that seems too strigent, we could always have the organizations themselves sanction programs/schools who use their salary surveys and related material.  If they're going to cite a work, they must educate the students on those organizations and meet one of their outlined requirements. 

In truth, I'm always hopeful that the MMA (Medicare Modernization Act) will be broadened and require certain HIM staff to be credentialed.  I think that might change the manner in which we handle education moving forward from that point.  In the meantime, our main focus might be to mobilize the associations to address the growing problem and organizing general professional movement against such intentionally predatory marketing by way of college and trade school accrediting bodies.

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Kevin B. Shields, CCS, CPC, CCS-P, CPC-H, CPC-P, RCC, CCP-P

I took coding class and the the instructor was an approved AAPC. I passed the certification....the problem I see in this industry aside from those schools who has no credentials....is landing a job as a coder. they always ask for 2 yrs experience. If no one is willing to give a chance to new coders I don't know where to get the experience they are talking about unless I'm related to the hiring manager!!!! It's frustrating and if the industry will not hire new coders might as well stop offering class on coding. I know 2 coders who got the job bec they know somebody from inside....and basically companies published their wanted ads for legal purposes only but infact they have somebody in mind already to hire for the position. Iworked as a biller/coder for 1.5yrs. and they still want 2 yrs.

I have worked in Insurance, and have done some self education in coding. Which certification would I be able to sit for? To work in a physicians office or clinic, which certificate would be most recognized?

Thanks you all for your time

Karen

I saw a previous thread from August, "CCA or CCS "

I interpreted that CCS is more challenging than CCA. If applying for office or clinic setting, would CCA be recognized as being suffuicient to meet the employers needs?

Thanks

Karen

To respond to Neil & Karen's questions . . .

Experience can be gained in a number of ways.  Locally (KY) we have many payer-sided employers who love to get their hands on certified coders.  Although the jobs are not necessarily "traditional" coding, they are with claims processing and that experience is marketable.  Not all coding positions require 2 years experience; in truth, I've noticed that mid-sized practices sometimes prefer someone with fundamental skill, but not "polluted" from work elsewhere.  My first piece of advice would be to perhaps get a current HIM-related professional to help scale up your Resume.  Then, put that Resume to work for you.  If you still encounter problems, take your search down a notch--looking for positions that will lead to a coding position.  Billing, Release of Information, Med. Records Tech/Clerk and even administrative asst. jobs (for the Manager of an HIM dept, for example) can all eventually lead to more clear-cut coding jobs.  Just be creative and serious in your job searches.

Karen, the CPC-P (Certified Professional Coder-Payer) by AAPC was created for folks like you, with claims processing experience.  To be honest, I would rather get my hands on another CPC-P to work with than anyone else--I think it requires a very unique skill set untested and unrecognized by all the other coding credentials available.  The study guide is available through Ingenix and I'd recommend focusing your attention on that text and perhaps a borrowed coding fundamentals text for passing the exam.

 Good luck to you both and if you've got any further questions or believe I could be of assistance in your future endeavors, please contact me at kevbshields@yahoo.com.

 

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Kevin B. Shields, CCS, CPC, CCS-P, CPC-H, CPC-P, RCC, CCP-P

Kevin,

Thanks for your time in sharing this helpful information.

You prefer AAPC credentials over AHIMA?

Thanks again, Karen

To add to Kevin's excellent advice, I would like to add a couple of options for your consideration.

First of all, you have to "sell yourself", meaning that you have to start talking to people and making contacts throughout the industry to get that first job.  A couple of the most effective ways to do this is to attend local HIM or coding meetings sponsored by a professional association like AAPC or AHIMA.   Attending job fairs such as those sponsored by ADVANCE are a great also--I actually attended one of ADVANCE's sponsored job fairs and this led to several contacts.

