A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry

Is there any point working MT anymore? - mommacat

Posted: Jan 22, 2012

I am so frustrated making pennies on reports. I worked 30+ hours and got $176. Who can live on that?? I want to be home with my kids but I am wondering if this is worth it anymore.

Cat

I've finally given up just this week (sm) - CMTx2

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MT to coder here also - anne

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After over 20 years as CMT, and I was previously an RN, I have thrown in the towel. I have gone to job fairs and tried and have been told I can't get back into nursing, my experience is too long ago. I tried to stay positive about MT, I learned the editing, all of the shortcuts with editing, I flexed, worked extra whenever I could, kept my skills up, and I am pretty fast. Still, my pay has just been on a downward spiral (I was with WMX, bought out by Nuance, don't even ask what a horrible experience this has been). I started coding school the beginning of this month. I love it so far! I think I could really love this profession also, and I want to work in house at this point, hoping to get a hospital job. Good luck to all, we all have to make the best decisions for what works for US. If I still needed to be home with children at home, I might be making a different choice. The coding board here is pretty good!

Great news! What is the name of your coding school? (nm) - CMTx2

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x

coding school Andrews - anne

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There is a welcome board, and there are a LOT of MTs making the switch at Andrews!

Medical Coding - JW

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Coders don't make as much as they used to either.

Where did you get that information? - Coder

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The last salary survey I saw indicated that salaries were continung to rise in spite of the state of the economy.

I have not seen ANY salaries drop

So on what are you basing your comment?

Where did you get the information - JW

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From a medical coder and also from a local technical school.

From a coder and a technical school -- who can argue with that? - A little more than a coder

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I'm sure you feel your sources are reliable, but I do not.

I can't say what happened to that medical coder, but I can say that a technical school is not a particularly good judge of a career field, especially not coding.

You need to look at something a little more authoritative than that. There are salary surveys on both the AHIMA and AAPC websites.

The one on the AAPC website, for 2011, which came out last fall, has an article describing what type of work coders do and another analyzing the salary results.

There has been no drop in coder salaries on a national basis. The sarlaries have actually gone UP, in spite of the economy.

Everyone should pay close attention to the types of jobs described there. Notice that there is more than one kind of job in coding.

When you all start harping on how coding is going to be taken over by software, we all just sit here astounded that you could be so lacking in knowledge of coding as a profession or so negative that you have to spoil everyone else's careers along with your own. We are also astounded that you can only see the most rudimentary, low level of work as being the only job available . . . forever.

Are MTs just dullards who learn to type and then consciously plan to spend the next 40 years pecking away on a keyboard? Without any other intellectual challenge or change? If you are, stay away from coding. You're not suited for it.

I was surprised that someone said coders would have to advance into other jobs, making that sound like a BAD thing! It isn't! Maybe for you, if you only want to do one thing, like Eeyore plopping his broken balloon in and out of the jar, but most of us do not think that would be professionally rewarding or even tolerable.

You all make the assumption that coding is just like MT. Nothing is further from the truth, but you can't see that.

I don't care if you go into coding or not. Quite honestly, if you don't, so much the better. Leave the jobs open for people who aren't nasty.

Plus that career is going the way of MT too - nm

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n

No it isn't. Stop posting that mistaken belief. - nm

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nm

The software is intended to save time and money. - There is truth in there, nm

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And you would know this how? - sm

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It sure is. I do not care if you believe it or not. You wasted your time and money....not mine!

Wrong again - sm

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Not one penny I have ever spent on my career has been wasted. I know this because I am already IN one of those better jobs. I also work with the software you don't understand. I see all the opportunities arising from technology. They are nothing like ASR and MT.

I do not do clerical work. That seems to be all you can see. Your loss.

Hon, MT is FAR from clerical work. - Really...

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Have you ever transcribed a report?

I did not call MT clerical work - sm

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It is the work she is describing that is clerical. It is neither coding nor MT.

And yes, I have transcribed lots of reports.

Former MT

OH, YES IT IS! - Looking

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You people are in denial.

