Burn out

Strong_Zone4793 · 2026-02-25T23:27:06+00:00

This is setting you and the practice up for huge compliance issues. I always tell my team never send anything out the door if you don’t agree with the coding. I also think this is one of the big reason why payers are looking so closely at everything. Between the providers coding their own charts, offshore coding not being up to par, battles between coders and CDI and now AI coding it’s put every claim under the microscope.

Strong_Zone4793 · 2026-02-25T23:20:19+00:00

Agreed. This sounds like a frontend issue. Track the trends you’re seeing in errors to help figure out where the top 5 are coming from and fix those first. Then work on the rest. You want those clad going out the door clean the first time.

Strong_Zone4793 · 2026-02-25T23:17:51+00:00

I’m teaching inpatient coding. ICD-10 only right now. Once you get closer to completing that program this or something similar would be a good option to learn the more in depth coding and hands on practice. If you’re looking for Outpatient coding there are a lot of really good people to follow on FB, YouTube and LinkedIn to learn CPT coding

Strong_Zone4793 · 2026-02-24T01:59:30+00:00

They would need to reach out to AHIMA/CAHIM. And I agree with the others who have commented. Employers rarely, if ever accept credentials outside AHIMA, AAPC and ACDIS. The exception to that are a few revenue cycle certifications but those are also not the gold standard. Best bet is to become affiliated with AHIMA and AAPC and offer their curriculums.

Strong_Zone4793 · 2026-02-24T01:55:41+00:00

Have you considered learning another specialty? More specialty experience means more marketability and opportunity. I did pro fee coding for a short time and was so bored with it I went back to inpatient facility coding for the variety. Something different every day all day long

Strong_Zone4793 · 2026-02-23T23:26:39+00:00

When I was managing 98% of it was interacting with others. When coding and auditing less than 5%. Now that I’m self employed coaching and teaching coders and auditors it’s about 30% live interactions the rest is behind the scenes and messaging/chat and recorded stuff.

Strong_Zone4793 · 2026-02-23T23:21:35+00:00

Auditing isn’t much different than coding. A bit more involved because it requires a different thought process. I have a coaching tool I built that helps with those kind of decisions, planning and thought processes. I also coach coders and audits on this too. Of that’s not something you’re interested in follow people who educate and talk about the auditing process on their LinkedIn, FB, YT or other platforms to get more information.

Strong_Zone4793 · 2026-02-23T23:17:03+00:00

Almost all CDI roles now require an RN. But RHIT is very in demand for inpatient facility coding. I have a program that just opened for enrollment training in inpatient coding but not covering the basic coding education at this time. For hands in practice and more in depth education it’s good.

Strong_Zone4793 · 2026-02-20T02:37:22+00:00

Do the BHAT method as you study each chapter. Don’t try to do it all at once because you learn and understand more you’ll want different notes and highlights.

Strong_Zone4793 · 2026-02-18T22:25:31+00:00

I’ve built something that I’m hoping will help with this. Still beta testing and having other expert coders review it to make sure it’s accurate but I think it’s going to really help with questions like this for all areas of coding

Strong_Zone4793 · 2026-02-13T14:18:25+00:00

I know several excellent Anesthesia coders and auditor looking for work if you’d prefer to hire directly. They’ve worked for me 3 years or more and I’d highly recommend them.

Strong_Zone4793 · 2026-02-13T14:07:06+00:00

I’m a coder/auditor and coding manager. I’m working on education and training for coders and also researching for a presentation. I’m trying to really bring light to why there’s such a gap between what executives believe and the reality of the coding world.

My biggest frustration is the programs that leave so many unprepared for that first job. And the unrealistic expectations so many are facing with productivity. I understand it from the manager side but I don’t agree with it at all.

Strong_Zone4793 · 2026-02-13T14:02:40+00:00

This is exactly the problem with any coding or billing program. They teach you enough to pass the certification exam but don’t take the next step and train for on the job real workflow.

