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do medical transcription jobs pay well?

and how easy is it to get a job doing it from home?

Public Comments

1. 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. Median hourly earnings in the industries employing the largest numbers of medical transcriptionists were: Medical and diagnostic laboratories$15.68 General medical and surgical hospitals14.62 Business support services14.34 Outpatient care centers14.31 Offices of physicians14.00
2. Most at-home MT positions are paid per line, so compensation varies on performance and work availability. If you type fast and, more importantly, know medical terminology and specialities, then your compensation will be on the higher end. To work from home, you will be expected to invest in your own equipment, training, etc., and will probably be an independent contractor responsible for your payroll taxes, etc. The long term outlook on the industry is a little bleak. More docs are using voice recognition or are required to enter their own reports.
3. They pay pretty well, and it varies depending on where you live. But, it's hard to find a job, at least in my area.
4. No. These are some of the lowest-paying, most-boring jobs in the world. But they are jobs and they pay money so more people are accepting the boredom for some certainty..
5. The short answer is you absolutely have to get a proper education and to make any money you absolutely have to be productive. If you are planning to do medical transcription with the kids playing at your feet you will be on the low end of the pay scale. When I got my first job I started out at maybe $12 an hour but within a few months (once I learned the client's preferred formatting and got to know the dictators a little) I was up past $20 an hour and was actually making closer to $30 after a year. I was paid by the line but that is what it worked out to. I work with voice recognition software now and love it. Voice recognition software will not take over for the medical transcriptionist because a computer can only be so accurate and medical reports must be 100% accurate. They also don't know grammar very well :) Instead of typing the entire report, I edit the report after the software is done with it. Trust me, there are many, many mistakes that need to be corrected. If you get a good education with a AHDI recommended school you should not have any problem getting a job. There are many companies that will test a graduate as long as they have proof that you have attended one of the top schools. I always recommend the following four: Career Step: http://www.careerstep.com Andrews School: http://www.andrewsschool.com M-Tec: http://www.mtecinc.com If you are Canadian: http://www.canscribe.com There are more if you see the AHDI (Medical Transcription Association) website for approved MT schools. Hope this helps, Shelly Coe www.hometranscription.net
6. Pable had a good answer as far as the pay. You can earn much, much extra if you can type quickly and accurately and there is a demand for increased workload. I once earned $74/hr for typing so much since the place was so far behind. However, you need a legit education -- not some silly online school. And you have to have in-hospital experience. You can't just start working at home. You have to work at least a year at a hospital before anyone will hire you.
7. The pay is well. However: MT as a career is a viable one especially at on-site private or public medical facilities and medical recordkeeping establishments. Unfortunately, because of privacy issues, therre are no on-line, off-site opportunities for MT since medical files are not normally checked out to another locale, i.e., the MT's home or business center. Unless an MT is connected with a major private or public medical facility, there are very limited job opportunities outside of brick and mortar medical facilities. And even with the advent of so-called "new technology" wherein voice-recognition software is employed to transcribe medical dictation; there's still a need to have someone [not necessarily a MT] format and correct spelling errors on the final draft. Good luck!
8. Most companies want experience when yo're working from home, so most transcriptionists work in a hospital or doctor's office at first. More on this plus pay/jobs on the website below.
9. This is straight off O*NET (occupational information network). It collects data about many careers, and even has wage info collected from the Department of Labor. Medical Transcriptionists: A career that is currently in demand Median wages (2007) $15.02 hourly, $31,250 annual Projected growth (2006-2016) Faster than average (14% to 20%) Projected need (2006-2016) 26,000 additional employees If you google O*NET (type it just like that with the asterisk), you can actually see the wage info for your state specifically. The numbers above are a national average. Good luck!