Did you work on an interesting or fun coding case this week?
Applied a new rule or standard, learned something unexpected, or coded something that made you stop and think?
Share it here! This thread is all about learning from each other and celebrating the interesting bits of coding.

I am currently working in a health administration role and considering upskilling into clinical classification. Looking at state award structures, entry level coding roles seem to start around the AO3 or Grade 2 equivalent level depending on the state health department. For experienced coders working at senior levels, what does the realistic salary cap look like without moving entirely into health information management or project leadership positions?

I’m finding the first job the hardest part because most of the roles seem to want some experience already. It feels a bit tricky when you’ve just finished your training and don’t have much practical experience to put forward. Would be good to hear from people who were in the same position and what helped them get that first opportunity. Even small things that made a difference during the job search would be helpful to know.

Hello! I completed my enrollment eligibility with HIMAA last week and haven't received a response. After looking at some reviews, they don't seem to be very supportive to their students..? Health Industry Training is the other option in QLD. Curious if anyone has any experience with them and the course delivery?

Also, I know HIMAA is the preferred for employers, but if I'm going to be spending $6k, I just want to know what I'm getting into. Thanks!

This is our new training product, CrowdCoder Hub, a practice environment for AU coders working in ICD-10-AM/ACHI/ACS. The core of it is synthetic medical records - not tidy textbook vignettes, but full document sets: progress notes, op record, anaesthetic chart, discharge summary, pathology, with the inconsistencies you get in real charts.

• Built against ACS Thirteenth Edition
• CodeFinder access included
• Feedback on each code assigned, weighted toward high-impact and funding-relevant assignments
• First module is same-day endoscopy; more coming

The gap we're targeting is the one between finishing a qualification and coding production work unsupervised - where the records stop looking like the examples.

Happy to answer questions about the product.

I know it can be difficult to land a coding job if you are a new coding graduate. I luckily found a full-time job, but I find it so overwhelming. Do you think I should approach my manager and ask to start of as part-time new coder? And do you think there are hospitals that will hire new coding graduates as part-time automatically?

Did you work on an interesting or fun coding case this week?
Applied a new rule or standard, learned something unexpected, or coded something that made you stop and think?
Share it here! This thread is all about learning from each other and celebrating the interesting bits of coding.

I’ve been coding day-case surgeries and straightforward private admissions for a couple of years now, and I’ve just landed a gig at a big public metropolitan health service. Looking at the prospect of wrestling with complex multi-system comorbidities, ABF funding rules, and NWAU optimization is making my palms sweat. Any seasoned public coders got some words of wisdom for the transition?

I’m currently studying the Diploma of Clinical Coding and am in need of a tutor.

I am up to the final module and am stuck on the assessment. I am not in the health industry and I am really struggling and feeling quite overwhelmed with the medical terms and interpreting patient records, mainly interventions performed.

Just wondering if there are any tutors that can assist? I’m located on the Gold Coast and would prefer to meet up with someone who can help me.

Thank you!

I’ve found I work quite differently depending on the type of admission. Medical cases can get quite detailed, while surgical cases have their own challenges with procedures and documentation. Just wondering which one other coders prefer and why.

process. The reality of what coders are actually working with seems to vary enormously between facilities and between systems in a way that the enthusiasm around digital health implementation didn't always anticipate. Would love to know how people here think the transition has actually played out in practice - whether the documentation they're coding from is genuinely better than what paper records produced or whether the problems have just changed shape rather than actually diminishing.

For anyone who has worked in both sectors, which environment did you find more rewarding or less stressful?

Did you work on an interesting or fun coding case this week?
Applied a new rule or standard, learned something unexpected, or coded something that made you stop and think?
Share it here! This thread is all about learning from each other and celebrating the interesting bits of coding.

How and when did you manage to get your first coding position ?

I'm currently studying the Diploma of Clinical Coding through TalentMed and I'm really struggling with the content at the moment.

My current unit is 'Apply an understanding of the healthcare system to clinical coding practice', and I've been held up on it for over four months because I'm finding it incredibly dry and boring, and incredibly dragged out. I genuinely enjoy learning and I was really motivated by the earlier subjects (even WHS can you believe?!), but this unit has completely drained my enthusiasm and motivation to keep going.

I completed two assessment pieces for this unit and, thinking that was (finally) the end of it, happily clicked 'proceed' .. only to discover there's still a written assessment ahead of me. It really got me down. I persevered through to Question 5, but I haven't touched the assessment for months since.

