Become a Medical Transcriptionist at Home
What does a medical transcriptionist do?
A medical transcriptionist transcribes medical reports that are kept in patient files. As technology improves the transcribed reports will be scanned into the electronic medical record’s database.
The way a transcriptionist receives the audio files that they transcribe into reports is through online methods. The audio files are also known as digital voice files. The doctor dictates the medical notes into a handheld device or directly into an online software program.
The medical transcriptionist will download digital audio files to his or her computer. The audio files are listened to in a private setting while transcribing the information into typed reports.
Once the report is complete, the medical transcriptionist will proofread the document for any errors, correct them and upload the document back to the server.
How is a medical transcriptionist paid?
A medical transcriptionist is paid by the character line in most cases. Very few MTs are paid by the hour when working at home. The average pay for a new medical transcriptionist is between $0.09 to $0.10 per character line. This can add up very quickly when you are transcribing reports for several hours.
200 character lines per hour at the pay rate of $0.09 per character line would average out to $18.00 an hour!
200 character lines x $0.09 = $18.00
If you are new and a little slow with your typing and produce only 160 character lines; you would average about $14 per hour.
What does it take to become a medical transcriptionist?
The medical transcription career is not for everyone. It takes self-discipline, organization, proofreading skills, grammar skills, research skills and the ability to work with minimal direction.
Working at home as a medical transcriptionist can be a very rewarding career.
Most medical transcription jobs will allow you to set your own schedule as long as the work is done by the expected deadline. The turnaround time for most MTs is 24 to 48 hours. Some doctors will allow up to 72 hours if the report is not urgent.
You must be able to stick to the schedule you set! If you have children, you may need to have a family member or a friend help watch your young child while you get the work done.
Transcribing at home also requires you to have a quiet place to work. This can be a spare room that you turn into a home office. Distractions can cause MTs to make errors within the transcribed report. Doctors have a high expectation of their MTs to produce accurate reports. Most doctors will only allow a 2% error rate; this means your reports must be 98% accurate or better.
To become a successful medical transcriptionist you must receive proper training in this career field. Training usually takes six months to a year. If you take self-study medical transcription course, you will be able to determine how long it takes you in most cases.
This is because the more time you put into studying each week the less time it will take you to finish.
It is important to point out that you do not want to move too fast through your training. You want to retain what you learn!
What do you need to learn to become a medical transcriptionist?
- Medical Terminology / Anatomy
- Proper Medical Transcription Style & Format by AHDI Standards
- HIPAA Privacy Laws
- Grammar Rules
- How to Transcribe Medical Reports in Multiple Specialties
- Medical Transcription Editing
- Learn how to use productive medical transcription tools such as text expanders.
Become a medical transcriptionist at home by taking a nationally recognized medical transcription course.
If you are thinking about becoming a medical transcriptionist, you will want to read more about the career field.
