How the Coder Coach Spends Her Time

You’ve read the blog postings before – I am very passionate about helping folks break into the industry. And as I step on my soap box to tell novice coders to be persistent and network, someone inevitably asks me if I hire new coders. The honest answer is no, but it’s not because I wouldn’t if I had the opportunity. The truth is, as a consultant, I am working with clients who expect - and pay a premium for - experienced coding knowledge. And because I am not in a position to hire new coders, I write this blog, present monthly Coder Coach events, and tweet relevant articles I come across. When I give that answer, the next inevitable question is, “What do you do as a consultant?” So I thought I would take a moment to tell you what I’ve been up to lately – in my day job.

Because I work for a small company, we get a wide array of requests, so to many, my job may seem like a crazy schizophrenic mess. I can’t possibly put down everything I do without writing a small book! So I decided I would take the last couple of weeks and give you the rundown.

I’ve been working with a client for about a year to improve their coding and charging accuracy in the cardiac cath lab. While that may seem simple and straightforward, the client is a large teaching hospital and training the coders isn’t enough – we also need to talk to the nurses, techs, and doctors about documentation. Last week I traveled to the client and presented seven identical training sessions to the nurses and radiology techs in the cath lab on how to improve their documentation. Each presentation was two hours. And that two hour presentation took about a week to prepare for. In between training sessions, there were meetings with cath lab and HIM management and time spent one-on-one with one of the coders who had questions on some cases. I had an extra treat last week when we were invited into the cath lab to see some procedures being performed.

During the evenings last week I put the final touches on two presentations I needed to submit for this week’s AAPC chapter meeting and also met with my boss about a potential new contract that would significantly impact my summer work deadlines. After traveling home, I attended my first board meeting as a director for the Colorado Health Information Management Association where we planned our strategic initiatives for the coming year and I took a few moments to stress the importance of hiring new pros and expressing a need to get more employers on board (I just want you to know that I’m also preaching to my peers!).

This week my time was split between clients as I prepare for training a client next week on injections and infusion coding and follow-up with my cath lab client on the issues from last week and plan the next round of training. I spent several hours analyzing client data and doing a couple of chart audits. Last night I spoke at the AAPC chapter meeting and networked with some folks a bit. Today I will be pulling together the handouts for the next Coder Coach event and again preparing for next week’s training.

Over the coming weeks and months, I have several training sessions to prepare for with clients, client reports that need to be written, and client meetings that need to take place. I am also working on our company’s plan for ICD-10 training, writing white papers on ICD-10 implementation and training and presentations for two AAPC chapter meetings next month. We don't want to think about it, but fall is right around the corner and it's the busy season for consultants as we study the code changes and read the Federal Register for changes to code-based reimbursement for next year. Amid all of these tasks are a myriad of other little “to dos” and more than one project I’m not yet aware of. In my spare time (?!), I blog, network, and do other miscellaneous things for the Coder Coach group and soon will also be blogging for AHIMA's new HI Careers website.

So if you ever ask me what I do and I pause and say, “Um,” it’s because I’m trying to remember exactly what it was I did that day!

Do You Want to Be a Coding Consultant?

I’ve had a few novices ask me how I like being a consultant. Well, I love it. But it’s not an easy job. And I certainly don’t recommend consulting to anyone until they have several years’ experience under their belts. So if you think you want to travel the nation (or region) or even stick locally consulting clients, make sure you have practical experience first – it’s the absolute best preparation for giving advice to clients.

Let me stress this about consulting – many people want to be consultants because of the salaries. It is true that most consulting firms pay well. But there’s a reason – it’s the price you pay to be away from home so much. If you haven’t seen the movie Up in the Air with George Clooney yet, I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to be a traveling consultant because it is an accurate depiction of what it’s like to be away from home so much. So before you offer to be a consultant, think about what it really means to be away from home 4-6 days per week.


The Coding Career Path
I had my career path all planned out in the 90s. I would be a hospital outpatient coder and then move to inpatient. Then I would become a coding supervisor and then a coding consultant. I hit all those goals by the time I was 27. I didn’t really think beyond that and I certainly didn’t think there would be a time when ADD would over take me and I wouldn’t be able to sit at a desk for 8 hours (or more) and do nothing but code.

Newbies often ask me about the career path for a coder and these days, there are so many options, I can’t think of a clear path. My best recommendation is to get your foot in the door and see what kind of opportunities await you once you’re there because I never would have dreamed I would end up where I am. And if you want to see the country and don’t mind living out of a suitcase for awhile, then by all means, be a consultant!


My First Consulting Life
My first consulting job was exactly what I thought coding consulting was and always would be. I traveled 100% of the time and spent long days as a backlog coder, interim manager, or coding auditor. In that job I learned the difference between giving my opinion versus quoting regulation and how to (most of the time) be objective with my advice. Along with that I learned a lot about traveling – how to pack a suitcase, the most efficient way to get through airport security, and probably my proudest accomplishment – how to find my way in a strange city with a map (this was before GPS really caught on!).


My New Consulting Life
That first consulting job was 7 years, 2 jobs, and about 300,000 airline miles ago. When I landed into a consulting position where I got to do coding education, everything changed. I spent more time working from home (travel was cut to 50%). I won’t bore you with the details of how I got here, I’ll just say it involved thousands of hours of research, writing thousands of pages of coding text books, and writing and presenting hundreds of Power Point presentations in person and over the web. Now I work for a small company where I have a lot of say in the projects I take on and travel only about 25%.

Paving the Way
I looked long and hard to find this job. As a matter of fact, the job didn’t really exist – it was essentially created for me when a friend and former coworker half-jokingly asked me if I wanted to be their ICD-10 trainer. Paving your own way out of the gate is not the norm, but with perseverance, hard work, and passion about your chosen career, it could be a future possibility. When I began my career, I knew I wanted to be a trainer or educator and I made that fact well known to my supervisors over the years and job opportunities have presented themselves based on that passion to teach.

So find what you’re passionate about in the coding field and make it known. It may take time to land that first coding job, but someday, you may be in the driver’s seat and you may be able to design your dream job.