I have talked with several IT people, and they ALL advised me against pursuing coding because it WILL be defunct in only a few years. Also, I just hung up with a professional placement counselor in CA (friend of a friend), and she just told me the same thing. I am NOT wasting time and money to be educated in something that isn't viable in the long run.

Appropriate info sources for HIM fields - sm

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I think I see why everyone is so confused about this. You seem to be talking about something that is more billing data-entry than actual coding. That is what tech schools teach. That is what IT people would think is replaceable by software. That is the only level of the field that a career counselor would know about.

Something else you should consider is that you all seem to think a career is doing one thing and one thing only from the day you begin until the day you retire. That is how it is in MT. There is only one job. When you look for another position, it is doing exactly the same thing. One function repeated over and over. MTs seem to be highly intolerant of change. This might be because the job changes forced on you have not been what you wanted, but it is still a very striking feature of MT. MTs have been resistant to change since the 60s.

You can see that attitude in the comment from someone who said that coders would have to move into new jobs, as if that was something bad.

In other fields, people expect and want to advance. It is unheard of for someone to enter the field and WANT to stay in an entry-level job. Thy want to learn more and experience challenges and to have a chance to grow.

The "coding" you think will be replaced by sofware is an entry-level function. It is also a lowest-level function. It is not the job most of us would like to have to do--not in the past and not now. We looked for advancement opportunities and took them. We grew. I know more than 300 coders, not one of whom does that kind of entry-level, basic work. Some have advanced from it but most never did it at all. That is significant because it tells you that your perception of "coding" is not accurate.

The job you think you are talking about wen you say coding is not what we are talking about. You are talking about little more than clerical work. We are talking about a health information science field that involves classification systems clinical documentation, informatics, revenue operations, and a variety of other things.

That is not going to be replaced by software because it cannot be replaced. Coders already move and advance into higher level jobs. They get more education, both formal and informal, to do this. Their salaries increase. They do not see this as something bad. It is a positive thing for them.

Coders call themselves coders, yet may work in a number of different jobs. Those jobs are mostly in health information and informatics, registries, research, education, and administration.

It might be that the MTs here really do not tolerate change and truly do want to get into a low leve job that never changes and to stay there forever. The kind of job that you can learn halfway in tech school and never learn more. The kind of job that career counselors see as a kind of clerical equivalent. You seem to be calling this "stability." If that describes you, I can tell you that you are right about coding not being something you would enjoy. You WOULD find yourself having to learn too much and you would find yourself having to work with that software you fear.

I do not ask career counselors, IT people, and tech schools about my field because there are more appropritae sources of information. I am not in denial, either. I just know more than you do about my occupation than you do.

Something else . . . when coders talk about auditing they do not mean anything like what MTs do with VR transcripts. We are not talking about frustrating, lower paid work. We are talking about higher paid, interesting compliance work that pays very well.

If all of this post angers you, then by all means stay out of coding. We do not need people like that. If what pleases you most is making negative, unfounded claims to drive others away from a viable career, stay away. It does not fit with the ethical requirements of the job.

LOL - Looking

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That was one LENGTHY harangue!

Yes, I'm sure that a seasoned career professional who has been working in HR for 25+ years, Medical Records Directors and the hospital IT guys who service their departments have NO IDEA what they're talking about! But YOU -- an anonymous MT/coder on a message board -- of course, DO.

I would not call 68,000 a year a low-level job/salary - high horse

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nm

The coding school shill has arrived, - I see. nm

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nm

What angers me is people who know NOTHING about transcription - telling us we work in Entry Level positions!

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Your pomposity is amazing! You know zilch about MT work - judging from your ignorant comments.

Sorry to say, but yes it is going away, albeit slower than MT - Two big hospitals...

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Two large hospitals in the DC area have turned to programs that do the coding; however, they do have coders outside of the hospital that check the work. It is new, and right now a trial program. Coding will be in the same place MT is in 10 years....GONE.

part 2: the final straw for me (sm) - CMTx2

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I don't see us doing any better in the next 5 years...sm - want to go to school

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I am 39 and have been MT'ing since my first son was born almost 12 years ago. I now have an almost 12 year old and a 5 year old. I homeschool them both and work at night after they go to bed PT.

