Medical Billing as a “JOB-Working from home” Vs. “Business Ownership”

As someone who is very involved in the industry today, and follows all news and forums related to the medical billing industry, one constant question seems to continuously come up… “I have completed a course in medical billing and/or coding and I cannot seem to find a job.” Or I hear/see someone saying they have taken or want to take a course in medical billing and then work from home.  Let’s take a realistic look of the probability and job market of a position as a work at home employee for a medical practice.

In today’s economy the unemployment rate is soaring. Businesses in general are making cut-backs in staff, salaries and benefits. Healthcare providers have been feeling these economic crunches for years with cut-backs in Medicare, Medicaid and other insurance carriers. The healthcare crisis in the U.S has been a long-standing issue among providers for quite some time. What benefits will a physician see by hiring someone (as employee) to oversee their revenue and cash-flow? NONE. In fact it will cost the provider MORE and here is why:

Now, let’s take another approach and examine the benefits a provider/physician would see if they were to hire a “Third Party Billing Company”:

Everything above that was noted as being the reasons why a physician would NOT hire an employee to work from home…becomes MOOT.

As a business owner you would be responsible for all of the above items.

We cannot say there are NO work-at-home positions out there, because that wouldn’t be honest. But realistically the provider / physician who has an employee working from home MOST LIKELY:

The fact of the matter is that these circumstances are few and far between.

What’s in it for me if I did start my own business?

GOOD Question, let’s now discuss the BENEFITS of being your OWN business, benefits that are not only for YOU as a business owner, but your “CLIENT” the healthcare provider by reducing his overhead costs, increasing his revenue, and at the same time MAKING YOU MONEY!

To start your own business you need to first be committed, goal oriented, creative and yes there has to be start-up funds. The success of your business will be what you want out of it and what you put into it.

Now let’s be realistic. One thing I pride myself on is my honesty, pride, and integrity for this industry. It’s one of the reasons I wanted to write this MUCH needed article to hopefully shed some light on the truth behind some of those ad’s that advertise you can make money from home in your pj’s just as soon as you purchase their package! Does that mean all business opportunity packages are bad? No, not at all. A business opportunity can be exactly that… an “Opportunity” to be your own business and it can be profitable The key is to choose the right solution for you, and then going after your goal. Research is vital. Being realistic, and understanding how this business works FIRST is very important and hopefully we have dispelled one of the biggest misconceptions.

This is a great time to start a medical billing company!

I don’t consider myself an expert on economic or political issues; however I have taken an extreme interest in today’s politics given the economic situation we are in.

In the past several months I have spoken with many providers who are feeling the crunch of the economy, many of them cannot afford to add staff and some are now considering outsourced solutions, we are seeing an economic trend like we did in the late 80′s and early 90′s when the home based business market was booming. Its different this time, our overall economy is in danger; the healthcare industry is a mess as it’s been for years, but yet… IT REALLY IS A GREAT TIME TO BE A MEDICAL BILLING COMPANY!

By Linda Walker Copyright 2009 All rights Reserved, article may not be reprinted w/out express written permission to link to the article directly, use this URL: http://www.billerswebsite.comjobsvsbiz.htm

Read more...

If you run your own business, reliable and efficient power supplies may be vital to the smooth running of your operation. Although there are plenty of generic power supply units on the market to choose from, you can approach a manufacturer or supplier directly to talk to them about custom power supplies.
It’s similar to asking an IT expert to build a custom computer for you. Firstly, you will need to consider exactly what kind of applications your custom power supplies will need to service. Is your business a workshop based enterprise? If so then your power supplies will need to be able to cope with heavy load demand, perhaps have to deal with three-phase mains supply and ensure that delivery to the machines is smooth and continuous with no chance of voltage spikes. This is particularly important if you are running a CNC based workshop, where a power fluctuation can affect the computer programs of the machine, causing possible damage to both the product you are manufacturing and the tools themselves.
If your business is office based then your custom power supply may need to be able to run a network of computers and office equipment. In which case, are your custom power supplies to act as back-up or ‘UPS’ systems or are they to be your main source of power for the machines? Again, with electronic equipment it is important to look for voltage spike protection and reliability, so sitting down with a custom power supply specialist and going through in detail what you want your power supply to deliver is important. The more they know about your business needs, the more accurately they can select from components to make up a power supply that does everything you need it to do.
Those who work in the medical profession will need to take into consideration the additional legislation surrounding medical grade power supply units. Standard commercial units do not have the same level of electromagnetic field protection or current leakage protection as medical grade units, so in this instance it is best to deal with companies who specialise in medical grade equipment to ensure you comply with all legislation.
Once you know exactly what you want your power supply to do for you, a custom power supply expert will then go through a process of design and consultation with you, factoring in operations, safety, the amount of space you have to install your custom power supplies and of course, budget. Once everything has been agreed the system will be built and installed to your final specifications and fully tested. Customer care and after-care service is a crucial part of the operation, so deal with a company you know is going to look after your long-term interests and not just your short-term installation worries.
Installing your own custom power supplies can help to make your business run more efficiently and smoothly, reducing the amount of lost working time due to power fluctuations and ‘brown outs’ and even reducing your electricity charges through a more efficient use of power. Despite the initial financial outlay, a well designed and properly run custom power supply can constitute a considerable financial saving in the long run, and is a worthwhile investment for any small to medium sized business.

Read more...

