The Reality of Coding from Home with Children

These days I have more going on than audits, updates, and continuing education for CPT and ICD-10 as I eagerly await the arrival of my first child.  The beauty of the internet means I can order all kinds of things for my pregnancy and the baby from the comfort of my recliner and have them delivered directly to my doorstep.  One recent package included a packet of "stuff"  - everything from a baby bottle, to gift cards for obscure things I'm pretty sure I'll never order, to coupons, to a flyer telling me I can work from home as a medical coder while I take care of my baby.

It was the last item that really jumped out at me and gave me pause.  I wasn't really surprised by the claims about making lots of money while working from home.  It wasn't the statement about the "prestige" of working for physicians.  What caught my eye were the pictures on the flyer of women sitting in front of computers with infants on their laps.  Because while I don't know what it's like to be in charge of a baby all day (yet), I do know what it's like to be a coder working from home and the job doesn't lend itself to simultaneous babysitting.

Most days I love working from home.  It's awesome on those days when you know you have to get work done but you don't really feel like taking a shower or being in public first thing in the morning. So yeah, it's great if you are not a morning person! On those days, there's nothing better than shuffling down to my office, coffee cup in hand (okay, so it's half-decaf these days), flipping the switch on my computer, and easing into my day.  Some days I am joined by my eternal lap cat, who could sit on my lap all day if I were a statue.  On some days she wants to sit on my lap while I work, which is generally only okay if I am on a conference call where I don't need to take notes.  Which is pretty much never.

Here's the big secret the flyer doesn't advertise: coding requires an immense amount of concentration and some days I can concentrate pretty well and block out the world.  Other days, I have to shut off all email, the ringer on my phone, and the radio just so I can focus on work.  On those days, I shoo the cat off my desk/lap and try to direct her to her bed in the corner.  If necessary, I can put her in the hallway and close the door.  You can't really shove your kid aside when you need to concentrate.  And you can't code effectively and efficiently with a kid on your lap.  And if you can, then your child isn't getting the attention he/she needs.

The point: coding from home is a nice perk, but it is not a substitute for child care.  Like most other new parents, I'm discovering the joys of budgeting for child care after maternity leave.  And I get it - it's expensive.  

Just in case this post hasn't quite convinced you, maybe this will.  Many remote coding contracts include a clause on child care.  You may be required to promise in writing that you will not engage in child care when you are on the clock.  So if your reason for wanting to code from home is so you can save on child care, coding isn't the job for you.

Top 10 Cringe-Worthy Things Wannabe Coders Say

My blog is over six years old!  Seriously, I just checked.  In the last six years as I've put myself out there as the Coder Coach, I've spoken either personally, over the phone, or via email to hundreds - okay, it's really probably dozens - of coders and tried to answer their questions about what it takes to be a coder.  I've been amazed at how those answers have changed since then, from the evolution of technology, which allows most coders to work remotely to finally seeing ICD-10 come to fruition. So I figure it's about time I published my top 10 list: the most cringe-worthy things people say when they tell me they want to be a coder.

Don't get me wrong.  My intent is not to put anyone off, but over the last six years, this coding thing has really caught on and I wouldn't want to steer anyone into a career that isn't right for them.  So take a moment to read through the list and decide if you're guilty of any of these. Since David Letterman's Late Show is no longer a thing, consider this my replacement Top Ten List.

And before you get upset, please read the sign: I'm not arguing, I'm just explaining why I'm right.  In other words, I'm being a coder (occupational hazard).

Number 10:Which type of coder pays the most?

Answer:  A really good one.  Focus your efforts on landing a job and then mastering it.  If you choose your work setting solely for making money, you may find yourself miserable and (maybe) sort of well off.  If you choose to follow your passion, the possibilities - and pay check - are pretty much endless.  Employers are willing to pay good money for really good coders who don't complain about how much they hate their jobs.  I don't actually do any hiring, but if I did, I would hire the hungry novice coder with a good attitude and a willingness to learn over the experienced grouchy coder who seems to hate her job.

Number 9: Should I be a hospital or physician coder?

