Starting a Medical Billing Business > Starting Your Own Medical Billing Business
Medical Billing Career Research
TechieRN:
Hi There I am brand new to this forum but need some advice.
I have been able to speak with two people in the Medical Billing business and here is what I found out so far.
The first guy (Steven) I spoke to lives in Oregon and went through the billing class I have been considering on taking online but he said the class was very basic and I could learn most of what he learned purchasing a few books on Medical Billing. Steven have been in the business a little over 2 years, told me he thought it better to quit my current job so to devote all my time to building clients and building this business but made him aware that this is not possible since Steven thinks it could take 1-2 years to build clients but was very encouraging about the business in general. Steven's father passed away and left him an inheritance and he has about 20 clients but only makes about $2500 a month from his business currently but could not do it if it was just billing business supporting him but expects his numbers to increase soon. Similarly, I did let him know "I am not quitting my day job" to do this business and it would need to be built while working my current job and he agreed but said it would take me longer to accomplish but possible.
The second guy I spoke with (Jim) was the Neuro MD's biller who finally called me back after multiple attempts and me actually getting the MD to have him phone me back, which was by coincidence since I got a call from MD on my regular job with him needing assistance.
Jim has a local business here in Sarasota, FL says Medical Billing is very competitive (which is probably why he didn't phone me back right away) but room for more people to get into the business and but made me aware that my biggest challenge is getting that first client to give me a chance with no experience in the business. In the same way if an MD finds out that I work my other hospital job on the side and that Medical Billing is not my primary business they would be nervous about hiring me. Jim says he does more than just Medical Billing and some of what he does that offices ask him to do, he doesn't really collect any revenue from such as: actually assisting the office manager role at some offices, helping offices with business work-flow issues, helping with software decisions and on and on. Jim was somewhat encouraging but told me to research a great deal before investing money and making the plunge, he also said he finds little niches that have helped him distinguish himself from competitors and suggested that for me in not so many words. Jim says to not look at just Bradenton-Sarasota but also Miami, Orlando and other areas to grow the business.
Well, that is my nutshell report for now, and I still have little idea about what a typical day in my own business would look like yet but have been reading, researching and of course praying that I am moving in the right direction with starting my own business since living under someone else's whim or wane on how they wish me to conduct my job does not excite me any longer.
I would rather decide to fail or succeed at my own business, than having to deal with political games here at current job, since 3 strikes means I get fired from my current job and I already have 1 and 1 half strikes against me.
I am hanging in there though.
PMRNC:
--- Quote ---I have been able to speak with two people in the Medical Billing business and here is what I found out so far.
The first guy (Steven) I spoke to lives in Oregon and went through the billing class I have been considering on taking online but he said the class was very basic and I could learn most of what he learned purchasing a few books on Medical Billing. Steven have been in the business a little over 2 years, told me he thought it better to quit my current job so to devote all my time to building clients and building this business but made him aware that this is not possible since Steven thinks it could take 1-2 years to build clients but was very encouraging about the business in general.
--- End quote ---
I'd have to disagree with anyone telling you that you could learn the business from purchasing a few books. I strongly disagree UNLESS you have prior experience/education. I also couldn't tell anyone to quit their job to focus solely on any business start up. In today's economy that is a double risk for sure. I worked a full time job, sometimes up to 70 hours a week and did not leave my position until I had a few clients under my belt. Certainly there are major challenges while your working, learning another business and trying to set it up, but I'm thinking of the income you will lose by quitting and for me that wasn't possible since I was using that income to start up my business at the time.
--- Quote ---Steven's father passed away and left him an inheritance and he has about 20 clients but only makes about $2500 a month from his business currently but could not do it if it was just billing business supporting him but expects his numbers to increase soon.
--- End quote ---
I don't want to go too much into this aside from a simple opinion that with 20 clients certainly there should be more coming in, however I don't know what type of clients, what services, how he's billing, etc too many variables to guess it's just my opinion that 20 clients only bringing in 2500 a month would be enough to make me really evaluate what I was doing. Maybe he is paying too much in overhead? Maybe he has employee and payroll? I simply don't have enough info aside from an initial reaction to that being VERY low.
--- Quote ---The second guy I spoke with (Jim) was the Neuro MD's biller who finally called me back after multiple attempts and me actually getting the MD to have him phone me back, which was by coincidence since I got a call from MD on my regular job with him needing assistance.
