With doctors’ workloads increasing, medical billing becomes growth industry
By Jeff Brooks, Special to Ocala Business Journal
OCALA — For many doctors, the toughest part of the job isn’t the grueling work schedule or the never ending license requirements, it’s the bottom line.
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“The hardest part of being a doctor is getting paid,” said Betsy Diago, owner of Ocala-based medical billing company The Claims Doctor Inc.
Health care is America’s fastest growing industry and currently accounts for 16.7 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product. In Florida, health care is a $100-plus billion industry with more than 56,000 licensed physicians statewide. With 78 million baby boomers approaching retirement age and needing increased medical care, doctors will be overloaded with patients, leaving little time to deal with insurance companies, HMOs and billing matters.
That’s one reason why more and more physicians are turning to companies like Diago’s.
“Billing is a full-time business and in many offices the doctors are trying to use somebody to do their billing who also have other duties,” said Diago, who started her business 14 years ago in Tampa before relocating to Ocala. “That’s very difficult for someone to do. It’s an extremely demanding part of a practice.” Medical Billing Outsourcing