Starting a Medical Billing Business > Starting Your Own Medical Billing Business

My next step? So many worries.

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solace:
Hey guys

Let me first start by saying I am experienced in the field of billing and coding.  I attended a trade school and graduated with a diploma in coding and billing along with an acquisition of my CPC.  A/R collections and appeals has been my specialty for a few years now and I'm ready to start my own business at home.  I'm happy to use Obamacare to my advantage in my marketing -- as most doctors are petrified at the decrease in reimbursement.  MY fear, however, is the expense of ICD-10 and 11.

Question #1 :  With the changes in healthcare, is this an incredibly bad time or perfect time to start my own business? I figure that I can probably start off with a free EMR with free updates for the dx codes, right?

Where I am now

Currently I am temping at an office doing primarily benefit verifications and a little bit of A/R so I can afford my ICD-10 training.  I have already registered my billing service name at the county clerks office and obtained my FEIN.

Question #2 : What is my next step?  I am looking to work from home so what needs to be done to assure that the environment is HIPAA compliant?  What are steps to register my residence as my workplace? 

Any links and/or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

shanbull:

--- Quote from: solace on February 27, 2014, 01:12:47 AM ---Question #1 :  With the changes in healthcare, is this an incredibly bad time or perfect time to start my own business? I figure that I can probably start off with a free EMR with free updates for the dx codes, right?
--- End quote ---

Personally, I think it's a perfect time. More people with insurance means more business for doctors, and therefore more for you. This field was on a huge growth trajectory even before health care reform got rolling, due to baby boomers aging into retirement and needing more medical care. There are not a whole lot of "sure bets" when it comes to long-term employment these days, but this is one of the few areas that is guaranteed to grow. Having the specialized policy knowledge necessary in this field is incredibly valuable. And yes to the free EMR, there are tons of great options available to you and you will be able to do everything you need to with them. Try out a few and see which ones seem the best for you. Since you are experienced in this field, you know what you need. Obviously any small business can fail, but if you set yourself up right (and it sounds like you've been taking the correct preliminary steps), and know your niche in the industry, you have a very good chance to succeed. Everyone has to deal with ICD-10. It's not a disadvantage to you as a sole employee as long as you're smart about finding free and low cost resources (which exist and are just as good as the expensive ones), and asking questions here of course is another good way to get specific links to information. Which I will start posting as soon as I finish helping out a chiropractor here with his case review.

I work for a clinic so I can't really answer your second question, I'm sure someone else can!

Michele:
Agree with shanbull on question #1


--- Quote from: solace on February 27, 2014, 01:12:47 AM ---Question #2 : What is my next step?  I am looking to work from home so what needs to be done to assure that the environment is HIPAA compliant?  What are steps to register my residence as my workplace? 


--- End quote ---

Make sure your home is zoned to be able to do business.  I have heard of people losing everything by working out of their home when their state and/or local laws prohibited it.

Next, any work area that you will be using must be HIPAA compliant. Do you live alone?  Who else will have access to that space?  The data must be secured and protected.  You can't have your data out on the kitchen counter while you are hosting a dinner party.  It's really pretty common sense stuff.  File cabinets should be secure/locked.  Computers should be password protected, etc.  Family members must understand the importance of this as well and respect that. 

Merry:
You need to contact your local county office for your laws in your area.  There are many areas that do not allow business to work from home.  So I would get online and find out what you need to do before you go further. 

RichardP:
solace - you ask if this is a good or bad time to "start my own business", without specifying what that business is.  You start off by stating that you are "experienced in the field of billing and coding", so I assume you wish to start a billing or coding business.

Question:  how are you going to do billing with an EMR, free or not?

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