| This is part 2 of the article entitled | | | | Payment, Deductible) |
| "Medical Billing Courses Should Not Be". This | | | | |
| article reviews the top 7 essential online | | | | - Exam |
| course topics that a prospective medical | | | | |
| biller must learn to successfully start a | | | | 5.) Software Usage: Working with Practice |
| home based medical billing business. | | | | Management Software |
| | | | |
| Did you know that almost 80% of people end up | | | | Medical Billing courses at this stage in the |
| choosing the wrong types of online medical | | | | process should supply you with medical |
| billing courses to start their home based | | | | billing software, software training workbook, |
| business? What's shocking is that the | | | | a mock data manual for data entry purposes |
| percentage is probably higher than that | | | | and a supply of CMS 1500 forms. This is a |
| because if you do a search for medical | | | | must because you will need to get all the |
| billing courses, medical billing training, | | | | hands-on experience you can get. You will be |
| etc., you will find about 1.5 million | | | | actually be doing the following like you were |
| results. Now to a beginner that's more than | | | | already in business: |
| overwhelming and it's why the wrong course is | | | | |
| usually chosen! | | | | - Entering Clinic Data From Superbills and |
| | | | Daysheets |
| There are 7 subjects (I refer to them as | | | | |
| essentials) that must be covered by an online | | | | - Entering Physician Data From Superbills and |
| course before you decide to enroll. Some | | | | Daysheets |
| medical billing courses give additional | | | | |
| subject matters but 95% of them are just | | | | - Entering Patient Data From Superbills and |
| add-ons to justify the cost of the course and | | | | Daysheets (Demographics Information, |
| have no real bearing on you starting a home | | | | Insurance Information, Procedure Information, |
| based medical billing business. Here are the | | | | Diagnosis Information) |
| 7 essentials and a breakdown of each one so | | | | |
| you know exactly what they entail: | | | | - Using Your Software to Generate Claims |
| | | | |
| 1.) Introduction to Medical Billing and | | | | - Using Your Software to Generate Reports |
| Office Procedures | | | | |
| | | | - Exam |
| - What Medical Billing Is | | | | |
| | | | 6.) Operating Procedures Of A Medical Billing |
| - The Basic Overview of Office Procedures | | | | Business |
| | | | |
| - How To Collect and Enter Data | | | | - Steps to Creating a Business Plan |
| | | | |
| - The Paper Claims Process | | | | - Naming Your Business |
| | | | |
| - The Electronic Claims Process | | | | - Setting Up Your Business |
| | | | |
| - The Payment Posting Process | | | | - Office Equipment & Essentials |
| | | | |
| - How To Create and Edit Reports | | | | - Services You Will Provide For A Client |
| | | | |
| - How To Charge Your Clients and Their | | | | - Relationship Selling |
| Patients | | | | |
| | | | - Steps to Writing a Proposal |
| - Exam (If the course is really good they | | | | |
| should test your understanding of each topic | | | | - Exam |
| before moving on to the next.) | | | | |
| | | | 7.) Effective Marketing Procedures Of A |
| 2.) Documentation: Understanding Office Forms | | | | Medical Billing Business |
| | | | |
| - Essential Office Forms You Must Be Familiar | | | | - Promoting Your Business |
| With | | | | |
| | | | - The Benefits of Selling |
| - Patient Demographic Form and How To | | | | |
| Complete Them Properly | | | | - Targeting Specialties |
| | | | |
| - Insurance Cards, How To Read and Process | | | | - Your Market |
| Them | | | | |
| | | | - Revenue Enhancement |
| - Insurance Forms and Verification Procedures | | | | |
| | | | - Sample Documents (Brochures, Flyers, |
| - What Superbills/Daysheets Are and How To | | | | Post-cards, Letters, Contracts, etc...) |
| Read/Complete Them | | | | |
| | | | A Word To The Wise: Anything beyond the 7 |
| - The Basics of the CMS 1500, UB92 and ADA | | | | essential mentioned above is overkill for |
| Forms | | | | starting a home based medical billing |
| | | | business and will lead to TIO (Total |
| - Step-By-Step Instructions for Completing a | | | | Information Overload). TIO is known to |
| CMS 1500 | | | | accomplish two things:a.) Kill Your |
| | | | Motivation andb.) Make You Quit. |
| - Commonly Made Errors On Forms You should | | | | |
| Avoid | | | | Anything less than the 7 essentials will |
| | | | leave you not knowing enough about the |
| - Exam | | | | medical billing business for you to pursue it |
| | | | professionally. |
| 3.) Code Usage: Understanding Codes | | | | |
| | | | OK, remember when I said that many medical |
| CPT (Current Procedural Technology) Coding | | | | billing courses offer all types of add-ons to |
| | | | justify the cost of the course but they are |
| - The Definitions | | | | not crucial to you starting your business |
| | | | right now. Here's a list of some of the |
| - Proper Usage of CPT Codes | | | | topics: |
| | | | |
| - The CPT Manual, How To Read and Use It | | | | Introduction to Computers |
| Properly | | | | |
| | | | Keyboarding and Office Technology |
| ICD (International Classification of Disease) | | | | |
| Coding | | | | English and Written Communications |
| | | | |
| - The Definitions | | | | Professional Development and Medicolegal |
| | | | Ethics |
| - Proper Usage of ICD Codes | | | | |
| | | | Medical Terminology, Medical Terminology 2, |
| - The ICD Manual, How To Read and Use It | | | | Medical Terminology 3, Medical Terminology 4 |
| Properly | | | | |
| | | | Anatomy 1 & 2 |
| - Exam | | | | |
| | | | Physiology |
| 4.) Billing and Reimbursement: Understanding | | | | |
| the Life Cycle of an Insurance Claim | | | | Introduction to Pharmacology |
| | | | |
| - The Collection of Claim Data | | | | Even though the above mentioned topics are |
| | | | not necessary for you to learn right now for |
| - Claim Information Data Entry | | | | your business I do suggest that later on you |
| | | | look into expanding your education to include |
| - The Claims Submission Process (Paper | | | | them. Knowledge is the key and if you know |
| Claims, Electronic Claims, Secondary Claims, | | | | every aspect of doing billing and coding |
| Claims Attachments) | | | | you'd also be expanding upon the types of |
| | | | services that you could provide potential |
| - The Posting Payments (Full Payment, Partial | | | | clients, Which Means More Money!). |