Medical billing experts are an integral part of the medical field. They are responsible for submitting medical service bills to insurance companies and ensuring the providers are paid (and the patients are not overcharged), and without them, doctors, patients, and insurance companies would have to scramble to sort through everything. If you are interested in running a medical billing business, you can set up shop from your own home. Here are five tools you need to run a successful medical billing business:

A computer. Gone are the days of snail-mail and paper records. These days, in order to be a successful medical biller, you will need to conduct most of your business operations through a computer. You will need a reliable and fast computer, dedicated solely to your business and with enough memory to store all of the valuable data you must work with.

Telephone. As a medical billing business, you can expect to deal with doctors, patients, and insurance company representatives. You will need a telephone and a telephone line (phone number) just for your business.

Medical billing software. You will find that there are a lot of medical billing programs on the market to choose from. Be aware that they are not created equally, and that having great software is tantamount to your business success. When weighing out your options, consider the following: your specific office needs (scheduling, calendar, work flow charts, etc.), other programming that your software needs to be compatible with, electronic claims filing, billing/invoicing, and electronic access to medical records. Your medical billing software should be comprehensive enough to cover all of these aspects to your satisfaction, and should be time-tested and proven to be up to par. Do your research here, as this can be a big investment.

Fax machine. Although electronic billing is the face of current medical billing practices, and arguably the standard when it comes to the future of medical billing, there are many instances in which you will need to use a good, old-fashioned fax machine to send forms back and forth between medical facilities and insurance companies.

Data backups. A great majority of the data you work with will be stored on your computer, but computer storage is not fail-safe. Make sure you have all of your computer data backed up on either disk, external hard drive, hard copy (paper), USB stick, or cloud storage. It is a good idea to have more than one form of backup, and to keep your physical backup in a safe place.

You can work for yourself as a medical biller with the proper preparation. If you are interested in starting up a medical billing business, then you will need these tools.

About the Author: Carey Loconte is a business resource specialist who loves to help individuals starting their own businesses get on their feet. She recommends not only essentials like those mentioned here, but great metal plaques or signs to announce the existance of your business, fantastic apparel, and even car signage as well.