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Discussion

Certified RN-Coders are Being Recruited for Code@Home Jobs

So fellow nurses, have any of you heard of this type of employment? Certified RN-Coders are Being Recruited for Code@Home Jobs? How about The American Association of Clinical Coders and Auditors, Inc. ? Are these real opportunities are another scam? $999 to get certified and then start fullfilling their contracts. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Gary

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So you are paying them $999 to get you certified so that you can work for them? I don't know...it sounds kind of shady. I would check via the BBB before doing anything. Also, ask for references.

Kris

sounds like garbage to me

you dont pay your employer for a job

They probably charge that much to certify you, then it's your job to find someone to let you do it from home. I spent money one time on learning how to do that (before I got my RN) thinking that they would have a list of Doctors that would be ready and willing to hire me. After I graduated from thier course they sent me a certificate and the accompanying letter said that now I could go out and find the job myself with no help from them. I was very disappointed because I had really buzzed throught that course thinking I would be able to start working from home right away because I thought they would give me work as soon as I graduated. I had a toddler and I was a single mom so working from home really appealed to me. So I guess the moral of this story, ask them if they can put in writing who they will be getting you work with when you graduate, if they can't do that then don't waste your money. Good luck.

Pam

So fellow nurses, have any of you heard of this type of employment? Certified RN-Coders are Being Recruited for Code@Home Jobs? How about The American Association of Clinical Coders and Auditors, Inc. ? Are these real opportunities are another scam? $999 to get certified and then start fullfilling their contracts. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Gary

As a nurse I wouldn't really want to work anywhere that wasn't willing to foot the bill for any required education beyond my BSN. The VA pays for my ACLS, EKG cert etc. And when I go back for my MSN they will pay for that too

The only job I knew I could do at home (and you don't have to be a nurse, though it will be easier on you) is medical transcription. I have heard rumors that there is a need for RN coders who work from home and I desperately wanted to go to the week-long boot camp offered by HCPRO but I just do not have the opportunity right now, especially when I can find no proof that the need for them, so I settled for an MT training course I heard about called Career Step.

I had heard before I went through the online MT course that the job market for MT's is going down the drain and that may be true as far as pay goes, but you *can* find that job at home without much trouble. I really needed to work at home after I had my baby. Be prepared, because work at home doesn't mean work at your leisure. It's hard work and it takes total alone time--you can't work with constant distractions, which means if you have children you learn to work when they are sleeping. I make more money doing 24 hrs./wk of private duty nursing than 25 hrs./wk of transcription. Also, since I wasn't about to be bound to my computer at hours when the company that hired dictated I decided to to the independent contractor (IC)route. If you are hired as an employee this most always means they expect you to be at your computer from say, 9-5 M-F and if they text message you and you don't answer you could be in trouble. If you are hired as an IC you pretty much work whenever you can (within a given time frame, of course).

There is a lot of eye strain and mental fatigue. Doctors are hard to understand more often than not, but the thing I really take to is the solitary work environment. I definitely work better alone.

I know this wasn't a topic about work at home opportunities but it seems like you are looking for one so having been there I thought I'd share my experiences. I'm still looking for something better but until it comes along I feel fairly secure knowing that in a pinch I have a job skill that will allow me to work at home.

I took an RN Coding Boot Camp couple years ago and I feel like I got ripped off. I spent over $3,000. for the executive package, a week in Chicago, and I felt the whole expensive adventure was self taught to study for the on-line test for the certificate. I passed, got my certificate, and then could not get a job coding, because I had no experience! I am in a Home Health Clinical Supervisor position now and am coding. I enjoy it but feel like I have taught myself. My agency has sent me to a coding boot camp in Chicago recently and it was a repeat of what I had before. I am worried with the new reform that is coming in Jan 08 with the "coding creep" if I will be up to the coding. Any suggestions?

