Inside Medical Transcription

Medical transcription is one of the few hot careers of this decade. With aging population and decreasing workforce, never before has the shortage of medical transcriptionists been so evident. This gives an opportunity to explore medical transcription business to strike it big and to strike at right time. With tough times and economic slowdown, venturing in to any business is a difficult proposition. However, you will be amazed to know how easily you can start your own transcription business without a big hole in your pocket. So what do you require to start a home-based medical transcription business? Well, to be true, not much. With good knowledge of transcription, starting a home-based business should be very simple. Some important things to consider before starting this business are the initial investments, requisite training, marketing, profitability, and time management. Let us know more in details about each of these.

Investment in transcription is not huge. You require a good computer, printer, fax machine, earphones, foot controls, audio recorders and software required for transcription. These include Stedman, drug dictionary, English dictionary, FTP, audio convertors, audio players, office software and some others. Basically, standard office equipment is what you will need to start with. As the business is home based, you again save on the rent and other miscellaneous expenses.

Training in medical transcription usually requires a period of 4 to 6 months with many courses available on the internet these days; some of them available online too. The fee for learning medical transcription is not too high either. By investing around 5 to 6 hours a day for a period of 4 to 6 months, you can easily become a good transcriptionist. Most of the transcriptionists are able to work independently by the time they finish their course and so should you. With proper guidance and knowledge, you should be able to work on all sorts of audio transcription and be ready to start your own business after completion of your course.

Every business requires efficient marketing to propel the revenues and get a strong client base. Though medical transcription business also requires marketing, it is certainly not at the same level, as do most other businesses. Most of the time marketing would involve telephone calls and personal meetings. Being a home-based business, you just require 2 or 3 good clients to support and grow your business. Again, one saves a lot of money in marketing this business as compared to others.

Business without a profit is like a life without a desire. Home-based transcription businesses usually do not run out of business and very unlikely run in to losses if you are efficient and are managing the reports on time. Revenue in medical transcription is charged on the number of lines you transcribe. Usually 65 characters per line is the norm and a good rate should be around 12 cents per line. Most of the transcriptionists easily manage 1000 lines a day and with that productivity, you should easily earn around 120 dollars a day. The more the number of lines you do, the more will be the revenue. On average, a home-based transcriptionist easily earns around 30,000 to 50,000 dollars a year depending on the rates and productivity. Some of them even earn higher to the tune of 100,000 with proper business tactics and by employing others. Thus, with minimum of investment and training, medical transcription business offers a good career from the comfort of your home. You can take care of all your homely needs and at the same time take care of business.

Time management is a skill that every medical transcriptionist has to master. Transcription is a time-bound job. Reports should reach the doctors on time and if they do not, it can eventually lead to loss of business. Transcriptionists usually get a 12 to 24-hour window period where they have to finish the reports and send them back to the doctors. Delays here are not well tolerated by the medical fraternity. However, if you are sincere and efficient, work management under deadlines should not be a major issue. Remember, much of patient care is dependent on the accuracy of the reports that you transcribe and the timeframe within which you send back those reports.

With a little of investment and training, one can easily start and run a medical transcription business. In times of economic recession with people losing jobs each day, medical transcription business offers a smart way of working and earning at the same time without even driving to an office or leaving your home and kids.

The outlook for the medical transcription looks good. It is a lucrative career in demand with great growth opportunities.

If you are thinking of a medical transcription course or are already taking one, this is good news. This means you will have a lot of employment and financial opportunities.

Although medical transcription is projected to grow and remain stable, there are some common concerns among the community MT.

These are the most common.

Speech recognition will replace transcriptionists?

It has been talked about for a long time voice recognition and new software to replace the jobs of MTS. This does not affect you anytime soon. There is an increasing number of issues and concerns with this software. It is not in use in a large establishment and has not yet replaced the need for medical transcription as a whole.

Medical terminology is complex and regulations of patient records are stricter than ever. At present the most accurate way to transcribe these records is trained by the multilateral trading system.

According to the Institute of Medical Records, which actually promotes the use of computerized medical records, current research shows the use of voice recognition in the medical fields is less than 1%.

What about the off-shore transcription?

Some companies are using offshore transcription companies to save money. However, while outsourcing medical transcription to foreign companies can save money, many companies are not following this route.

