Front end requires much time and effort from the dictator as editing is done as it is dictated. Back end happens behind the scenes and is edited after the report is dictated.

Yes, it is possible for VR to be used to reduce your medical transcription expenses by decreasing the
transcriptionist’s or service’s costs. It is not cost-effective for a physician’s time to be used performing clerical
duties. To maximize profit in a medical office, you must maximize use of the physician’s time seeing patients.

AMT will pair quality medical transcription/editing to insure that your reports will be ready for reimbursement or for your patient’s other physicians, if necessary.

We can take care of transcription and interface it into your EHR. Let technology work behind the scenes with your transcription service. That way, you can keep seeing patients. Isn’t that why you became a physician?

As with most things that are too good to be true, outsourcing to India comes with issues that may increase your net cost. The most obvious problems that arise have to do with quality. Not only does this lead to badly transcribed medical records but can impact patient care, insurance reimbursement, and may even lead to lawsuits.

Additionally, the adherence to HIPAA and HITECH regulations is impossible to monitor. Patient privacy leaks and even the outright stealing of patient medical records occur more easily. Most of these instances are never reported in the media.

AMT is committed to U.S. based transcriptionists. Yet each month, we receive at least one email advertisement from an Indian service. Even in emails extolling their great quality, we have never read one without at least one grammar or spelling error. Most of the time, there are many more.

In the past 10 years, a very significant portion of the U.S. medical transcription market has gone overseas, mainly to India. Some industry analysts guess that it is at least 40%, although reported much lower in the media. Most services using overseas transcription won’t admit that they use foreign transcriptionists. The biggest reason that services give for overseas outsourcing is the savings on labor. Perhaps, instead of line rate alone, you should consider overall cost.

Why? Most EHRs have features like electronic signature, electronic prescriptions, drug and allergy interaction checks, and clinical decision support. That will help, right? Well, yes, it will help with patient care documentation and, by extension, long term patient care. The problem is that all of those features listed above can require physician time. Lots of physician time. So, is the choice an EHR or fewer patients?

Not necessarily. There are complete system designs that work along with a physician’s normal daily routine. We at AMT Transcription can show you how to keep seeing your patients while getting all of the positives that your EHR can provide. Let us show you how to merge dictation and transcription with your existing or future.

There are many programs that track the number of lines in a document and they all have setup variables which can greatly impact the final count. In fact, many practices are quoted a low line rate but end up paying much more because of inflated line counts for each document. We recently spoke with a physician’s group administrator that told us that she was paying 12 cents per line to her contract transcriptionist. However, after taking into account the line counting methodology, we found that her effective rate was over 22 cents a line.

Though this scenario may seem deceptive at first, it may be an innocent mistake made by someone that does not really understand how the typing programs work. For example, the most common software for straight transcription is Microsoft Word.

The counting portion of this software is not very sophisticated. If you open a Word count dialog box and use the line count there, you are paying a “gross” line count. In other words, it counts each line in the document as a complete line, even if it only has one word or even just a line between paragraphs.

Do you need help determining the true cost of your transcription?

Medical Transcription is Based on Production

As a medical transcriptionist, it is your job to type several pages of dictation each day. Some transcriptionist’s only work part time, while others choose to spend a large chunk of their day typing. However, if your schedule is consistently being tampered with by outside influences, you’ll end up typing from the moment you wake up all the way into the wee hours of the night. This is not a career where you are paid hourly (at least not in most cases). If you choose to work at home, you must make time to work.

Some of the common daily nuisances you may have to deal with include but are not limited to: your children (particularly if you choose to work at home to spend more time with them – sometimes, this just isn’t possible), your spouse, friends who want to call all hours of the day, neighbors who want to “drop in”, and of course, your own lack of concentration. While these things are not necessarily “nuisances” when you’re not working, they can quickly become very annoying obstacles when you’re trying to type. This will result in a very miserable individual who is constantly stressed due to the fact that all they want to do is get caught up on work.

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Solving The Issues so You Can Work

Of course, one of your biggest motivators to stay home and adopt a career in medical transcription was so that you could spend more time with your children. Instead of focusing on “quantity” time, focus rather on quality time. It may be impossible to work while they’re up and running rampant through the house. If you choose to work while they’re awake, consider hiring a nanny or dropping them off at a sitter’s house for a few hours each day. If that isn’t an option, consider only focusing on work early in the morning, during naps, and perhaps for one more hour or two before they go to sleep.

When it comes to everyone else – your spouse who wants to call throughout the day or frequently interrupt you while you’re trying to work, as well as friends, neighbors, and relatives who simply do not understand that you work from home, you may have to get a little stern. Setting boundaries is crucial when you have a career in medical transcription. Choose not to answer the phone while you’re working and only worry about catching up on phone calls and emails when you’re not focusing on typing. Bare in mind that there is plenty of time throughout the day to socialize. A lot of people who work from home also tend to have issues getting distracted by their social media web page, online chats, watching television, and other forms of entertainment, so in addition, it is best to remember that unless you work, a career in medical transcription won’t produce any income.