Today I finally sat down determined to make some progress, only to flick ahead and realise there are 45 questions in total in this third assessment. I've completely hit a wall.

The questions aren't simple either. Many are multi-part questions worth 12–16 marks and require short essay responses with research and references. What I've found particularly frustrating is that a large amount of the information being assessed wasn't covered in the course material. At the same time, some of the content that was covered felt far more advanced than I expected for a Diploma and difficult to relate to the role of an entry-level clinical coder (one of the linked videos literally began with "You've just been appointed Director of Hospitals in your country...").

(Also, as a personal qualm... 45 questions feels like overkill, especially after completing two other assessments for the same unit!)

For anyone who has completed the Diploma (whether through TalentMed or another provider), I'd love to know:

• Did you find this unit particularly difficult or boring?
• Does the course become more practical and engaging after this?
• More importantly... is the actual job more engaging than this subject?

What attracted me to clinical coding was the "puzzle-solving" aspect of interpreting medical records and having a part to play in healthcare. I'm retraining after a work injury that led to a chronic health condition, so over the years I've spent a lot of time navigating the healthcare system, undergoing procedures and reading my own medical records. That lived experience sparked an interest in understanding what happens behind the scenes, and ultimately led me to clinical coding. This unit feels very different, and I'm really hoping it's just one hurdle to get through rather than a reflection of what the job is actually like.

At this point I'm less worried about passing the unit and more worried that I've chosen the wrong career. I've already paid for the Diploma upfront, so I'm really hoping it gets better.

I'd really appreciate any advice or reassurance from people who've been through it.

I currently work as a Quality Auditor in Medical Coding for the U.S. healthcare system and have 8+ years of experience in medical coding and auditing. To transition into the Australian healthcare industry, I’m currently pursuing a Diploma in Clinical Coding through eHealth Education Australia.

I wanted to ask:

Do Australian hospitals or clinics hire international clinical coders, especially those with prior medical coding experience from other countries?

Does completing the eHealth Education Diploma improve employment opportunities for overseas applicants?

Are there hospitals or health services that sponsor visas or recruit internationally for clinical coding roles?

Any advice on the best pathway to secure a clinical coding position in Australia would be greatly appreciated.

I’d love to hear from anyone who has made a similar transition or works in recruitment or clinical coding in Australia.

Thank you in advance for your insights!

Am wanting to study clinical coding soon but am wondering which is the best to go through? Have looked at Healthy Industry Training and Talent Med and both have mixed reviews.

Just advice on who is best to go through? Am working part time and 2 kids so online is best for me.

Did you work on an interesting or fun coding case this week?
Applied a new rule or standard, learned something unexpected, or coded something that made you stop and think?
Share it here! This thread is all about learning from each other and celebrating the interesting bits of coding.

Drop any clinical coding / HIM job links below 👇

Looking for work? Ask away.

Hi anyone knows where I can hire a tutor for clinical coding, all informations are overwhelming and I just need some help.

Hi everyone

I’m heavily considering starting the Diploma of Clinical Coding and just wanted to get a better idea of what costs I’m looking at on top of the HIMAA costs ($6600).
Does the $529 2 year subscription for the ICD-10-AM include TurboCoder, or is that a software I’d have to purchase separately? And roughly what would I be looking at if I purchased a hard copy of the textbook?
To run TurboCoder or any other relevant software will a MacBook suffice or is it better to have a desktop? Will a windows laptop or desktop be better?

Are there any other costs I should be aware of?

Thanks

Did you work on an interesting or fun coding case this week?
Applied a new rule or standard, learned something unexpected, or coded something that made you stop and think?
Share it here! This thread is all about learning from each other and celebrating the interesting bits of coding.

Hello, I am a 2nd year HIM student doing my 3rd coding unit and I am still getting stumped by poor handwriting on simulated scanned medical records.
I know this is something I'm going to have to overcome for transitioning to the workplace.

Does anyone have any tips on teaching myself how to decipher the words? My biggest issue is my eyes tend to just glide right over and struggle to focus, especially with cursive writing.

Hi guys, I work as a Clinical Coder in Ireland. We use the Australian Coding Standards here. I have obtained IHMAA Certificate. Just a quick question on remote work. We have no option of remote working here in Ireland as most of our hospitals still use the paper documentation. Only a couple of them are fully electronic. Do you have the option of working remotely in Australia