Jim has a local business here in Sarasota, FL says Medical Billing is very competitive (which is probably why he didn't phone me back right away) but room for more people to get into the business and but made me aware that my biggest challenge is getting that first client to give me a chance with no experience in the business.
--- End quote ---
Yes, as with anything it will take a new business with no experience/education much longer than most. How long depends on you of course.
--- Quote --- In the same way if an MD finds out that I work my other hospital job on the side and that Medical Billing is not my primary business they would be nervous about hiring me. Jim says he does more than just Medical Billing and some of what he does that offices ask him to do, he doesn't really collect any revenue from such as: actually assisting the office manager role at some offices, helping offices with business work-flow issues, helping with software decisions and on and on. Jim was somewhat encouraging but told me to research a great deal before investing money and making the plunge, he also said he finds little niches that have helped him distinguish himself from competitors and suggested that for me in not so many words. Jim says to not look at just Bradenton-Sarasota but also Miami, Orlando and other areas to grow the business.
--- End quote ---
All good advice.
--- Quote ---Well, that is my nutshell report for now, and I still have little idea about what a typical day in my own business would look like yet but have been reading, researching and of course praying that I am moving in the right direction with starting my own business since living under someone else's whim or wane on how they wish me to conduct my job does not excite me any longer.
I would rather decide to fail or succeed at my own business, than having to deal with political games here at current job, since 3 strikes means I get fired from my current job and I already have 1 and 1 half strikes against me.
I am hanging in there though.
--- End quote ---
I just want to make sure you understand that the first set of advice you got in just getting books is very very risky. You will need to look into courses and educational materials. I'm not saying to run out and get the first class you see, likewise I'm not telling you NOT to buy books and research. I'm just saying you really will need a pretty decent education to even know how to choose your software when your ready. That's VITAL to this business. If you don't know how the business works you can't properly research and demo practice management software, let alone consult with potential clients about using your services. If you have NO experience in the industry at all, you will need to instead focus a LOT on the educational part. Also you need to know the education and training is ONGOING. Right now the industry is moving towards new HIPAA/HITECH rules and we have new Coding (ICD-10) we are all getting ready for. The industry is ever changing and startup costs won't be the only costs incurred. There will be ongoing costs associated with continued education. You really want to research online courses, on campus courses, and speak to others who might have taken a particular course. Many of our members at PMRNC took MedicalBillingCourse.com and were very pleased, I would say this was the most widely used course over last few years, it's different from others as it takes you through the steps of running a business where as many other courses were just medical billing in general and really didn't cover the procedures of running a medical billing company. Michele and Alice's books at www.medicalbillinglive.com are awesome.. EVERY single one she has is worth the money (inexpensive IMHO) and they are a very successful billing company and indeed know the business inside and out.
TechieRN:
Linda
Thanks for responding to my post, it is really appreciated since I initially did plan on taking an online course for medical billing and seem to keep getting directed to MedicalBillingCourse.com, so will probably take that one if you think it would give me some experience and such, sounds like it would be $700 well spent ;D
To be very honest with you, I mean I don't even know enough about medical billing business yet to even know if when i get a good look at it that I will even like it. One thing is certain, that taking a career placement test says I am a clerical person and one of the trades I would be good at is billing and plus I am detail oriented so I think that is half the battle so to speak right?
Is their a mentor on this site or would you be available for mentoring if I choose to pursue that might assist me with questions and help keep me on the right track?
I really like this forum though and like that you guys are out there as a help
Michael
PMRNC:
--- Quote ---I mean I don't even know enough about medical billing business yet to even know if when i get a good look at it that I will even like it.
--- End quote ---
Michael, that was exactly why I started PMRNC, I wanted to reach people before they put out the hundreds or thousands of dollars on a business that might not even be for them. There's some articles that might give you some insight into the business before you spend even one penny at our website at www.billerswebsite.com click on free articles. Also Michele and Alice's books are wonderful resources that will also help you get an overview before taking a bigger leap. Know what you are getting into. It makes complete sense. I certainly wouldn't open a pizza shop if I knew nothing about making pizza or running a restaurant <g>
DANNI:
Hi I am new to the forum. I am seeking a mentor. Can someone recommend one to me?
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