Hi all,
I've been pouring over all the posts here and getting some really good info on so many topics. I wanted to share my specifics in the hopes of being pointed in the correct direction (hoping I haven't made wrong turns so far).
A little history on me...
I was an office manager 10 years ago for a prominent child Psychiatrist. I knew nothing about his field but I learned quickly and I helped him build a large, multifaceted, practice with psychologists, therapists, etc. and loved the work tremendously. In the mean time, I got an education in mental health practices. We were fee for service, so I never handled any insurance billing. In 2009 (after leaving the practice), I took a medical billing course through AMBA, but circumstances in my life put it all on hold and I had to stop.
Fast forward, and I have a client, a psychologist, who I do bookkeeping and organization services for. He has been begging me to do his insurance billing, not happy with his current biller. Since it was in the works years ago, I figured that it was meant to be and dove in. I formed a corporation and starting doing the research. With very little start-up capital, I've been doing what I can on my own.
I decided to focus on Mental Health because I believe that our economy has forced these clinicians to take insurance in order to keep their practices open. I want to provide a service to them, that they either cannot or will not do on their own. In addition, I know the field, know the codes and feel comfortable with this field.
Because mental health benefits pay so little, I decided to charge a flat fee per claim (instead of a percentage and add on fees) to include eligibility/verification, electronic claims filing, payments posting and monthly reports. One stop shopping per se, so they don't feel nickel and dimed. I found, researched and have been using Office Ally, keeping my overhead at a minimum, and so far so good with them. Their training is good, support is good, claims are being paid, ERA set up is easy, etc.
My dilemma is marketing...I want to get my name out to small, solo practices preferably in the area (South Florida) so I may offer personalized service, if needed for organizing, bookkeeping, etc.
Because of my very tight budget, I need help with how to accomplish my goal of good marketing without wasting what little money I have. I see references to "digital marketing" but not sure what that means.
Any help here would be appreciated...I know it's a niche market that has a need for my services, and I can offer so many services in addition to just claims billing. Hence, the local market, but I'm not opposed to offering billing everywhere.
Thank you for reading this whole post, and in advance, I thank you for your time and suggestions!
Ilene