Home Based Medical Billing and Coding - Getting Clients

You may have the skills to do home based medical billing and coding, but do you have the doctor’s trust?

After all, you’re asking to deal with the livelihood.

Networking may be the key to getting new business.

Unlike Medical Transcription training, it’s hard to start picking up clients while you’re still in training as my wife Renee did.

From Start Up Journal

Small start-up medical-billing services like yours often have trouble getting doctors to take them seriously, and here’s why: Health-care billing, as you know, is an extremely complex task with government regulations and compliance rules that constantly change. Even small billing errors can lead to health-care providers being underpaid, or government audits and hefty fines — things most doctors aren’t willing to risk.
It doesn’t help that work-at-home schemes involving medical-billing training courses have surfaced in recent years, brushing a bad reputation on the industry.

So health-care providers looking to outsource their billing often gravitate toward more-established services referred to them by others. About a third of all physicians use an outside-billing service, says Brad Lund, executive director of the Healthcare Billing and Management Association, a trade group.

The uphill battle is proving your service is reliable and that you stay abreast of the ever-mounting regulations and compliance rules.

Ken Hertz, senior consultant for the Medical Group Management Association, suggests you attend local and regional medical conferences to network directly with medical professionals. Perhaps you can even give a presentation on medical-billing issues “to present yourself as an expert in the field,” he says. “That’s a great marketing tool.”

You can try cold-calling local clinics, though it’s often unsuccessful, but it may at least help you figure out which providers are experiencing billing problems and need help.

Also, think about joining local medical societies and membership associations that can put you in touch with doctors and health-care personnel looking to outsource their billing. You might also meet with physician recruiters at local hospitals and give them some business cards, Mr. Hertz says, because they could pass along your information to new doctors in your area.

Related Link: How to Make Multiple Income Streams from Doctor’s Offices without knowing medical billing, coding, transcription or other specialized knowledge.