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Let’s begin with all the obvious advantages. A transcriptionist is provided with an abundance of choices. The possibilities in relation to work environment are literally endless, especially if you own a laptop. Oddly enough, many transcriptionists prefer to remain in their comfort of their doctor’s office, providing them with a “break” from their children and the sanity of having a couple of adult conversations each day. There are also those who choose to work from home. Then, there are those who carry their laptop with them everywhere, working in the park one day, on the couch the next, in the car on the way to the beach, etc. It’s easy to see why so many consider medical transcription a “dream job”.

More obvious advantages include personal and financial freedom. Personal freedom is obviously more freedom of choice. You can work whenever you want, where ever you want, wearing whatever you choose, and by your own personal set of rules. There is no specific time to be at work, nor do you have to worry about putting up with numerous, annoying co-workers (assuming you choose to work from home). Financially, if you have a medical transcription job that pays per line and you’re a relatively fast typist, you’re much better off in this career than any other. You don’t have to stop working until you’ve met your daily income goal, which means you’re going to make much more money than you would otherwise working getting paid hourly at a regular 9 to 5 job.

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There are also the possible disadvantages. First, there is the actual work requirement. Some people are so caught up in the fact that they work from home that they don’t take into account that they must “work” in order to make money. Working from home in medical transcription requires tons of motivation. You must muster up the determination to meet your daily goal and stick to your own daily work schedule -whatever that may be. What’s most important is that you have a daily work schedule.

Another possible disadvantage is making sure that you have enough work. If you choose to start up your own transcription business, you may need to continuously search for new projects (particularly if you choose to work as a freelancer), which may sometimes mean that you have no work at all. It might be best to work for a company and accept lower pay just in case. Over time, your production will increase, which will then increase your pay.

Working from home also poses the threat of isolation. While everyone else is out and about in the world, you’re drenched with dictation that must be completed within a short time frame, stuck inside your home with no one to converse with. Aside from your children and spouse, (and your friends on Facebook), there are no other signs of humanity in sight. All of this is enough to drive a person insane. It’s best to maintain contacts, or at least schedule a lunch or play date with a close friend a few times per month to keep your sanity in tact.

These are just a few of the advantages and disadvantages of a career in medical transcription. It is up to you to decide whether or not this career is the proper choice for your personal interests. All in all, the advantages obviously outweigh the disadvantages, as the negative side of this career can be easily dealt with.

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The bad news is that yes, the latest technology has posed a decrease in the amount of available transcription jobs because it helps to type a portion of the reports. What was that? Yes, a “portion” – not the entire thing. For some doctors, this means less money spent on high-cost transcriptionists. Although, this is only “some”, not all. Unfortunately, this also means lower pay for most transcriptionists as well – but, don’t make any assumptions yet. There is a bright side.

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The fact that there has been a dramatic change in the medical transcription business does not mean that all hope is lost. It does mean that there are brand new opportunities for individuals in this profession. One of them includes the opportunity to work as a transcription editor. The advantage is that although the pay is lower, a portion of the report has already been typed, leading to an increased production rate. Overall, this presents an even more abundant opportunity in the realm of money and career value for the transcriptionist.

The fact that speech recognition has been added to the medical transcription not only increases overall pay, but shines a light on the importance of medical transcriptionist’s in general. Because no speech recognition software is perfect, there will always be need for quality transcriptionists. There is much more to this career field than merely typing and listening to dictation. So, when someone asks you what you do for a living, you no longer have to say “I am a medical transcriptionist”, but instead tell them that you are a “medical transcription editor”.

So, not only are you now typing medical reports, you’re also editing the errors that the speech recognition software has made, which really does not change your job any at all, especially since you’ve been editing all along anyway. The only difference is that you’re producing twice as many reports, and making significantly more money per hour.

There will always be a need for qualified medical transcriptionists, as computed, man-made technology will almost always certainly create errors. Doctors do not have the time to sit down and correct these mistakes, and someone’s got to do it. Medical coders can’t do it, nor can medical receptionists. Who does that leave? A well-trained, certified, highly knowledgeable medical transcriptionist.

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The Doctor, The Patient, and The Transcriptionist

A medical transcriptionist is responsible for typing out dictation into an organized medical report and then sending the reports back into the doctor or to the transcription company. But, what does this all mean? Well, it all starts with a doctor’s visit from a patient. The patient walks into the doctor’s office because of a health complaint. Information regarding the issue including details, previous conditions, operations, procedures, current existing conditions, are all recorded onto paper by the nurse and physician. Once the visit is complete, the physician then speaks all of the details regarding the patient’s visit into a recording device that is then either sent directly to the transcription company, the transcrptionist themselves, or picked up by a professional transcriptionist.

