Anyone do Medical billing from home? or know

[lisaross]

how to get started?

I thought i read a post here about someone working from home doing medical billing or transcripts? would love to know where to get training for this and how you get a work load?

lisa

 

[Tinkim]

Lisa ~ I don't know anyone who does medical billing from home. I used to know one person but she worked at the doctor's office first and then he allowed her to take the work home. I think you will find medical billing is not as commonly done at home as medical transcription. That is what I have been doing for the last six years. You would have to take a course to prepare for working as an MT and depending on what course you take will determine whether or not you are able to get a job. Good luck if that is what you decide to do. I would look into transcription rather than billing though it you are hoping to do this at home.

 

[lisaross]

So can i ask you what courses you took and where? at a college, or on-line? and where do you get your work from? do you have to go around finding places to hire you?

any info you have would be great -- also, about how much do you make?

lisa

 

[gottaluvdis]

Tinkim, I also live in NH and was thinking about doing MT work part time. I work indirectly in the medical field already and have some knowledge of medical terminology for my industry. I only work 1/2 days at the moment and would be interested in finding out where you took your classes and other details if your'e willing to share.

Thanks!

 

[mtblujeans]

I used to know someone who did hospital transcription from home. Somehow, she did it by telephone. She would call in and hear the transcription by phone and type it up and, presumably, emailed it in. I asked information from her on how to get started so my DD could work while in college and she acted like it was some government secret on how to work like that! I do know she went to the hospital and applied for the work. Good luck!

 

[Tinkim]

gottaluvdis ~ Medical transcription courses are offered at NHTI but I'm not sure if the course would be in depth enough to get a job working at home right away. However, since you are in the medical field you probably already have a good knowledge base of medical terminology and you may want to check into on-line courses. M-TEC has a course (or at least they used to several years ago) for people in the medical field that was a little less intense than the course for someone not in the medical field and maybe a bit lower in price. There are only three schools that are recommended by the AAMT: Career Step, M-TEC, and Andrews School. There are plenty of other courses out there that are cheaper but in this field you get what you pay for. If you take a less expensive course chances are you will not know what you need to know in order to work at home or anywhere else without a lot of help.

lisa ~ I would recommend taking any of the three courses above; they are all on-line courses. I have two jobs right now plus I also help out a friend of mine occasionally. It is like looking for a job anywhere else except you send your resume to companies by e-mail and apply on-line and if there is an interview it is usually conducted over the phone. The pay is usually by the line. I would tell you mine but it would probably sound ridiculously low but depending on how hard I work I could make anywhere from $400-650 a week but I am an IC so I have to pay my own taxes, etc. and there are no benefits whatsoever being an IC (no sick time, personal time, vacation time, insurance, 401K, etc). There are companies that have these benefits, however, if those are really important to you. Anyway, I should be working right now so I will check back in later if you have any other questions.

 

[gottaluvdis]

Thanks for all the info. Tinkim! I'll look at all those on-line courses and check into the details. Thanks also for mentioning that you're an IC. That's something else to consider in order to set myself up properly. I'm covered for benefits with DH's job, and holidays, sick time etc. at my current job on a 1/2 time basis. I also wondered about NHTI, and will check, but would prefer an on-line course. Thanks again.

 

[ardig123]

Just to give you my 2cents... I just graduated from M-Tec on Thursday and i was offered a job on Friday! It is a great school and they have excellent job placement. While the 3 schools listed above are the best... the only school actually approved by the AAMT is Mtec. I am sure at some point the other 2 will be approved also, but at this time just MTec. If you are interested in transcription I would really research it before jumping in... the school is a pretty big commitment and takes between 12-18 months to complete... cost is around 3,000. They do have a basic program, but they recommend the Premier program if you plan to work at home. I can tell you if you don't go to school forget about ever finding a job with no experience. Everywhere requires 2 years experience, but they will waive that requirement if you go to M-Tec or one of the other 2 schools. Let me know if I can help you with anything else.

 

[Tinkim]

While the 3 schools listed above are the best... the only school actually approved by the AAMT is Mtec. I am sure at some point the other 2 will be approved also, but at this time just MTec.

Actually if you go to AAMT's website and look under 'Choosing an MT School' all three of the schools that I mentioned above are in fact approved by AAMT. I do agree with your other points though. I just wanted to mention that all three schools are approved because I did check before I posted that information.

The programs are a big investment both financially and time wise though and if you get the chance to talk to someone that actually does this job day in and day out it would probably be a good idea. I think the idea of this job appeals to many but the reality may be different. I know how tempting "work at home" sounds though because that was honestly the biggest draw for me too. If anyone wants any specifics feel free to PM me.

 

[sammielynn]

Check out a local Community College. We (the college I work for) have a course in MT. Cost is much less at your Community College.

 

[maddhatir]

I have been working for a company for 10 yrs now.

Little history- I worked for my mother who took over my fathers business after he passed away. In 1994 she sold the business and I had to go out in the real world and get a job. not really sure what I wanted to do and on unemployment, I went for job placement. I decided I wanted to do medical billing or work in a medical office. I TRIED to get the state to pay/help for school (since I didnt have a job and needed to go to school for this) however, they told me I did not qualify for assistance since I made to much on my tax returns....THE YEAR BEFORE! ummm- thats nice and everything- but I dont have a job THIS YEAR!

By then it was 1995 and I gave up on the state and I just started putting resumes out. I finally came across a company that was looking for a medical biller and they would train! Went for the interview, got the job, they trained me and it is now 10 years later. I have seniority, therefore, I do not do the billing anymore, however, let me tell you- billing is not hard. I thought it was funny that I was actually going to go for schooling in CPT/ICD 9 codes etc.

Right now I am working from home posting payments and doing additional work so that our collection department can do their job efficiently. The reason I am working from home is, our new office is about an hour away, and my supervisor KNOWS I can do the job right and offered to set me up at home just to keep me. I am very thankful for that.

I did used to bill for several doctors offices in our company's office before they moved (That is what they trained me in). It is rather easy- they pretty much have all the codes (whether it be diagnosis or procedure) right on the patient's information sheet.

If you did start out somewhere that will train you- you will save a lot on school however, if you ended up wanting to bill at home- I would believe the program for billing would be expensive and not all doctors use the same billing program. I am not sure how many doctors offices would be willing to hand over their billing to someone that they are not sure of. I agree that transcription is much easier to do at home because you can either transcribe from tape, phone etc-- but billing, you will need patient's files (if they are a new patient) and paperwork. I am not sure how that would be set up for you or you can do something like "go to my PC" and see the doctors office's desktop

I would get my foot in the door at a medical office and at least get some experience before going to school and hoping to jump right into billing from home. You may also get to know some doctors offices personally from phone calls etc- once you are working for a while- mention it to some of offices and they might be able to help you out.

And who knows, what if you find out the profession is not for you- you would not have wasted money on schooling or a billing program for your computer.

But thats just me!
Good Luck!

 

[ardig123]

Actually if you go to AAMT's website and look under 'Choosing an MT School' all three of the schools that I mentioned above are in fact approved by AAMT. I do agree with your other points though. I just wanted to mention that all three schools are approved because I did check before I posted that information.

Oopps... I am sorry... I guess I haven't checked out the approved schools lately... the last I heard it was just Mtec but it does look like the others were approved...

As far as going to a community college for MT- It may be cheaper but I would really research job placement. I know I never ever see MT jobs listed in my local paper and if it weren't for Mtec connecting me with tons of online companies I would have never found a job so quickly. The other thing I would do is make sure they are using dictations by real doctors... there is a big difference between a real doctor and somebody just reading the info for you to transcribe.