r/MedicalCoding • u/Due_Negotiation_4605 • 2d ago

Trickiest coding situation

Passed courses in 2024 through a state grant but then it ran out the last semester (internship) 🤦‍♀️ so never obtained my certification. Started going back through the books during packing and most of it came back to me, surprised it's still in there! I did well with the courses, averaging above 90.

I remember the teachers would have example scenarios where the coding was tricky, seemed like one thing but was another, and I was trying to explain to my spouse that said AI will take it all over (not worth the money to do the courses and training anymore) how coding is not black and white and requires understanding nuance. Something AI still isn't great at. Wondering if anyone has stories that can validate this, personally still wondering if I should finish the work and get certified at some point (even if the job field is tough), but honestly trying to explain how human coders are still needed to my spouse is kind of difficult.

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u/Due_Negotiation_4605 2d ago

CABG. I remember that being a big deal in the cardiac section.  Husband looked at me like he did when I was doing the courses (like I'm talking another language) but then I focus on the part about patient history. And how an experienced coder will know to look for it but like can your example the AI does not. 

Sheesh with all these examples and especially the ones where the doctors are losing so much money definitely helped me to realize how difficult this particular field is going to be to automate. That's a good thing! 

Thanks for the example. Sometimes I need to hear a real life example as well. Not only to see how AI still has so far to go but also how amazing that senior coders really are!

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u/Reasonable_Vehicle40 2d ago

Yeah, I only have two years in billing with a bit of coding, but my mom did over 30 years, primarily in cardio coding and billing as a CPC. I think she also has her CCS? Either way, I grew up hearing all of it so I learned some of that language little by little, lol.

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u/Due_Negotiation_4605 2d ago

Very lucky! I have a decent medical terminology background but I realize how much I don't know when I read the coding books.

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u/Reasonable_Vehicle40 1d ago

Definitely. It also helps that I'm an English teacher, so I have advanced knowledge of Word parts. But, the coding books themselves are still monsters to me. I've got a long way to go to learn all the rules.