Medical Transcriptionist

[bright_eyes]

I was wondering if anyone can share their experiences doing medical transcription? How much do you make doing it? I have a friend who is a single mom of 2 kids and looking for something that she can do from home so that she can stay home with her kids. Is this something that you can rely on as your only income? How much would you have to work in order to make enough money? If it requires a lot of hours to make good money, is it possible to do with your kids at home with you?

Thanks!

[mrscompgeek]

I havent done this but I have a aunt who does and my Mom looked into doing it.
My aunt said the training wasnt hard but she works LONG hours now. She does it all in her home of course but she said in order to make any amount of money in it she has to work from 6 in the morning til 8 or 9 at night. She could work less hours but she said she wouldnt make enought for it to be worth her time.
My mom looked into it and she called all the drs offices around where she lives and they all told her they are going/or already are doing all medical transcripting electronically through computers at the office and are no longer hiring it out. So that is another thing she might want to check into first to make sure there is work.
Sorry, I know its kinda a down response but just the facts! Hope it helps

[Billie]

Originally Posted by bright_eyes

I was wondering if anyone can share their experiences doing medical transcription? How much do you make doing it? I have a friend who is a single mom of 2 kids and looking for something that she can do from home so that she can stay home with her kids. Is this something that you can rely on as your only income? How much would you have to work in order to make enough money? If it requires a lot of hours to make good money, is it possible to do with your kids at home with you?

Thanks!

I only have a couple of minutes....

I've been an MT for a few years now. I received a job offer less than a week after graduating and have been working ever since.

Starting out can be difficult and each MT is different. Some MTs start out making mimum wage. As they become familiar with their accounts, their pay will increase. I currently make well over minimum wage.

How much you need to work depends on your skills and the account. Most MTs get paid per production. Speed and accuracy means more money. There are tricks you can use to increase your speed, such as using a word expander program. I have friends, who using these, type well over 100 WPM.

As for working with kids - it takes trial and error to find a schedule that works well for you and your family.

Best of luck!

[Billie]

Now that I have a little more time, I wanted to add a little more...

As I said, each MT is different in regards to what they will/can make. There are several factors which determine an MTs pay: Base wage (how much they make per line/page), whether they use a word expander, how familiar they are with their accounts/dictators, difficulty of the reports, etc. I have two accounts. One is fairly easy and I am able to get through the reports quickly. The other has several ESL dictators and I average less per hour with that account.

It is true that many hospitals are going digital or outsourcing. Some companies are outsourcing overseas. However, they are noticing a significant decrease in the quality of the work and some of it is being brought back to the states.

Hospitals are also outsourcing to small service owners or National companies. This is what makes it possible for me to work from home. Locally, there are no MT jobs available. I live in a small town in NV. My accounts are in New Jersey and California. It's all digital. I download the voice file, type it up, and upload it back into their system.

There are other offices that do not use MTs or editors. They use Word Recognition software in order to complete the reports. It is unfortunate, but I'm not worried about the software taking over the MT field. I've seen what it can (or rather can not) do and I'm not impressed. I do a little editing on my accounts and I've had the software input some silly terms - such as "Playstation" instead of "The Patient". Obviously, if the doctor were to be sued the original, unedited report would not hold up in court. Also, the software can not pick of doctor's errors. I had a doctor who claimed his male patient was undergoing a hysterectomy. Obviously, he should have said vasectomy.

Anyways, I hope that helps a little. You can always look up the US Bureau of Labor Statistics for wage information and future expected need of MTs.

Best of luck!

[tiffany21074]

Hi Billie! Long time no talk!

Anyway, I want to vouch for Billie and what she said. I will have been working from home as an MT for one year this coming February. I studied for about 8 months and graduated and had several offers w/i about 3 weeks. I now work about 25 hours per week as an employee with a 3.5 year old daughter and 17 month old son at home. I started out making peanuts, but after a few months, I was much improved. Once you get to know the accounts, your speed picks up, etc. you should make more money. I now make several dollars an hour over minimum wage with no commuting costs or childcare. So, it is not get-rich-quick, but I love my job!

[inky leeuhhh]

can anyone reccommend a good training program to me? are there any available online? thanks!

