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 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. Job duties will then expand to include 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. In my search I found many of the programs to cost around $1000 but 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.

As you can see there are 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.

The medical billing career field isn’t for everyone; it requires patience, flexibility, and analytical skills to use proper medical codes and bill insurance companies correctly. And it’s a career field for people who want to work in the medical field, but would prefer to work in the administrative side, rather than in the clinical side with patients.

If the medical billing career fields sounds interesting to you, then check out the top ten reasons to work in medical billing and coding.

1. HOT EMPLOYMENT GROWTH FOR MEDICAL BILLING INDUSTRY As you probably know, the medical billing and coding field continues to increase due to a growing need for medical procedures needed by our aging population. Every medical service requires medical billing professionals to relay procedure and cost information to health care insurance companies.

The U.S. Department of Labor recently reported that 8 out of 20 occupations projected to grow fastest are in the health care industry. They also projected that careers in the medical records and health information technician industry should increase 27% or more for all occupations through 2014.

The rise in employment opportunities is great news for trained medical billing professionals. It means that trained medical billing professionals should have job security and lot of job growth going forward.

2. SHORT-TERM TRAINING TO WORK IN MEDICAL BILLING AND CODING Another great reason you should consider starting a career in medical billing and coding is because of the short-term training.

Depending on the school you attend, you can graduate with a diploma in medical billing within a year, and you can get an Associate’s degree in medical insurance billing and coding within two years.

The short-term medical billing program often includes a study of:

Medical Insurance & Billing Issues
Medical Documentation and Evaluation
Government Health Care Programs
Electronic Data Interchange
Medical Insurance Claim Form (CMS-1500)
Ethical and Legal Responsibilities
The Associate’s degree medical billing programs often include a study of:
Medical Terminology
Medical Office Management
ICD-9 Coding
Advanced Medical Coding
Medical Billing and Coding Computer Applications
Due to the short-term training, many medical billing schools offer day and evening classes. Please be aware that not all schools offering medical insurance billing and coding will be right for you. Before choosing a school, make sure and read the article on choosing a high quality medical billing and coding school.
3. MEDICAL BILLING CAREERS CAN ALLOW YOU TO WORK AT HOME Many doctor’s offices and clinics don’t handle their own medical billing. They will often hire an outside medical billing agency or medical billing company. Some of these agencies and medical billing companies will hire professional medical billers who work at home to save on costs. And this is definitely an option if you decide on a career in medical billing.

It’s recommended that if you decide to work at home as a medical billing professional, or decide to work as a self-employed medical biller, that you work in an office as a medical biller for a short period of time so that you will gain the confidence and skills of a seasoned medical biller.

4. MEDICAL BILLERS HAVE MANY CAREER OPTIONS Professional medical billers have a solid knowledge of the administrative side of a medical office. Depending on their education and experience, medical billers can move into:

Medical Billing Management
Medical Transcription
Health Care Administration
Data Collection
Medical Office Management
Health Information Technician
And this is just a small list of possible career paths for seasoned medical billing professionals. These jobs will depend on your education, experience, and job market in your local area.
5. MEDICAL BILLERS CAN START THEIR OWN COMPANY Due to the high demand for medical billing professionals, some medical billers are deciding to leave their medical billing job to start their own medical billing company. This is only recommended for seasoned medical billing professionals who can find an assortment of medical offices that can become clients.