There are various concerns and problems with outsourcing to foreign firms. MT off-shore companies are not required to comply with HIPAA regulations. This means you do not follow the HIPAA security and privacy guidelines to protect medical records.

In some cases it can be done, but binding agreements required by HIPAA guidelines should be signed. And precautions must be taken so that the data is not sent abroad. Sellers must log on to the U.S. database to do their job, which means that the systems and additional measures must be put in place. This can be expensive and time consuming.

While some companies may find the need to save money is worth these risks, most do not.

I agree with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and believe that the future of medical transcription looks good and there are many opportunities out there for the taking.

However, although the future of MT looks promising, times have changed. MTs of today should start adapting to the ever-changing technology business around it.

The technology exists and is available for us to take our business to the next level. With a few clicks of the mouse, we can build our own web page MT, created a daily online or download files transcript.

Be smart in your business, keep up with the times, adapt to technology and its future prospects will be better than ever.

Want a sample medical transcription resume to follow in order to know what should be included in a resume? Well here it is! For those in the medical transcription profession, this will gain you instant credibility within the medical field.

Here are some important tips to follow:

1) Be as succinct as possible in your medical transcription resume, and highlight what skill sets you bring to the table.

2) Limit your resume to one page. People are too busy these days to read more than one page and are often overwhelmed due to information overload.

3) Zero in on the key skill sets being sought for this particular medical transcription position. Explain how your skills are a perfect match for this position.

4) Include other vital information, such as volunteer work or supervisory/managerial positions that you’ve held while working as a medical transcriptionist.

5) Tailor your medical transcription resume to each specific job for which you are applying. This is important! Do not submit a one-type-fits-all resume.

Here is a sample medical transcription resume that this author has used to land a few outside medical transcription contractor jobs for orthopedic surgeons in private practice. It demonstrates how to put all five points into action. (Please note that headings should be centered and bolded.)

PERSONAL CONTACT INFORMATION

(insert your personal contact info here, including your e-mail address)

ADMINISTRATIVE QUALIFICATIONS

Typing speed of 120-130 w.p.m. with 98% accuracy; excellent command of the English language; strong editing, grammar, and punctuation skills; ability to edit “on the fly” when taking patient histories and when transcribing medical reports, making paragraphs flow smoothly; and solid computer (hardware and software) skills, saving the company down time and money.

INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIP SKILLS

Ability to put people at ease and to establish immediate rapport; ability to control the history interview process, keeping the patient on track; and getting salient information in a timely manner, all in a congenial and empathetic way. Cooperates and works well with co-workers, willingly shares new technical and medical information. Professional, dedicated, and committed to the success of the company through collaborative efforts with others.

WORKERS’ COMPENSATION-SPECIFIC SKILLS

Good command/understanding of workers’ compensation field, thus enabling me to ask the pertinent questions that will enable the doctor to intelligently address important workers’ compensation issues (e.g., permanent disability, apportionment, and causation); over five years of experience taking patient histories (ranging from basic to complicated) on a daily basis, specializing in the field of orthopedics; and over 14 years of experience as a medical transcriptionist, historian, and medical records reviewer.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Company Name, Address, City State, Zip, Phone Number Employed From: June 19xx to 20xx Supervisor: Jane Doe

Company Name, Address, City State, Zip, Phone Number Employed From: June 19xx to 20xx Supervisor: Jane Doe

Depending on how much information and work experience you have, there may be room at the bottom of the page. If so, include this section:

QUALITIES AND CHARACTER TRAITS

Innovative, creative, proactive, energetic visionary, resourceful self-starter; practical, self-reliant, motivated problem-solver; versatile, talented trainer/teacher; organized, personable, and reliable support person with a winning attitude who takes great pride in meeting and exceeding her own definition and standard of excellence.

One last point: The very last sentence of the resume is a powerful thing-if the resume has been read all the way through. You can-and I have done this-use that very same sentence-at the TOP of the resume to grab the reader’s attention. When you do, change the heading to: SELF-ASSESSMENT STATEMENT.

Now isn’t that a powerful sample medical transcription resume? As a secondary benefit, when a medical transcription resume is this solid, this good, it will make it even easier for you to sell yourself to a prospective employer when you meet face to face because you will have all the self-confidence you need to make your case and get that medical transcription job you want when you follow this medical transcription resume format!