What Is Medical Billing?

Just like any other working professional, doctors, nurses, and clinical staff members need compensation for their services—which makes medical billers a major asset to every healthcare facility, especially in Orlando. No procedure is the exact same, so clinical offices can’t slap a predetermined price tag on each treatment plan. Therefore, professionals in any field of medicine must submit their services for payment through the intricate medical billing system.   

The Connected World of Medical Billing 

There are three parties involved in medical billing and in healthcare reimbursement as a whole—the first, second, and third being the patient, provider, and payer, respectively. Medical billing is the thread that connects each party and ensures that the necessary ones are billed or payed. While the second party of medical billers creates and assigns the bills, or claims, the first and third parties are responsible for making payments on each service provided. 

Claims sent by medical billers to insurance companies, or third parties, include information about the patient and the service provided to the patient. For example, a colonoscopy claim would include the patient’s personal, medical, and insurance information as well as a report on the colonoscopy procedure and the reason it was recommended. 

The Day-to-Day for Medical Billers  

On a daily basis, the majority of medical billers’ time goes to creating claims. Therefore, they must be familiar with various insurance companies and their individual policies. Medical billers also have to verify and proofread each claim to remove any errors and verify that all of the information is correct and comprehensive. 

While there are many software options that can alleviate the complexity of medical billing, medical billers still need an intricate knowledge system to effectively navigate medical codes and assign the proper ones to each claim. The day-to-day duties of a medical biller include tasks such as: 

  • Filing claims with various insurance companies 
  • Tracking previously filed claims 
  • Receiving claim payments 
  • Correcting medical coding errors 
  • Updating billing information 
  • Contacting insurance companies 

Healthcare providers can use automated services or even outsource their medical billing, but medical billers remain imperative to their financial functions.

Start Your Career in Medical Billing

Here at HealthCare Support, our experienced team of healthcare recruiters understand the importance that each medical professional plays in our healthcare system. That’s why we strive to prepare every candidate to secure and succeed in the position that fits their interests, experience, and goals. If your career path is pointing toward medical billing, join our talent network today and gain access to top recruiting tactics designed for medical billers. For more information on our healthcare recruiting services, contact us today at 407-478-0332.

The Ins & Outs of a Medical Office Assistant

What Does a Medical Office Assistant Do?

Regardless of location, size, or specialty, every medical office needs a medical office assistant — and most often, they need more than just one. Despite the already large and consistently growing need for medical office assistants, there’s still some confusion about what these professionals do on a day-to-day basis. Let’s take a closer look at the everyday role of a medical office assistant.

 

What Is a Medical Office Assistant?

The first person to greet a patient when they enter a medical facility, such as a clinic or private practice, is almost always a medical office assistant. Sometimes referred to as medical office specialists, medical administrative assistants, or patient coordinators, medical office assistants essentially perform the tasks needed to keep a healthcare center functioning effectively. Helping to deliver the best healthcare experience possible, these professionals may handle everything from administrative assignments to clinical ones.

 

What Does It Take to Become One?

Multitasking abilities, strong organizational skills, exceptional communication, and attention to detail are all essential to a succeeding as a medical office assistant. These professionals must be up to date on the latest record-keeping technologies and able to quickly and accurately input information. While many locations only require medical office assistants to have earned a high-school diploma, certain facilities may require them to obtain CMAA certifications or RMA registrations.

What Are Their Day-to-Day Responsibilities?

Medical office assistants wear multiple hats. While their responsibilities will vary depending on which type of medical center they work at, there are some job functions that remain the same just about everywhere.

 

Once a patient arrives, for example, medical office assistants may help by:

  • Helping them check in
  • Taking vitals
  • Measuring height and weight
  • Recording contact details and medical history information
  • Escorting them to the examination room

 

In between assisting patients, medical office assistants perform a range of tasks, such as:

  • Cleaning and sanitizing equipment
  • Cleaning and sanitizing examination areas
  • Scanning files and transcribing records
  • Scheduling appointments
  • Billing patients and accepting payments
  • Receiving and sorting inventory, mail, etc.
  • Responding to emails

 

Starting Your Career as a Medical Office Assistant

The role played by medical office assistants is critical to healthcare facilities small and large. If you’re interested in becoming one and connecting to the clinics, hospitals, or other medical offices with opportunities that match your professional goals, join the HealthCare Support talent network. Our healthcare recruiters will help you put together a professional resume, find relevant job postings, and ace interviews. To take the next step in your healthcare career, contact HealthCare Support today at 407-478-0332.

