Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Medical Transcription Training

In order to be a good medical transcrioptionist you have to take adequate training so as to meet the industry requirements. Primary we should have excellent English grammar written and spoken, good typing skills, good listening skills with 100%accuracy.

Employers will almost exclusively hire transcriptionists who have completed some kind of formal training in the area or who have experience. There are many ways to obtain such training, but for most a community college or vocational school will be the best option, especially if the training includes on-the-job experience. Do not worry about whether or not they offer the opportunity to earn the Certified Medical Transcriptionist designation. This is not a required certification in general, and in fact, most transcriptionists need a couple of years' experience before they can pass the test to gain this designation. I am not a CMT, but I was able to find a job.

Courses typically take several months to two years to complete, depending on the school chosen. Many vocational schools include the cost of books and course materials in their tuition, which may be helpful after you have landed a job. If you already work in a medical field, and simply want to switch to working from home, you may only need to learn transcription, as you may already have the vocabulary you need, but think carefully, as a refresher course may not be an entirely bad thing either.

It is also possible to take transcription courses at home. This option is more flexible but may be more challenging in other ways. Your selection of a course of study should depend on how you will best learn what you need to know.

You will need an assortment of reference books. Some you may recieve with your training, but you may find you need others. See the equipment page for suggestions.

College Courses

College courses are best for most people. Having an instructor to help you through the difficult parts and to keep you working on a schedule can be a great benefit. Many schools also offer job placement assistance, which may not be available through home study courses.

Community Colleges

Perhaps the cheapest method of instructor-led training you can get, but it may not be quick. A quick look at a local community shows a 22-25 unit requirement for certification in Medical Transcription. This would require a minimum of two semesters' work or more, depending on prerequisites and whether you attend part- or full-time.

Costs vary by what state you live in. Check with your local school.

Vocational Schools

Vocational schools cost more than community colleges, typically into the thousands, but may offer more flexiblity when it comes to the timing of your class. This may not be a quick solution either. With a quick look at a local vocational school's webpage, I found that its Medical Transcription training program takes about 28 weeks of classroom time and four weeks of an externship. Check to see if textbooks and other supplies are included in the cost.

Home Study

Home study courses offer the most flexiblity in many ways, but they offer challenges as well. You must be capable of working on your own. On the other hand, if you want to work at home, that's a skill you need. You'll need special equipment for this option in many cases, such as a foot pedal.

In the time I've spent researching medical transcription schools, three names keep coming up as the ones that employers actually hire from regularly: Career Step, M-Tec, and Andrews School of Medical Transcription,Transdyne. Of them, Transdyne is the most affordable. The others have a still better repuation with employers, but Transdyne graduates are plenty well enough trained to find employment. My former employer, Medquist, requires that you take the Gold level or above from Transdyne (last I heard, anyhow), which is my recommendation as well. Expect to take a minimum of 6 months, often 9 months or more, to complete a course.

Which option is best? That depends in large part on how you best learn and what is available in your area. There's no one definite right answer that will meet everyone's needs.

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Medical Transcription - An Option For a Secure Future

Medical transcription refers to the process of transposing the notes or dictation of healthcare producers into an accurate text document.

Tough economic times often cause stress to people. And, stress is known to affect one's health detrimentally. As the baby boomer's age, more people are heading to their doctor's for treatment of their aches and pains.

Put it all together and medical transcription work is only likely to increase. If you are looking for a home based career, you simply must at least consider medical transcription as an option.

Have You Considered a Career in Medical Transcription?

For a medical transcription career a background in typing or medicine is certainly an asset to getting started. These abilities can be learned by the entry level transcriptionist.

This is a career that does not bind you to living in one place. You can access your work from anywhere around the globe as long as you have broadband access to the Internet and a computer with reasonable specifications.

The future as a medical transcriptionist looks promising. Our population is aging and the demand is on the healthcare industry. As more reports need to be done, there is more work for the medical transcriptionist.