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The Job

Once the recording is received, the transcriptionist gets to work typing out the report. One report can take anywhere from 30 minutes up to an entire day depending on how quickly the transcriptionist can type and the length of the actual report. Most transcriptionist’s are provided a deadline by which they are required to have all their work completed. Generally deadlines may range from 24 hours up to one week depending on the company or doctor the transcriptionist works for. A job in medical transcription can be a very tedious and requires a lot of attention to detail, an ability to complete work on time, a lot of typing, and a thorough understanding of medical terminology.

The Pay

Anytime there are questions or concerns about a particular profession, people generally want to know about the pay before anything else. Pay is a huge motivation for many medical transcriptionists, as not everyone takes great joy in typing about diseases and possible life-threatening conditions all day. Fortunately, there are individuals in medical transcription earning well over six figures per year. However, there are also those individuals who are earning much less. Once you begin a career in transcription, you may not bring in over $200.00 to $300.00 per week (which is fine for many), but in time, you will bring home much more as your speed and production increases.

The Benefits Overall

Because you are paid by the line, it’s all about how much you can type – and accurately at that. A person with a career in medical transcription has a very good chance of earning as much money as they need and want, but must make sure that they schedule time to complete their work. If a successful daily schedule is followed, the benefits can be wonderful. You’ll find that you’re earning more money than you would at a regular job, have no one looking over your shoulder, can work whenever you want, and are living a life of complete personal and financial freedom.

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There is a lot of work involved, and because it can be performed from home, it is considered a bit “different”. All in all, it’s really no different from the rest. Just about any job can be performed at home provided that it involves working behind a computer desk all day requiring no heavy human contact. In any event, if you plan to run a successful transcriptionist business, there are some things you must do to ensure smooth sailing.

Required Items

There are a few items that you will need before getting to work on typing your reports. Those items include a home computer that is up to date with anti-virus software (to prevent possible breakdowns, viruses, etc.), an additional computer in the case that your main computer breaks down (to ensure a consistent daily work effort) a clean, quiet, organized work area free of clutter and distractions, a comfortable chair, a desk, a foot pedal, and a fully-functioning keyboard. You’ll also need a telephone for communicating with your clients, an active business email account, and quite possibly a web cam and headset for communicating online via Skype.

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Plenty of Work

As an independent contractor, you will be required to obtain your own private clients. This often means getting out, visiting local doctor’s offices, handing out your professional resume, and displaying a great deal of all-around business savvy. Try to maintain at least one to two accounts at all times to ensure that you have a legitimate amount of working coming in to meet all of your income needs.

Time to Work

Do you have children and numerous other outside responsibilities? If so, you may not be able to take on as much work as you might think. There is a chance that you might actually need more money to support your lifestyle, and if so, this may also require that you charge a higher rate, or plan to work longer hours.

Good Communication Skills

One of the things that you’re bound to run into if you have a long list of clients are required deadlines. Your clients will most certainly need their reports by a certain date. Be very clear before picking up work when it will be complete. Make sure that you understand your client’s expectations. In addition, to run a successful medical transcription, you must be clear about what you charge per hour, line, etc. Know when you will receive your pay so that you can plan ahead. All other problems and concerns should be addressed promptly and opening as well to ensure that you have a good working relationship with your clients.

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Knowing Your Trade

If you wish to excel in medical transcription, you must know your trade. You must be able to understand the dictation and successful produce a medical report free of errors and deliver it on time. You’ll need to obtain a certification in medical transcription, which doesn’t take much time – generally no more than 2 years at the most. You can choose to study either online or on campus at a local college.

Setting the Scene

Most medical transcription jobs are performed at home, which therefore means that you need a clean, organized home office to conduct your work. Most people own a spare bedroom and are able to turn it into a home office, while others choose to use their laptops and move around from room-to-room, working where ever they are able to concentrate the best. No matter where you choose to type, be sure that it is well-organized and free of any distractions.

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Making Time to Work

Individuals who choose to work from home do not usually understand how much discipline is needed until they’re actually required to work. You’re in the comfort of your own home where there are numerous creature comforts, such as your internet connection, unlimited food choices, movies, your favorite television shows, the option to leave and go workout at the gym or go shopping, etc. All the freedom in the world lies right in front of you, but yet and still, you must work. Refrain from procrastinating and try to complete your work as soon as possible each day. Remember that you still have bills to pay, and unless you create a daily schedule and routine to stick to, your bills won’t get paid.

Increasing Your Productivity

There are plenty of ways to increase your productivity. One of the first ways to increase your medical transcription productivity is by purchasing a foot pedal. A foot pedal will prevent you from having to constantly remove your hand from the keyboard to use your mouse. During the course of listening to dictation, you will find yourself constantly rewinding, fast forwarding, playing, and stopping the dictation. Over a period of hours, removal of your hands from the keyboard can cause you to lose dollars on the hour, which is why a foot pedal is a highly recommended device.

These are just a few of the ways to make the most of your medical transcription career. Some of the other things you should do include refraining from surfing the internet during work hours, keeping the television and radio turned off, turning off your cellphone, and dropping the kids off with a sitter. In medical transcription, more effort equals a higher rate of overall success and production.

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