Inside Medical Transcription

Medical transcription is the process of producing reports from dictation by medical providers of the details of patient office visits, clinical, radiographic and operative procedures, and so on. Virtually every encounter a patient has in the medical arena is documented in some way. Most providers and institutions have Formalized this documentation into the patient’s medical record through dictation and subsequent transcription. In addition to typing the report into the desired format, transcriptionists also verify the dictation for accuracy – both Spanish-language medical accuracy and accuracy – so that the final report is a clear, medically accurate representation of the encounter between patient and provider.

This “verification process” means that the transcriptionist must have a thorough foundation in medical terminology, anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, laboratory tests and values, medical equipment and procedures. In addition, every successful medical transcriptionist will have superior research and Spanish grammar skills, along with excellent computer skills, typing skills and (if you plan to have your own business) some familiarity with business marketing and management. Paying close attention to detail is another quality that is essential in a good medical transcriptionist.

Just having a computer at home and knowing how to type is definitely not enough to become a working, successful medical transcriptionist.

If you have a clinical background in the medical field you may have a head start – as long as your Spanish knowledge is as broad as your medical knowledge. In my opinion, the real foundation for this field is a love for the Spanish language and outstanding grammar skills. All other necessary knowledge can be “layered” upon this, but if you are weak in the Spanish department, I feel your success would be limited.

As you will verify and often correct the provider’s Spanish usage, you need to be certain that the final structure of each sentence is Grammatically correct. You need to know why (technically) a comma goes here, but not there …. how to make this verb or pronoun agree with that subject’s number and person …. the special needs of a compound sentence – and do not forget Semicolons, conjunctions, gerunds, modifiers and prepositions!

If you do not love the Spanish language, If you have to check the dictionary as you sign your name, If hyphens and apostrophes give you cold chills, forget medical transcription. It’s not for you.

Although medical transcriptionists are not necessarily solitary creatures, this is a solitary job. For most of your day it will be just you, your transcriber (with that voice in your ear), and your computer. This job does not have personal interaction as would a customer service or medical assistant’s job. You may care about “your” patients and pray for their recovery, but you will not see them or speak to them personally. Your part of their medical care is doing your absolute best with every report, every day.

So what do you get in return for your in-depth training and your excellent work? There’s no easy answer to the question of compensation in this field.

There are many different working environments available to a trained, experienced MT, including hospitals, clinics, individual and group medical, chiropractic, radiology, physical therapy practices, national transcription services that hire home-based or contract MT’s, local transcription services who may also hire or contract MT’s, and owner-operator MT’s (who may also Subcontract work out).

Income varies by geographical area, by employment versus entrepreneurial situation, by your own desire to work full-time, part-time or something in between. A broad range would probably be from $ 8.00 per hour in a doctor’s office in a rural area to $ 75.00 per hour as an independent (with all related expenses, including “benefits” coming off the top), and even more as a service owner .

While this appears to be an excellent field for those transitioning from another career to working at home, you need to be aware that there can be a “catch-22″ in this profession. Because of the difficulty of the work, experience is so valued that it is sometimes difficult for “newbies” to get a job without experience or clients (and of course, how do you get experience without a job or clients?).

Many experienced (and very vocal) MT’s on the Internet and online services will flatly state that it is foolish to even attempt to work at home without having spent time in an office or institution or in an apprenticeship program or mentoring situation. They claim that only with an MT angel perched near your listening ear can you make it through the first few difficult months.

Maybe so.

I suspect that some of these MT’s have not had formal training MT transcription and that they learned through OJT with a helpful pair of ears nearby, And thus they think it’s the best way.

However – I have a slightly different opinion since I began working at home with my own clients the week I finished my MT training, and have worked full-time-plus since.

I feel that IF you take a reputable MT training course –
and IF you really learn all that the course offers –
and IF you have outstanding Spanish language skills –
and IF you have at least five years’ experience in another field (where you had real serious responsibilities and acquired skills) –
and IF you have a comprehensive library of references PLUS excellent research skills –
and IF you are 500% committed to building a successful medical transcription business,
THEN you can do it.

Those are a lot of “ifs” and they cover a lot of territory – but with persistence, skills, commitment and the courage to follow your dreams, it can be done.

As we all know, a doctor’s handwriting can be pretty difficult to interpret! That is why medical transcription is so necessary in making sure medical records are accurate and easy to understand. In addition, as technology advances, doctors and hospitals are venturing into electronic files, rather than the wall of patient files you see in your doctors’ office. And when a clinic decides to go digital, that means that all of these files must be transcribed onto a computer from then on. As you can tell, there is an ever-growing demand for medical transcription, making it a great career for anyone interested in the medical field.

Now that we know medical transcription is a field that is here to stay, you may be wondering about some of the other benefits you can take advantage of when you embark on a career in medical transcription. Here are a few:

1. Fast certification. The courses you will take to prepare for your certification can take as little as 6 months to a year to complete.

2. Salary. As a medical transcriptionist, as a general rule, you can make anywhere from $35,000 to $55,000 a year, depending on your employer. For the amount of schooling and the overall cost to certify, the pay is generous.

3. Work from home. The vast majority of medical transcriptionists actually work from home! It is a great job for a stay-at-home mom, because of the flexible hours and ability to work in the comfort of your own home.

4. Become familiar with medical terminology. You never know when you will need to know what those terms mean! Becoming a medical transcriptionist is also a great stepping stone to a future career in nursing, hospital administration, or even an M.D.

In this day and age, more people are looking for alternatives to their regular jobs and one of the places they are looking is in transcription jobs. Transcription jobs have become widely popular largely due to the fact that they can be done from home. The most popular of the transcription jobs is the medical transcription kind which has seen a surge if interest and inquiries in the recent years.

Medical transcription persons are people who job is to convert doctors’ recorded reports into typed reports for administration purposes. Medical transcription are very crucial to the medical personnel and to the overall administration of medical records. Many people are not very familiar with what a medical transcription job entails but in order to succeed here, one has to be familiar with a few important medical terms. On top of that they also have to have a basic grasp of legal standards and requirements that apply to health records. Because of the current economic state and the fact that many companies want to save money, they prefer to hire candidates that possess previous transcription experience or have some sort of diploma or associates degree in this field.

Medical transcriptionists are assigned duties which involve creating and editing documents. These documents are created from the dictations of the medical professionals’ notes. Strictly-speaking, you do not require any formal training whatsoever to excel as a medical transcriptionist since most of the work comes from dictations.

So how can one find a medical transcription job?

These jobs are generally not advertised in the main classified section of any employment guide. That means you may have to do a little digging in order to unearth a job in this field. The best place to search is online. There are a few job directories that advertise medical transcription jobs. A simple search on Google will unearth a few but you have to be careful.There are some which charge exorbitant fees just to get information. Not all that charge a fee are bad either just be careful about those that charge an unreasonable amount.

Prepare a resume. Sometimes the companies that hire transcription personnel do not require prior experience and will even commit to training you if they feel that they are making the right investment. You might also want to consider going into the medical transcription career as an independent contractor. In this case you may need a website which will talk a little about yourself. On this website you may or may not need to add a picture of yourself but remember to give your current contact information and also a few of your qualifications. Prospective employers are impressed by the presence of a website.