What's The Stress-Free Method Of Choosing A Medical Billing
Course For Your Home Based Business?
This article is "FREE" expert advice about the proper way to
choose a medical billing course for your home based medical
billing business. The article is rather lengthy but the
information will save you alot of money, time and aggravation!
So Let's Get Started...
What's The Stress-Free Method Of Choosing A Medical Billing
Course, Medical Billing Training Program or an Online Medical
Billing Course?
If you don't know that's OK! Most beginners to the home based
medical billing industry don't either but this website was
created to give you the up-to-date (2005) expert advice that the
sellers of these medical billing training courses won't tell you!
Who Am I & Why Should You Follow My Advice?
That's a fair question and I would be rather shocked if you
didn't want to know. Please understand that the following answer
to your question is not an attempt to satisfy my own ego but
rather to show you that I am not some "QUACK" that just
dispenses unfounded theories or hype. My name is Paul Hackett
and both my business clients and customers have dubbed me "The
Medical Billing Mastermind".
I've been in the home based medical billing business for 8
years, built all my businesses from scratch, have helped
hundreds of medical billing beginners start their own home based
medical billing businesses and I am the one that most veterans
in the industry contact when they need answers. I have earned my
trust within this industry by only giving useful and truthful
information about this field. Now that you know who I am and
what I represent lets get down to the meat of the issue!
Here's What A Medical Billing Course, Medical Billing
Training Program or Medical Billing Correspondence Course IS
NOT.
Sure it would be easy for me to tell what a good medical billing
course should be comprised of (and I will in the next section so
you can see both sides of the coin) but I know from experience
that by telling you how they shouldn't be will make a more
dramatic impact on you so you will remember them instantly when
researching an online course. Here goes:
1) Your Medical Billing Course shouldn't be taught by anyone
other than experienced medical billers or a successful home
based medical billing business owner.
2) Your Medical Billing Training/Course shouldn't be given by an
EC (Educational Clearinghouses are schools or learning
institutions that don't specialize in any one profession but
instead teaches everything under the sun like accounting to
zoology). The BIGGEST problem with EC's is that you are not
taught the in-depth and focused education that you need to be
professional and efficient in this industry.
3) Your Medical Billing Course shouldn't take you 2 years to
complete (If you are also studying to be a nationally certified
medical coder as well it can come close to that depending on the
school).
4) Your Medical Billing Course shouldn't be really short in
length (1 day to 2 weeks. What will you really learn in that
amount of time? NOTHING!)
5) Your Medical Billing Course shouldn't be overly expensive
(learning to be a home based medical biller is not rocket
science so a medical billing training course shouldn't be more
than $700. If you are going to take courses at a local college,
specialized medical billing/coding trade school or a vocational
school then the price tag will be more. If your course includes
classes on becoming a certified medical coder the cost will also
be more substantial).
6) Your Medical Billing Course shouldn't promise any
Certification (only certain organizations can award you with
certification and you will have to pass a very lengthy and
extensive exam to earn their designation).
7) Your Medical Billing Course shouldn't push you to learn the
material at their pace (everyone learns differently so attaching
time limits to a course is detrimental to the learning process).
8) Your Medical Billing Course shouldn't give you only one
payment option (everyone's financial situation is different and
a good course will be flexible enough to accommodate their
students circumstances).
9) Your Medical Billing Course shouldn't restrict you from
speaking with other students and alumni that have taken their
course (referrals is the best way for potential students to
research the outcome of the course and it should be a
school/courses pleasure to supply you with ten referrals and
more if you ask).
Here's What A Medical Billing Course SHOULD BE.
Now that you are aware of what a medical billing course
shouldn't be like this is what a well-rounded medical billing
course curriculum consists of:
1) Introduction To Medical Billing
2) Medical Office Procedures
3) Documentation
4) Code Usage
5) Billing and Reimbursement (including electronic submission)
6) Software Usage
7) Operating Procedures Of A Medical Billing Business
8) Effective Marketing Practices Of A Medical Billing Business
Anything more than the above is overkill, which will lead to
information overload (a sure way to hinder your motivation and
make you feel like quitting). Anything less than that and you
will not know enough about the business for you to pursue it
professionally. Most beginners don't know these medical billing
course facts and usually have to spend more money on another
course to get them to where they need to be (what a waste of
money, time and energy).
What Is The Best Online Medical Billing Course?
If you do a search for medical billing courses, medical billing
training, medical billing correspondence courses, etc. I am sure
you will find at least 230,000 results. Now that's overwhelming
and it's why most people end up choosing the wrong type of
course.
If you are looking to start a home based medical billing
business then your best bet is to take an online medical billing
course that will give you a great education, a certificate of
completion and is convenient for you take. When I wrote my book
(Medical Billing Book For Home Based Beginners:
http://medicalbillingbook.tripod.com) I didn't specifically
endorse any particular software vendor, medical billing courses,
clearinghouse or medical billing opportunity vendors. Instead I
listed all the reputable firms/vendors that have strong
histories of supporting the home based medical billing industry
so that my readers wouldn't get scammed when trying to choose a
company to work with.
