This article is about a potential employer’s view on medical billing schools. My experience has been that they simply are not worth the time and money for the students. I have interviewed many medical billing candidates from many medical billing schools and I do not find that the education makes the individual a more attractive candidate than other inexperienced candidates.

Typically graduates we hire from medical billing school start in our apprenticeship program alongside individuals that have not graduated from medical billing school (i.e., they start in the exact same role as folks that have not made the investment in money or time for medical billing school).

Although medical billing schools teach some terminology and medical billing concepts, they do not provide any of the experience necessary for an individual to start as a medical biller. In fact, more often than not we find that they have taught incorrect concepts and the “eduction” has to be unlearned before the individual can actually move on from being an apprentice. Many times the medical billing school graduates also have an inflated sense of confidence because of their training and are harder to teach and mentor in terms of proper medical billing because they are under the impression that they have already learned all they need to know.

Almost without exception, the best way to break into medical billing is to find a medical billing service or a physician practice that will allow you to execute basic medical billing tasks such as verifying insurance or calling on claims to find their status.

The beauty of this approach is that these activities build a great foundation for more advanced medical billing. They allow you to develop true knowledge about some of medical billing’s most important building blocks and they give you a resume that shows real experience. Finally, you are getting paid while you do this – not paying for an incomplete education that is unlikely to yield the results you desire.

Most organizations do not have a formal apprenticeship program, but if you interview with the specific tasks outlined above in mind then you can find an entry level opportunity. This opportunity will pay you to learn about medical billing and build your resume.

Once you have established skills as a medical biller, then it can be helpful to study for and take a certified coder exam. A certified coder with no medical billing experience, however, is not in great demand.

So, if you want to break into the field of medical billing please consider pursuing an apprenticeship model it will serve you (and your future employer) much better than a medical billing school education.

Copyright 2008 by Carl Mays II