  • Expert

I went into coding several years ago when my back died and I could no longer stand long enough to do clinical nursing. There is a large group of ER physicians around where I live that hires nothing but RNs to code their bills. Only stipulation is that they like these RNs to have had some critical care experience, if possible, and they train the RNs on how to code. When I went there to apply for a job, they weren't interested in me because I was already trained as a physician coder and had already worked for two years for another large ER physician group in another state. I was told outright that they felt I was "contaminated". I was greatly bothered by this because coding is highly regulated and you can be charged with a federal crime if you are involved in any coding fraud. To this day, I think they might be doing something "funny" with their billing that they don't want an appropriately trained coder working there.

I originally went to a vocational school to learn coding. But, here is what I have since learned. There are two types of coders: physician coders and hospital coders. To be a hospital coder (code inpatient and outpatient hospital bills) you must be trained at a community college that has an AHIMA accredited coding program. It is actually cheaper to get the education this way. You can find these programs on the AHIMA website (http://www.ahima.org/ ). There are really only 3 classes you need to take: ICD-9 Coding, Advanced ICD-9 Coding, and CPT Coding. You can complete these classes in two semesters. With an RN they will usually waive the anatomy and physiology pre-requisite requirements. To be a physician coder you need to have classes in ICD-9 Coding and CPT Coding. Hospital coding pays more. Physicians are more likely to hire anyone who has any kind of coding experience depending on how careful they are about their billing practices. Hospitals are more picky because of the Medicare rules they have to follow.

Don't do a home study course unless it is the accredited one through AHIMA. Facilities and physicians with any kind of integrity and concern about doing their billing correctly won't even hire you with that kind of training. They can get slapped with pretty stiff fines and even jail time if they hire a coder who is taking short cuts and coding things wrong. With an RN as well as training as a coder, you should have no problem getting a job. The first job, however, is usually the hardest to get. If you go to a community college, the instructors are usually a big help in getting you your first job. As a coder, you are primarily reading doctor's dictations (discharge summaries, H&Ps, ER summaries) and coding the final medical diagnoses and procedures that were performed so the doctor and/or facility can be paid. In some cases where typed dictations are not done, you are reading physician hand writing. Part of coding is making sure that specific documentation by the doctor is there or else no bill can be generated.

By the way, the ER group that I worked for had 14 coders and 12 of them coded at home. They had to come into the office twice a week to pick up and drop off charts. We had a staff coding meeting at least every month that we all had to attend. This is because the various billing and coding rules by the different medical insurance companies were changing all the time. We were required to code 200 charts a day, or 1000 charts a week, with 95% accuracy. A day of our coding was audited once a month and if we coded below 95% accuracy for 3 months in a row, we were terminated. I have heard that in some places the requirement is as high as 98%. This is in places that care about accuracy and collecting the money they have earned. Doctors and hospitals lose a lot of money through careless and inaccurate coding. Inpatient hospital coders generally have to code about 25 charts a day including the statistical abstraction that also has to be done for the state and Medicare reporting requirements (this is something that you are taught about in community college programs).

RN-CODER boot camp-This is a shady, unprofessional outfit. Unfortunately, I did not do thorough research before enrolling. I showed up to their "live" seminar in another city and no one was there. Calls and emails were not returned. I had booked a hotel. Thank God, the hotel was understanding and didnt charge me. I paid $1000.00 for the seminar, not including the books I had to purchase and printing of 600+ pages of the manuals. The manuals are helpful and you do received CEU's but that's it!!! Additionally, in order for you to take their exam for certification (this certification is not recognized ANYWHERE), you must become a member of their association(also not recognized). This has been a learning experience for me and I will pursue the CCS exam through AHIMA (definitely recognized):-)

The "American Association of Clinical Coders and Auditors, Inc." sound like they have a scam similar to TransAm Associates. TransAm charges you for their courses in transcription, which certifications are not recognized by any institution but their own. Scamees have reported they can only get a job with TransAm, which continually tells them their accuracy is too low to get a reasonable wage, and continually wants to charge them for further or refresher courses. They also require purchase of their own unique equipment that is not used by hospitals or other employers. You really do have to watch out for any employer who wants to charge you for training - a genuine sign of a scam.

Scam I'd say. My MIL was thinking about becoming one and her friend who use to be one and is now out of work talked her out of it; they are outsourcing it all to other countries for pennies on the dollar.

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