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Frequently Asked Questions About Medical Transcription
What does a medical transcriptionist do?A medical transcriptionist has a very important role in the medical practice. As an MT, you take a doctors audio dictation (usually on tape) and transcribe it into a professional medical record. These records include patient history, physical reports, office notes, operative reports, discharge summaries, evaluations and pathology reports. While this sounds fairly simple, you are required to learn a great deal of material before being able to work as an MT. How much money do medical transcriptionists make?As with any profession, the rate of pay for medical transcriptionists can vary, depending on your location on the company you're working for. Typically, new MTs starting out can expect to make $8 to $12 per hour USD. After 2 years of experience, MTs can expect to make from $12 to $20 per hour. For MTs with 5 years experience or more, the pay can be very high. What kind of equipment is needed to get started as an MT?To get started in the field of medical transcription, you will need to have a few basic materials. For one, you will need a computer. It does not need to be expensive or a high end model, and only needs to have access to certain word processing software (such as MS Word) and should have internet access. You will also need a transcribing machine, preferably with a foot pedal, and a medical dictionary. Additional materials may be required later on, but the three listed above will be enough when you are starting out. What kind of education is required to become an MT?To become a medical transcriptionist, you must learn a lot of medical terminology, procedures, standards and other skills. There are many schools that offer courses in medical transcription that will give you these necessary skills. However, not all courses are equal, and some will provide you with less value for your money than others. What kind of skills are needed to become a successful MT?If you have past experience in data entry, computer or secretarial work, you probably already have most of the skills required. A brief summary of the skills required:
Do I need to become certified to get a job? Will it help my employment prospects?No courses will be able to offer you certification. If a course provider claims otherwise, be cautious. To become certified, see The American Association for Medical Transcription. While it may help your career in the long run, most companies that hire MTs will not require it. How much money will a good MT course cost?For most MT courses, the price typically starts at $800 upward to $2500. Courses that have higher prices usually come with a lot of additional materials and software. However, not all courses will offer you the same value for your dollar. See our course comparison page for more details, and visit the MT message boards before buying. How long will my education take?This of course, will vary depending on the course provider. However, the typical amount of time you should expect from an extensive MT course is 300 to 400 hours of study. Some courses will allow you take this over a period ranging from 6 months to 2 years. How much experience do I need before I can work from home?For many companies that hire new MTs, it is required that you work in an office for at least one year before being able to work from home. However, there are several companies that will hire new MTs to work from home.What is MedQuist?You may have noticed that a lot of courses are listed with MedQuist. This is one of several companies who will hire new MTs to work from home. If you complete a course listed with MedQuist, you will have an opportunity to take an entry test with that company. If you pass, you will likely be offered a position with the company. There are several other companies who do similar tests. Be sure to send an e-mail to the course provider to ask about other such companies that will test their graduates. What is medical billing?Medical billers work for hospitals, clinics and other medical pratices. Every time a healthcare provider renders services to a patient, a bill is to be filled and send over to the insurance company of the patient. This may seem easy, but there are a lot of codes and procedures to learn, along with basic medical terminology. More information can be found at http://workfromhomedir.com/Medical_Billing. What is medical coding?Medical Coders work for insurance companies and heath care organizations. Every time a healthcare provider renders services to a patient (this is called an encounter) a claim is filed to the patient's insurance provider. For all the types of encounters, there exists a specific code for each. these codes tells the payer what was wrong with the patient and what services were performed. The job of the medical coder then is to take bills submited to the insurance company and translate them into the appropriate codes. More information can be found at http://medical-coding-careers.com. Have a question not on the list? Send us an e-mail
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