[Fuamami]

I just started at CareerStep, sort of on the advice of Billie: and sort of because of the research I had done. I really like it so far, it's pleasantly surprising. It's well-written and mildly interesting. I'm a little worried when I hear how long it's taken people to get through school. I hope it won't take me 8 months!

Tiffany, can I ask you, are you able to work while your kids are up? Or do you just work when they're napping/asleep?

[inky leeuhhh]

thanks fuamami!

[Billie]

Originally Posted by tiffany21074

Hi Billie! Long time no talk!

Anyway, I want to vouch for Billie and what she said. I will have been working from home as an MT for one year this coming February. I studied for about 8 months and graduated and had several offers w/i about 3 weeks. I now work about 25 hours per week as an employee with a 3.5 year old daughter and 17 month old son at home. I started out making peanuts, but after a few months, I was much improved. Once you get to know the accounts, your speed picks up, etc. you should make more money. I now make several dollars an hour over minimum wage with no commuting costs or childcare. So, it is not get-rich-quick, but I love my job!

Tiffany!! I was thinking about you the other day. Good to hear you are doing so well! One year anniversary?!? I hope you've got something fun planned - a celebration of sorts!

[tiffany21074]

Thanks Billie! No celebration for me here...congrats on your relatively-new addition!

While we are talking schools, I also went to Career Step, also on the advice of Billie! Best move I made, for sure! It took me 8 months, but I gave birth in the middle of that and had about a one-month babymoon before I started back up. I also knew I only wanted to work part-time, so I only committed to studying about 4 hours a day at most, about my part-time hours. As far as my schedule, I work Tues-Sat 2 pm to 4 pm while my kids are both awake, and 10 pm to 12:30 am at night. My son still wakes up at least once, so I wear him in the mei tai and nurse him back to sleep in it. Then I wear him until my shift is done and go to bed! Tough sometimes, but worth it!

Tiffany

[GAmomto5]

I've been a transcriptionist for 13 years, the majority of that time working at home with 5 kids along the way. It is not easy and takes a lot of discipline to get your work done. Like a PP said, its definitely not a way to get rich, but depending on how well you know your accounts, it can be good money. You definitely need to get into a good school program before trying to get a job. I know that sounds like a "duh" kind of statement, but you would be surprised at the number of people who tell me that they want to be a transcriptionist and say, "Well, I can type so I can do it" or "I know some medical words so I can do it." ARRRRRRGGGG - It makes me crazy!

Anyway, in the beginning it will be slow going, until you can get very efficient at your account. Also, depending on your childrens' ages, it can be even more difficult. If you have someone who can mentor you too, that will be a big help. Good luck!

BTW, The Andrews School is a very, very good online course that is very well respected by MT companies. You can google them and find their web site address. They are a little pricey, but well worth it I believe (I didn't go there, but have heard great things about them. I learned OJT - the hardest way to learn!)

[Purple Sage]

I'm doing Career Step right now, too, and I like it a lot. It is definitely an interesting field and quite a bit more difficult than people might think. I don't get to spend much time working on it, though, because my kids don't really let me (they are 2, 5, 12, and one due early March), but I still hope to finish before the new baby is born. I enrolled almost 5 months ago. I know I would have been able to finish faster if I didn't take a few week-long breaks here and there. I also want to work part-time and then move up to full-time as the LOs get older and are all in school.

Good luck to you!

[Fuamami]

Originally Posted by tiffany21074

Thanks Billie! No celebration for me here...congrats on your relatively-new addition!

While we are talking schools, I also went to Career Step, also on the advice of Billie! Best move I made, for sure! It took me 8 months, but I gave birth in the middle of that and had about a one-month babymoon before I started back up. I also knew I only wanted to work part-time, so I only committed to studying about 4 hours a day at most, about my part-time hours. As far as my schedule, I work Tues-Sat 2 pm to 4 pm while my kids are both awake, and 10 pm to 12:30 am at night. My son still wakes up at least once, so I wear him in the mei tai and nurse him back to sleep in it. Then I wear him until my shift is done and go to bed! Tough sometimes, but worth it!

Tiffany

Wow! Thanks for sharing this, Tiffany! Good to know you can work with your kids awake. I'm assuming you give them some toys, etc., and don't have to keep 100% of your attention on your work, but still can keep up? That sounds ideal. Extra motivation.

Lemongrass, we can be co-motivators if you want. I'm not very far yet, though.