I know where my career right now is heading, as we all well know, and I am worried that in a few years I won't have a decent job. Years ago this was a perfect fit for us...and there was a lot more money in it, and personally I love this job, I still type straight transcription right now, no VR.

I really want to go back to school to become an LPN to RN because I know I can be creative with my scheduling. Problem is, the program here for LPN is only a day program, for just 12 months. I need a creative way to still homeschool but go to school myself. We just recently moved away from all our family so I don't even have anyone I trust that the kids could stay with during the day while I school, then I could homeschool them in the evenings (to do their homework during the day with the caregiver). I am really against sending them back to public school for personal and religious reasons, but when looking at the local Christian schools in town for both kids to go to school would be another house payment per month which is not feasible. Would it be really stupid to send my kids to public school for just one year then pull them back out? I know it would be tough on them and that is my biggest concern (well mainly for the to-be 7th grader).

For my future and my children's futures I need to know I will still be able to make enough money to support us and becoming an RN eventually is my goal. Right now I just need to figure out a way to do one year's worth of schooling to become an LPN, then the rest will work itself out.

I think you need to - Bindi

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give yourself permission to explore the possibility of sending your kids to public school. This may be a very viable option for you. As you say, this will only be for 12 months and at that time you can reevaluate the situation. Look at it this way, you'll be doing something to secure your family's future and well-being, by achieving your LPN and once you get your RN you've got it made in the shade!What a wise career choice. At 39, you're still a youngster. I've got a little less than 4 years until I'm eligible for full Social Security and I'm just hoping to have a job until then. There's every probability that your kids are going to love public school. I wish you the best.

JUMP! The ship is sinking. - CareerMT

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The picture has never looked so bleak. There are no good signs on the horizon, either.

If you were the captain of this ship that was headed for the rocks, would you continue on your current course or tell the crew to turn the thing around?!

It's TIME TO JUMP, my friends, before you are so stuck that you are unable to!

I have found that being an MT has helped me go - out in other fields while still in this one

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I just signed on to do VA appeals hearings which are for service-connected disabilities (i.e. medical problems). I stay away from anything acute care [not something I enjoyed, personally] or clinics. I have my own clients that are medical but not your traditional doctor-patient relationship. This new gig could work out to some excellent money. I have taught myself legal transcription as well - who says you need to go to school for it, I have never attended school for either medical or legal transcription ;) (a little self humor). Eighth grade education here. I am obviously not the norm, but I got very lucky with my first job doing this and have kept going for the last 23 years, always doing this type of work.

With all of these VR programs and point-and-click coming along, I feel even stronger now than I did before about staying away from acute care, clinics or those types of work. MT isn't dead - you just have to look farther than those types listed above IMHO

Congrats on the success you've created for yourself, - and I hope it lasts a long time, but

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the engine driving all these changes is the changing technology that allows companies to get rid of most transcription, in fact most office support work. Most file clerks have been gone for some time, typists gone, stenographers gone, transcriptionists mostly going.

What transcription is left remains because of requirements for technical expertise in understanding the material--not typing. Some demand may well continue, but any new, better-paying jobs created will be away from just getting words on paper in favor of people with more technical expertise than we have needed in the past--people with some ability to analyze and use the information in the reports.

As it is now, the higher-level people our clerical positions supported are still left and doing fine, with even more jobs created and most of them making significantly more more money than before.

The fewer remaining clerical support positions that are left tend to pay less and less, and business is continuing to look for ways to eliminate them or at least reduce the number needed. We, of course, fall in this unhappy group.

For this reason, good as a horizontal move in the same work may be currently, I'd strongly recommend anyone with years of work ahead to train for a higher level of work.

So, you have - Looking

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To clarify, you have a contract with the VA to transcribe the recordings of their disability hearings which take place at your local VA hospital?

No, they're appeal hearings before a judge - - sm

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or commissioner. They are done in select areas in the country, not at the local VA hospitals. The original hearings are to establish service-connected disability for medical issues. My contract is for when the veteran appeals his denial.

