Healthcare organizations looking to hire clinical coding professionals have reported "real problems in filling open slots with qualified candidates," a survey by the American Health Information Management Association and the American Hospital Association Central Office has found.
The results of the May 2006 survey, titled "Coding Professionals, Today, Tomorrow and the Future," were announced in a Nov. 30 AHIMA/AHA press release.
Three out of 10 respondents were recruiting for open coding positions at the time of the survey, the release said. In the preceding 12 months, 76 percent of employers with open coding positions reported having an extremely difficult time filling them.
Those difficulties are due to employers' need for coders with both experience and proper credentials. Despite a large number of coding job candidates in the industry, very few meet these basic criteria.
"There are increasingly more and more programs that are turning out coding professionals, but skill levels and competencies are varied," said Rita Scichilone, AHIMA's director of clinical data standards.
"I get tons of résumés all the time, but they're all entry-level," said Shellaine Kang, coding manager at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago. "We can't afford to take the time out to train anybody."
AHIMA found in a previous survey that healthcare employers consider coding the field in which credentials are the most crucial, rather than information technology or privacy and security.
"Coding is the currency that makes the healthcare system run," said Scichilone. "It is very risky to employ people who are not experienced and do not have credentials."
The industry's lack of qualified coders has led Kang to rely on outsourcing companies to fill vacancies. "The expense is about double versus hiring somebody," she said.
Though necessary in finding coders to fill vacancies, outsourcers also hinder a hospital's ability to hold onto its full-time coders. "There are a lot of qualified coders that know they can make more money working for outsourcers," said Kang. "Once they have the credentials to work for a consulting group, they leave."
Most organizations are willing to pay hefty salaries to attract qualified coders. The survey found that coders without experience typically earn between $20,000 and $30,000, while 51 percent of those with three years of experience earn between $35,000 and $50,000.
"These salary jumps are a clear validation of the value professional coders bring to their organizations and the career growth that is possible in a short time for individuals with the right mix of knowledge, experience and certification," said Nelly Leon-Chisen, director of coding and classification for AHA's Central Office, in the press release.