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ashley7002

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I'm currently taking the CPC course and have already taken the CPC-H course and have my certification for that. I'm not currently working anywhere doing medical coding. I would some day like to code from home. Is there anyone that is currently coding from home? If so, any tips or advice for me? How do I get started? Do I need to gain experience in a physicians office or hospital first? Any advice is appreciated!
 
Coding from home

ashley7002 said:
I'm currently taking the CPC course and have already taken the CPC-H course and have my certification for that. I'm not currently working anywhere doing medical coding. I would some day like to code from home. Is there anyone that is currently coding from home? If so, any tips or advice for me? How do I get started? Do I need to gain experience in a physicians office or hospital first? Any advice is appreciated!
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You most certainly need experience before considering remote coding. Most, if not all companies want at least three years of coding experience. They also set a coding test which, depending on the company, can be challenging for several reasons. I know of many highly qualified and experienced coders who have taken these tests, only to fail. Feedback is often not provided. Some companies even use questions with codes that are so out of date it is impossible to answer correctly.
I once fancied the idea of remote coding but I actually enjoy going to work and interacting with my colleagues. We learn a lot from each other.
Remote sounds wonderful but I personally can see too many potential problems. You definitely need to be disciplined to do it.
There are many on this forum who can offer advice straight from the horses mouth so I'll leave any further recommendations to them.
 
Remote coding companies generally want someone with more than 3 years abstract coding experience, and in more than one area.
Like the previous poster, I also entertained the idea of remote coding. I found they wanted someone with ED or inpatient experience, and many were contract positions which meant there was no guarantee of needing me once that job was done. However, there are remote companies that hire full and part time permanent coders.
 
I currently work remotely and have had a great experience with my current employer. I do echo the previous responses, though, that experience is typically required by remote companies, usually around 3 years of experience, and even more importantly, I found that the 5 years of experience behind me before I started working remotely were in my best interest as a coder. While you can certainly still connect with other coders electronically when it comes to coding guidance, working remotely requires you to be fairly independent as a coder, and when you're first starting out, networking with other coders in a hospital or office setting and learning the ropes of coding and dissecting all the guidelines is invaluable. I would encourage you to work on site for at least 2-3 years and then re-explore the options in remote coding.
 
Previous remote coder

Ashley7002 what everyone else has said is correct. I recently was a remote coder but only after having 5 years coding experience onsite. I was laid off from that job as it was a contract position. In my opinion if you really really feel that a remote job is for you then I would suggest only do this if you have a strong support team (i.e. husband, family) most of these positions are contract. It will be hard getting a start without experience which will probably only come from onsite first. Keep in mind remote employers only have a test to judge you by so yes sometimes it is unfair but since they can't see your work ethic they are often strict on requirements. I have returned to an office position to gain more experience in a different area of coding. So even my previous years experience in one speciality still meant nothing in trying to get another remote job in a different specialty. I hope this helps!:)
 
Experienced Medical Coder

I am a certified experienced medical coder.. Can anybody help me out to find a remote coding job...?

Thank you
Anna
 
and yes most do say the require only experienced coders, I got my first job (back in 2007) at Medassurant with only 6 months of actual on the job coding experience so it does happen.
 
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