subject: Medical Billing Services: Specialize Your Medical Billing Services to Increase Your Value to the Client [print this page] Medical Billing Services: Specialize Your Medical Billing Services to Increase Your Value to the Client
When you are working inside a particular medical billing practice, you will automatically be specialized in your medical billing services. However, if you choose to work as an entrepreneur and contract with outside medical practices you have the opportunity and option of working with different practice specialties. This increases your income potential and ability to market to other practices but reduces your knowledge of a specific type of practice.
Medical practices which require the services of a medical billing professional include pathologists, radiologists, anesthesiologists, chiropractors, nurse practitioners, pediatricians, dentists, dermatologists, oncologists, pain management physicians, and other subspecialists who see patients on an outpatient basis as well as subspecialists who work within the medical hospital system.
When you work as a solo entrepreneur and contractor services to medical professionals in freestanding offices, seriously consider specialize in your medical billing services to a single type of medical practice. This increases your value to clients because you are better educated in the intricacies of the coding used to collect reimbursement from third-party payers and insurance companies. With the changes expected to coding in 2013, this speicialization will become a great asset to your clients.
You are also better able to work with collections services and patients when collecting copayments. It is not unusual for patients to consider payments of services to an anesthesiologist or a radiologist differently than their pediatrician or chiropractor. In most cases, patients have had personal contact, and will continue to have personal contact, with their pediatrician or chiropractor. Conversely, they often do not meet the radiologist who reads their x-rays or directs cancer treatments nor will they meet the anesthesiologist who participates in their surgery more than once.
Collection from these two different types of medical practices from the individual patients must be approached differently because of the different relationships which are built between patients and medical professional. But in either case, reimbursement from the patient and insurance company is absolutely essential in maintaining the financial viability of the medical practice.
By specializing your medical billing services, you offer greater value to the medical practice with which you work, whether working within the office or as a contract employee. Subspecialty certification is also available for medical billing services professionals who specialize with specific types of medical practices.
