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