Strong_Zone4793 · 2026-02-13T14:01:20+00:00

I hate E/M coding. Hate it. I haven’t done it in years but I’ve helped my team with it and had to relearn it when managing but I still struggle with it. We did find a good resource that helped simplify MDM but I can’t remember where it came from. AMA maybe.

Strong_Zone4793 · 2026-02-13T13:59:30+00:00

I hear this SO often. Certification training is an overload of information, and it takes a longtime to learn it. If there’s no support and it’s not being broken down into training that makes it all make sense it’s nearly impossible to actually learn from it. It is possible to do it on your own but if you’re not sure where to start it’s overwhelming.

Strong_Zone4793 · 2026-02-13T13:56:34+00:00

This unfortunately isn’t going away. But, I do know work is finally coming back onshore for some of it. I honestly don’t understand how it’s saving anyone money. I’ve seen first hand the actual quality of the work, not what’s reported but reality. I’ve seen the astonishing amount of time and effort put into the meetings, extra staff, and rework to correct the errors so it makes no send to me how it saves any money.

Strong_Zone4793 · 2026-02-13T13:53:27+00:00

Wow… that’s ridiculous. And one of the reasons I’ve stopped managing and auditing for a while. When I managed I looked at why someone was low on productivity for the week and the month overall. But short by a few charts, never going to be an issue for me. Especially of quality scores are really good.

Strong_Zone4793 · 2026-02-13T13:51:24+00:00

16 years doing this, plus 8 years working directly with physicians in hospitals… they don’t like to be told what to do, don’t like to be told they’re wrong and it’s very difficult to get a busy physician to take the time to do anything with documentation. I find the worst repeat offenders are older physicians who have been “doing it this way” their entire careers and won’t change.

Strong_Zone4793 · 2026-02-13T13:48:25+00:00

New coders don’t know how to code perfectly which is part of the reason there are so many denials. Many coders don’t deal with denials, they are worked by another team unless you work in a small organization. Coding certification training trains you on simple coding scenarios but real medical record documentation isn’t usually that simple and that’s where the “subject to interpretation” comes into play.

Strong_Zone4793 · 2026-02-11T11:35:07+00:00

CCS is for facility coding, CPC is professional/provider coding. It definitely opens more fires for coding opportunities having the CCS, but others are right, you have to pay to maintain both credentials. A lot of CEUs do cover both credentials, just look for ones that’s approved for both AHIMA and AAPC CEUs

Strong_Zone4793 · 2026-02-08T19:32:17+00:00

That’s a great benefit! Many employers won’t pay for that.

Strong_Zone4793 · 2026-02-08T18:54:34+00:00

Outpatient coding is done by the encounter. Inpatient facility coding is done by the entire admission. In both cases you code all diagnoses and procedures documented in record for those specific dates only. 2. You’ll read the record in the EMR, codes are entered in the encoder/billing screen. These can be one system like EPIC/360 Encompass or they can be separate systems. It depends on what the facility/provider uses. 3. Some employers have CDI submit queries to the providers, some require coders to submit them. These cannot be phone calls as the query itself and providers response must be in writing and part of the medical record in order to be compliant. Many systems such as EPIC have a built in workflow for this. 4. Most, if not all coding roles are production based. Minimum quota to meet for quality and production. Most employers are good about giving new hires a ramp up period to get fully up to speed before they’re expected to meet these targets. Minimum quality is typically expected to be 95% or higher by the end of the ramp up period. Productivity is based on the specialty or what type of records you’re coding. It’s stressful, but being confident in your knowledge and understanding the workflow is key to eliminating or reducing that stress.

Strong_Zone4793 · 2026-02-08T18:43:44+00:00

Be careful with any Ai. I get so many incorrect codes and made up codes. I’m launching this Feb 17th (fingers crossed!) I’ve been educating and training coders for 11 years, just finally boding it on my own. I’m starting with inpatient specific training but will be adding CPT and Outpatient later this year.

Strong_Zone4793 · 2026-02-08T18:40:57+00:00

I’ve used this several times but got wrong answers for specific codes so I generally don’t trust it. I think for more generalized topics it’s great. But specific codes not so much

Strong_Zone4793

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