Saturday, August 7, 2010

What is a Medical Billing Specialist?

Whether you are a person who is thinking about becoming a medical billing specialist or a company looking for a medical billing specialist, then this article is for you. There are several things that you should be aware of in the medical billing work industry and I will walk you through them so that you will have the background information that you need to help you make a decision that will best suit your needs. We will first take a look at what it takes to become a medical billing specialist, and then we will also explore the alternatives to hiring a medical billing specialist.

What is a Medical Billing Specialist?

A medical billing specialist is someone who works with a medical office and is in charge of the company's medical billing. If you desire to be a medical billing specialist and find medical billing work then accuracy and attention to detail is a must as you will most likely be in charge of claims processing, charge entry, and billing and collections. However, most medical offices will hire someone to do more than just be in charge of medical collections. They will want someone to be more of a medical assistant as well. Medical billing work includes things like:



o Accounts payable, payroll and banking tasks

o Prepare and maintain patient charts

o Schedule appointments

o Receive and make phone calls

o Perform insurance verification, pre-authorize and referral duties



How do I become a Medical Billing Specialist?

Most businesses will require you to either have several years of experience working as a medical assistant or some kind of advanced certification as a medical assistant. There are several programs out there to help train and educate you to become a medical billing specialist. By doing a Google search for "medical billing specialist" you should be presented with a lot of options to help guide you to becoming a certified medical billing specialist. There are programs that you can complete online and at your own pace. Others require you to attend some classes for a couple of semesters to find medical billing work. In my search I found many of the programs to cost around $1000but some were as much as $6500.

Is it worth it to become a medical billing specialist?

The medical industry is experiencing a tremendous demand for individuals knowledgeable in medical office operations. Medical billing specialists are one of the fastest growing professions and are currently a very high demand job. According to the American Medical Association, there are over 1.2 million Medical Specialists in the United States. If you are interested in this kind of profession, it would be to your advantage to learn more about it.

What about outsourcing?

Because of the time and meticulous accuracy that medical billing requires, there are some companies that only specialize in being a medical billing specialist. Medical offices outsource all of their medical billing practices out to these companies rather than hiring an in-house specialist to manage their medical billing needs.

Is there software that can do everything a Medical Billing Specialist can do?

There is yet another solution to managing your medical billing needs. Companies such as AdvancedMD provide a software solution to be your medical billing specialist. An advantage for a medical office to go this route might be that it will be cheaper in the long run to have software to manage all of their billing needs. Also the electronic medical billing specialist will be less prone to errors unless they are due to a human entry error.

So, What is a Medical Billing Specialist? As you can see there are many answers to this question, and many solutions to help you to better manage your medical office. There are advantages in every category; it just depends on what will be the best fit your office. If you are thinking about becoming a medical billing specialist, I feel that it is worth looking into as it is a very high demand job. However, you should be aware that with alternatives out there, like outsourcing and medical billing software, you might have a little competition. For a list of online medical coding classes and schools visit our sister site.

17 comments:

  1. This blog is having the very nice information about medical billing services. Here we can have other information like medical billing services in Illinois.

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  2. Medical billing is indeed one of the good career path out there. People can work at the comfort of their home while earning good money in this field. The good news is they can get online medical billing training online. meaning they can also train at the comfort of their home at very affordable prices.

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  3. Hello,

    This is a nice blog and Helpful for me because i have a blog too and i want to simply ask if you want some exchange link to help my blog too. :)



    Career Builder at freelancerfortunes.com



    thanks you very much.

    Darwin

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have worked in this field for so long that I remember a time when we worked without the software! This software is such a blessing as it makes this so much easier, efficiect etc. Lytec medical billing software is an absolute life saver!

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  5. Absolutely correct information about medical billing specialist. Really you have shared very informative post.

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  6. Hey great post Derek! I am going through the process of trying to find billing software through office management software They offered me a few quotes but I'm not sure what exactly the small practice I work at needs. I'm open to getting more quotes, and I just want to make sure I go with the best company that fits our practice.

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  7. One of the best offers for EMR services out there is that of EMR Workforce's. They're giving away FREE Allscripts EMR if you opt for their medical billing services. It's even better than getting it straight from Allscripts themselves.

    Medical Billing

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  8. can you define any further medical billing wages in California? I am still in vague about the topic though.

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  9. This article is amazing as it helps me to get the sort of information that i needed. I am thankful as i got your article when was searching medical coding schools

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  10. As much as three quarters of hospital staff are usually burdened with some sort of billing-related work in a traditional billing system. Opting for electronic medical billing solutions (ones that come with free EMR plans) that fit easily into the healthcare business' workflow are key to freeing up staff resources.
    Medical Billing Services
    Physician Billing Service

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  11. Many are wondering how to get their first job as a medical biller specialist. As we know almost all require that they have 1 or 2 years experience. There are ways actually. Receive free information on top medical billing and coding schools.

    For free information on medical billing and coding please contact us here

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  12. this site is very beautiful an amazing to post your comments.this site is very useful site to the medical students. Medical biller certification Los angeles thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Medical billing is undoubtedly a most time consuming and critical process for any healthcare provider. Many health care providers are outsourcing their medical billing services. This not only saves time but also saves money and is very much capable in maximizing the cash flow.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Medical Coding is the process prior to medical billing. In billing, the billers do the Insurance verification,Patient demographic entry, Charge entry, Claims submission, Payment posting, A/R follow-up, Denial management, and finally reporting. Both the process are helpful to claim insurance policy for patients.

    ReplyDelete