glenmar3

No more coding. You can work part time as an RN and make as much as you would as a coder. I have not even kept up my CPC.

Quit about a year ago. Things were not all they were cracked up to be.

No. You work as an independent contractor. I think they may now offer some full time positions but whether or not they offer any benefits, I'm not sure.

Yes, it can get a bit tedious if you have a lot of charts to do but overall its very interesting and you can't beat working at home.

Hi Lost In America, I'm a CPC. There are specialties that you can certify in but I haven't done so as yet. When you take a standard course you will still have to take terminology and some anatomy. Its a good review.

Hey jtinker, I submitted my resume Nov of 2008 and wasn't hired until April 2009 and didn't actually start to work until June 2009. They are bringing on new coders for new accounts all the time, you just have to be patient. Since I started working last June I know they've hired about 40 additional people. I also heard that some waited up to a year to be called.

Itshamrtym, You don't need experience to take the exam. The course, although not required I would consider a must. CCS pays by the chart. Once you get your speed and accuracy up you can do OK. It is all from home and they just started offering full time positions although most of us are part time. Hope that helps.

It may take some time but they'll get in touch with you eventually. It took them five months to bring me on. Good luck!

Check your PM Jtinker

Just sent you one.

jtinker, I'm sure you did fine. I didn't have a good feeling after I took it. It took me almost the entire five hours but I did OK. You should know after a few weeks or even sooner. I found out by logging onto the AAPC website and saw my name with CPC after it before I ever got my credentials in the mail. As soon as you get your certificate, get your resume into CCS. It might take awhile but they'll get around to you.

I think one credential enhances the other. For instance I know that CCS will hire coders who are not RNs but if I'm not mistaken they must have several years of coding experience in addition to their CPC. I've seen positions for not only nurse auditors but what is being called a "Clinical Documentation Specialist" which requires one to be an RN and many times also requires some kind of coding certification. The documentation specialist is a nurse that liaisons with both hospital and medical nursing staff in-servicing them as to how to improve their documentation so it can be coded properly and facility reimbursement issues can be prevented. The nurse would have to have some familiarity with ICD-9 and CPT so a coding credential would be preferred. The CPC is a good thing to have.

Wiscodenver, The CPC is probably the most recognized of the coding certifications. Also, once you have it there are other certifications to layer on top of it in specialty areas of medicine, hospital coding, instructing and now they even have an auditing specialty certification. I had also done a lot of research and am glad I went with the CPC.

I do work from my home computer but am in contact with my account managers in Kansas City on a regular basis either by e-mail or phone. I am enjoying it quite a bit actually. It can be very challenging but thats what makes it interesting. Even though I've now done over 3,000 charts in every batch there's something that comes up that I've not encountered before so there's always something new to learn. The other nice thing is that as long as you do your assigned work you can do it whenever you like and no one is looking over your shoulder. I work for them three days a week. I usually start early morning, finish up my charts in a few hours and then still have the whole rest of the day to do other things. Its nice. Good luck with the intensive. I believe a few other of the nurses that work for CCS have done it that way and it is doable. Big advantage being a nurse is that you're already familiar with the terminology and a lot of the diagnosis and procedures. Best of luck to you in your course and with the exam.

Still there. I'm trained on two accounts now and do both procedural and diagnostic coding. No, I did not have any experience before taking the exam. I had just finished the course and then it was almost six months before I got the job. If you wish to work for them it is imperative that you have a professional coding credential like the CPC so I would encourage you to take the exam if that's what you wish to do. Good luck!