As a medical billing mentor and author the #1 question I am asked is "Which online billing courses I recommend taking and why?" As of May 2009 I have taken and reviewed 34 online medical billing courses to make sure my students receive the following:

1. The most complete medical billing and billing business training without being forced to take unnecessary subject matters (Anatomy I & II, Physiology I & II, Advanced Coding, Transcription, etc.) that Will Not immediately impact their goal of getting up and running in the least amount of time.

2. A billing course that doesn't blatantly deceive potential student by implying they will earn a certification when the course owners know that the only designation that they can award a graduate is a "Certificate Of Completion".

3. A training course that understands that every student learns differently so they allow their students to learn at their own pace.

4. A course that is proven to making sure that their graduates are highly knowledgeable and proficient billers without charging them over $800.

There are a total of 14 criteria I use to judge online billing courses and here is what made one course outshine the other 33:

1) This billing course only teaches you the 8 subjects you need right now to be a success at starting, opening and operating a home based billing business. Here they are in case you don't know:

A. A thorough introduction to medical billing B. A thorough overview of medical office procedures C. Medical billing documentation and the proper processing and storage of medical forms D. Proper CPT and ICD Code usage E. Advanced billing, reimbursement and submission (electronic and paper) procedures F. Advanced billing software usage complete with FREE Software and several hands-on practice modules and exams to verify that you are more than prepared to move to the next level of learning. G. Daily operating procedures of a billing business, and most importantly... H. Proven marketing and effective sales practices of a new billing business

2) Your instructors, moderators and business counselors are all successful billing business owners so they have the practical expertise to guide you along the way.

3) You can complete this course at you own pace instead of being rushed by the course makers.

4) Your investment in this medical billing course even at it's highest level (The Deluxe Medical Billing Certificate Program) is $699.95. There is also 3 other course levels and it's Medical Billing Starter Program is listed at a mere $168.

5) You get bonuses that other medical billing courses do not offer or charge additional fees for like free study guides, free billing software to complete the hands-on module, free software-telephone & online support, free HIPAA instruction module with exam and certificate once completed in addition to the certificate of completion for the entire course, free Co-Payment & Deduction module and free consultations with billing business experts.

All online billing courses are not created equal and unfortunately 80% of you will not follow my advice regardless of the proof I have provided in this article. However I can guarantee those 80% will experience one of two things (if not both):

1.) Chose a billing course that will nowhere prepare them to do billing as a professional let alone pursuing billing as a home based business, and...

2.) They will have to spend even more funds taking additional medical billing courses at another online school to try and fill in the gaps left by the first course they took.

So which course will I recommend to my students for the rest of 2009 into 2010? Well, you will have to click the link in my BIO below because this websites Terms of Service does not allow me to post the link within the body of this article.