Starting in Medical Transcription

When starting a medical transcription business, there are tips that will help you along the way. You need to know how to gain some experience in medical transcription.

You can attend a local training institution, or learn from take home study courses. There are now reputable online medical transcription schools. You need to become competent but medical transcription degrees are not a requirement to start your business.

Proper training is required resulting in a high degree of accuracy, a high level of productivity and familiarity with professional tools. When you become competent and accurate in your work, and have mastered the digital equipment, you will have no trouble finding work.

How To Achieve The Best Medical Transcription Rate?

The medical transcription field continues to be an essential part of healthcare even with all the world's technological advances. This will continue due to the fact that computer's don't do dictation, as we know it.

When you are working in the medical transcription industry and you specialize, it has a huge impact on your income potential. The medical transcription rate you will be paid is dependent on your level of competence. The demand for the particular sector you are transcribing is also a factor.

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Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Career in Medical Transcription Allows You to Earn Great Income from Home

The majority of Transdyne medical transcription graduates enjoy the comfort of working from their own homes, and even though most medical coding specialists currently work at medical offices or hospitals, current trends point to growing numbers of at-home positions for medical coders, as well.

Imagine all the benefits of working at home:

  • Spend more time with your family!
  • Raise your own children - no more daycare!
  • Have freedom to set your own hours!
  • Nobody looking over your shoulder!
  • No long, costly commutes to the office!
  • No need for expensive daycare!

If working at home is a "must" for you, please consider choosing medical transcription career training. People become motivated about medical transcription for many different reasons; they become MTs so they can work from home, earn great income, avoid long commutes and costly daycare, have job security in a growing market, or enjoy more quality time with family. Whatever your personal reasons for looking into medical transcription, know that Transdyne is your best resource for training, assistance, and support to prepare you to confidently step into a new career as a medical transcriptionist. Unless you have had the advantage of working from your home, you cannot imagine the FREEDOM that such a lifestyle gives you!

A medical transcriptionist is responsible for transcribing medical reports accurately.Any time there is an interaction with a medical professional and patient, doctors dictate information for a medical document. Medical transcription opportunities for new entry transcriptionists are rarely advertised on the internet or in newspapers but you will find plenty available.

For a few reasons, medical officials decided to go directly to medical transcription classes, training courses and schools that offer medical transcription job assistance.They look for students that have completed the courses and are competent. The key is competence.

By being competent, you are looking at a minimum typing speed of 60 words per minute (wpm), the faster, the better. Accuracy is even more important. Your accuracy will need to be 98% plus. Again the higher, the better.

Now don't be scared off just yet...

There are great programs you can use to increase your typing speed. And, good medical transcription colleges will aide you in achieving these levels with your determination and some hard work.Any medical experience you have, although not necessary, will certainly advantage you in your career in medical transcription. Demand for nurse medical transcriptionists is very high!

The thing is if you already have a strong understanding of medical terminology and you can reach the competence levels, you may well be accepted for work.

If you are wondering about the future of medical transcription then you can feel secure knowing that there is a strong and growing demand in the medical transcription industry for excellent transcriptionists.

The US Department of Labor says that medical transcription careers will have strong growth over the next several years.

The future for a career in medical transcription is extremely promising as the first of the Boomer's hit 65 in 2011. Those born during the baby boom years of 1946 to 1964 are aging and the demand for medical care is growing with their aging...

Sphere: Related Content

Career in Medical Transcription Allows You to Earn Great Income from Home

The majority of Transdyne medical transcription graduates enjoy the comfort of working from their own homes, and even though most medical coding specialists currently work at medical offices or hospitals, current trends point to growing numbers of at-home positions for medical coders, as well.

Imagine all the benefits of working at home:

  • Spend more time with your family!
  • Raise your own children - no more daycare!
  • Have freedom to set your own hours!
  • Nobody looking over your shoulder!
  • No long, costly commutes to the office!
  • No need for expensive daycare!

