Finding the best billing medical training is important whether you are trying to advance your medical billing career or are preparing to start your own medical billing business.

It is possible to get an education on medical claims processing in a number of ways. You can go the more traditional route by taking a detailed medical billing class in person or doing your training classes online. Medical billing and coding schools can help you understand the basics of medical claims processing but may leave you short on actual experience.

Much misleading information about how “easy” it is to start your own medical billing home business, and how much money you can make, has circulated the internet and print media in recent years. Many people believe that immediately after they complete a medical billing course they will be able to start their own successful billing business from home.

Not so fast.

David and Amy, two of our partners here at Everything Medical Billing who have run their own successful medical billing business for over 21 years, took one route to getting the necessary training that they might not repeat if they had it to do again: they signed up for a week long in-person billing medical training course in another state which cost them $10,500, plus the cost of meals and lodging.

David figures that added up to at least $12,000, which, more than 20 years later might be closer to $20,000 in today’s dollars. While the course did give them some hands-on billing experience, they gave scant information about how to actually sign up a client–and if you have no clients, you have no business, no matter how expertly you can run your business.

They wish they had taken a course that gave them not only the hands-on nuts and bolts of billing, but also the practical advice of how to get clients–and they do not feel the course they took gave them what they needed to be successful. Much less expensive options are available to help you acquire the skills and expertise you need.

David has researched many courses and resources to find the best ones, and found what we feel to be some of the most helpful online courses to help you build your medical billing business: Learn more about these courses to be successful in Medical Billing

Although it is technically possible to get doctors to sign up right after your training is complete, it is not common, nor is it easy.

Medical practitioners want someone with a proven track record before they turn over the money making portion of their practice to someone. They want to be sure they will get their payments in a timely and organized manner, and want to know that you know what you are doing. It is somewhat of a catch-22 that you need experience–and in order to get that experience you need someone to place their trust in you when you have none.

The best way to gain such experience is not to plan to start your medical billing home business right away, but to work for a medical practitioner (or insurance company, or similar venue) where you will get the experience you need. Do this for at least a year, and you will then have the requisite experience you need to start a viable medical billing business home business.

Finding the most complete billing medical training and education can be challenging. A tremendous number of medical billing education programs are available, from billing and coding classes at your local college to medical billing home study courses online. Which one you choose will be greatly influenced by your preferred style of learning.

Learning how to do medical billing through your local college could be a good choice if you need a little extra structure and learn better in a more formal setting. On the other hand, taking a medical billing training home study course online is certainly more convenient and allows you to work at you own pace. Regardless of which route your choose, it is important for you to select a course that utilizes instructors who have a significant amount of medical-billing experience and preferably own a billing service as well.

One Medical Billing Course getting great reviews earns you a CMBP, or Certified Medical Billing Professional designation, which can help set you apart in the job market.

Your medical billing education will not be complete without a healthy dose of hands-on experience. Any good billing medical training course should give you ample opportunities to apply what you’ve learned; when you are evaluating your choices, make sure this is offered as part of the program. When you are finished with your training you should be confident that you know how to do medical billing for a doctor office or your own billing company.

Work as a medical billing specialist can be interesting and rewarding, as long as you enter the profession with a realistic notion of the possibilities. Opening your own medical billing home business can also be a reality, if you take the proper steps to ensure your success.

See some of our best ideas on getting free medical billing training…

More ideas on training: Find out what has worked (or not!) for our readers–their successes may work for you, or their missteps may help you avoid the same mistakes….