A survey by the American Health Information Management Association and the American Hospital Association Central Office reveals a critical need for qualified clinical coding professionals. Three out of 10 respondents were recruiting for open coding positions and 59% had experienced open positions in the past year. Finding qualified candidates was the major challenge with 24% of respondents reporting that they were required to hire coding professionals with experience and a third saying that new graduates were not well prepared, according to an article on the survey results in The Journal of AHIMA. Nearly one in three employers had positions open for four to six months and nearly a quarter experienced vacancies of seven months to a year. Coding professionals are earning $30,000 to $40,000 with two to three years of experience, and 51% of coders with more than three years of experience earn $35,000 to $50,000.