If working at home is a "must" for you, please consider choosing medical transcription career training. People become motivated about medical transcription for many different reasons; they become MTs so they can work from home, earn great income, avoid long commutes and costly daycare, have job security in a growing market, or enjoy more quality time with family. Whatever your personal reasons for looking into medical transcription, know that Transdyne is your best resource for training, assistance, and support to prepare you to confidently step into a new career as a medical transcriptionist. Unless you have had the advantage of working from your home, you cannot imagine the FREEDOM that such a lifestyle gives you!

A medical transcriptionist is responsible for transcribing medical reports accurately.Any time there is an interaction with a medical professional and patient, doctors dictate information for a medical document. Medical transcription opportunities for new entry transcriptionists are rarely advertised on the internet or in newspapers but you will find plenty available.

For a few reasons, medical officials decided to go directly to medical transcription classes, training courses and schools that offer medical transcription job assistance.They look for students that have completed the courses and are competent. The key is competence.

By being competent, you are looking at a minimum typing speed of 60 words per minute (wpm), the faster, the better. Accuracy is even more important. Your accuracy will need to be 98% plus. Again the higher, the better.

Now don't be scared off just yet...

There are great programs you can use to increase your typing speed. And, good medical transcription colleges will aide you in achieving these levels with your determination and some hard work.Any medical experience you have, although not necessary, will certainly advantage you in your career in medical transcription. Demand for nurse medical transcriptionists is very high!

The thing is if you already have a strong understanding of medical terminology and you can reach the competence levels, you may well be accepted for work.

If you are wondering about the future of medical transcription then you can feel secure knowing that there is a strong and growing demand in the medical transcription industry for excellent transcriptionists.

The US Department of Labor says that medical transcription careers will have strong growth over the next several years.

The future for a career in medical transcription is extremely promising as the first of the Boomer's hit 65 in 2011. Those born during the baby boom years of 1946 to 1964 are aging and the demand for medical care is growing with their aging...

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A FINE QUALITY MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTION COMPANY

We offer a fine quality transcription service product at cost competitive rates. Our medical transcription accuracy is better than 99.60% and the turn around time is 4-6 hours for standard transcription service.

Our experienced transcriptionists are knowledgeable in all areas of medicine and have an average of over 15 years experience. Our transcription work is superior and completely accurate and of legal quality. Our transcriptionists are the best and the work is not sent overseas to off-shore companies.

Our clients include: Intensive Care Units, Radiologists,Urology Depts, Neurologists, General Medicine, Research, Pathology, Oncology, Pharmacology from some of the most prestigious hospitals in New York and other States.

Transcription services for every aspect of medical communication, from everyday SOAP or follow-up notes, diagnostic procedure notes, letters to referring physicians, complete medical history and physicals, insurance related correspondence including IME's and peer reviews.

We will transmit finished reports to you by secure encrypted e-mail, secure FTP (file transfer protocol) fax, secure Internet sites, direct modem and hard copy delivery. We meet and exceed HIPAA rules and regulations.

A Standard 4- 6 hour hour turn-around time is our norm, we also provide STAT services.

Place your digital voice files directly on our computer (FTP) from physician digital recorders units (Sony, Olympus, Dictaphone, Sanyo, Radio Shack etc.), we will set up a secure Internet FTP (file transfer protocol) address for you for your uploads and downloads (no charge), or use our toll free 866 phone numbers.

All systems available 24/7 365 days per year.

Why should you consider transdyne.com? We believe in doing a high tech, state of the art, professional job with a friendly, low stress, and neighborly approach to our clients and employees.

Excellent medical transcription and a great deal of other services.

Digital dictation with toll-free 866 # telephone service, with unique user ID.
Completed work sent back via secure and encrypted email or secure FTP directly to you .
No investment in training medical transcriptionists
Contract can be negotiated for long term and high volume accounts
Clients use their telephone for dictation or digital recorders.
No geographical limitations.
Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
Detailed usage reports
No lease, no service contracts, no risk of falling behind in technology

All employees have gone through security screening and HIPAA training.


