Billing/Coding courses?

[hanginginthere]

I am thinking about taking a billing or coding course for when hubby is private practice...Does anyone know what courses are good? Thank you so much!

[diggitydot]

Think long and hard about whether you want to work in your dude's clinic before you take any classes.

[GreyhoundsRUs]

Think long and hard about whether you want to work in your dude's clinic before you take any classes.

This!

[hanginginthere]

He says I could do it at home and not even have to go into the office unless I want to...He says he doesn't want me to have to deal with any garbage that comes up at his work- it would just be me entering the info...I also have a friend who is looking into this but I have no idea what courses are good? I would not want to have to go into his office daily because I would likely make it hard to keep things professional...I would rip him a new one if i didn't like the way someone was being treated...although, with him that is unlikely- he is very courteous even when pushed pretty hard... but I understand why you are both cautioning me- thank you!

[diggitydot]

I know VERY few spouses who work in any capacity at/with/for their spouses clinic where it doesn't become a giant issue in the business and their marriage. I strongly, STRONGLY urge you to talk with people in this exact situation before deciding one way or the other.

I'm not only speaking from my perspective as a med spouse, but also as someone who grew up in and around clinics. Having family working there in any capacity is a good idea in only exceedingly rare situations.

Being compatible working with your spouse isn't the biggest issue, although that is very relevant. Adding family to business creates an uncomfortable dynamic for the other employees and can cause a LOT of interpersonal issues that will manifest and reflect in the work. Also, it's a GIGANTIC pain in the ass. If medicine has a "glamorous" side, it sure as hell isn't in the business management end of the shindig.

[Meenah]

My DH and I work together, we both see patients and have NEVER had a problem. Recently our office has had some changes and I have to do all of the coding, billing, and office management temporarily. Now we have ISSUES. I hate coding and billing, and there is a reason you can get a degree in it! Really research it before you invest in it.

[Chrisada]

What Meenah said. In my neck of the woods, it's normal for wives to run their DH's practices. My mom and several of her friends did this very successfully. But I would think long and hard about whether or not you really want to be involved in all the crap of a medical office. You might find yourself being more involved than you had planned. That shit ain't easy or fun.

[HouseofWool]

As someone who works for a spedmouse, I have to agree. The business side of medicine sucks. I can only imagine the stress on a marriage when that is added in.

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[v-girl]

My MIL did it for years for FIL's psychology practice. She didn't enjoy it, but they were at a point where they couldn't afford to pay someone else. You could find a small practice and ask the billing person for a recommendation. It's been 5+ years since the in-laws hired someone so I don't think mil would remember where she learned it.

[Cinderella]

Several of my friends went to school for this and have associate degrees in it called Health Information Management. In the State they came from the Universities only offer Associate degrees in medical coding. Once they started working in a hospital setting upper management wanted them all to go on and get the four year degree even if they had to fly them to a University in Seattle several times a week for classes. None of them went for it that I know of because of the constant traveling. Plus they didn't want to do two more years of school. I said to them if the hospital is going to cover all the costs for a four year medical coding/billing degree then why not but they didn't see it that way. I do have one friend that got their associates degree in it through online classes. They had to purchase their books and take their finals at the actual University they were getting the online degree which was in the same State they lived in. She recommends it but they only accept around 30 people a year for the program because actual professors teach the class online and grade their material. I'd look into an accredited University in my State and see if they offer online associate degrees like this.

I had the opportunity to help run the private clinic dh was working at in Hurghada, Egypt but I didn't go for it. One of my rules I've learned from personal experience was never date someone you work with and I extended that rule into my marriage. For some people like myself it's better to keep the two world separate and lead independent lives instead of seeing each other at home and at work 24/7. It can become an HR nightmare if things go south. Too much together time can lead to pushing each other apart. For some people it works though and for others they don't have much of a choice and have to make it work.

Let us know how things work out for you.

[Meenah]

DH and I are fine seeing patients together, but the business side SUCKS big time. I cannot wait to turn it over to someone and get back to primary care. It is one thing to see patients and discuss plans of care, etc. but to agree on how to do billing, etc is a royal pain in the ass. I have grown to HATE all insurance companies, and medicare. I'm ready to go to the Culinary Institute for a new career.

[hanginginthere]

thank you for all of the responses! I would not consider this until hubby is done with his payback but my friend is also interested in it so I thought I would try to find out more...I like the idea of doing it on-line...and if I don't like working with hubby we both agreed that I would quit and he would just hire someone else...He doesn't want me to have to deal with all the bs- just enter the codes for him...someone else will handle the issues..my friend's mother does this and it works out okay since it is a rather limited involvement in the business and would allow me to still be the parent volunteer and be there for our little one...

[Vanquisher]

As someone who does this, I think that "just entering the codes" is unlikely. It seems that he has an unrealistic view of that job. Unless he's in a large group, and you're just entering the codes for everyone, I can't see it being feasible. Billers typically wear many hats and have to know the insurances, and thus the business. It's more involved than that.

Also, quitting if you don't like it is not really always an option. I wish it were

[Meenah]

If you have to figure out the code it can be an Effing nightmare. When ICD 10 starts it will be even worse. Also, if you have to figure out the code you have to have access to the chart / notes. Do you know anyone who works in coding / billing? If so, I would suggest you ask them to let you shadow for a couple of days to get an idea of what it involves. You aren't just entering codes, you then will spend an enormous amount of time defending those codes to the insurance companies and medicare. Appeal after appeal after appeal. I don't mean to sound so negative, but I really do feel negative about coding right now, so I might not be the best one to listen to!

[hanginginthere]

I kind of wondered if he was unrealistic about what I would need to do- it sounded too simple and quite frankly with the helpful comments here and the research I have been doing this does NOT sound like something I want to do- I don't want to be responsible for it- it sounds too stressful and I have lupus and don't need that sort of stress...I might look into something to help out like medical transcription instead- I used to close caption so I am familiar with that part of transcription and would be willing to learn the medical terminology...What do you think about that as an alternative? Also, thank you to everyone for opening my eyes to the fact that this is not as simple as hubby led me to believe- it sounds like a bloody nightmare waiting to happen and something that I would be miserable doing...thank you for saving me from that...

As someone who does this, I think that "just entering the codes" is unlikely. It seems that he has an unrealistic view of that job. Unless he's in a large group, and you're just entering the codes for everyone, I can't see it being feasible. Billers typically wear many hats and have to know the insurances, and thus the business. It's more involved than that.

Also, quitting if you don't like it is not really always an option. I wish it were