Gotcha! Thanks sm - Looking

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Thanks for the clarification.

So are you serving different locations or only servicing one that is close to you? Also, whom did you contract with to get this gig -- the federal judiciary? (I presume this would be a federal judge since the VA is a federal department.)

As far as I know software for coding is also going to eliminate this job in the future? - nm

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Exactly!! I already wasted money on MT - sm

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as a career, there is no way I am going to waste more time and money trying to be a coder. They may even be going by the wayside even sooner than MT.

Good decision - sm

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That is a good decision for you. If you can draw that kind of conclusion without obtaining the facts first, you would not do well in coding.

That is incorrect--you have a mistaken view about - Coding

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If you have to preface a remark with "As far as I know," that is a clue that you do NOT know. It informs others, and should inform you, that you have no basis in fact for what you are saying and so should not say it.

What you said is completely incorrect. Software is not going to eliminate coding.

If you believe it is, you must be confusing coding with some kind of front office clerical chore. That function can and pretty much has been automated, but that is not coding and it is not what we do.

There are many different types of jobs in and around coding, or which have a knowledge of coding as their foundation. Coders are expected to move into these jobs, some of which are becoming possible BECAUSE of software. They pay more, too.

There are posts elsewhere on this board about this. You have either not read them or you enjoy stirring the pot. Please do not post pronouncements about career fields that you know nothing about. Many MTs here are looking to transition to other work. Some are considering coding as an entry point into another field. I cannot understand why some unhappy people insist upon making unfounded statements in order to quash their hopes and plans.

Excuse me! Apparetly coders will transition into other works as MTs are doing - now, sm

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Hopefully, the transition will not include all the paycuts (highly unlikely) and the jobs in and around coding will be not be as time consuming as ASR has turned out to be. The bottom line is these programs are intended to reduce the amount of money spent on MT and coder jobs. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand what that means.

Wrong. - sm

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You apparently have no idea what coding is. You are making unfounded assumptions. They are wrong.

The good part about all of your posting is that everyone can now see it for what it is . . . uninformed half-truths.

I'm not telling anyone to pursue or not to pursue coding. - you are addressing 2 different, sm

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people here. I totally agree that coding will also see results just as MTs have. It may not be totally eliminated, but it will not be the job that it used to be. All it takes is a look on the internet about the coding softward designed to help clinic practices, hospitals, etc. to cut down on the costs for coding, which would include the coder needed for these tasks. As I stated, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what this means. EHR may not eliminate transcriptionists or coders, but it will affect your pay rate and the job duties previously performed by these 2 positions. Hence, ONE of the reasons it is advertised as being able to save money by using the software. No reason for you to get all upset about it. These are facts not just something being made up. Just look on the internet for it. It is out there.

By the way, I work on EHR now and spend half of my time - doing tasks that are not MT related, sm

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but get paid production for the lines that I type. I don't get paid for the time that is spent on looking up each patient and ensuring the informaton that is required for that health record is correct (duties that are required for me to work on this system right now), just for the lines. Thus, a decrease in the amount of lines typed per hour due to other duties (which should be secretarial duties not MT).

Sorry to burst your bubble - tech savvy MT

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With more and more push to structured data, and software that is already out there which parses terminology and codes, coders are going to be in the same boat as transcriptionists are. The really good ones who are well-rounded and able to handle anything thrown at them will have jobs. The rest will be looking for new careers. This isn't a chicken little scenario, it's simply common sense.

I sat in a meeting recently listening to discussions about coding and use of MTs and I can tell you that the shift has already begun. Doctors will be told - describe it like this or you won't be paid - and doctors want paid so they will acquiesce.

So sorry but coding is just not any safer than MT is, no matter what bill of goods you're being sold.

structured data - em

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This is exactly what I have been saying to people - don't delude yourself that MTs will be needed forever as VR editors. They won't and it doesn't matter if VR gets better or not. The move with the meaningful use requirements is for structured data and eliminating narrative reports (read: no typing, no VR).

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