# unrecognizable



## vjst222 (Apr 5, 2008)

This might seem strange but I thought I would write about it... I find it is a little humorous in a way...

 This past year I got a medical coding position for a hospital. I actually do outpatient coding. I am apart of a huge organization that has employed 50 + doctors who works for their hospital too. They do rotation call days. There are at least 6 different specialties such as family practice, internal med, obgyn, orthopeadics, ENT, cardiology.... etc...  plus we look through selected few of their fee tickets from when they are working in the office.

 Anyways, being my novice self because I have never really been employed by such a huge organization... every day we get emails... its the way our organization communicates to everyone...
 The past year and half I always get emails like.. " let's celebrate Dr's week; lets celebrate nurse's week; lets celebrate EMS week; lets celebrate volunteers week; lets celebrate medical transcription week; lets celebrate secretary week/day ;lets celebrate radiology week; * everything you can possibly imagine except of course ... LETS CELEBRATE CODERS* all the emails usually end by saying.. without these special employees we could never be successful thank you for such hard work..."

 I know I might sound a little bitter but I really feel that coders are never recognized for their work. I mean... how does the employees think they get their money? Without us it would never properly be coded, billed, and revenue would never be coming in.

 I have had several other employees *especially nurses* give me the, " um..and what is it you do?" as if they think I set on my butt all day and twidle my thumbs. I will say this... there are 3 coders for 50+ drs with 6 different specialties... there is not a day that goes by that I do not have paperwork piled up to my nose... and yet there are 2 LPNs/MAs per Dr....??? I just want to slap them around sometimes....
  BUT... there are also a few nurses and Drs out there that do think we are very important and they know without us they would probably be in some big financial troubles. 
  I think most of the problems involve the Drs and Nurses never having to try and  run a practice by themselves.... since their paychecks come to them regardless 

 I think we will always be under recognized ... it is kind of sad... because i feel like people don't know how much education we have to go through. I work hard everyday to understand codes, legal paperwork, insurance changes, and problems... and yet...no thank you ... nothing... 

 BUT all in all... there isn't a day that goes by where I don't thank the good lord I still have a job. I am very thankful for the job I have !! It was so hard to find a good job * especially in coding* I just want to be a little more appreciated... HAHAHAHA OH well............


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## rthames052006 (Apr 5, 2008)

ValRider said:


> This might seem strange but I thought I would write about it... I find it is a little humorous in a way...
> 
> This past year I got a medical coding position for a hospital. I actually do outpatient coding. I am apart of a huge organization that has employed 50 + doctors who works for their hospital too. They do rotation call days. There are at least 6 different specialties such as family practice, internal med, obgyn, orthopeadics, ENT, cardiology.... etc...  plus we look through selected few of their fee tickets from when they are working in the office.
> 
> ...





Your definately not alone!!! We are very underated and unrecognized by "most" I work for an Internal Med practice who never had a coder until I decided to get certified, my intention was to quit, but they had just lost their consultant firm, they left town so I thought it was going to benefit me.  Afterall I had already been working for them for 7 years at that time.

In my current position, my main job is billing, they utilize me for inhouse auditing when they "feel like it" or when they feel like one of the physicians isn't "coding/charging" high enough they will have me audit a few records.

Over the past few years I have tried to get them to hire another coder so that person and I could audit the e/m's prior to billing but they wont' hear of it, they can't lose money by holding charges, we are a big practice 25 physicians and 5 Pa's they round at 2 local hospitals, 1 rehab and 1 SNF along with the office.

We don't even have a compliance plan in place, I've tried to get that done but they just don't think it's important and at this point I am searching for a new position because they don't care about my job and what I do.  

I've captured so much "almost lost revenue" from providers undercoding and I have uncovered some overcoding but they don't want/like to talk/hear about that.  

It's very frustrating when you know you work for "people" who don't care to code correctly but then they have you sitting there doing a job!!! How can you do your job correctly and efficiently when they don't like to hear you out!

I think they like the idea that "we have a coder on site".

Ok, I'm done venting for now, hopefully I will find a new position where we as "coders" are valued and appreciated, I know places like that exist they are just few and far between where I live, I don't know about any other states but lets here from you too.


