A Career In Medical Transcription

 

Medical transcription has been in use since the 1950’s. This is used to keep records of patients and since the doctor cannot do it themselves, this is where people like you who have the training can come in to help them and at the same time make some money.

There are a lot of medical transcription companies that offer their services to clinics, healthcare facilities, hospitals, the individual sector, laboratories and physician groups. Given the strong demand, you can even get into it yourself with the proper training and the equipment needed for this to work.

To qualify, you have to enroll in an institution that follows the syllabus designed by the American Association of Medical Transcription or AAMT. This is available in vocational schools and colleges. Those who don’t have time to go to school may also find a program online so they can learn at their own convenience.

The important thing for you to learn are the medical terminologies often used by doctors so they will be able to transcribed the patient’s autopsy reports, clinical notes, consultation notes, discharge summaries, laboratory repots, psychiatric evaluations, operation reports, X-rays as well as referral letters.

Once given the job, you have to make sure that these are all error free otherwise; the doctor will decide to cancel your service and find someone else who can do a better job.

Just to give you an idea, some medical transcription services have been outsourced abroad because of cheaper labor costs. Two countries that have been doing quite well in this endeavor include India and the Philippines as majority of the people who come from there speak English quite well.

Some of the services that have been offered to them include cardiology transcription, chiropractic transcription, emergency room transcription, gastroenterology transcription, general Surgery transcription, internal Medicine transcription, maxillofacial surgery transcription, physical medicine transcription, plastic surgery transcription, radiology transcription and surgery transcription.

What kind of equipment is needed in order to have a medical transcription business? Most MT companies would require a toll free number, digital recorders, computer dictation systems, computers and a server.

They have to make sure that the line of communication is secure and that it is hack proof so information about the patient does not fall into the wrong hands given the rising number of incidents relating to identity theft. This is achieved or course using hardware that is HIPAA compliant secured with 256 bit AES encryption.

What kind of career do you expect with medical transcription? For those who are starting out on their own, they can make money if they are able to keep a client with error free documentation and submit this back on time.

If they are no longer able to handle the load themselves, they can train other people to do it or hire people who have passed through the same training and then hire these individuals to work for them. In short, you are able to start up your own medical transcription company.

Will medical transcription still be around for the foreseeable future? Many experts say yes because although there are already computer software programs that have been built and used by doctors to encode the data of the patient themselves, there are still issues that they have to deal with before medical transcription which has been around for more than 50 years will be phased out.



Is Continuing Education Needed for a Career in Medical Coding?

Choosing medical coding as career can be ideal for a lot of people because it is a lucrative way to make a living that does not come bundled with the usual stresses of a regular 9-5 job. In fact, on the contrary, choosing a medical coding career is choosing to make a living with flexible time and work from home benefits. The question remains though: is continuing education needed for a career in medical coding?

The simple answer to this is yes. In order to better your employment opportunities, it would be beneficial for you to acquire the necessary training required to familiarize yourself with the different ins and outs of medical coding.

One needs to be able to understand and learn all there is to learn about medical coding. This is because a medical encoder is in charge of assigning specific codes to different medical services and procedures to enable healthcare providers to be able to bill for services rendered. This is the reason why medical coders are in demand in the industry.

If you have a propensity for organization and enjoy administrative work, learning medical coding will be easy for you. There are specialized courses and trainings available for individuals who want to learn the special ways used in medical coding. However, not all of the available courses will give you the necessary certifications needed to advance your career in this field. It will however equip you with the knowledge to pass necessary examinations to enable you to be awarded certifications.

You will find that going the extra mile and investing time and resources into continuing education for a medical coding career will take you far. After all, medical coders are needed by several institutions like hospitals, medical clinics and offices. If you have the proper accreditation and certification for this job then more opportunities present themselves to you.

The American Academy of Professional Coders offers different types of certifications after individuals have been able to pass their examinations. Each certification is nationally recognized and while you can still get a medical coding job without these certifications, your options for employment are limited. If you are serious about a career in medical coding, it is better to take the examinations and acquire these certifications.

Most specialized trainings that medical schools offer for individuals who choose a career in medical coding are prepared to take the examinations provided by the American Academy of Professional Coders. For this purpose alone, it is beneficial to acquire additional education. 

The American Academy of Professional Coders offers Procedural Coder Certification to those who pass a particular examination for this. After passing the exam and being a Certified Procedural Coder, the individual can then be considered for various prestigious opportunities as medical encoder in different professional healthcare facilities, offices and clinics.

That type of certification is basic and if one wishes, they can also take the other types of examinations offered by the American Academy of Professional Coders. They offer Specialty Credentials that will enable an individual to prove their expertise within their present focus or they can even use this to jump start their medical coding career into a different type of specialization altogether.

