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Medical Transcription's please help out!?

I'm looking at going into medical transcription and had a few questions for you medical transcriptionist out there. 1) I heard that these services they are now being outsourced or transcribed by computers. Is this a real concern or are there still a large amount of hospitals utilizing the traditional way of medical transcription? 2) When you are hired do employers typically give you benefits or are you seen as a contracted employee (since you work from home)? 3) I read that wage is usually based on how many lines you type, so does that mean you can work your butt off one week and the next week take it easy or do you need to be pretty consistent as far as how much work you are completing? Any other tips or info would be greatly appreciated!!! Thanks so much!

Public Comments

1. 1) There are some companies which choose to outsource the work. However, many are finding the quality to be extremely poor and have decided to bring the work back to the states. There are others who do not agree with outsourcing and promise to keep the work from going overseas. As for Voice Recognition software - I have worked with this in the past and it is far from perfect. There will always be a need for a human editor. Also, a computer can not pick out a doctor's mistakes like a transcriptionist can, such as transcribing a vasectomy for a female patient. 2) This depends entirely on the company you work for/contract with and your contract with them. Several companies hire their MTs on as employees, giving them the option of receiving benefits. Others hire IC's, leaving you with more flexibility, but no benefits. 3) Again, this depends on the company you work for. Some have no line requirements and you can work as little or as much as you want. Others require you to commit to completing X amount of lines within a given time period. Many do pay by the line, but some do pay by the hour and page, as well. The US Department of Labor states" Employment of medical transcriptionists is projected to grow 14 percent from 2006 to 2016, faster than the average for all occupations. Demand for medical transcription services will be spurred by a growing and aging population. Older age groups receive proportionately greater numbers of medical tests, treatments, and procedures that require documentation. A high level of demand for transcription services also will be sustained by the continued need for electronic documentation that can be shared easily among providers, third-party payers, regulators, consumers, and health information systems. Growing numbers of medical transcriptionists will be needed to amend patients’ records, edit documents from speech recognition systems, and identify discrepancies in medical reports." "Wage-and-salary medical transcriptionists had median hourly earnings of $14.40 in May 2006. The middle 50 percent earned between $12.17 and $17.06. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $10.22, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $20.15." If your hoping to get into this field, though, you will most likely need training from an AHDI 'approved' program. Most employers require experience or participation in one of the top AHDI approved schools. If your looking into Medical Transcription pay the extra in tuition to attend an 'approved' school. Many people have received training through inadequate programs only to find out that they are unable to find a job. AHDI sets the standards for MT courses. Employers know that graduates of these 'approved' courses have gained the skills necessary to begin their career as an MT. ------ AHDI is the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity - www.ahdionline.org (formerly known as the American Association for Medical Transcription). I attended Career Step and recieved a job (at-home) less than a week after graduating. I've received several more job offers since, but have stuck with my original employer because of the flexibility they offer. Career Step is an AHDI approved program and they are partnered with many of the major MT employers. In other words, their graduates get the jobs. Many companies require 2-3 years experience, however, a lot of these companies will waive this requirement if you graduate from the right school. I recommend CS because they are partnered with MANY employers, self-paced (you can finish in a few months or take as long as over a year or two), and more affordable than many courses. Plus, I have personal experience (and success) with the program. Attending your local community college will give you a good chance at a job in-house, but if you are wanting to work from home, an online 'approved' course is the way to go. Choosing the right school is so important! They do offer financial aid and payment plans. :) If you have any questions, feel free to contact me: bcharmed01 at yahoo dot com