 

Mindfulness at Work

You may read this title and immediately think of monks or yoga poses, however mindfulness at work doesn’t need to involve either to decrease your stress level!  The main principal of mindfulness is being consciously present, that is being aware of what is going on around you and within you. Tips on exploring mindfulness are abundant and said to increase productivity, decrease stress and help take back control of your emotions. We’ve listed the basics, and our favorites below.

Press Pause

Give yourself time to live in the moment. Pause before heading into the office each morning and regularly throughout the day even if it’s for 4 slow deep breaths. This, along with different types of mindful exercises help rebalance the nervous system and encourage rational decisions over rash reactions.

Aim for Conscious Awareness

Practice being present in what you are doing, while you are doing it. It’s not uncommon to get distracted at work, but when your mind begins to wander, acknowledge it and bring your thoughts back to the project at hand.

Active Listening

Hearing, but not really listening… We’ve all been there! Also coined inactive listening, tends to happen when we are not in the moment, distracted by thoughts outside of the conversation or stressors unrelated to the topic. We often don’t realize this is happening until it’s too late. You’ve been asked a question or it’s your turn to talk and you’re clueless. To dodge these types of awkward scenarios, stay engaged by asking questions, providing feedback or even jotting down notes, if appropriate.

These small changes in mindfulness and therefore attitude can literally add years to your life and improve your productivity and achievements in the workplace.

Finding Your Career with a Healthcare Recruiter

If you’re a job-seeking medical professional, you know the struggles of sending out applications. Because, no matter how familiar you are with finding the right opportunities, tailoring your resume, and waiting to hear back, you might still struggle to get your foot in the door.

Fortunately, there are professionals who dedicate their careers to helping others find theirs. Healthcare recruiters can provide you with professional tools and services to guide you to the right job opportunities. Here’s a closer look at how they can help you take the next steps in your career.

Save Time and Money

Stop spending hours searching through job openings and let a professional recruiter find the best ones for you. A healthcare recruiter matches you with the positions that fit technically and personally, which allows you to focus on perfecting interview skills and researching employers. You’ll also receive instant alerts when employers post relevant job listings.

And, the outstanding services and resources provided by recruitment agencies typically come at no cost to the applicants. So, there are no membership fees, additional expenses for specific resources, or extra costs to help you find the right job.

Find Your Best Advocate

Healthcare recruiters don’t only work with job-seeking candidates; they also work with actual employers. Recruiters partner with employers to match them with candidates that fit into their culture and meet their specific professional requirements.

If your resume fits a job posting provided by one of your recruiter’s partners, they’ll be your biggest champion in recommending you for the position and fully preparing you for an interview.

Develop a Mentorship

Before every interview, a professional recruiter coaches you on how to handle the conversation. The recruiter asks practical questions that could appear in your interview, and you’ll receive guidance on how to best answer each one.

Once you start working in the right position, you can still count on your recruitment agency for support throughout the hiring and employment process. Whether you need help preparing for your first day on the job or want some feedback down the line, the right agency is always on call.

Join Our Talent Network

Recruiting agencies want you to succeed as a candidate, because it’s what grows their business. Placing the wrong candidate in the wrong position reflects poorly on recruiters, so they strive to put you in the perfect position that matches your skills, qualifications, and goals.

At HealthCare Support, we strive to help our candidates make the biggest and best steps in their careers. And our recruiting professionals are available with additional advice and encouragement long after you’ve settled into the right position. To join our talent network or speak with one of our healthcare recruiters, call us today at 407-478-0332.

31 Ways to Be Ambitious This August

August 1st – “Do something nice for someone.” Not only will it make them feel good, but it will make feel good too!

August 2nd – “Make someone laugh – it’s Friday!” A big stress reliever is laughing and a study shows that people will like you more if you make them laugh.

August 3rd – “Go sit in the sun and absorb some Vitamin D.” Vitamin D promotes bone growth, reduces depression, promotes weight loss, and fights diseases! Why wouldn’t you want to be lounging around in the sun with all those health benefits? But, don’t forget to wear sunscreen!

August 4th – ” Look at yourself in the mirror. Give yourself one compliment.” You can either be your own biggest fan or your own biggest enemy. By complimenting yourself, builds confidence and positivity within yourself.

August 5th – “It’s the first Monday of the month! Dress for success.” Dressing professionally demands respect and it also builds your self-confidence. It’s also fun to know you look great!

August 6th – “Excercise for 30 minutes.” This can be going for a walk during your lunch, going to yoga, and everything in between! Get up and be active – there are so many health benefits to working out.

August 7th – “Call someone close to you – someone you love. Express your gratitude towards them, tell them you love them or thank them for being there for you.”

August 8th – “Write a nice note on someone’s desk.” This brightens up people’s day and freshens up the office environment.

