I got the following comment on the resources page and like several
other questions, I thought the answer may be of interest to others as well so I
decided to answer it as a post. Here’s the question:
“I would like to start by saying that I really do appreciate you taking
the time to share your wealth of information and creating this reservoir of
knowledge for the all of us.
I am 25 years old, just out of graduate school. I work for a firm that
provides IT medical billing solutions to the medical industry and I am looking
to understand the nuances/intricacies of medical billing as a whole. Reading
your blog posts has been very informative to me.
I've been in the business for two and a half months now and I have
gotten a head start into understanding some of the details. I was wondering
though, if there was a starting point from where I could incrementally add to
my understanding or if you just grasp things as you go along? I eventually do
want to end up in the healthcare consulting industry. Please advise. Thank you
once again for all your help.
Regards
Yash”
Yash, thank you for the question and congratulations on both the new
job and finishing grad school.
The healthcare industry is growing at a tremendous rate and your work
in HIT (healthcare information technology) will be a huge asset in working to
achieve your goal of healthcare consulting. You are absolutely right to want to
learn more. Any knowledge you add to this experience will be a benefit.
Obviously, you have already visited the resources page. Still, since this is a post, I will remind
other readers that the resource page is full of great websites to help you
learn more about the healthcare industry.
Yash, as you noted best way to learn anything is by hands on
experience. Still, you can add to that knowledge by studying. Of course, this
blog is the best place to start. If you have not done so already, go back through the archives. There is a lot of information in here!
You should also consider spending some quality
time with Medicare. While there are a ton of different insurance companies
around, Medicare is (as a general rule) the standard for most things. I find,
that once you have a firm understanding of Medicare, other insurances policies
and procedures are relatively similar.
The website CMS.gov (the website
for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) is a wonderful place to
start. Here is a link to their education pages: http://cms.gov/Outreach-and-Education/Outreach-and-Education.html
You can also take online courses in medical billing and/or coding
through the AAPC. Here is a link to their educational programs: http://www.aapc.com/training/index.aspx
The most important thing is to keep up on changes in the industry. There
are several websites that I read frequently and I highly recommend them as
sources to learn more. Check out:
Now, you will note the last one is an IT website. This is important.
While there is a lot to learn in medical billing, HIT is the next big wave… be
ready to ride it! You should be knowledgeable about things like EMR, Meaningful
Use, health information exchanges, and new applications (apps) for healthcare. Also, you should make an effort to learn about
new business models in healthcare such as medical homes and ACOs (accountable
care organizations).
Lastly, please, please do not limit yourself to billing only. I
know that initially sounds counterintuitive, but hear me out. By studying other
industries and various business methodologies, you can develop new ideas that
apply to healthcare. A breadth of knowledge in many areas will make you far
more successful than just billing alone.
For example in methodologies, Six Sigma has many ideas that apply to healthcare insofar
as streamlining operations and reducing waste. Lean methodology has fabulous
ideas for developing a business (product) that customers love while keeping
costs in check. You should also do some study on Total Quality Management which
provides metrics by which you can assess quality and implement positive and
profitable changes in an organization. I cannot say any one of these methodologies
is better than the other; they all have applications and benefits regardless of
industry.
In summary, read everything you can get your hands on! You will be surprised how you can apply that knowledge and what creative ideas emerge.
I hope that you feel I have sufficiently answered your question. If you
have follow up questions, please feel free to post them. I am very glad you
like my blog and I promise to try to keep going with relevant, useful, and
educational content. And again, thank you for the question.
