Today the health care industry has expanded in such a way that medical office workers are overloaded. Because of this doctors have to outsource their billing work to independent medical billing and coding professionals who work from home. If you've thought about starting up a medical billing business at home, here are some tips to help you start up a work at home business.

First of all, operating a business from home takes concentration, self-discipline and a positive attitude. You'll want to set aside specific hours for work. You'll need to get rid of any distractions. You'll be wearing many hats including the medical billing and coding work you do for your clients, marketing your business to gain more clients, doing your bookkeeping or arranging for a bookkeeper and invoicing your clients. Eventually you may need to hire some employees.

You'll need to get medical billing training of course. There are quite a few training programs available for you to choose from. You can earn a certificate or a degree. You can learn online from a program or course or from an online school or on a campus. You will need to check these out very carefully before you commit. Check with the Better Business Bureau. If online try to find out if there are any complaints about the company on the Internet. Make sure you read the fine print thoroughly and completely understand any contract you sign. Question anything you don't understand.

You will want to try to get some hands-on or job experience. Medical billers and coders are responsible for how and when doctors get paid by the insurance companies. Because of this you're more likely to gain some good clients once you get some on-the-job experience. If you can get a job in a doctor's or medical office for six months or so it will greatly help you ease your way into a work-at-home business.

Check with your state licensing divisions and tax agencies to find out what state and local licenses you'll need.

Once you open your doors for business you can plan on earning an average of $10,000 per year for each doctor client. This statistic comes from the Electronic Medical Network of America.

If possible, set aside $1000 to $2000 to start up your home-based business. You'll need medical billing software, office equipment, a computer and hardware, office supplies, licensing fees, business cards and fliers and possibly mailing costs for initial mailings to doctors and medical offices.

Before you start up your business, make sure your local market is not already saturated. The EMBNA reports that for every 1,000 doctors in your region, two or three may be looking for your services. Check the yellow pages in your phone book to see how many medical billing services you see under the "Billing" or "Insurance Claim Specialists". You'll want to get a rough idea of how much competition you'll have.

Once you get up and running you'll need to start marketing your business. You may want to start with fliers or letter mail outs to local doctors and medical offices. Network, network, network. Consider joining professional organizations, medical organizations and any organization that has a good concentration of health professionals. Join your local Chamber of Commerce if you have one. And finally make sure to mail out press releases to the business section of your local newspapers announcing your medical billing business.