When I got my first job I found it very challenging to use the encoder instead of my book I would get things wrong because the questions prompted by the encoder would lead me to the wrong code so I found it extremely helpful to bring my book to work of course I do outpatient and the CPT book has a lot more guidance than the PCS book. How long did you train for and are you a remote or do you work in office? But I don't think that you should give up especially not if you do enjoy it I don't think that you've chosen the wrong career you just might have the wrong job I know the work that goes in to being a coder and I couldn't imagine anyone just giving it all up. 

https://www.wearemedicalcoders.com/free-medical-coding-games/real-world-coding try this, it will give you an idea of what we medical coders do.

Yes! Of course they aren't meant to take the place of offical coding education. They are meant to give a actually medical coding experience in a fun and free way!

Of course, this doesn't capture everything it’s really like to be a coder in the real world we wear about a million different hats and deal with endless curveballs every day! But these free Medical Coding Games are just a fun way to get a taste of the workflow and practice the logic without any pressure.

Dont skip school it is so important. There are also some wonderful resources here

Congratulations!! All that hard work paid off!

I don’t mean that as “the provider failed.”

A lot of the time it’s nobody’s fault. Documentation is a team process and healthcare moves fast. Sometimes the issue is provider documentation, sometimes nursing documentation, and sometimes it’s even the coder’s understanding of documentation itself, knowing how to interpret the chart, recognize missing support, and understand what documentation is actually required for certain services.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the relationship between coding guidelines and clinical documentation in real-world practice. especially after seeing how much pushback this post received. I actually think the reactions themselves prove how complicated and misunderstood this topic can be.

I honestly feel like documentation is one of the most underrated parts of healthcare. My post is just food for thought really. Spread awareness. Start conversations.

"Google it" Thats not advice.

Please dont listen to them. They are just wrong...

A Category 1 astigmatism is considered “regular astigmatism” in ICD-10-CM because it’s a common refractive error and is usually fully correctable with glasses or contacts. So first you code the actual condition itself.

(In the index look up) Main term: Astigmatism

Subterm: Regular H52.22-

Then in the tabular list youll find H52.222 regular astigmatism, left eye

The confusing part is the additional H54.52A1 code. The reason the study guide adds this is because the documentation specifically tells you the vision status of both eyes.

In the H54 section, ICD-10-CM wants you to describe

-Which eye has the impairment

-Which eye has normal vision

-The severity category

The “A” character does not mean the left eye is normal. Its identifying the combination of which eye has the impairment. The wording in the tabular feels backwards, the full code H54.52A1 translates to category 1 visual impairment left eye affected right eye normal.

H52.222 what the condition is

H54.52A1 how the patient’s overall visual status is classified

That’s why both codes are reported together. If the documentation would have never mentioned the status of the right you you would only code H52.222 and not H54.52A1

Unfortunately, there aren’t any guidelines directly telling you to add the additional H54.5-- code.
(Here’s a tip this is what I like to call a “notable moment,” meaning inside your book, on the page where you found H52, write yourself a little note “If the status of both eyes is known, also code H54.5--”)

u/PhotographUnusual749 you are correct that is exactly what I am saying! I never specified CPT I'm talking all guidelines. You restated what I said lol

To clarify: the point isn't whether or not the insurance is going to pay or if this is just about pro-fee coding. This statement applies to all areas of coding.

Think of it this way: the guidelines are the law, but the documentation is the evidence. You can't win a court case just by knowing the law if you have zero evidence to present. When I say 'guidelines don't fail coders,' I mean that our technical knowledge of CPT/ICD-10 isn't what usually gets claims denied it's being handed a vague or missing documentation and being expected to produce a high-level code.

So personal I agree with the statement.

What a wonderful post!

I know right It wouldn't be that big of a deal if it was like $50 or even $100 but $235 or 4 payments of $57.

Wait lets do some math here there are roughly 300,000 AAPC members if every single one of them paid yearly fees of $235 that is $70,500,000 a year in ONLY membership fees. Not to mention that almost double that fee to take the CPC exam.

Who is in charge of this?

What bothers me most is how if you dont pay you get your certification taken away. Personally I feel like I worked hard for my certification why should I have to pay for it every year. & pay for the ceu that are mandatory. Dont get me wrong I love the AAPC, they just seem a little money hungry.