Have you ever seen the movie City Slickers?  The answer is in that movie when Jack Palance says the meaning to life is "one thing."  Billy Crystal asks him, with great interest, what that one thing is.  The answer: that's what you've gotta figure out.  You and only you can decide which setting is right for you and there is no right or wrong answer.  I love getting an inpatient hospital chart and trying to figure out the latest surgical procedures and how to code them.  I would rather poke my eyes out with a dull pencil than assign an E/M level to a physician's chart.  I know other coders who love E/M coding.  It's like being a cat person or a dog person.  You will probably find that you like one more than the other and there is no wrong answer (unless you are not a cat person, and then we can't be friends anymore).

Number 8: No one will hire me with the coding credential I have; they all want something else

This is probably going to sting a bit, so brace yourself.  Why did you pay to get credential without first looking at local job postings and doing some research?  If you are reading this before going to school or getting certified, then do your homework before you pay any money to any educational institution.  All kinds of people will tell you anything to get your money.  Only local employers will be honest about what credentials they want.

Number 7: Where can I get free continuing education credits?

Free CEUs are out there, you just have to look for them.  Most AAPC local chapters offer free monthly educational sessions.  There are opportunities to summarize articles and get credit.  Coding Clinic offers a quarterly webinar that is free.  Other organizations offer free CEU credits.  Do an internet search and you may be surprised what you will find.  Did you do something, like attend grand rounds at a hospital, that you thought was very educational but you don't have a certificate?  Contact the certifying body and see if they will grant you CEUs for it.

Number 6: I can't afford to join AHIMA or AAPC

This one might sting too.  Find a way to make it happen.  As far as I'm concerned, when I hear this, it tells me you don't want it bad enough.  Granted, I started very young and was still living at home when I first joined AHIMA, but make no mistake, I worked hard to get where I am today. Find a way to afford that membership and show people you are serious about a coding career.  And if you have a credential through and let your membership lapse, you likely lose the credential.  You worked hard for that credential - don't let it go.

Number 5: This is my second (or third) career; I can't afford to start at the bottom

This is a great second or third career for people who discover they missed their passion until later in life.  But here's the reality: you still likely have to start at the bottom.  I've seen people find their way into coding by some very unusual means, but the ones who make it are the tenacious ones who won't take no for an answer.  Pretty much no one starts out in their dream coding job.  You will have to pay your dues.  And please don't think that means  I can't appreciate your experience in your previous profession.  There are definitely things you can bring to the table, but remember that in coding, you are a novice.  I'm a great coder, but I'm pretty sure if I decided to change careers tomorrow and become an aerospace engineer, there would be a bit of a learning curve. 

Number 4: Will you mentor me?

It's an innocent question and I'm flattered.  Really.  But I decided a long time ago that I would mentor from afar by penning this blog.  I don't have a consistent schedule to be able to spend a lot of quality one-on-one time mentoring.  But if you email me a specific question, I will do my best to answer it.  My advice is to find someone local to mentor you.  Ask them if they can meet you once a month for lunch and come prepared.  What are the questions you want answers to?  What challenges have they had in their career that they wish someone would have told them when they were getting started?  This is a great entry into your local coding network.

Number 3: I went to school for (fill in the blank) months/years and I'm certified; I'm qualified to be a coder anywhere

No.  You're really not.  I went to school too for two years and let me just tell you that even though I learned some good fundamentals, the real coding world is nothing like I thought it would be.  I learned everything I really needed to know about being a coder on the job, not in school.  I've now been coding for more than 20 years and I hold four different certifications and I have a news flash for you: I am not qualified to code anywhere.  I lack the practical experience of a physician office coder.  I find coding radiation oncology charts waaaaaayyyy outside my comfort zone.  And please don't ask me to fill out an IRF-PAI for inpatient rehabilitation.  In other words, after 20 years, I am not all that and a bag of chips, so please don't insult the world of experienced coders by thinking you have this all figured out.  I learn something new each. and. every. day.  Keep an open mind and be willing to learn - and admit when you're in over your head.  Natural curiosity and a willingness to learn is a good thing.  Acting too big for your britches is not.

