Wiki Hardest and most important skill in billing?

Mrsrpc

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I'm trying to ascertain what skills I'm missing for medical billing. What little information I'm given in interviews makes me believe that "
  • Hands-on experience using Epic, Cerner, Invision, Soarian, McKesson, Allscripts, Meditech, and other industry recognized Revenue Cycle Management Systems required" is the big thing I'm missing. However, is it really the hardest to learn? If you are able to work with EHRs, is it safe to say you'll be able to figure out these others? Should this skill be a deal breaker? Or are there other harder to master and/or more important skills?
 
Medical billers perform a variety of tasks depending on the employer and/or exact position.
My personal opinion is if you are comfortable with computers, you can learn 95% of a new system in a few days. It shouldn't be a requirement for an employee you are looking to hire for a long term position. If you are working contract jobs that might be very short positions, then I could understand requiring experience with the specific system(s). Again, just my 2 cents, but there are far too many computer systems out there for people to know all of them. Knowing Epic is not going to help if the system is Allscripts. And in large healthcare systems like mine, we use MULTIPLE systems every day (1 for scheduling, 1 for outpatient records, 1 for hospital records, 1 for insurance verification, 1 for profee A/R, 1 for facility A/R). If I was only willing to consider candidates with experience on these, even I wouldn't be working here.
Whenever I hire (for any position - biller, coder, front desk, surgical scheduler, sonogram tech), I could not care less if they know my computer system(s). I hire for whether they have the basic skills/certification/understanding of what I am hiring them for, and what I'll call "fit for the position." I always want someone open to new ideas, willing to learn and a team player. Someone sharp with a good attitude. When it's a more senior position, I also want some problem solving skills. And your resume needs to be a good enough match for me to even set up an interview.
What I look for in my front desk staff is not the same as what I look for in my coder. My front desk staff need to be friendly, cheerful and more outgoing. If I am hiring a remote coder with zero patient interaction, it doesn't matter too much if they are cheerful or not. But my remote coder better know how/when/why to properly use a modifier.
I also appreciate someone willing to work their way up into a more complex position if their current experience is significantly less than their education/certification. For example, a CPC-A willing to take a billing position and learn the systems/practice. It's a chance for them to utilize at least some of their coding knowledge and demonstrate to me why I should move them into a coding position that might typically require coding experience they are lacking.
To me, "medical billing" often means claim follow up, and the primary skills for that are persistence and organization.
I realize not all hiring managers have the same approach as me. There are many organizations where the person interviewing doesn't understand the skills required of someone in the position. If the job description is vague, ask more details about what you would be doing day to day. Is it 10% patient interaction, or 90% patient interaction? My best advice regardless of position is to be professional, open and confident (but not arrogant).
 
Medical billers perform a variety of tasks depending on the employer and/or exact position.
My personal opinion is if you are comfortable with computers, you can learn 95% of a new system in a few days. It shouldn't be a requirement for an employee you are looking to hire for a long term position. If you are working contract jobs that might be very short positions, then I could understand requiring experience with the specific system(s). Again, just my 2 cents, but there are far too many computer systems out there for people to know all of them. Knowing Epic is not going to help if the system is Allscripts. And in large healthcare systems like mine, we use MULTIPLE systems every day (1 for scheduling, 1 for outpatient records, 1 for hospital records, 1 for insurance verification, 1 for profee A/R, 1 for facility A/R). If I was only willing to consider candidates with experience on these, even I wouldn't be working here.
Whenever I hire (for any position - biller, coder, front desk, surgical scheduler, sonogram tech), I could not care less if they know my computer system(s). I hire for whether they have the basic skills/certification/understanding of what I am hiring them for, and what I'll call "fit for the position." I always want someone open to new ideas, willing to learn and a team player. Someone sharp with a good attitude. When it's a more senior position, I also want some problem solving skills. And your resume needs to be a good enough match for me to even set up an interview.
What I look for in my front desk staff is not the same as what I look for in my coder. My front desk staff need to be friendly, cheerful and more outgoing. If I am hiring a remote coder with zero patient interaction, it doesn't matter too much if they are cheerful or not. But my remote coder better know how/when/why to properly use a modifier.
I also appreciate someone willing to work their way up into a more complex position if their current experience is significantly less than their education/certification. For example, a CPC-A willing to take a billing position and learn the systems/practice. It's a chance for them to utilize at least some of their coding knowledge and demonstrate to me why I should move them into a coding position that might typically require coding experience they are lacking.
To me, "medical billing" often means claim follow up, and the primary skills for that are persistence and organization.
I realize not all hiring managers have the same approach as me. There are many organizations where the person interviewing doesn't understand the skills required of someone in the position. If the job description is vague, ask more details about what you would be doing day to day. Is it 10% patient interaction, or 90% patient interaction? My best advice regardless of position is to be professional, open and confident (but not arrogant).
My goodness! You sound like the dream hiring manager. I'm most of the things you described. I don't fit into any box, and have a sort of zig zag resume, but I chose to CPB before CPC simply because I have a lot of experience with preauth, denials and appeals already, so it seemed like I was already half way there. I realized I'd have to move "backwards" (for lack of a better term) in order to progress in my new (but related) career path. (Taking the CPC course currently). And I"m perfectly willing to take a position to gain skills that I just don't have enough experience with to say i've "mastered" them as a true expert. I have the backing of every single former employer who were very pleased with my work performance. But, two things: 1. The only question I seem to get "wrong" in an interview is that I don't have the software (online CMS 1500, RCM, etc) experience (which you can't get unless you have a job-- there is no course that I've been able to find on software). and 2. I'm 52, and unfortunately, have credentials that often exceed what the hiring manager has. I've never had a problem managing people older than I am or being managed by someone with different credentials than I have bc I believe you can learn something from everyone around you, and vice versa, bc we all bring something different to the table-- but not everyone sees it like that. There are some people who simply believe I will climb right over them. Not true at all, but they won't admit it, so I can't ease their minds that I'm not looking for THEIR job, just A job.

