# For Consultants(? On Salary)



## sblanchard (Aug 8, 2008)

Hi,

I Was Recently Offer A Job To Code Ortho Op Notes For A Asc An I Do Not Know What I Should Charge. I Am Cpc-h Certified And Would Be Doing This In My Spare Time. I Would Appreciate Any Advice.

Thank You!!!!!!!!


----------



## mbort (Aug 8, 2008)

when you say ortho, are these, like knee/shoulder type cases or do they get into spine type cases as well?


----------



## sblanchard (Aug 8, 2008)

yes they also do spine cases


----------



## cconroycpch (Aug 11, 2008)

We use a CPC-H, that codes part time, to code for the facilities we manage and are charges $3 - $3.50 per operative report coded.  Other larger companies will charge $5 - $14 per operative report based on specialty.  Ortho and spine are generally in the mid to high level of those charges.  If I were going to do it, I would ask myself on average how many cases could I code per hour and then multiple that by the fee per operative report and see if that is good for you.  An example is if you charge $5.00 an operative and code 10 reports an hour, you would be making $50.00 per hour.  

I think it would be a great idea, but you need to consider a lot more then what to charge.  Would you be a part time employee or a contracted service.  If you are a contracted service, don't forget your expenses.  Would you need to buy coding books, software, how are reports being sent to you and how are you sending the coding back to them.  You would also need to bill them and pay taxes on the money received.  Would you need liability insurance?  What is the volume of cases?  How would they communicate with you during normal working hours?  If it is a small volume, I wouldn't worry too much about it and go for it.


----------



## AYCPC (Aug 14, 2008)

*Consultant Liability*

I work for a company as a biller/coder. Recently, I was asked by admin to go to one of our other offices to do a 'chart review' -- not an audit. I agreed (even though it is not in my job description) but later was told by admin any wrong information I may accidently give them if and when they found my mistake they could/would try to collect the lost revenue from me. After hearing this, I was offended to say the least. What I am wanting to know is this true? Are there no laws of protection for consultants?


----------



## stgregor (Aug 18, 2008)

Amanda Y - do you have professional liability insurance?


----------



## AYCPC (Aug 20, 2008)

No I do not. However, after posting the comment I found the information for insurance under the members benefits tab. Do you have insurance as well?


----------