Number 2: How can I get experience if no one will hire an inexperienced coder?

I would give anything if people would stop asking me this question.  Because honestly, I don't know the answer.  I don't know what your background is.  I don't know what your aptitude for coding is - and it is a skill that many people don't possess.  I don't know where you've applied or how hard you've tried to sell yourself.  And probably most importantly, I don't have a clue what it's like to try to get a job today because the atmosphere is so different from 20 years ago.  But this is what I do know.  Don't limit yourself to coding jobs.  Find a job - any job - that will require you to have coding knowledge.  When you do an online job search, search on the code sets (ICD-10 or CPT) and not the word coder.  There are so many jobs out there that revolve around coding that aren't traditional coding jobs.  Getting your foot in the door is one step closer to getting that traditional coding job - or something even better than you ever imagined.  And don't forget to network.  If you want to work with coders, surround yourself with coders.  Who you know may be your golden ticket.

And the Number 1 Cringe-Worthy Thing Wannabe Coders Say is: I want to be a coder because I want to work from home

AACK!!!!  Not a good lead in!  And if this is the first statement out of your mouth when you go into an interview, you probably won't get hired because here's a huge industry secret: hiring managers hate hearing that's why you're there.  It's like going on a first date with someone you just met and gushing about how badly you want to get married and have 6 kids. It's just not done.  If this is the real reason you want to be a coder, please re-evaluate.  Coding is a great career if you love it.  If you don't love it, you will be miserable for 8 hours every day.  And if you are miserable at home for 8 hours a day, that can be really depressing.  Also think about the child care aspect.  I often hear people say they want to work from home because they can't afford child care.  Many coding contracts require you to have child care in place.  Coding takes intense concentration and you can't babysit a kid at the same time.  Working from home is a great perk, I will admit, but it is not the reason I have the job I have.  I refer you back to Number 10 above: follow your passion.  If you're lucky, you can make some good money while you do what you love... from home... in your bathrobe.

Article Review: The Coder Coach Responds to "Industry Disconnect"

I'm afraid today's topic won't be quite the entertainment fodder that many of my readers have come to enjoy because this is a serious topic and one that I am very passionate about. And it deserves a serious blog posting!  Someone recently asked me on my Facebook page what I thought about a recent cover story published in For the Record Magazine.  "Industry Disconnect" by Selena Chavis is a great read for anyone who has been pounding the pavement looking for a coding job.  It is also a must read for any coding professional with hiring power.  In short, this article highlights the biggest threat to the future of the coding industry: the ability to hire, mentor, and train recent grads.

It's no secret how I feel about mentoring our future workforce.  My thoughts are well documented throughout the Coder Coach and my colleagues in the state of Colorado know how outspoken I am about the topic of mentoring coders.

So when I was asked, I thought, wow, what a great topic for my blog.  Here are my thoughts on the article: it illustrates an accurate, although bleak, outlook on the future.  But all is not hopeless.  This article has some great points, but it also brought to mind some myths about coding mentoring and training that I would like to address.

Myth 1: There is a disconnect between coding schools and employers and no one cares or is doing anything about it
Partially true.  In general there is a disconnect between schools and employers, as documented in the article.  It is not true that no one cares.  Hello!  Are you reading my blog?  I currently sit on Colorado Health Information Management's Student Alliance Task Force - a mouthful, I know!  This is an alliance made up of CHIMA members and directors from the local HIM schools and we spend our time trying to figure out how to get better and more meaningful internship experiences for students.  There are a ton of road blocks and we are trying to decide how to break them down.  More on that in a sec.

Myth 2: Hospitals will only hire people who can hit the ground running
I hate this myth.  Because, in my experience, there is no such thing as a coder who can hit the ground running.  Okay, that was deep.  Let me repeat with more emphasis,  there is no such thing as a coder who can hit the ground running.  It's true that new grads take more time and as the article mentioned, there is only so much you can teach in a 2-year program that will prepare people for a future in electronic medical records, privacy and security, coding, cancer registry, and the list goes on.  It is unrealistic to expect new coders to be able to hit the ground running and it's ridiculous to exclude new grads thinking they won't have anything to offer.  I have never hired a coder - novice or experienced - who didn't need on the job training.  It's true that you can teach an old dog new tricks, but it's equally true that old habits die hard.  A new coder may not have experience, but as Linda Donahue, RHIT, CCS, CCS-P, CPC mentioned in the article, it is easier to teach new habits than correct old ones.  If you can absorb information like a sponge, you may have a serious future in coding.

