July 02, 2015

Holy Crap, This Job...

I'm not going to complain about having a full-time job.  That would be ungrateful and inconsiderate of me, particularly after the past 11 month span where I couldn't find employment of any kind.  So please do understand me when I say I'm incredibly grateful to be employed.  But holy crap, this job.  I haven't even started doing the job I've been hired for yet.  Instead, the past two weeks have been learning the very raw basics on how to do it before they let us start doing it.  "But Wonderduck," I hear you say, because I have microphones scattered around your domicile and oh my god you really shouldn't sing like that in the shower or anywhere else for that matter, "isn't that good?  You'll know what you're doing!"  Sure, you'd think that, but here's what I've been learning:

The office looks something like this.  Except entirely different.
Medical terminology.  Billing codes.  Billing modifiers.  The medical insurance rules for an entire friggin' state.  What gets billed, how to do it, and how to turn them down.  How to approve, why to approve, and how the hell does ICD-9 427.0 have anything to do with a broken ankle anyway, and how did they manage to bill it like that?  Seriously, I'm asking 'cause that just ain't possible unless you're doing a HicPic D9220.  If you are, I have a request.  And every single day, something changes.  You think I'm kidding.  Believe me, I am being deathly serious.  I want to make something perfectly clear right now: I am a supporter of the Office of the President.  While I may (or may not) be a fan of who is the elected representative of that Office (as this is an American politics-free blog, I refuse to get into it), I respect the position he holds.  However, as a potential Medical Claims Examiner, I find myself in the position of being about to say something I've given others grief for saying: "Thanks, Obama!"  I can only imagine what it was like for those who had this job when the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act first took effect.  It couldn't have been fun at all, because it sure as heck ain't fun now.

This is a friendly blog, so I won't show what I'm really wanting to do with a finger... if you're curious, google "flipping the bird"  That'll give you a start on it...
Some sharper-eyed readers amongst the assembled Pond Scum may have noted the word "potential" up there.  That's because I'm not one yet, and won't be until I pass my certification test.  Which involves either knowing everything in that library shown above, or knowing how to find the needed information quickly.  Very quickly.  Because when I'm actually on the floor I'll be paid by the claim, and spending ten minutes trying to figure out the difference between 996.81 and 969.71 would be very bad for my bank account.  And, it must also be said, the patient's bank account if I got them wrong.  Probably.  So everybody in my training class is furiously studying our notes, going through the Binders of Doom, and hoping our cheat sheets are right.  Because you don't want to know what happens to your employment status if you don't pass the test.

Studying furiously.  Really.  Furious.  Grr.  Let me see your war face!
As a result of all this, I leave the office feeling like I've been mentally hit by a truck, catapulted into the path of an oncoming train (express, not local), then deposited by the side of the track, there to be munched on by a passing fluffle of bunnies.  Then deposited by the side of the track again a few hours later, because that's how bunnies do.  As an example, I got home Wednesday around 5pm.  By seven, I was in bed, taking a short nap.  I blew through two alarms and woke up around midnight.  Then went back to bed an hour later, and slept until it was time to go back to work.  And then I came home tonight, had something to eat, and started to write this post.  Which, in a strange twist of fate, brings us to this very moment as I type this word.  And this one.  And these over here.  And this bit.  Ooh!  And the whole bunch at the end of this section of words between pictures.

"Is that all we are, pictures between sections of words?  Can we never be more than that?"
What I'm saying is, holy crap, this job.  I'm sure it was no different when I was starting out at the D**k U B**ks***e, but I'm not used to feeling this stupid.  Stupid, yes, that comes with the territory of being me, totally used to feeling stupid.  But not so stupid that I wonder if I can even tie my own shoes (Wonderduck's note: that may not be the best example, as I actually wasn't able to tie my own shoes in a butterfly knot until I was ten years old.  I possessed perhaps the worst fine motor skills in the world, and to be honest, I never got very good at the trick.  Today, I use shoes with velcro fasteners... these, to be exact, though in black.  Maybe the most comfy shoes I've ever owned, and durable?  I've got one pair that I wore to Orlando two years ago that still feel like new.), let alone be a claims processor.  Dumb as a box of hair, that's me!  Oh, and I'm also godawfully tired, and glad beyond words that this is a three-day weekend.  Speaking of tired, if you don't mind I do believe I'm going to go lie down for a few hours. 

"We mind.  We'd like to talk to you about this whole just pictures between sections of words thing..."
Yup, a nap is just what this lil' ol' Wonderduck is a-needin' 'round 'bout now...

Posted by: Wonderduck at 07:31 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
Post contains 990 words, total size 7 kb.

1 Velcro shoes FTW!

(Because I'm clumsy enough as it is, and catching my laces on a wiring bracket and faceplanting into, well, ANYTHING inside a plane is a losing proposition... a blood-losing proposition.)

Posted by: Mauser at July 03, 2015 04:10 AM (TJ7ih)

2 You're not dumb. (Heck, you apparently scored tons better on the aptitude test than your classmates.) You are just facing a steep learning curve and a ton of itsy-bitsy facts, plus some kind of law school/med school seminar when you're not a law student or a med student.

Which suggests some interesting things about medical billing call centers.

But yeah, I understand one can take medical billing code classes at the for-pay adult vocational schools. This is because if you can do medical billing codes, you are qualified to work in a lot of doctors' offices and hospitals too. So if any of your classmates are doing better than you, it's probably because they've taken some of these classes previously.

Posted by: Suburbanbanshee at July 03, 2015 10:31 AM (ZJVQ5)

3 PS - And don't forget the rule of tests: Don't overthink it or second-guess yourself, because that eats your brain. Think about it, answer, move on.

Posted by: Suburbanbanshee at July 03, 2015 10:38 AM (ZJVQ5)

4 Ah, the good ol' ICD-10-CM V97.33XD.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at July 03, 2015 09:59 PM (2yngH)

5 I'm a big fan of V95.40XA, myself, and it would be the highlight of my career to see it come across.  I wouldn't even care if it wasn't covered, I'd still approve it.

Posted by: Wonderduck at July 03, 2015 10:55 PM (jGQR+)

6 I'm sorry, Eadwacer, I don't allow naked URLs here.  Please use the link button on the comment toolbar.

Posted by: Wonderduck at July 11, 2015 11:31 AM (jGQR+)

7 Messed that one up. Let me try again. Here's a doctor's view of the documentation thing.

Posted by: Eadwacer at July 13, 2015 07:00 AM (d0iSl)

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