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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Ask Your School For Job Placement Assistance

Not all online medical transcription schools offer job placement assistance, which is why it pays off to make sure that they do. Many of them will offer you a high paying position as well. Be sure to take some time to perform a bit of research before selecting a school so that you can take advantage of what’s out there.

Education and Experience Go Hand-In-Hand

Some companies will consider your 18 months of hard work and study prior experience and allow you to work for them. Be sure to obtain your certification, as it will increase your likelihood of obtaining your first job. The downside is that not all companies consider education as experience. However, it never hurts to apply anyway.

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Speak With Other Transcriptionists

If you’re familiar with the internet, you might consider getting involved in an online medical transcription forum. You can find plenty of them located on work-at-home websites, as well as medical transcription job websites. Consider asking a few online transcriptionists about how they landed their first job, and allow them to provide you with some pointers. Chances are, they know of at least one company who will hire you. They might also be able to provide you with some part-time work as well, especially if they have their own business.

Call Around

In medical transcription, it never hurts to call around. Once you’ve received your professional certification, consider calling around to a couple of local doctor’s offices. There is a good chance that someone will hire you, and as a bonus, you get to charge your own rates.

Check Local Online Job Listings and Newspapers

There is never a lack of need for quality transcriptionists. If you continue to sift through local job listings each week, you’ll definitely find what you’re looking for. Try submitting your resume to as many places as possible. Keep in mind that medical transcription is a competitive career field, so finding a job this way may take some time.

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You’re Comfortable Sitting

Unless you own a treadmill with a desktop glued to it, you’re going to end up sitting behind a computer during the vast majority of your day. If this isn’t something you’re comfortable with, then you may want to pick another job. As with all jobs that involve long hours of sitting, it is important that you be sure to get up and walk around, stretch, etc. every couple of hours as to avoid cramps and stiff muscles.

You Enjoy Typing

Some people are natural-born typists. Once their fingers hit the keyboard, the magic happens and they are able to produce pages and pages of work in minimal time. One of the most common problems associated with medical transcription careers is a condition called carpal tunnel syndrome. This condition usually develops after years of typing improperly. Be sure that your wrists always remain slightly above your keyboard, and your upper body is positioned comfortably at all times to avoid any possible problems.

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You’re a Good Listener

Without good listening skills, you’ll never make it as a medical transcriptionist. Listening to doctors speak dictation is an enormous part of the medical transcription profession. You’ll need to create a quiet work area and devote every last bit of your attention to your work, as one mistake could result in a patient receiving the wrong medication or treatment for their condition, which can be potentially fatal.

You’re Patient

There is a chance that you’ll end up getting frustrated at least 30 times each day – especially in the beginning. There will be times when certain words simply don’t sound like words, or at least sound like a ridiculously strange word that doesn’t exist. You’ll end up having to play this part of the dictation over and over again almost a hundred times before you can make it out. Obviously, this will take up a lot of time and require much patience. Instead of getting angry at the fact that you’re losing time and money, simply make a note of the difficult spots and go back to them a few hours later.

If you feel that this career is right for you, then you will reap huge benefits. In medical transcription, you have the option of making as much money as you want. The more you work, the more you make. The company you work for may also provide medical benefits and 401K. You’ll have the luxury of working from home, setting your own schedule, and spending more time with your children, family, friends, and doing whatever else you want in your spare time.

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Getting Your Certification

Most jobs in transcription require that you possess a professional certification. The first thing you must do before attending a school (online or on campus) is to make sure that it is recognized by the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity or the AHDI. There is a fair chance that you won’t be able to obtain a job without this particular form of recognition and accreditation.

Once you begin your course in medical transcription, you might find that it is relatively difficult, especially since you’re required to learn and understand all words and meanings in medical terminology. As you proceed through your course, you will be required to practice typing dictation with practice reports. At first, you won’t be able to do much. The key is to keep at it, no matter how difficult. With time, your course gets easier. Don’t focus so much on speed, but instead, focus on identifying what the doctor is saying.

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Most medical transcription courses generally last anywhere from 6 to 18 months. Many online schools offer job placement as well. You may not have the opportunity to snag the highest paying job on the market right off, but with time, pay will increase.

Working and Choosing Not to Quit

Once you’ve obtained your certification, you’ll be off to your first job in transcription – be it online or at a medical office (whichever you prefer). The majority of medical transcriptionist’s are paid by the line with a starting pay of usually .6 cents per line. In the beginning, you will not be able to type a lot of dictation. However, this is no reason to quit. Within one or two more years of learning and familiarizing yourself with the doctors, you will notice that you shoot from typing 100 lines per hour to 200 and then to 300 in no time. With increased speed also comes increased pay. On average, medical transcription careers pay .10 cents per line after a few years of experience.

Work Requirements

If you choose to work from home, be sure that you take the time to create a home office, or at least be sure to work in a room with no distractions, noises, television, music, or ringing telephones. In time, you will quickly realize that small distractions significantly decrease your production. If you have children at home, your work is best completed during naps, early mornings, and late at night after they’ve gone off to bed. Also, for best results as a work-at-home transcriptionist, be sure that your work area is always neat, clean, and organized to help increase concentration.

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By the Line – The Most Common

Just about every transcriptionist you will ever come in contact will state that they are paid by the line, but what “by the line”? Cents, dollars? Medical transcriptionist’s are generally paid cents by the line. Most of them start off making .6 cents per line (cpl). Within a few months of working for one particular online medical transcription company, that amount will be raised to .7 or .8 cpl. From there, as the transcriptionist’s knowledge, production, and overall skill increases, so will the pay.

Most professional transcriptionist’s deem that pay per the line is the best overall because it provides the individual with the opportunity to make more money per hour. Let’s say that you are making .6 cpl just starting out and you’re only typing 50 lines per hour. Doesn’t add to much, does it? It won’t – at least not in the beginning. However, let’s say one year down the road you’re suddenly typing 150 lines per hour and making .7 cpl – which adds up to $10.50 an hour. If you work 8 hours per day, you’ll make $84.00 per day. On a five-day work week, that’s $420.00. Not bad, huh?

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Okay, now let’s say another two years down the road you’re making .9 cpl and typing 250 lines per hour. That adds up to $22.50 an hour. During an 8-hour workday, that adds up to $180.00 per day, which then adds up to $900.00 per week. As you can see, that’s a significant jump in pay over the course of just two years. If you choose to become a medical transcriptionist, pay per line may just be the most beneficial.

Per Hour – Less Common

A medical transcription career getting paid by the hour may be your best bed, especially if you are just starting out. In the beginning, getting paid by the line often leads to low pay because you will still need to surpass the “learning curve”. However, later on, you may consider switching to a transcription job that pays by the line for higher pay. Hourly rates can start out as low as $8.00 per hour or as high as $14.00 per hour.

Per Page – Extremely Rare

If you own your own medical transcription business or are an independent contractor, you are given the right to charge however you please. Many transcriptionists charge a flat page rate because they feel it benefits them the best. Page rates may vary from $4.00 per page up to $10.00, just depending on what you prefer.

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