On a side note, I decided to test this no-such-thing-as-hit-the-ground-running theory, so I called up my friend and newest coworker, Sandy Giangreco, RHIT, CCS, RCC, CPC-I, PCS, COBGC, CPC, CPC-H and AHIMA-Approved ICD-10-CM/PCS Trainer (are you getting the impression that Sandy has a little experience?!).  I asked her if she felt like she'd hit the ground running and she said sort of.  Now keep in mind that Sandy has many years of excellent coding experience (and a couple certifications!) and was hired by Haugen Consulting Group as a Senior Consultant.  We don't have to teach her how to code.  But she is trying to get used to our way of doing things and our training materials so that she can further develop more materials and peer review other content.  She is not up to speed yet.  But it's only like her second week, so I'll cut her some slack!

Myth 3: If hospitals take the time to train people, they will just leave and take those skills elsewhere
Oh waaaa.  Oops, did I type that out loud?   This is something that industry leaders need to get over.  We no longer live in an era where people pledge allegiance to a certain company and stay there for 30 years and retire to a blissful lifestyle at the age of 62.  When I got my first coding job, my manager and mentor, Lila, told me she knew she wouldn't be able to keep me but she wanted to give me an opportunity.  And I am so thankful she did.  There are other Lila's out there who are willing to train you so they can have a hand in training the future workforce as a whole - not just at their own institution.  I think if more people adopted this mentality, the future of the coding field would be bright indeed.

Myth 4: No one is willing to train on the job
So it turns out Lila was right.  I worked for her for three years before taking a job as her peer coding supervisor at a sister hospital.  And then she moved on for another career opportunity outside our hospital system.  That was 15 years ago.  Recently our paths crossed again when Lila took a management position with one of my clients.  Last fall I got to travel with her during a training trip and it was so much fun to be back in the company of that person who first gave me a start.  And I was dying to ask her: if you could do it all over again, in today's climate of EMRs and code-based reimbursement, would you hire a green coder like I was back in the day?  And she said yes.  Here it is almost 20 years since she gave me a chance and so much has changed with coding and HIM and she still feels the same way about training and mentoring.  God bless Lila and every coding manager like her.  We also have a hospital system in Colorado that recently opened their own coding school in preparation for ICD-10 and they are accepting people with baseline coding class experience and placing them into coding positions at the end.  People are willing to train, you just have to find them.

Myth 5: Experienced coders know more
Okay, so this may be where I lose some loyal blog readers and for that I apologize.  I will start by saying that I know some really smart, terrific coders who can code like nobody's business.  And as a coding trainer, I also know a lot of "experienced" coders who don't know as much as they think they do.  At Haugen Consulting Group, we actually have a training program for experienced coders about coding basics or fundamentals where we get them back to the coding guidelines.  Because they forget.  They get so caught up in the details that they can't see the forest between the trees.  And it's not really their fault.  My point is, new coders may have an advantage here - we are trying to get coders back to the guidelines and most students know nothing but those guidelines.  They are also "closer to the books" when it comes to things like anatomy and physiology.  And I cannot stress enough How.  Very.  Important. This. Will.  Be. For. ICD-10.  No coder knows everything - it's impossible.  I learn more about coding every day and I teach the darn stuff.  That's actually what I love about it.

Myth 6: Coding students can't get hands-on experience because of EMRs
There is some truth to this.  I hate that word "can't," though.  When I did my internship I reported to the hospital every day for 3 weeks like it was my job.  There was a coding unit and all the coders sat together.  I understand that that hospital no longer has a coding unit.  The coders all work from home by accessing the electronic medical record (EMR).  And that's how most hospitals are these days.  It's not impossible for students to get hands on experience, but it is challenging.  The main road block here is HIPAA.  The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 allows for electronic submission of health information and as HIM professionals, we understand the confidentiality and security issues surrounding protected health information (PHI).  As HIM professionals, we have a duty to keep this data confidential but we also have the duty to train new professionals.  We are trying to find ways to bust this excuse, but our first commitment is to the patient and protecting their data.  That's just something to think about when you complain about the background check you need to go through to get access to a system as a student.  How would you feel if it was your medical record?