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Tuesday, January 20, 2009

provides medical transcription

About TransDyne Transcription Services

TransDyne is the new standard in digital medical transcription service and electronic charting. TransDyne utilized its extensive background as an information technology company to develop a system that electronically receives/sends dictations and medical transcriptions over the Internet to save time and money.

Save Money - TransDyne guarantees you savings of 20% to 50% over your current transcription service. Sphere: Related Content

Differences Between Medical Billing And Medical Transcription

When researching careers in medical billing or medical transcription, you’ll likely find certain similarities—both of these jobs usually require staff to work in a doctor’s office, hospital, medical center or dentist’s office, and both of these professions require knowledge of medical terms. The two professions have distinct roles that are often confused. The following is a quick reference guide outlining the differences between medical billers and medical transcriptionists.

Medical Billers

Responsibility

A medical biller manages the processing of medical bills in doctor’s offices, medical centers, hospitals, etc. Medical billing clerks review records and work with health insurance companies to calculate amounts due from patients.

Job Skills

Successful medical billers must understand medical terminology (including jargon and abbreviations), be proficient with computers and understand the latest industry and legal standards. A thorough comprehension of different insurance plans and accompanying governing laws/regulations is also necessary to any adept medical biller. Typically, post-secondary education is required for medical billing, and degrees are often offered through vocational schools, community colleges, or online training programs offered by online colleges and universities.

Salary

Reports suggests that medical billers with one to four years of experience earn an average salary of around $30,000. If they have five to nine years of experience, the average salary is more than $32,000.

Future Growth Opportunities

Numerous opportunities for trained individuals exist in medical offices, clinics, hospitals, insurance companies, and in form of freelance home-based businesses. Advancement opportunities are unlimited.The U.S. Department of Labor states that continued employment growth for medical coders and billers is spurred by the increased medical needs of an aging population and the number of health practitioners.



Medical Transcriptionist



Responsibility

An employee working in the medical transcription field is generally referred to as a medical transcriptionist or medical transcriber. The main role of a medical transcriptionist is to listen to dictated recordings made by healthcare professionals and subsequently transcribe that information into typewritten formats such as: medical history/physical examination reports, discharge summaries, consultation reports, referral letters, progress notes, operative reports, autopsy reports, and diagnostic imaging studies. These documents are then sent to the healthcare professional for review/signature or correction, after which they become a part of the patient’s permanent medical history.

Job Skills

To become a successful medical transcriptionist, a working knowledge of medical terminology (including jargon and abbreviations), computer proficiency, and comprehension of current industry and legal standards is required. Post-secondary education is generally required to obtain a medical transcriptionist position, and can be obtained through a career college, community college, or an online course offering.

Some additional skills important for medical transcriptionists include:

- Above average verbal communication, typing and memory skills

- Knowledge of math

- Detail-oriented

- Ability to follow verbal/written instructions

Salary

PayScale.com reports the average salary for a medical transcriptionist with one to four years of experience is more than $28,000. Medical transcriptionists with five to nine years of experience make on average close to $30,000.

Job Future

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the job outlook for medical transcriptionists looks optimistic. Medical transcription jobs are expected to increase by 14 percent between 2006 and 2016. Sphere: Related Content

Medical Transcription Salary Outlook

Working in this field can mean having flexible work days and hours, and for some it can even mean working from home. In fact, a large percentage of medical transcriptionists work from a home office. These can be very attractive aspects of this field of work, since flexible hours and the possibility of working from home can mean savings on day care, fuel, and such extras as clothing and lunches.

The medical transcription salary can vary widely; depending on such things as experience, quality track record, productivity, client base, and equipment. A transcriptionist can be a freelance worker and do work for several clients, or he or she can be employed by one client, such as one specific medical clinic or hospital. Whom a transcriptionist works for or whether or not he or she is an independent contractor can affect the medical transcription salary.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor the average earnings for MTs in the year 2004 was between $11.50 and $16.32 per hour. MTs in the higher earnings range (10%) earned $19.11 per hour.

