Would want to start medical billing services business

by Ramya
(India)

I have masters degree in microbiology and have 7 years experience in the clinical research industry with reasonably good background in medical terminology and related stuff.

Since I am already associated with the clinical industry, going by my academics and professional experience, I thought to get into medical billing business of my own. Can you please tell me firstly, is it a wise idea to get into this? And secondly, if I get trained in a local institution that offers medical coding and billing training, can I start setting up my own business with this training knowledge?

Please guide. Thank you.

Response:

From your background I think you would certainly be able to learn the insurance billing and other aspects necessary to be successful in the field. I would suggest getting some good experience in insurance billing before trying to start a billing business. There are a lot of aspects of insurance billing that are best learned by experience.

I think there will always be a demand for those who are proficient in the billing and coding field. Probably the biggest challenge of starting a billing service is getting clients. Many larger practices these days are part of a large healthcare company that does their billing in a central location.

The best clients for a small billing service are probably the smaller independent practices with one or two providers. The best marketing advantage you can have aside from referrals is a proven track record getting claims paid.

I assume you would like to obtain a client in the United States. Probably the biggest challenge you face is being located in India. From what I've found most providers prefer to meet face-to-face with a potential billing service before signing a contract. They are reluctant to turn over something as important as the billing to someone they haven't met or don't know personally.

Hope this answers your question. Good luck!