Myth 7: There are not enough coding jobs for students
Bologna.  I've said it before and I'll say it again.  There may not be a bunch of jobs for "coder," but there are tons of jobs that are coding related.  Stop searching for coding positions in HIM departments and ending your search there.  Start looking for jobs that have ICD-9-CM and CPT embedded in their job descriptions.  You will learn more than you think just by being around codes.  Plus, if you can get a job in billing, this is a great place to see coding reimbursement in action.

Wow, this is already way longer than I intended, so I will leave you with this.  I love that Ms. Chavis's article was the cover story.  I think this is the most critical issue facing our industry today (even more so that ICD-10!). But I don't want you to walk away from this article thinking that a future in coding is futile.  Get out there and network!  People give jobs to people they know, so go out there and get known!

If you haven't found a job in coding, ask yourself if you've exhausted every option.  I meet all kinds of people who want to be coders for all kinds of different reasons.  If you want to be a coder only because you want to work from home, stop now.  You won't be successful.  But if you want to be a coder because you love the detective work you have to do to pull documentation together to get those codes, then there should be nothing on this earth that will stop you.  I see a lot of people making excuses about why they aren't getting coding jobs, but I firmly believe that if you want it badly enough, you will get there.  I'm no stranger to excuses myself - mostly when it comes to living a healthy lifestyle.  So lately, I've been carrying around this quote as a reminder any time I catch myself making an excuse and falling into the role of victim:

"Ninety-nine percent of the failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses."
-George Washington Carver

I am willing to work with my colleagues to remove the excuses about why we can't train and mentor.  Are you willing remove excuses for any of your own roadblocks that you've put up?

It's HIPAA, not HIPPA

Just for the record, it's HIPAA, not HIPPA. The actual legislation is called the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), not the Health Information Patient Privacy Act (HIPPA). I can't tell you how many times I've seen the latter referred to. As a matter of fact, a colleague of mine once emailed a company after seeing HIPPA repeatedly displayed on their website. Once she educated them, they offered her a job!

Privacy and Security
It's true - when most of us think HIPAA, we think privacy of health information. And that's a huge part of it. We may even think, as coders, that we are only impacted by HIPAA when it comes to keeping the medical record information we read during the coding process confidential. But HIPAA is much bigger than keeping health information from falling into the wrong hands. The true intent of the law was the make sure people retained insurance coverage as they changed jobs. It includes several provisions for sharing data electronically and in order to enact this sharing of information, it was prudent that privacy and security provisions be built into the infrastructure of HIPAA.

As coders, we will likely be required to sign confidentiality agreements with employers. We will be subjected to criminal background checks and possibly credit checks. We will be forbidden from discussing that interesting ER case in the elevator. We won't be able to look up medical record information for friends and family. Well, I suppose you could, but make no mistake - there is very little to no tolerance for HIPAA violations. I've seen people dismissed immediately for violating patient confidentiality. I saw this most at a celebrity-frequented hospital where people tweeted or posted on Facebook when someone famous was admitted or they released specific protected health information (PHI). In this day and age, it's not uncommon for employers to have a social networking policy that addresses Facebook and Twitter.

And while privacy of PHI is a coder's concern, there are other provisions within HIPAA that impact us. I meet a lot of people who want to code so they can work from home. But setting up a home office as a coder means more than getting a computer and internet connection. Along with ensuring patient privacy comes security of PHI as well. The home workstation must be secure from breaches including hacking of computer systems and stolen computers. It's a natural concern when setting up a home office - who will have access to the work computer and if there are multiple people living in the household, what provisions are being taken to ensure that the workstation is secure? Some home coders may be subjected to a home evaluation by an employer to ensure the workspace is secure.