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## 007CPC (Apr 5, 2008)

*HCP underestimates the importance of coding*

This thread is coding philosophy


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## mmorningstarcpc (Apr 8, 2008)

*Get a Coders Day for your state*

If your state does not have a Coder's Day, apply to the Governor's office for one.  Info on this website.  We even have one in the District of Columbia proclaimed by the Mayor.  

Our Chapter has a lunch or after work event to celebrate, with goodies, etc. We ordered shirts ahead of time and most of the coders wore them that day. 

A lot of us work at a local hospital so we try to give them goodies at work, so that people will ask and recognize them.  We also had a physician we work closely with in my Dept, email all the Dept heads and that got some of the coders recognition also.

BE INVENTIVE!!!

Machelle
Chapter President, Capital Area Coders
Coders Day July 12!!!


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## vjst222 (Apr 9, 2008)

Thanks for all the great tips. Yes our administration knows about coders day but that is it. They would never celebrate it. In fact they never had. HAHA It is cool though.... I shouldn't have probably wrote about this to begin with.

 Thanks


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## rthames052006 (Apr 9, 2008)

ValRider said:


> Thanks for all the great tips. Yes our administration knows about coders day but that is it. They would never celebrate it. In fact they never had. HAHA It is cool though.... I shouldn't have probably wrote about this to begin with.
> 
> Thanks



Val,

Don't apologize for how you feel, we all have a right to vent once in awhile and as I said you are not alone, there are more than just you and I who think/feel the same way.

Venting is healthy to, we all must do it sometimes and not bottle it up because then what happens is we let it out at the wrong time and on the wrong people.

Have a good one.


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## mbort (Apr 10, 2008)

I also find it amusing, not just in the medical field, but I have people in the outside world ask "what do you do for a living?", when I reply by telling thatm that I am CPC, they dont done what that is, then I say "coder"....never fails..the response is "Whats that?" and I have to give an explanation on what we do.


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## tiffick (Apr 10, 2008)

I just "love" when you have to explain to people what you do--like they even have a clue!  I like to make it a point with Drs., Nurses, Therapists, etc.  that  our test is several hours long and that depending on what their licenses is and what state they practice in, coders sometimes require more CEU's than the people they WORK FOR!

And just let them try to earn a paycheck without us!  They could only do "their thing" for so long, and when the money stops rolling in--their paycheck stops too!


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## vjst222 (Apr 14, 2008)

All I can say is AMEN AMEN AMEN!!!!!! I hear you !!!!!!

 HAHAHA!!

 Usually when people * not familiar with the medical field * ask me what I do.. I say... " I am a medical coder. do you know what that is? Because some people don't know what a medical coder is. * and... most people reply... "NO" haahaa... oh well. I did NOT know what it was either until I looked into it. It sounded interesting to me...

 BUT..

 I did not see myself doing what I do now. I really did NOT know what I wanted to do... I think I found a good niche. I feel good... " Even though some people don't recognize what I do helps/benefits them more than me"
 HAHA

 Oh well , we will have our day in the sun


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## mmorningstarcpc (Apr 15, 2008)

I am a CPC, CPC-E/M and work for an orthopedic consulting form.  I do a different type of coding, in that I work with devloping coding summaries and landscapes for procedures/procducts in development, try explaining that one, LOL!!!


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## kevbshields (Apr 15, 2008)

I have felt the pain of explaining this so many times . . . the UPS guy, the folks at my bank, the tax preparer!  You name it.  Even in my orientation "class" with my employer . . . none had any clue what HIMS meant, who Coders were or where in the hospital you might locate those sort of people.

It's amusing for us if nothing else.  I always have trouble explaining it on dates . . . I'll take suggestions on how to do that--LOL.


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## vjst222 (Apr 15, 2008)

Kevin

 Tell them if they want their hospital bills to get paid .... you have to make sure the codes are on them correctly and everything is billed correctly...

 Some responses I get, " The bills come from you? "
 in response, " NO... I code them , then they get sent to the insurance company, then I send you the bill."

 lol... haaha actually where I work I do not handle any of the billing, just strictly coding hospital reports, office injection,wounds,lacerations, and multiple other misc reports....

 Thanks everyone for the input... I want to hear more ... tell me... who else says, " And what is a medical coder...???"


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