So, your perspective is very interesting, and not what I'm experiencing at all. (I wish it was). Thanks for the feedback. I'd love to hear others' opinions of what they look for so I can identify any skill gaps that I CAN do something about.
 
I agree with Christine. It's difficult to say why you're not landing anything, there are so many variables. It is very employer dependent for sure. When I was hiring for billing positions I would look for the "basic skills" too and agree prospective hires cannot be expected to know the details of every different practice management or EHR system. While it would be "nice", it's not a necessity if you have basic computer skills. When I was in a position to hire billers I looked for someone who had a basic understanding of the type of billing, basic knowledge of how the claims cycle works, etc. I also wanted someone open to learning and a positive attitude. The billers I would have been hiring for were basically data entry and review of very basic edits kicked out by the claim scrubber. If you earned a CPB it shows you at least have the basics. I would have definitely hired someone with a CPB than without. In fact, I encouraged all of the AR staff I managed to consider sitting for that exam.

Even if you don't have the software knowledge, if you know what a 1500 is and can discuss the elements of it, I don't see why specific software knowledge would matter. If you have prior experience with pre-auth, denials and appeals that would, in my opinion, make you more desireable as a biller.
 
My goodness! You sound like the dream hiring manager. I'm most of the things you described. I don't fit into any box, and have a sort of zig zag resume, but I chose to CPB before CPC simply because I have a lot of experience with preauth, denials and appeals already, so it seemed like I was already half way there. I realized I'd have to move "backwards" (for lack of a better term) in order to progress in my new (but related) career path. (Taking the CPC course currently). And I"m perfectly willing to take a position to gain skills that I just don't have enough experience with to say i've "mastered" them as a true expert. I have the backing of every single former employer who were very pleased with my work performance. But, two things: 1. The only question I seem to get "wrong" in an interview is that I don't have the software (online CMS 1500, RCM, etc) experience (which you can't get unless you have a job-- there is no course that I've been able to find on software). and 2. I'm 52, and unfortunately, have credentials that often exceed what the hiring manager has. I've never had a problem managing people older than I am or being managed by someone with different credentials than I have bc I believe you can learn something from everyone around you, and vice versa, bc we all bring something different to the table-- but not everyone sees it like that. There are some people who simply believe I will climb right over them. Not true at all, but they won't admit it, so I can't ease their minds that I'm not looking for THEIR job, just A job.

So, your perspective is very interesting, and not what I'm experiencing at all. (I wish it was). Thanks for the feedback. I'd love to hear others' opinions of what they look for so I can identify any skill gaps that I CAN do something about
I have had my coding certificate since 2011 but at that time I was a stay at home mom. I had a five years previously of working in an ASC and a few doctors offices. I did not start working again until 2018 and have been doing medical billing and some coding. I was looking at the CPB course with AAPC and noticed that you have that. I just wanted to see what your thoughts were about it and if its worth doing.
 
As a billing manager I want someone who learns quickly (and realizes that in healthcare the learning never stops) and is extremely detail-oriented. Because so much of the billing function is automated, as noted previously, a biller works the exceptions. They must be able to problem solve why a claim is failing and how to fix it within payer/coding guidelines. Therefore, familiarity with the claim forms (both 1500 and UB) is helpful. Being detailed oriented may also include recognizing problems on claims that are not necessarily causing it to fail or error, but may not comply with specific payer requirements. As was noted by two replies, being comfortable with computer systems is a helpful but doesn't need to be the one specific to my organization. The first job I got in the healthcare field was based, in part, on my computer skills gained in all kinds of non-healthcare jobs. Everything else I have learned along the way. It is unfortunate that they are requiring knowledge of specific EHR systems. It seems to me that they all do the same things, just different pathways (keys, functions, modules) to getting there. For someone who has computer skills, learning the specifics of a system does not take long.
 
I have had my coding certificate since 2011 but at that time I was a stay at home mom. I had a five years previously of working in an ASC and a few doctors offices. I did not start working again until 2018 and have been doing medical billing and some coding. I was looking at the CPB course with AAPC and noticed that you have that. I just wanted to see what your thoughts were about it and if its worth doing.
It's hard to say. I chose to do the CPB first (studying for CPC now) because I was already doing some of the revenue cycle (appeals), so it seemed like a logical next step. However, coders get paid more than billers typically, and, though I just started a billing job, and the course helped fill in gaps of my knowledge of the other parts of the revenue cycle, the company's system (large, national HC organization) does not even recognize CPB for the CE credits it offers; only CPC. If you already have billing experience, I think that is better than the certification. Most jobs I see want more experience than certification when it comes to billing, unlike coding (they want both). HTH
 
Hi there
I use to be a reimbursement manager years ago. I believe all info above is good, but knowing how to access more supported knowledge on medical billing details regarding the payer and dx and CPT if linked by using the CMS or OIG or NCCI website. Understand fields of the CMS1500 while understanding denial codes & terms per differ payers. Also being able to write a insurance denial cover letter listing reference if necessary. One thing learned about insurance payer differ departments have differ duties and not necessarily communicate with each other. Reading trade journals like Healthcare Business AAPC and online billing & coding newsletters help too . Keep a little crib/ cheat sheet to help you also.
I hope this data helps you.
Lady T:)
 
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