August 9th – “Bring in some treats for the company.” Get your ‘Martha Stewart’ on and bake some cookies, brownies, or cupcakes! Or bring in some yummy carbs and goodies for everyone to chow down on.

August 10th – “Clean up your friends’ list on social media” Still friends with those annoying, popular girls from high school? Just unfollow them – you’ll feel less anxiety logging on without seeing all their posts about “joining their pyramid scheme”.

August 11th – “Wash your car.” There’s nothing better than a squeaky clean ride! Just cross one more thing off of your list.

August 12th – “Meditate ten minutes before coming into work” Get your mind focused and relax before the worries of work sink in.

August 13th – “Schedule a lunch date.”

August 14th – “Organize your desk – sanitize too!” You should be organizing and ridding your desk of germs, at least, once a month. Not only does this help you avoid illnesses, but it also reduces stress by not having to deal with a messy desk. Messy desks make for messy minds!

August 15th – “Go into the office early or stay late.” Think of all the work you can get done by spending a little more time in the office.

August 16th – “Organize your folders on your desktop.” Get rid of folders or documents you don’t need anymore to clear space up on your computer.

August 17th – “Buy yourself something nice – you deserve it!” Everyone deserves a little splurging every now and then.

August 18th – “Make a to-do list for the week.” Reach out to this partner on Monday, clean your bathroom on Tuesday, finish that project by Wednesday… Write down everything you want to get done within the week – personal and professional.

August 19th – “Ask three coworkers about their weekend.” And actually listen.

August 20th – “Learn something new.” Knowledge is power!

August 21st – “Read a career article.”

August 22nd – “Make your bed, you lazy bones!”  Navy Seal William H. McCraven, commander of the forces that led the raid to kill Osama bin Laden, told the 2014 University of Texas graduates, “If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed. If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task, and another, and another. And by the end of the day that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed.”

August 23rd – “Introduce yourself to someone new.” The more friends the merrier!

August 24th – “Clean your home.”

August 25th – “Meal prep your lunches for the week.” Start your week off right with healthy lunches!

August 26th – “Turn off your cell phone today.” Don’t let the hundreds of notifications distract you from your work.

August 27th – “Get a full nights rest.” A whole eight hours of sleep? Unheard of! Well, not tonight…

August 28th – “Compliment five coworkers.” Compliments are nice to receive but even better to give. Tell someone how much you love their hair or their outfit! You could turn around someone’s awful day to somewhat bearable.

August 29th – “Help a coworker with one of their projects or responsibilities.” Help out some of your coworkers that are stressing over certain projects, they’ll appreciate it.

August 30th – “High-five 10 coworkers.” August is over, time to celebrate the coming of a brand new month.

August 31st –End the month doing three of your favorite things you did this past month from the list above.” You’re ending the month & starting the new month as productive as ever!

Are You Engaged at Work?

This info graphic explains some great ways you can ensure you are remaining engaged at work. With 2/3 of the American working population disengaged we couldn’t help but share some tips!

statistics: CBS News

How to Fall Back in Love with Your Job

Throughout the course of our professional career, we fluctuate between loving our job and despising it. When you first start a job, you start a new chapter in your life. You’re financially supporting yourself, you’re starting to make new friends, and you’re working for a company that chose you out of hundreds of people – overall, it’s a fresh feeling. But sometimes these feelings seem to evaporate over time. In fact, every year, 5.6 million people leave their job, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Falling out of love with your job happens to millions of people so, in order to overcome this, you should figure out if you want to move on and find new opportunities or learn how to fall back in love with your job. If you choose the latter, here are a few easy ways that can help you:

  1. Rearrange your desk or your office. You’ve been at the same desk for a long time now. Freshen things up by rearranging it or buying new decorations. You spend forty hours a week around the same space, be sure to surround yourself with the things you love. Also, keep it neat and tidy. 
  2. Take more breaks. Walk around your building a few times. Workout during lunch. Taking productive breaks during your day allows your mind to relax. Working out or going for a walk recharges your brain and clears your head.
  3. Read a career book that relates to the industry you work in. This can help you appreciate your line of work and will motivate you to get back in the office and grind. Other people go through the same thing, but they write about it to help you get over it as they did.
  4. Befriend passionate coworkers. It’s easy to be around people that are passionate about what they do, and it helps you to be passionate too!
  5. Celebrate your accomplishments. It’s fun when you do things right and you’re positively impacting the company. So, celebrate when you do things right or when you reach a goal! It will relieve work tension and remind you how good you are at what you do.
  6. Do one nice thing a day in the office. Hold the door open for someone, buy someone lunch, or write positive notes on people’s desks. Simple stuff like this is an easy way to make you feel good.
  7. Try something new. If you feel like you’re doing the same thing repeatedly, maybe it’s time to try other things and learn new things outside your job description. Talk to your manager about whether you can take on new responsibilities to help other teams or departments.
  8. Remind yourself about the way you felt when you got the job. How relieved and excited were you when you got offered the job? When all of a sudden all the applications you sent in and interviews you went on were over and you secured yourself a job. Remind yourself of that feeling you got and put it in your back pocket. Always keep that feeling close.
  9. Think about all the good things about your job. This can be whether your company culture is awesome, you love your job or all of the great friends you’ve made. Just remind yourself of all the good things going for you. Thinking positively impacts you more than you know.
  10. Maybe it’s time to take a vacation. Life is better when you have something to look forward to. Decide to take a vacation or a staycation. Not only will you be excited leading up to the event which will make the days pass by, but your brain can also use the break.