[inky leeuhhh]

does anyone mind if i ask approx how much ppl are making p/t vs. f/t? we will need to bring in about 1100/mo .

[GAmomto5]

Originally Posted by inky leeuhhh

does anyone mind if i ask approx how much ppl are making p/t vs. f/t? we will need to bring in about 1100/mo .

I depends if you have your own account or work for a national company. Nationals usually pay around 0.7-0.8 per line, sometimes lower for newbies. With that, and again depending on how fast you type and how knowledgeable you are, you probably aren't going to make a heck of a lot unless you really work your hiney off. For example, at 0.7/line, typing 1000 lines a day (which is a good bit), you are only making $70 a day. For a newbie, you would probably have to work 8 hours at least to make 1000 lines. I can type 100 wpm and have been doing this for 13 years and it takes me sometimes 5-6 hours to make 1000 lines, depending on the specialty I'm typing.

Now, if you have your own account, which is nearly impossible to get as a newbie unless you KNOW somebody who just wants to help you out, you can make anywhere from 0.15-0.18/line, depending on what city/state you live in. So, making 0.15/line at 1000 lines a day is $150 a day. You are still working 8 hours or more, but making much better money. Also, you have to remember that if you have your own account, you will be an Independent Contractor and will have to pay your own taxes. That also has to be taken into consideration because taxes are a killer.

The best thing for a new transcriptionist to do is work getting paid by the hour. That way you aren't being paid strictly on production. Faster is not the key either. You also have to be accurate as these are legal documents.

This career is not as easy as the TV infomercials make it sound. Its also not that easy to get into, good school or not. And its also not easy to start out working at home and making good money. Its something that takes lots of practice, a lot of discipline and a lot of knowledge.

I hope this doesn't sound like I'm trying to burst anyone's bubble. I just don't want to sugar coat things and you get surprised at how hard it really is to make the money when you first start out. Everybody has to start somewhere - you just have to be willing to put in the time to learn and practice.

[tiffany21074]

Here is how the company I work works:

We are employees, and for the first 8 weeks we are given a supplement to offset the fact that yes, your production will be low when you first start, especially right out of school. The PP said .07/.08 CPL is the norm for newbies, and that is about right.

So, when I first started working, I believe my first day I made about $2.50 an hour! I was really slow, and had to learn the platform, account rules, etc. Now I calculated at our company, someone working exactly 4 hours per day, doing 600 lines (part time at our co.) will make $9 per hour. My company pays a little differently and pays a little less than others, but my co. is awesome, so it evens out for me! That would be 150 LPH, which is doable, since I average between 150-180 LPH when I am minimally interrupted, which is mostly at night. The co. I work for gives the highest amount of lines typed each week, as well as the highest paycheck for the week. One time I saw someone had made $1300 in a week, and mostly every week several people make close to $1000 a week. They are full time, of course, but it can be done! You can most likely make more money as an IC, but I enjoy the employee benefits myself, so to each his own!

As far as toys, yes, especially for my 3.5 year old! Sometimes I will have her set up with a craft or something, but she does pretty well with coloring or something like that.

As far as getting paid by the hour, my understanding is that generally you have to work in-house to get paid by the hour, as most WAHM positions are on a production basis.

For the person who wants to make $1100 per month, it sounds like full time would be the way to go. Also, when you work full time, you are naturally getting in a lot more typing time, so you can get faster at a quicker pace than if you worked part time.

Hope this helps!

[Jen78fl]

Great info here. I have been doing MT for 2 years and am a graduate of careerstep.. If anyone wants more info on careerstep just send me a PM. I think its a really good course! Anyway, I dont make a ton doing MT but thats only because I dont have much time to work with my kids around. I really only work when my daughter is napping. It can be hard to do with kids around unless they are good at entertaining themselves. My son is, but my daughter is only 7 months and needs more attention..

Anyway when I was working more, about 4 hours a day, 5 days a week on average, I could make about $500 every 2 weeks.. But it all depends on your productivity. You get faster the longer you have been doing it.. And the rate just varies so much. I get paid 8 cents per line for transcription and 4 cents per line for editing, and a little more after 10 pm. I can make anywhere from $10-$20 an hour. It all depends on the type of reports you get and your level of productivity.

Hope this is helpful!

Jen