Questions and Concerns for Coding Professionals in 2020

By Catrena L. Smith, CCS, CCS-P, CPCO, CPC, CIC, CPC-I, CRC, CHTS-PW

As the role of health information management (HIM) professionals continues to evolve, we must prepare for significant changes and trends in medical record coding in 2020 and beyond, including the move to value-based reimbursement, single-path coding, coding social determinants of health (SDOH), and reporting directly to revenue cycle. As HIM and coding professionals prepare for the year ahead, it’s important to recognize the pressing questions, concerns, and challenges facing coders just entering the field, coders pursuing a new position, and coding managers.

Advice for New Coding Professionals

Coding professionals who are entering the field should prioritize education and advancement and ask themselves the following questions when considering a new opportunity:

  • Is this an organization that offers experiential learning and support?
  • Will I have reasonable time to grow without being expected to know everything at once, or will I have to hit the ground running?

To ensure success, new coding professionals should work as hard as they can to find out more about an organization’s culture and reputation, which can be learned through talking to current and former employees and reading reviews on websites such as LinkedIn, Great Place to Work, Comparably, and Glassdoor.

Breaking through without experience in any sector of the healthcare field can be difficult and at times discouraging. It’s not at all uncommon for people in the coding field to search for up to a year before finding a job.

Coding professionals new to the field should consider these for suggestions as they look for a job and begin their medical coding careers…continue to JAHIMA article »