General Category > General Questions
Newbie here! Considering to become a medical biller/coder, have a few questions
happysoul:
Hello everybody!
I am planning to go into medical billing/coding.
1. I was wondering if an online diploma from Pennfoster is enough to land a job in this field. Am I being realistic?
2. Also, are there enough job opportunities in Los Angeles?
3. Will a bankruptcy affect my chances of getting a job?
4. How will age and gender affect my chances of landing a job? I am a jovial, enthusiastic, presentable, 40 year old male
5. Is being trilingual in English, Spanish, and Portuguese a plus in this field? I also have a web design, internet marketing background.
Any other advice you can give me will be greatly appreciated. I would be honored to be part of this community :) Thank you!
RichardP:
hs - read through all of the comments and links at the following link. Doing this should help answer most questions you asked and will help you refine your next set of questions.
http://www.medicalbillinglive.com/members/index.php?topic=7086.0
Browse through the categories on this page, if you haven't already been there. Use the search feature at the top right of the page.
http://www.medicalbillinglive.com/members/index.php
Your bankruptcy will show up for any potential employer who does a credit check on you. Only they know whether that will influence their decision to hire you. Age and gender will be less important than what you know / what you can do for the doctor / hospital / billing company that you have applied to. Your languages will help you only in those situations where that language is spoken/written by the doctor.
Educate yourself on this site a bit and then come back with more questions.
happysoul:
Thank you Richard, I had already looked at that thread and other threads on this forum. I would still appreciate if someone could address my questions more directly. Thank you.
PMRNC:
--- Quote ---<<1. I was wondering if an online diploma from Pennfoster is enough to land a job in this field. Am I being realistic? >>
--- End quote ---
I don't think I or anyone else can really tell you yes or no.. however I can tell you that there are TONS of people coming out of those classes and looking for jobs, the jobs market is NOT what it was 10 years ago. First you need to address, are you looking for a "JOB" or do you want to start your own business. Physicians are more apt to hire a new billing company in business than an employee with no experience.
--- Quote ---2. Also, are there enough job opportunities in Los Angeles?
--- End quote ---
Again, not sure anyone can tell you this, you would need to hit the pavement like everyone else. Get a resume ready or if you are going to start a business, setup your business and test your market by sending out various marketing materials.
--- Quote ---3. Will a bankruptcy affect my chances of getting a job?
--- End quote ---
It could, it depends on the depth of an employer background check. Certainly it could be included and whether it would influence an employer depends on the business/office.
<<4. How will age and gender affect my chances of landing a job? I am a jovial, enthusiastic, presentable, 40 year old male<<
I don't think that will have any impact on a job decision. At least it shouldn't as that would be Discrimination.
<<5. Is being trilingual in English, Spanish, and Portuguese a plus in this field? I also have a web design, internet marketing background<<
Certainly it can be a plus if you maybe start out looking for the bilingual offices, there are many of those :)
Some advice: IF indeed it's a JOB your after (not starting a business) I would start off at maybe your hospitals or larger facilities at an entry level, most are not going to hire billers or coders without at least 2 years experience. Catch 22 I know. Look at offices who are looking for front desk, appointment confirmations, insurance claims follow up, records department, etc. When preparing your resume try to keep it open for positions that would suit ALL of your job experience with an invite that you are willing to train and advance. Also if you live in an area where there area any health insurance carriers, try to get in there either in their customer service department or claims. MOST (if not all) carriers do their OWN intense training programs and what better way to get experience than from the other side. It was how I was able to start up with VERY little marketing. I spent many years working for 3 of the top 5 insurance carriers and physicians LOVED that. :)
Finally.. it's much more marketable to have your own business than trying to find a job. ;) But I do understand that startup funds can be intimidating when first starting out and it is a risk. Possibly you could land a great job now and have a goal to work for yourself in the future :)
RichardP:
--- Quote from: PMRNC on March 15, 2013, 11:39:04 AM ---<<5. Is being trilingual in English, Spanish, and Portuguese a plus in this field? I also have a web design, internet marketing background<<
Certainly it can be a plus if you maybe start out looking for the bilingual offices, there are many of those :)
--- End quote ---
Roused my curiousity. Does anyone know - can a doctor get a medical license in the U.S. if he cannot speak and write English? And - are there Practice Management Systems / Billing software programs out there for sale in the U.S. that have the CPT and DX codes loaded into them in a language other than English? Until now, it never occurred to me that these would exist, but maybe they do. If billing software in a language other than English does not exist in the U.S., then being multi-lingual as a biller or coder (rather than front office desk) would be useful only if the doctor was writing in a language other than English. Here there would be a need for someone to translate other-language chart notes into English billing codes.
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