Advantages for a Medical Transcriptionist at Home

"Work from home by transcribing medical records." These words are everywhere on the Internet and in newspapers. Men, women and students are attracted to the dream they offer. Some are intrigued by the low monetary investment. While medical transcription work from home is a legitimate field, it requires study, a financial investment and time to build up a client list of doctors who will forward confidential medical records to you.

Considerations

• Many people are looking for the opportunity to work from home at a job that provides a steady income to pay the bills. The advertising promising a lucrative income sounds good, but the reality is that medical transcriptionists or coders will be working with highly confidential patient records. Beginning or entry-level medical transcriptionists find it difficult, though not impossible, to immediately start out working at home. Several medical offices or corporations may require their transcriptionists or coders to work on-site, though the option to work at home could come after proving to be reliable.

Requirements

• Medical transcription is a highly-specialized field requiring transcriptionists to be able to interpret and transcribe dictation of medical records. Transcriptionists working from home often have to supply their own computer, Internet connection and transcription equipment, including headphones and foot pedal. Meeting these requirements, though, can make a transcriptionist highly marketable.

Benefits

• While at-home transcriptionists must be able to maintain a reliable work schedule and complete their transcription duties in a timely manner, there are benefits to working from home. The transcriptionist who works from her home is able to set up a flexible schedule (within the limits of the current workload). If the at home transcriptionist is able to maintain good boundaries between "at work" hours and "family" hours, she can expect to see her business begin to grow.

Misconceptions

• Would-be transcriptionists dream about working at home and bringing in large paychecks. The reality is that, while they do earn good pay, they also end up paying more for items such as insurance; they pay the full cost rather than splitting the cost with an employer. Independent transcriptionists also see their pay shrink when they take time off for vacations. If illness interferes, either for the transcriptionist or a family member, they work, regardless of the health situation.
  Some "work from home" medical transcription advertisements can wind up benefiting the company instead of the people applying to take the courses.

Warning

• Be wary of signing up with online programs that seem "too good to be true." It just might be a scam. Thoroughly investigate each program you are interested in and check with the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI) to find out if the company is legitimate or not. Check what you would be committing yourself to in terms of money, time and internships or externships.