Medical Billing And Coding - Start A Business And Work From Home Or Get A Job?

Many people interested in the medical billing field as a career or medical coding profession have wondered whether they should get a job as a biller or coder or start a business and work from home. Many need the security of knowing they're getting a paycheck every week or two and others don't realize exactly what it means or what it takes to start up a medical billing business.

Although I do know someone who started her own business right after getting medical billing training it's not the usual course after one gets their education or training whether from an online school or from their local college or university campus. If you're inexperienced in this field it is much better to go to work for a billing service, hospital, clinic or doctor's office to get some good experience first and then decide what to do.

Even after you get a little or even a lot of experience, starting a business at home requires some upfront money and most of all clients, not to mention all the requirements of local business licenses and overhead. Getting your first client will be difficult without being able to give testimonials from clients you've already done work for. Buying medical billing software can be expensive also and there is a learning curve to contend with. The software is complicated and isn't as easy as just plugging in some numbers. Every insurance company and medical office has different rules to follow and this requires some time to master.

After you have scouted out all the local billing services and talked to people in the human resources departments to find out what jobs come up occasionally you'll know if there are sufficient employment opportunities in your city or town. This will be where you want to start whether you decide after getting some experience whether you want to start a home business or not.

So when mulling over whether to start a business and work from home first or get a job and work for a billing service, hospital, doctors office or other company that needs to hire billing employees, it would be safe to say it's probably not a good idea if you don't have the experience or a client lined up already. If you know a doctor who would be willing to give you a chance and your rates are significantly lower than the billing service he uses you may want to consider it. But take online or on campus courses and classes first to make sure you like the medical billing industry. There is federal money and financial aid available for online courses to save you money upfront. Make sure to research the colleges or online schools to make sure they're accredited by a recognized accreditation association.