Frequently Asked Questions

Will I Be Able To Contact My Instructors When I Have Questions?

Experienced instructors are readily available to answer your questions. You will get to know the instructors and they will get to know you, as you work with them on a day-by-day basis. We also have an informal advisory board of health information management or medical records professionals who are available to us. We value their input to our program.

How Does Your Course Compare With Other Programs?

Our goal is to make our program the best in the nation. Our students and graduates tell us they can easily recognize the difference after evaluating several schools. It isn’t the most expensive; it isn’t the least expensive either. It isn’t the longest or shortest program. We just intend for it to be the best.

Someone who has observed graduates of our program since we started in 1990 told me,“Although your program is not the cheapest, it is certainly not the most expensive, but it is the best.” He continued to “sell” me on my program. Although we have no sales representatives, I was tempted to offer him a job on the spot! Here’s more of what he said:

$80 - A person could invest in a program costing $80, attend 6 weeks taking instruction from someone who may never have even worked in the field. Students learn little or nothing, waste their time, and have little or no employment potential.

$700 - Attend for a longer period of time but have little or no preparation to work in the real world. The program is usually put together by administrators with no interest in learning about this career. It’s just a course they offer.

$7,000 - Attend an even longer period of time. Many two-year programs turn out graduates who know a great deal about medical terminology, anatomy & physiology and disease processes, but they don’t know how to put that knowledge to work on the job. Nobody is hiring medical terminologists. The length of time spent studying is not always a good indication of the effectiveness of a program.

How Did You Develop your Program?

We made some choices when we opened in 1990. We chose to keep putting more quality back into the program. That was probably the best decision we ever made. In our first years, we worked until we came up with the proper balance our students needed. We believe we have that now.

We start with a simple, step-by-step set of instructions in basic coding. Students then advance to the intermediate level. The final portion of the program includes advanced studies many coding specialists have used to prepare for their certification exams. These materials were highly effective for these coding/billing experts and are now accomplishing the same purpose for our students, as a valuable part of our program. We believe our program is an excellent investment for those who look forward to a career in medical reimbursement.


How Much Education And Training Does A Medical Coder Need?

Medical reimbursement requires a great deal more than a coding book and some medical terms. Medical coders always have to keep learning. Throughout your career, you will need to keep up with changes in technology, medical procedures, etc. You’ve chosen an interesting and challenging career. It is not for everyone. You may hear stories of people just being hired “off the street”and given a terminology course. They certainly are not medical coding specialists. You don’t just pick up a coding book and thumb through it until you find the right code. Ask the experts. A few physicians’ offices may still be doing it that way, but word is spreading about physicians being charged large monetary penalties due to improper coding. Too much is at risk.

How Many Cases Will I Code In Your Course?

Students code hundreds of cases abstracted from actual medical records. The number of cases isn’t as important as the quality. Our students spend up to 600 hours coding high-quality material including actual operative reports and discharge summaries. Our students often have jobs before they are completely finished with all of the materials we have available. These quality materials teach you how to do it the right way. Supervisors don’t have time to train students. Procedures differ from one facility to the next. The supervisors have to spend a great deal of time with new employees, no matter how experienced the new employee happens to be. Those supervisors have a stressful job already. We have too much respect for them to ask them to finish training our students for us along with all of their other duties.

Is Quality or Quantity of Medical Coding More Important?

Quality is always more important, but you must have the knowledge and skills to be able to provide your employer or clients with both. Start slowly and do a good job at what you do. If you study effectively throughout your time with us, you won’t feel you have to stop and look up every term you encounter later. That habit is not going to help you with quality or quantity. Go slowly and do solid, dependable work. The medical reimbursement community is a small one. We hear about the quality of work coders do. Those with poor training or those who do sloppy work quickly run out of places to apply for employment. Don’t take on more than you can do. Just a few words from someone who used to work with you can cause a potential employer to toss your resume - and you’ll never know what happened. If it happens enough times, you will be looking for another career.

Will I Be Certified When I Complete Your Course?

No school can provide you with certification. That can be obtained only by completing an exam given by the certifying organization. Certification is a worthy goal. Although it is not required to be certified in this field, you may wish to pursue certification after you have completed your training. Schools are able to issue a certificate of achievement upon completion of your course This can be framed and hung on the wall. We do offer such a certificate.

Is Financial Assistance Available?

Financial Assistance as such is not available at The Andrews School. We have chosen to assist our students in the following way:

Cost of tuition is $3,800.We allow students to enroll with a minimum down payment of $1,000. We allow two years to pay at no interest.

More questions? Send them to me. E-mail Linda Andrews at linda@andrewsschool.com or call our student coordinator at (405) 721-3560.