Medical Billing

Medical billing is the process of submitting and following up on claims to insurance companies in order to receive payment for services rendered by a healthcare provider. The same process is used for most insurance companies, whether they are private companies or government-owned. For several decades, medical billing was done almost entirely on paper. However, with the advent of medical practice management software also known as health information systems it has become possible to efficiently manage large amounts of claims. Many software companies have arisen to provide medical billing software to this particularly lucrative segment of the market. Several companies also offer full portal solutions through their own web-interfaces, which negates the cost of individually licensed software packages.

Due to the rapidly changing requirements by U.S. health insurance companies, several aspects of medical billing and medical office management have created the necessity for specialized training. Medical office personnel may obtain certification through various institutions who may provide a variety of specialized education and in some cases award a certification credential to reflect professional status.

For several decades, medical billings was happening on paper. However, with the advent of computers it has become possible to efficiently manage large and huge amounts of claims. Many software and IT companies have arisen to provide medical billing software to this particularly lucrative segment of the market.

The billing field has been become a challenged in recent years due to the introduction of the HIPAA act by USA. Due to the many restrictions that were enacted as a result of this new law and policies, many software companies and medical offices and outsource company spent thousands of dollars on new technology and were forced to redesign and rebuild their business processes and software in order to become compliant with HIPAA act.