If you work from home on your own accounts there may be months where you have extra work and months when you have less. Your earnings could also differ dramatically from another fellow MT who works from home on her own accounts.As your business grows you can hire subcontractors and take on even more work. There really is no limitation in how large your business can grow.

You may also choose to have a smaller and easier to handle business. You can always work a little extra to increase your earnings, or simply take on the amount of work that suits your needs.

If you have a home based MT business and you do all the work yourself, you can make anywhere between $20,000 a year to $50,000 a year. A larger transcription service, which hires subcontractors can earn between $50,000 a year to $200,000 and upwards.

Medical transcription jobs outside the home can vary just as much, depending on where you live. Earnings can be from $9.00 per hour to $22.00 per hour.

In order to ensure that your transcription career will be a lucrative one and that your medical transcription salary will eventually be where you want it, you need to be sure to choose the right kind of training from the beginning.


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Monday, January 19, 2009

Medical Transcription: A Viable Work At Home Career

A Growing Industry

Medical Transcription or Billing is an industry that is exploding. It's prestigious and in demand. According the the U.S. Department of Labor, "Employment of medical transcriptionists is projected to grow faster than the average for all occupations through 2010. Demand for medical transcription services will be spurred by a growing and aging population."

Transcription is one of those jobs that many people know can be done from home, and so the interest level is very high. Unfortunately, there are many companies out there trying to capitalize on that interest. The results are over-priced and sub-standard courses.

What Do Transcriptionists Do?

Transcriptionists listen to dictated recordings made by physicians and other health care professionals and transcribe them into documents such as operating room notes, autopsy reports, discharge summaries and other documents which then become part of a patient's medical record. In order to be able to transcribe information accurately, medical transcriptionists must understand medical terminology, anatomy and physiology, diagnostic procedures, and treatment.

What Kind of Training Must MT's Have?

In the course of my research, the first thing I learned was that you can't just jump into a career as an MT without training. This is a detailed, professional (and fascinating) career which requires technical knowledge. The American Association for Medical Transcription defines the requirements this way:

"Medical understanding is critical for the professional medical transcriptionist. The complex terms used in medicine are unlike the language of any other profession. Medical transcription requires a practical knowledge of medical language, anatomy, physiology, disease processes, pharmacology, laboratory medicine, and the internal organization of medical reports. A medical transcriptionist is truly a medical language specialist who must be aware of standards and requirements that apply to the health record, as well as the legal significance of medical transcripts.

Reports of patient care take many forms, including histories and physical examinations, progress reports, emergency room notes, consultations, operative reports, discharge summaries, clinic notes, referral letters, radiology reports, pathology reports, and an array of documentation spanning more than 60 medical specialties and sub specialties! Thus, the medical transcriptionist, or medical language specialist, must be well versed in the language of medicine."

Medical transcription is a medical language specialty, so you can see that it requires not only the proper training, but also an investment in reference materials and a commitment to ongoing learning as technology and terminology changes. Equally important to the long-term success of a Transcriptionist is having the right personality for the job. Some qualities that successful MT's share are:
  • Independent by nature
  • Word Specialist
  • Perfectionist
  • Detail oriented
  • Training Options

It's also important to note that most companies require candidates for telecommute MT positions to have on-site experience- as is the case with most all telecommute jobs. In many cases, 2 years of experience working in a hospital or doctor's office is required. If this is a field that you are truly interested in, getting those 2 years under your belt and then being qualified to telecommute is a pretty good deal.

The second thing I found was that there sure were a lot of courses out there. They ranged in price from a couple hundred dollars to a few thousand! I was overwhelmed! It was then that I realized that I would need some help. I found a great place where working MT's hang out and support each other. If you are seriously interested in this field, you'll want to visit this site. It's called Transdyne.


Whichever course you choose, just be sure to do your homework by checking with the Better Business Bureau and asking for references.

The bottom line is, for the right people, Medical Transcription is the real deal when it comes to viable work at home careers.
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