However, in late 2004 several people emailed me requesting that
I give them a clear recommendation as to which course to choose
because they were still overwhelmed even though I only suggested
a hand full of companies to research. So I set out on a personal
quest to find one or two online medical billing training courses
that I could confidently endorse to make things a lot easier for
them.
So using the criteria I mentioned in the "What A Medical Billing
Course Should Be" section to base my conclusion on I got
referrals from students (on all levels of the courses), spoke to
course alumni, spoke to the owners of the company and then
finally took into consideration the price. So Far (December
2005), out of the 34 courses that we have taken and reviewed I
can only professionally endorse ONE online medical billing
course and here's why:
1) This Medical Billing Training Course Is Comprehensive
Without Going Overboard. Here's the course outline:
Chapter 1: Introduction to Medical Billing - About Medical
Billing - The Basics Overview - Gathering & Entering Data -
Paper Claims Processing - Electronic Claims Processing - Posting
Payments - Generating - Reports - Billing Your Clients - Chapter
1 Examination
Chapter 2: Understanding Office Forms - Essential Office Forms -
Patient Demographic Form and Completion - Insurance Cards -
Insurance Verification Form and Verification Procedures -
Superbills - Daysheet - Chapter 2 Examination
Chapter 3: Understanding the HCFA 1500 - The Basics of the HCFA
1500 Form - Step-By-Step Instructions for Completing a HCFA 1500
- Online HCFA Form Completion Exercises - Commonly Made Errors -
Chapter 3 Examination
Chapter 4: Understanding Codes CPT (Current Procedural
Technology) Coding - Definition - Proper Usage - Resource &
Reference Material ICD (International Classification of Disease)
Coding - Definition - Proper Usage - Resource & Reference
Material - Chapter 4 Examination
Chapter 5: Understanding the Life Cycle of an Insurance Claim -
The Collection of Claim Data - Claim Information Data Entry -
Claim Submission (Paper Claims, Electronic Claims, Secondary
Claims, Claims Attachments) - Posting Payments (Full Payment,
Partial Payment, Deductible) - Chapter 5 Examination
Chapter 6: Working with Practice Management Software - Clinic
Data - Physician Data - Patient Data (Demographics Information,
Insurance Information, Procedure Information, Diagnosis
Information) - Claim Generation - Report Generation - Chapter 6
Examination
Chapter 7: Practical Experience Using Your Practice Management
Software In this chapter you'll get all the hands-on experience
you can handle. You will be actually entering data, generating
claims, posting payments, running reports, etc. because that's
what you'll go through during the "daily operations" of your
medical billing business.
***You will be supplied with everything you need to
complete this part of the course (For Free) such as: Top-notch
medical billing software, software training workbook, a mock
data manual for data entry purposes and a supply of HCFA 1500
forms.*** - Chapter 7 Examination
Chapter 8: Operating a Medical Billing Business - Naming Your
Business - Setting Up Your Business - Office Equipment &
Essentials - Services You Can Provide - Relationship Selling -
Steps to Creating a Business Plan - Steps to Writing a Proposal
- Chapter 8 Examination
Chapter 9: Marketing Your Medical Billing Business - Promoting
Your Business - The Benefits of Selling Benefits - Targeting
Specialties - Your Market - Revenue Enhancement - Sample
Documents (Brochures, Flyers, Post-cards, Letters, Contracts,
etc...)
2) Every Instructor And Moderator Is A Medical Billing
Business Owner. This is the only online medical billing
training course that can boast of this accomplishment. Learning
from those that are in the trenches everyday is the best form of
education you could ask for. Not only will the staff understand
what you're going through today but they have the practical
experience to properly guide you into the future.
3) You Can Complete Each Chapter And The Entire Course At
Your Own Pace. Some people take a few weeks others take a
couple of months to complete the whole medical billing course
but that's OK because the course owners understand that people
learn differently. They want to make sure you grasp the all the
concepts before you move on which makes for a well-informed
business owner and professional biller.
4) You Get Alot Of Bonuses That Most Courses Charge Extra For
(if they offer them at all) . Here are some of them: -
Course includes study guides - Course includes "Free" software
so you get the hands-on experience you need - Course includes
Internet Resources in addition to the course materials - Course
includes "FREE" telephone, online forum and software technical
support
5) The Investment Is More Than Reasonable and Very
Flexible. Here's what I mean: - The entire course with all
the bonuses is only $584.00 - You'll get $99.00 off the cost if
you purchase the whole course upfront so the total investment
will be $485.00 - You have the option to pay as you go. Pay only
for the chapter that you're on and when you've taken the exam
and are ready to move on just pay for the next one
6) You Will Receive A Certificate Of Completion Once All
Chapters Are Complete and The Exams Are Successfully Passed.
There's More: If you possess an over-all score of 95% or better
you will be awarded with a "Certification of Special
Distinction" (a great marketing tool when you begin to market to
physicians).
So without any further delay you can find my number one pick at:
http://tinyurl.com/m194
I really enjoyed sharing my knowledge and experience with you
and I hope that you learned what to look for when choosing an
online Medical Billing Course.
Here's To Your Success,
Paul Hackett "The Medical Billing Mastermind"