It really is worthwhile to pursue continuing education needed for a career in medical coding because not only will the proper certification allow for a wider range of employment options, it will also open the door for you to be able to have and manage your own medical coding company.

Building the Foundations of Your Career in Medical College

An individual begins his career as a doctor in medical school while an individual who wants to get into the fast growing and promising medical field builds the foundations of his or her career in medical college.

As a result of an aging population and a technologically advanced society, the demand for excellent healthcare services and procedures is increasing and experts say that this trend will continue for several years henceforth. With this trend comes the proportional increase in opportunities for employment in the medical field.

Now students fresh out of high school and individuals with careers outside the medical path can now rightly contemplate the possibility of investing time and resources in medical college to be able to acquire the proper credentials to enable themselves to be qualified for careers in the medical field.

To get into popular medical field careers such as those as medical encoders, medical billings, medical assistants, lab technicians, pharmacy assistants and medical supply sales specialists, one needs to undergo proper training and pass the examination for certification. Many of the most promising employment opportunities will require certified individuals to prove their competency and credentials for the job.

Since is this is the case, be sure to check whether the medical college that you plan to go to for training offer certification courses or check if they can at least properly train you for certification. Otherwise, your time and effort will not be a very efficient choice after all. You can check out the different medical colleges in your area through their websites.

Make sure to explore the websites of each medical college in your area and understand the different programs they offer as well as the different reputations each college has. A reputable school will look better in your credentials.

A career in the medical field will be challenging but proportional to the amount of challenge are the benefits and satisfaction of securing a job in this career. For instance, the training and certification for being a medical coder will not only land a job as a medical encoder in the different types of healthcare and medical facilities such as medical clinics, hospitals and outpatient facilities. But one can also decide to own their own medical coder business and earn more money by servicing different clientele through a successfully managed outfit.

This option will not only secure one’s financial needs but will also allow one to choose and manage their own time and schedules. That’s certainly more than one can ever hope for in some other line of business or career.

Good opportunities don’t abound for the medical coder. The same is true for almost all other types of career in the medical field. For instance, medical assistants can opt to take continuing education into the field of nursing. Once a medical assistant graduates into a career in nursing the pay and incentives are considerably higher for them.

This is why the money and effort into medical college is time and money well spent. Not many other career options can offer the same privileges and guarantees. This is why if you want to take advantage of this opportunity, you better be on the look out for a good medical college to apply for.

Even if you already have a job and cannot afford to take the time off to go fulltime in building a career in medical college, don’t despair. Most if not all medical colleges offer courses during flexible times to allow individuals to take continuing education without having to quit their day jobs.


Career Medical Training

We start going to school at the age of 4 or 5. We graduate from secondary school at the age of 17 or 19. Those who want to pursue a career being a doctor will have to endure 4 years of undergraduate studies, 4 years of medical school, 3 to 7 years as an intern and resident then a couple of more years to move into a more specialized field. This means that you will have only established yourself as a doctor after you have reached the age of 30!

Do you really have to wait that long to undergo medical training and make a career for yourself? The answer is no. This is because aside from being a doctor, you can do something else that is in the medical field. To give you an idea, here are some of them.

For those who don’t want to work in a hospital, they can try to get a job as a pharmacist. This person is the one that dispenses drugs at the store. They can also recommend a drug similar to what was prescribed if this is not available or way beyond your budget. Sometimes, they also help doctors determine the proper dosage to be given to the patient as they are well aware of the side effects of giving too much to a patient.

Another job that you may apply for is that of a lab technician. These individuals depending on their training are the ones who test samples or man the X-ray or mammogram when a patient has to be examined.

One job that is high in demand right now in the US is that of a nurse. This is because a lot of those who are working right now are nearing retirement age and the youth these days are no excited about that which is why nurses are being hired from other countries.

Training for each of the jobs mentioned varies. For pharmacists, lab technicians and nurses, they don’t have to study for 8 years or more when they already qualify for their position after a couple of years in vocational school.

Here, they will learn subjects such as anatomy, biology, chemistry, infection control, medical terminology, physiology and several others before undergoing hands on training.  There will be exams to test their knowledge with regards to each subject so there won’t be any problems when it is time to do the real thing.

You can also be successful working outside the hospital with a little medical training. You can get into medical transcription since all you have to do is transcribe what the doctor has said using a tape recorder. The work can be done at home and then the document is sent back to the doctor.

Another alternative will be to get into sales as pharmaceutical companies need sales agent to sell their drugs to doctors and hospitals.

Anyone can make a career once he or she has undergone medical training. You just have to decide what you want to specialize in and then go for it. For those that don’t have the money to study full time, look for a school that offers this part time or online.

Remember, this is only temporary because once you earn your degree, you can already make your career out of it.


Autism - The Complete Guide for Parents

Nursing Careers: Do You Have What It Takes