Bharat Book.com has included a new report, Middle East & Africa Hospital Supplies Industry Report: Detailed Analysis of the Medical Equipment & Medical Devices Market Covering Hospital Disposables, Syringes, Needles, Sterilization, Disinfectant, Mobility Aid and Transportation Equipment, Appliances and Supplies. Promote you business with custom silicone bracelets with your company logo and giveaway freely to your potential clients. Read more...

If you are running a medically related business such as medical supplies to doctors or hospitals or running a clinic, then you must be aware that although sales have improved, margins are under pressure and the waiting period to collect pending payments are increasing day by day. Also with the advent of Medicare and other insurance companies making the payments after completing their assessment, the wait for payments has increased to around 120 days and that could hamper your cash flow and hence your growth. You could approach a bank for your needs but that would require endless paperwork, collateral and lots of time. You would also have to pay a fixed percentage of interest on that loan amount. Here is where medical factoring could be a lifesaver to your business. Here is how it works.
Normally when you sell your items to doctors or hospitals, you make a sales invoice or you put up a claim to insurance companies or Medicare or Medicaid to claim for services provided. You can “Sell” your sales invoices issued to various reputed doctors, clinics or hospitals and even your claims to insurance companies to your factoring company. The factoring company then electronically transfers the invoice amount in 2 installments in the following way. The first installment is usually 60 to 85 percent of the invoice amount and this amount is transferred to your account in 24 to 48 hours. The second amount, also known as the “reserve” amount, is transferred minus the factoring company’s fee when the full invoice amount is received from your customer or insurance company.
The factoring fee is usually between 1.5 to 15 percent of the invoice value, depending on the rating of your customer or insurance company as decided by your factoring company, the number of days of credit given, and the monthly invoice totals i.e. the volume of sales and claims. Your factoring company might also take care of collecting the payment from your customers and they can send you regular statements of the payments collected from your customers and the pending receivables statement. This can free up your collection department and you can utilize your time and their services in a different way. The more your value of receivables, the lower the rate of commission!
Getting most of your invoice amount immediately also improves your cash flow and that money can be utilized in paying off salaries, suppliers and even in making bulk or cash purchases, which could give you a better profit margin. You can also execute large orders from hospitals without having to worry about your money getting locked during the credit period. If you have a testing or diagnostic center, then you can invest in new medical equipment. You could even hire more staff to increase your business.
Find a matching medical factoring company through a reputed factoring broker or even through the Internet. The medical factoring company should be able to provide you prompt service and should also be efficient and courteous while collecting payments from your customers or insurance companies. Since many of them also take care of bad debts, you will also have to worry less about collection of payments and bad debts. This will help in taking your medical business to a new high.

Read more...

Google is by and far considered to be the most popular and effective web search engine online. In recent years the popularity of Google has increased time and time again. They have increased because they are one of the easiest to use search engines available and are not covered from top to bottom in gimmicks and rough coding like competing search engines such as Yahoo!. Additionally, they provide more efficient ways for companies and websites to market and promote their websites than all other search engines combined.
1- Use Google Adsense To Promote Your Medical Business
One major way that you can promote your website and medical business on Google is through their unique and competitive Adsense online marketing program. Google Adsense allows you to advertise your website on hundreds of thousands of websites based on targeted keywords of your choosing. For example, let’s say that you own a medical business that sells ‘medical supplies’. When you join Google Adsense to promote your company you can have your advertisements appear on websites that feature the keywords: medical supplies. This means that your own websites advertisements will appear on other websites that contain information about the keywords you are searching for. Chances are that a person who goes to a website that has an article about medical supplies will see your company’s advertisement and will visit your website.
This type of medical advertising is very popular and has a proven reputation of producing results. These results will drive traffic to your website where visitors can check out your medical solutions. This could in turn produce profits if visitors to your website purchase supplies or services that you may be offering.
2- Enhance Your Website With SEO In Order To Rank Higher On Google
The best way you can promote your medical business on Google is through medical SEO on your own website. SEO is short for Search Engine Optimization. However, your website will only be SEO friendly if it contains written content that include effective keywords such as ‘medical supplies’. If these words are repeated 3 to 5 times per 500 words on your website, your websites ranking will raise anytime a person runs a search for those terms on Google’s search engine.
In fact, every week Google will send data collectors to your website in the form of ‘robots’ and ‘spiders’ to search the content on your website. They will take notice of the keywords on your website and will send that information back to the Google search engine. Additionally, they will search the Internet to determine if your website is linked to from other websites and articles found on the World Wide Web. If Google does determine that other websites are linking to you on their own accord, your website will once again rank higher in Google’s search engine results.
3- Use Paid Advertisements To Enhance Your Website On Google
Apart from Google’s Adsense program, Google also allows medical companies to purchase advertisements on their search result pages. These advertisements appear whether or not your website is in the top 10 listing for a particular search such as: medical supplies. This means that you can be sure that your websites advertisement always appears when crucial search terms are entered into the Google search engine.
It should also be noted that Google charges much less than their major competitors for advertising. In fact, Google is considered to be on of the most affordable and reliable search engine companies on the World Wide Web. They have a reputation of working with small and large businesses rather than working against them. Additionally, the Google customer service team is very easy to work with and has received multiple awards for satisfaction and fair treatment. If you truly want to promote your medical business you should invest some time and research into determining how Google can work for you.

Read more...