HIPAA-Defined Code Sets
Still not convinced that HIPAA impacts you greatly as a coder? How about the codes you use? Those are also intertwined into HIPAA legislation. Electronic exchange of information between two different parties requires specific transactions. For example, the submission of an insurance claim by a provider to a payer is one such HIPAA transaction. There is another for communication from the payer back to the provider about what was paid on each account. These HIPAA transactions require a common language between the parties. And that language is often codes. As such, HIPAA defines which code sets are approved for reporting diagnoses and procedures in order to ensure uniformity.

There are six code sets approved for various uses and time periods as defined by HIPAA:

• HCPCS (Healthcare Common Procedural Coding System, Level II)for ancillary services and procedures
• CPT-4 (Current Procedural Terminology) for hospital outpatient and physician services
• CDT (Current Dental Terminology) for dental services
• NDC (National Drug Codes) for over-the-counter and prescription medications
• ICD-9 (International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision) for diagnoses and hospital inpatient procedures - currently used
• ICD-10 (International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision) for diagnoses and hospital inpatient procedures - effective October 1, 2013

The HIPAA Version 5010 Standard
Most coders and coding students are aware of the massive effort currently under way to migrate from ICD-9 to ICD-10 in 2013. Many are not aware, though, of the updates to the HIPAA transactions that must occur in order to make ICD-10 data electronically exchangeable. We currently operate under the HIPAA version 4010 and as of January 1, 2012, we will use HIPAA version 5010. This upgrade includes many other updates besides those to get us ready for ICD-10. The impact of 5010 implementation is currently being felt by payers and providers as they gear up for testing these new transactions beginning in July. As of January 1 of next year, CMS will not accept any electronic data in the old format. And that means failure to comply will hold up claims submission and payment.

The 5010 upgrade is probably invisible to most coders in an organization. It's very much an information technology (IT) initiative and involves inventorying systems and working with vendors and payers to ensure everyone has updated to the 5010 standard. In addition to updating the number of bytes available to report ICD codes and allowing for alpha-numeric entry (instead of mostly numeric with ICD-9), it also includes updates to allow for reporting the present on admission indicator, eliminates the release of superfluous PHI for insurance certification and verification, and eliminates numerous other inefficiencies in reporting data electronically.

So keep an eye out for the acronym HIPAA - it will come into play a lot in your career as a coder. As for HIPPA, I still can't figure out what that is. There is no Health Information Patient Privacy Act, so as best as I can tell, a hippa is a baby hippo!

Back Away from the Keyboard...

This morning my alarm clock went off at 7:00am, just as it does on most work days. Like most anal-retentive coders, I have my morning routine, which includes the usual suspects like brushing teeth and shuffling into the kitchen for that all important initial cup of coffee. Once my breath is fresh and my eyelids are open, I flip on the computer and wallah! I'm at work for the day. My work day routine begins by scanning my work, Coder Coach, and client email accounts. Sometimes I venture onto the Coder Coach page on Facebook to see if anyone has posted anything. Maybe I send or receive an IM to or from a client or coworker. Maybe I actually pick up the phone and call someone (not terribly likely). But rarely, in my daily dealings as a remote coding consultant, does my work involve face-to-face communication with people. And frankly, I miss it.

Let me be clear. I love communicating through email. I have relationships with friends in other states solely based on email. I have trouble communicating with people who hate email. I have access to six email accounts, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Yahoo IM on my iPhone. In other words, I am always virtually connected to just about any of my contacts at any given time. But there is no substitute for in person communication. And that's part of the reason why my Coder Coach events are not offered in an audio conference format.

I've been asked by several people from out of state to offer my Coder Coach events as webinars. Besides the fact that I have oodles of experience as a webinar presenter - for several years I presented 2-3 webinars per month - and I understand all too painfully well everything that could possibly go wrong with the technology aspect of the presentation (I know Murphy well!), I have no desire to feed into the increasing trend of discouraging face-to-face communication. And speaking of feeding, public speaking is one of my favorite things - it energizes me and feeds my desire to keep going with my career. Webinars just aren't the same. Frankly, my pets don't seem as enthused about learning coding as my human audiences (normally) do!

