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.

Medical Transcription, How Do You Work From Home? If you don’t know that’s OK! Most beginners to the home based medical transcription industry don’t either but this article will give you an expert overview of the industry. You Can Not Go Wrong If You Act Upon What We Share With You!

Is Medical Transcription A Legitimate Home Based Business?

Yes, it is and it has been for decades. It is not one of those widely advertised scams that you would see online or in newspapers like the medical billing industry is plagued with. Medical Transcriptionists have three options when deciding how they want to work:

1) Work inside a practice, hospital, etc.- if you take this route then you could make the equivalent of $9-15 per hour depending on your skill, accuracy and geographic location. As with any other job you will be supplied with everything you need (including benefits) by your employer.

2) Work as an independent/self employed medical transcriptionist – This is when you work completely for/by yourself, you take care of your taxes, you sign up and maintain your own client/accounts, you market your services, you provide your own benefits, etc. You’ll probably start out at the equivalent of $10-15 per hour (or 6-14c per line) and in time (years) you could be earning the equivalent of $15-$40 per hour depending upon the amount of work, clients and type of equipment that you use. A lot of medical transcriptionist around the nation rather doing business this way (including me) and once you see the pros and cons of the business and speak to a CPA you’ll see that this route is rather lucrative and you’re the boss. Simply put, you own the company so you do whatever you must to make it a success. Or;

3) Contract with a national company – with this type of medical transcription you are referred to as Statutory Employee. It is the same as the above mentioned position with the exception that the company you contract with usually pays 7.5% of the FICA tax, they might give you certain equipment to do the job their way and they will assign the workload expectation and pay.

What Is Medical Transcription?

Medical transcription is the process whereby one accurately and swiftly transcribes medical records dictated by doctors and others, including history and physical reports, clinic notes, office notes, operative reports, consultation notes, discharge summaries, letters, psychiatric evaluations, laboratory reports, x-ray reports and pathology reports.

It involves receiving dictation by tape, digital system or voice file, the use of ear/head phones, a foot pedal for start-stop control, a variety of word processing programs and sometimes the use of a printer and a modem. Today many home based medical transcriptionists still deliver their completed work back to the office but with technology being what it is now it’s just as simple to deliver the work via a modem. If you work of a national company they may require you to use a modem to download and transmit the work.

What Skills Does A Home Based Medical Transcriptionist Need?

Let me put it this way, having a computer at home and knowing how to type fast is not enough to become a successful medical transcriptionist. You MUST:

Take A Really Good Online Medical Transcription Training Course (or attend a good school-college-trade or vocational school),

Have Good Listening Skills,

Great English Grammar Skills,

Excellent Computer Skills,

Superior Research Skills,

Possess High Typing Speeds With Great Accuracy,

Pay Great Attention To Detail,

Have A Great Foundation In Medical Terminology, Anatomy, Physiology, Pharmacology, Laboratory Tests And Values, Medical Equipment and Procedures,

Possess The Ability To Work Alone (Usually you won’t have much contact with others),

Possess The Ability To Work Under Pressure And Sometimes Under A Deadline, and

Posses The Ability To Sit In Front Of A Computer For Extended Amounts Of Time.

You will need to invest in several different types of publications such as: an English dictionary, a grammar and style guide, a complete medical dictionary, a drug index, a laboratory and pathology word book, a medical word book by specialty, a surgery word book, a medical abbreviation word book, other specialty word books and a physician directory and other journals.

You will also need to use several different pieces of software such as a medical spellchecker and an abbreviation system such as PRD or Smartype. You will also need to learn all you can about your own computer so you can employ all the ticks and shortcuts within it to greatly enhance your productivity. Remember that you need to always have your hands on the keyboard because the more you type and type accurately is the greater your pay will be.

What’s The Initial Investment Needed To Do Medical Transcription?

This varies and it depends on several factors like:

Do you already have a home office or if you’re starting from scratch?

Do you have formal medical transcription training or not?

Do you already have most of the books you will need?

Do you have the necessary software programs to do the job professionally?

Do you need to purchase additional software or hardware?

The great thing is that you can buy most of the things you need (used) from places like eBay and other places that support the home based medical transcription industry. Your four major purchases will be your medical transcription training, transcriber, computer and reference books so your investment will be very minimal compared to doing medical billing from home where the investment can be as much as $6,000 to get the business off the ground.

Medical transcription is a diligent process and noble objective to humanity by serving patients who require treatment from specialist doctors and health care providers. The jobs of medical transcription have been gaining importance due to its abundant supply and a profession of financial bonanza but it does not demand huge qualifications and skills. With the change of food habits and climatic irregularities human life has been facing a challenge to attain matured age in life.

And it is the medical transcriptionists who can contribute for actual treatment by transcribing dictated notes from specialist’s doctors and health care providers stationed in various locations in this planet. So, the process of converting verbal advice in a readable format is called medical transcription.

The following are the functions that a medical transcriptionist should adhere to i.e.:

A. History of patients and possible occurrences of diseases,

B. Mental and physical reports,

C. Notes of office and clinic,

D. Pathology and operative reports,

E. Transcribe consultation with doctors and heath care providers and their advises,

F. Patients discharge summaries,

G. Laboratory and x-ray reports,

H. Other kinds of jobs which are required to prepare a medical record.

The demand for good medical transcriptionists have been increasing day by day.The recent data from US dept. of labor reveals that medical transcription jobs at entry label provide $25000-$27000 P.A while it will be increased to $50000-$60000 P.A depending upon skills and qualifications. The AAMT has been providing degrees and diploma both offline and online arrangement. After completion of course, the successful candidates deserve the following skills.

A. Ability to use correct vocabulary, punctuation and spelling.

B. Good exposure in medical terminology relates to anatomy, general medicine and surgery, pathology and laboratory reports.

C. Basic computer software knowledge and internet technology.

D. Speed in keyboard operations 60-80 wpm and ability in proofreading.

E. Good understanding HIPAA, ICD-9, CPT-4 and its applications in medical transcription.

The medical transcription career is not hard but it is not as easy as data entry jobs. It requires lot of patience to sit in front of computer for a long time. Besides, some short term or long term qualifications are needed to do the jobs successfully.