huge shortage of HIM coders
Laurellafone: Coding consists of several very separate markets. I eventually found work as a CPC-A, a few years back, and made it to CPC status, but early on in my work in physician SERVICE coding, I realized that the job market for FACILITY coders was more vibrant than the one I'd tapped in to. Facility coders focus heavily on the complex field of diagnosis coding according to AHA Coding Clinic rulings and in keeping with the demands of optimization of reimbursement through proper use of the DRGs (diagnosis-related groups). I love service coding, and I am currently enjoying double-duty at work because i'm the only CPC in an office filled with CCSs (I also have the CCS, but that is routine at my office); but honestly, the demand for facility coders today appears to be growing much more rapidly than that for service coders. Why? Because the implementation of ICD-10 will incline a huge number of older facility coders to retire, while also hugely slowing down the coding process during the transition period. As a result, the numbers of facility/HIM coders needed will soon be increasing greatly. My employer is seeking to double its coding staff NOW, in preparation for ICD-10. So keep moving towards the CPC, but if you have a community college nearby that could cross-train you in HIM/facility coding, i.e., emphasizing diagnosis coding rules, go for that, TOO. . .The great news is that AAPC is ahead of the pack on preparing coders for ICD-10. Even though CPCs don't often specialize in diagnosis coding, AAPC is going to require CPCs to pass testing in ICD-10 between 2012 and 2014, and as a result, CPCs are going to be officially credentialed in ICD-10 in a way that is not true of other types of coders. You will love diagnosis coding. . .AAPC trains us in that, but not nearly as deeply as we could be. .So find that training, and complement your CPC studies with it. . .You could win big. . .The shortage is real. . .