Second, if you need a credential that strates a mastery level of coding competence and knowledge, AHIMA makes this possible for you via the CCS or CCS-P exams that you can sit for even if you have no experience.  I work with students that have thoroughly studied medical coding for different settings especially for the hospital environment and they pass the CCS.  These students often have very limited experience (less than 2 years), but they do have a significant advantage over the majority of students who are getting CCA's, CPC-A's, CPC-H-A's, or CPC-P-A's.  Combined with some of the networking skills that I described above, a mastery-level credential from AHIMA has often been the thing that has gotten employers to pay attention to the potential and value of students like you and give them their first chance.

I have written a document on how to search for a job in coding and anyone is welcome to see it.  Just email me and I will be happy to share it with you.

Christina 

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Christina Benjamin, RHIA, CCS, CCS-P
Independent Coding & Education Consultant
Email: cmbenjamin@bellsouth.net
www.tools4coding.com

Free CCS credential support group at

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Hospital_Inpatient_Coders/

The information in this post is extremely helpful. I know when I first started researching schools that offered HIT/HIM training I put in inquiries through the web and received too many phone calls to count. Most of these colleges didn't even offer this type of education but were pushing me to sign up at outrageous tuition rates. I thought there had to be a better way of finding accredited colleges so went straight to the source, AHIMA. That web site lists accredited colleges that offer these degrees and I found one in Minnesota that offers distance learning and is part of a large University system. If this helps anyone out there avoid the traps of getting ripped off than I've done some good. Thank you everyone!

I also did what Eugenia did.  I went straight to AHIMA.  After talking with the coders who work in our local hospital and learning about AHIMA, I knew I didn't want to go through any program that was not acredited by them.  I was also signed up to start classes last fall with another school and found out at the last minute that their tuition was over twice as much as this other place.  They claimed it was because they were acredited, therefore they charged more.  The college I'm attending now is also acredited, and well known, and offers all my required courses online.  I will be fully educated and be ready for the job market when I'm done with my education at this college, but it is due to my checking it with AHIMA in the first place.  I can see where it would be easy to fall prey to those who are not fully honest about their credentials.

I have a couple of coding resource groups that help students and graduates that might not have gotten everything from their program that they were hoping for.

Even if you go to the best program what is taught in a classroom is so different from the real world.   We need to encourage the seasoned experienced coders to offer free tools and resources to those in the coding and transcription schools and field. 

I see so many coders with web sites charging a fee for resources and tools that I offer totally free resources on my groups and if I find a resource for a fee on a fellow coders website I will make them the same tool for free.

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Christine Goans & Company
Coding Smarter Office Support Plus
Consulting and Educational services

Formal Approval Process for Coding and Transcription Certificate Programs: 

There is a formal approval process for coding and medical transcription certificate programs.  It is a process goverend by AHIMA and AHDI with experts from each who review and evaluate certificate programs in coding and transcription.  A program to pass approval represents a good choice for anyone interested in seeking a pre-degree certificate.  And for individuals interested in getting an associate or baccalaureate degree in health information managment, a program should be accredited by CAHIIM. 

You can find approved coding programs by visiting the national student recruitment website: http://www.healthinformationcareers.com

You can find approved medical transcription programs by visiting the AHDI website: http://www.ahdionline.org

There are many private/for profit "schools" that are primarily interested in generating tuition revenue, not in training their students.  These programs share some basic similarities:

* The faculty are not credentialed in their field (but will argue that they have comparable experience)

* The program will advertise how quick it is to complete (6 weeks - 6 months is a red flag, it takes time to cover complex topics)

* There is an abbreviated curriculum (to see what should be in a coding curriculum download the model coding curriculum at the above website and compare that to what the program in question is offering)

* These programs are very expensive and there is a "hard sell" by the admissions personnel.  You can get a great one year coding program at many community colleges for under $7,000, and some are well below that.  However, many of the for-profits will charge $12,000 - $18,000.  Price doesn't guarantee quality.  Peer review and independent analysis of the strength of the faculty/curriculum/and business do.

 

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Patt Peterson, MA RHIA
Director of Education
AHIMA