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An aging American population and changes to Medicare regulations in the early nineties have produced a booming medical billing industry. Medical practices simply can't cope under the strain of increasing paper work and client enquiries. If

According to USFDA, a combination product is one composed of any combination of a drug and device; biological product and device; drug and biological product

you are looking for a skilled work at home career with the potential to pay the bills and much more, the medical billing industry is for you.

(Please note this article is made up of mostly U.S specific details, that is not to say that th

; or drug, device, and biological product and fixed dose combination would include two or more combinations of drug.

Examples of combination products may in

e industry doesn’t exist elsewhere in the world or that the general principles of starting this job don’t apply)

What exactly does a medical billing service entail?

Medical practices outsource all of the

lude drug-coated devices, drugs packaged with delivery devices in medical kits, and drugs and devices packaged separately but intended to be used together.

ir billing responsibilities to private medical billing services. Your day to day activities could any of the following:

Preparation of insurance company claims, both electronic and hardcopy
Maintaining a practice's patie

here is enormous increase in the number of combination products entering the market in the recent years. Combination products have proven advantages but fixe

nt database

Invoicing patients, both electronic and hardcopy

Collecting co-payments from patients

Tracking overdue accounts

Answering patient enquiries

Submitting reports to practices i.e. numbe

d dose combinations are still in the process of convincing regulatory authority on their advantages over the single ingredient formulations.

Combination pro

r of patients, bottom line etc.

What is required to start a service - experience, qualifications?

The medical billing industry makes use of a complex and ever changing system of codes. If you don't have any ex

ucts have become life saving products for the pharmaceutical companies who doesn’t have many innovative molecules in their product pipeline and have been inc

perience in the industry, its time to take a course at your local college or through a recognized home study program. When enquiring about courses or doing research, remember that the course you are after might be under another name than m

easingly used in the product life cycle management. Even the companies having product patents are trying to extend their product life cycle through the combi

edical billing. Purdue for instance runs a Medical Specialist course which includes a module on medical billing.

Beware of scams, anything that sounds too good to be true usually is. Experience or a qualification is always required to sta

nation products and maximize the revenues. But the companies involved in this practice are overlooking that they are burdening the patients both economically

rt a medical billing service - all services take time to grow and attract clients. Any companies that advertise "no experience required" or "guaranteed client list" are scams.

What your medical specialist course should include
and physically. They need to rightly judge the benefits of the combination products and they have to even look at the risks involved when combining the produ
rong>

Make sure the course you take includes at least the following basic elements.

Basic medical terminology

The insurance claims process

Processing forms

National diagnostic and proc
ts. Some of the combination products were well accepted by physicians while others suffered. Companies involved in development of combination products are fi
dural system
Training for medical billing software

Methods to handle denied claims

Soft collection techniques

CPT codes

Don't necessarily choose the cheapest course option available. Doctors
ding difficulty in defining their combination products and facing various challenges from selecting a combination to marketing it.

Following aspects would a
are very weary of who they hand control of their billing too. A qualification from an established and recognized institution will go along way to created trust and increasing the reputability of your service.

Getting your service
dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod
off the ground

To start your service you'll first need to setup an office, the following will be required: a computer, high speed internet connection, printer, medical billing software and a CPT coding manual. Mo
cts are meaningful and rational?
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin
st of your work will be done online so a high speed internet connection and a good billing program are essential. Also consider spoiling yourself with an LCD monitor, your eyes will thank you later! Don't forget to compile a basic business
tions increase the patient compliance?
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen
plan before setting up your service. Good planning can often mean the difference between failure and success.

There are numerous software packages available on the Internet, expect to pay at least $500 for your software and around $3000
t?

As combination products don't fit into the traditional categories of drugs, medical devices, or biological products, the USFDA is in the process of devel
to $5000 for the total business setup, depending on the course you take and equipment you purchase. Search online forums and social network sites like Digg.com for honest consumer reviews before purchasing a software package, the number of
ping new procedures for reviewing their safety, efficacy and quality.

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust
unresolved forum posts or negative user reviews will give you a good idea of each programs usability and features.

Marketing your new service

To be successful in the industry you will need at least six
y and representatives from various regulatory agencies are working out to design the regulatory requirements for manufacture and sale of combination products
medical practices in your employ - typical monthly fees range from $800 to $1,500 per client. The good news is you'll only need to market your services in the beginning, once you have a full roster of medical practices marketing is no long
.

As there is an increasing trend of the combination products companies manufacturing such products should be able to tackle the problems involved in the de
er required. (This lack of marketing expenditure later on is part of what makes this career very profitable).

Market your services initially through direct mailers to doctors, cold calling and networking in the medical billing community.
elopment. They need to be wiser in analyzing the market trends and the regulatory requirements.

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

Final word

Budget for occasional and ongoing education - medical billing is constantly changing so its essential to stay current with changes in the industry. Be on the look out for seminars in your area

tion in industry events and feedback to regulatory authorities would be able to face the challenges and will be successful in developing combination products

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