 

Questions You Should Be Asking At Every Interview

Asking questions during an interview allows the interviewer to know you are interested in the position and you are serious about the company. You also want to make sure you’re getting every single piece of information about the position and the company before you accept the job. so, which questions should you be asking to give you a good feeling about what this opportunity is all about?

Creating Career Independence this Independence Day

Independence Day is creeping up on us all this summer, which means we already have six months of 2019 under our belt… Crazy, right? This seems like a firecrackin’ time to do some self-reflecting on your career and your career independence. Career independence is the ability to be in charge of your own career, goals, and dreams. In honor of this beautiful day, the land of the free, and the home of the brave, here are ten tips to achieve career independence.

1. The first thing you can do to establish career independence is always to have your resume updated. An amazing opportunity can come up at the most random times and you want to make sure you’re prepared. You should also double-check that your LinkedIn profile matches with your resume and your profile picture is recent and professional.

2. Turn that television off! No Netflix, no Hulu, no Amazon Prime. Instead, read a book. There are so many benefits, such as, improving your memory, reducing stress, expanding your vocabulary, and improving your overall knowledge. And on the other end, watching television is bad for your brain and your health. If you don’t know where to start, grab a career book and read it! Reading career books can spark creativity and energy. It can also motivate you to try new things that could up your career game and can change your outlook on where you’re at in your professional life.

3. Write down all your career experiences – the good, the bad, and the ugly. Keeping them in a journal is a great way to learn from your experiences and it helps to see what you are doing well and what you can be doing better at. You are your own greatest critic, so let’s make it constructive criticism!

4. Being confident and comfortable with yourself is easier said than done, but it’s so important, especially in the professional world. Confidence is an attractive quality to have; even more so when you’re working a business deal or hiring someone new. We are attracted to the people who are enthusiastic about their skills and knowledge because we know they can handle whatever we throw at them without having to “hold their hand”. Lastly, think about it this way: if you don’t appreciate yourself, then why should others?

5. Don’t get confidence confused with your ego. In fact, leave your ego at the door. No one likes a boaster who thinks they are too good for everyone. It not only is annoying, but it’s hard to work alongside them.

6. If you ever get bored with your job, you have two choices and you need to decide for yourself what you’re going to do about it: quit your job and move on, or learn how to fall back in love with your job. For you to establish career independence, you must choose one. If you choose the latter, a couple of things to try are learning something new, taking more breaks throughout the day, starting a side hustle, or reflecting back on what it was like before you started the position – a little nostalgia can go a long way. However, if you’ve decided it’s time for a new job, allow yourself some time to apply for jobs and have interviews before you quit. That way you won’t be in financial trouble.

7. Keep your expertise up to date. If you have skills from a previous position that you aren’t using in your current role, take some online courses to refresh your mind. If you have any certifications or credentials, keep them up to date.

8. Knowledge is never-ending. There are always new things to learn and excel at. Take the time to do so by watching videos, reading articles and books, and taking online courses. Technology is changing every day so why not stay all caught up with the latest trends?!

9. Stop. Networking. Keep in touch with old coworkers by asking them out for coffee or lunch. Down the road, they could be the ones to assist you in getting your dream job. Also, stay connected with all your old and current coworkers by following them on LinkedIn, it’s a great tool to use when reconnecting!

10. Are you subscribed to any streaming services or monthly clubs that you don’t use anymore? Cancel them! According to an analysis by Waterstone Group, a management consulting firm for tech companies, the respondents spend more than $237.33 a month on subscription services. The respondents guessed they spend, on average, $111.61 a month. That’s a big gap! Clean up your expenses by canceling the ones you don’t use. Your bank account will thank you later!

                It will take some real reflecting on your professional life to achieve career independence, but there is no better time than the present, or on Independence Day! We hope your Fourth of July is filled with lots of yummy food, bangin’ fireworks, and fun!