Medical coding

[MYellowRose]

I'm going to try and go back to school and get a certificate in medical coding so hopefully I can find myself a decent job. According to the faculty adviser in the Health Information Technology this is the path that many women take in order to get re-employed. The adviser for the coding classes said she has two employers that are calling her every week to see if she has anyone they can hire.
After I get back to work and buy a car I want to continue my schooling and get an associate in Health Information Technology.
I went to the bookstore and got the workbook for the medical terminology class so I can start studying already. There's a lot of memorization involved and I have to have that as well as an anatomy and physiology class before I can actually take the courses for the certificate. There are actually two certificate courses, the one called Coding Specialist and then one called Documentation Coding Specialist. The latter one has 3 more classes to take.
One thing about these programs is all the classes, except the anatomy and physiology, are on-line only. They have a computer lab at the college that I can visit to do the work since I don't have a home computer so I should do okay.
She also recommended that I keep a "portfolio" on a flash drive rather than bothering to print out the info. The bookstore has a 2 gig flash drive for something like $39.95 which I've been told is a good price.
I'm going to apply for a scholarship through my church and I'm going to list the cost of a flash drive in what it will cost me to go to school. I don't know if I will get any money from them but it's just about my only option since TX Rehab won't pay for me to go to school.

[MNMOM]

I hope this works out for you, MYR.

[leera]

MYR,check into grants......you might be able to get one or more.The college should have a financial aid advisor that can help you look for ones you may be able to get.

Grants are like scholarships......you don't have to pay them back.

Given your limited income, grants and scholarships would be much better than a student loan.

I say go for it!

[Faye]

Good luck with this MYR. I agree about the grant. I don't know much about medical coding except that my granddaughter talked to the people at Remington College in Mobile about taking the course. I did not encourage her to do that because she is graduating from high school in May and she needs to think about a career in which she can make a good living and also enjoy. These kids don't always think ahead and are just looking for something quick so they don't have to go to school very long. Seems to me if your parents are paying for it you really should take advantage of it. I think it would be great for getting started in that field after being out though. Anyway I hope it works out for you.

[JakeLeg]

The adviser for the coding classes said she has two employers that are calling her every week to see if she has anyone they can hire.

caution; does this mean it's a high-turnover job?

[MYellowRose]

Jake it may very well be as I'd be willing to bet that it's a very monotonous type of work.
I'm looking for something that I can do part-time to buy myself a car and put a little away for later in life. I'm tired of living just over the poverty line & in poor housing. Also it's getting to be expensive to buy my medicines since I get charged $8 for a 30 day supply even if it's an over the counter medicine. I'm not getting the latter from the VA anymore as I can get them cheaper on the outside! Also, I can't get anything name brand from the clinic, only the hospital and the last time I went they were out of one of my medications. Hopefully they'll have it on Friday when I go have my blood drawn.
With any luck I can work till I'm about 65 or 70 and then retire permanently.

[StephiLou]

It is a high turn over job, but mostly because there isn't a whole lot of room for promotion. Also, so many hospitals are backlogged that they just don't have enough help to get these things billed correctly. From working at the hospital and with all of DS's medical bills, I gather that it can be complicated to bill things (isurance vs self pay vs medical cards)

Good luck! If you are going for part time, they will probably be happy to have you. You might be able to command a higher pay as well! :)

Steph

[annabella1]

This would not only be a boring job but it is also extremely stressful. I used to work as a group health claims examiner,(that's the person who works for the insurance company and evaluates the claims you will be coding) and I know that if you make any mistakes your employer (hospital Doctor office or Lab) will give you a very hard time.