And it's not just the novices who want to network from afar. This new year means a lot of committee and board work for me. And even though my board meetings are offered in a conference call format, I try to attend the meetings in person. Two of the committees I work with have decided not to offer conference calls for their meetings because the chair persons are growing concerned about the lack of face-to-face networking among professionals. There are more opportunities to get educated remotely and that means that those face-to-face networking opportunities are more important than ever. Because if you're trying to break into the industry, look for a new job, or just (as my father used to say), "blow the stink off," you need to get away from your gadgets, get out of the house, and start talking to people.

So I encourage all of you to back away from the keyboard every now and then... that is, after you've researched online for the best local networking event. And get out and meet someone in person!

For local events near you, visit AHIMA's state component association web page at http://www.ahima.org/about/csa.aspx or the AAPC's local chapter finder web page at: http://www.aapc.com/localchapters/find-local-chapter.aspx.

Happy networking!

Even My Dad's on Facebook - Are You?

Like most people these days, I'm on Facebook. Actually, I maintain a couple of Facebook accounts: one personal and one professional. It's been fun to connect with people from my past and see what they're all up to. And I have to admit, when my brain gets a little fried, it's a quick and simple distraction to see if anyone has posted anything interesting or entertaining. For over a year now, I've tried to convince my parents that they need to get on Facebook so they can reconnect with people from their past. Even so, I was shocked the day I received a friend request from my father.

I'm not one of those people who is afraid to "friend" my parents. They're actually pretty cool and I get along well with them. Plus, I subscribe to the idea that if I'm uncomfortable having my father read it, I shouldn't be posting it on Facebook to begin with. But my dad has only recently become semi-tech savvy. I received my first email from him about a year ago. So getting a Facebook request from him was major. Mom's request came in soon after his and was a little less shocking because she's into gadgets and is one of the few people I actually text.

My point (and I do have one) is this: so many people tell me they don't do Facebook because it's too much work. These people are often people who are looking for jobs. And all I can think of is, if Facebook is too much work and you want to be a coder (and potentially code from home), you are looking into the wrong business.

Let me demonstrate. I have 7 email accounts in varying states of maintenance. One personal, one for my company, one for The Coder Coach, two for clients, and the rest are accounts that were set up for miscellaneous purposes and very few people have those email addresses. I have 2 Facebook accounts, a LinkedIn account, and a Twitter account - although I only tweet professional tidbits because I personally find it a bit ridiculous to let people know what I'm up to at every moment of the day. I also have an instant messenger (IM) account, which one of my clients uses for quick questions.

And that's just "social" media. I am able to VPN into 2 of my clients in order to access their systems, which consist of a logon to the VPN, a logon to their server, a logon to the electronic medical record (EMR), a logon to their coding system, and an encoder. I also have various online memberships (e.g., AHIMA, AAPC) that require passwords to access member-only information. And frequent flier and hotel point programs. I currently maintain over 100 passwords.

In order to maintain all these accounts and passwords, I have my main work laptop, laptops from some of my clients, and an iPhone. I also have a personal laptop, which gets turned on about once every 3 or 4 months because I can't stand to be on the computer when I'm not working. I run dual monitors on my desk so I can look at applications side by side. I have 2 phone numbers, a fax number, and 2 different ways to connect to the internet. In other words, I'm well connected - at least when all the computers are working properly.

I admit - this is extreme. For the typical coder working from home, though, there will be at least a computer and 1 or 2 huge monitors for reading EMR documentation (remember, paperless means no paper - everything is online) and the login credentials to get into a VPN, remote server, and whatever systems you'll be using. When something goes wrong or doesn't work properly, you are the first line of IT defense. You can't just get an IT guy over to your house right away.

So if you want to be a coder and work from home and you aren't on Facebook because it's "too complicated," think about either changing your reason for not being connected, get connected, or find a new career that doesn't involve computers. And try to filter what you tell a potential employer about your issues with technology. As medical records move to an electronic format, you will need to be more tech savvy. After all, if my dad can do it, so can you!