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

MTs Will Make the Best Scribes - Joe

Posted: Sep 05, 2013

There is a budding new profession, for which MTs will be perfect. It's explained in an article at http://smartype.com/id12.html. Both the demand and the pay for transcription are dropping precipitously. It's a good time to consider a career transition. The tough part will be finding physicians who recognize that their lives will be immensely better if they have YOU doing all their EHR documentation...and that it's easily worth $40K per year.

All ads I've seen are far less than "easily" $40,000 a year. (nm) - anon

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scribes - diana

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All the places in my area that have jobs posted for medical scribes require you to be at least a CNA and be certified in CPR, etc., because you are in the room with the patient. The doctors may think you would be worth it, but the doctors have no say anymore. Now, if they every offer these positions remotely and do not require you to be a med student or CNA, or such then I would apply in a heartbeat.

I would do it - Leaving MT

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I would love to do this - where do I sign up? I would even go back to school to get my CNA for a $40K salary. I already have the CPR certification for health care workers. I have clinical experience as well as transcription experience in my background having been a medical assistant in the past. I would do it either remotely or at the office. I think the pre-med scribes are mainly interested in being in the ER anyway for the acute care experience. This sounds more like clinic scribing.

Every ad I have seen posted for - a medical scribe

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be it either remotely or in-office, has paid $8 an hour or less. Not my idea of a "career!" They are fluffing the $40K range considerably. No doctor or hospital is going to pay that amount to have someone enter point and click info into EMR.

Joe's description seemed more comprehensive - Leaving MT

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His article talked about the position being more comprehensive than just pointing and clicking data into an EMR, and I would not be qualified for what he describes unless I got some training. If there is such a position as a medical care coordinator, as it is described in the article, and if it did pay accordingly, I would love to train for it.

The training is available...but the positions aren't yet - Joe

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An MT can be trained in about 2 weeks to become a proficient Medical Coordinator (remote scribe). See www.valadoc.com. But it doesn't make sense to go through the training until you have a physician who wants you to be her/his MC. Then the physician pays for the training.

Even though the relatively small number of physicians currently using an MC are ecstatic and perfectly happy to pay something like $30K plus benefits, it's been difficult to convince others to jump on board. If you have a prospective physician partner, you might want to direct her/him to the website linked above and/or to the article at http://smartype.com/id12.html

Impressive - Leaving MT

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Well, I would not be surprised if there is a niche market for this service, especially if you are able to use it with any EMR. It might be hard to convince hospital administration overseeing doctors' offices that it is worthwhile, but there are still a few docs who choose to remain independent.

I have always worked for an MTSO, so I have no connections with physicians other than one in my cycling club. I don't know if he is in private practice or not.

Medical Scribes - going..going..gone

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I am fortunate enough to have a 2nd job transcribing for a local cardiology group at 13 cpl. They have recently been bought by a corporation and the corporation has been trying to get the docs to do voice rec but most have been around a long time and resistant and have kept the MTs (one 25+ years with them) working. The writing is on the wall though, it's all about the bottom line, and the latest term being tossed about is scribe. The MT with the 25+ years was offered a scribe position by the office manager and she said "I'm not going backwards in pay" and just got a blank stare in return. I told her from my knowledge scribes maybe make 9/hr. I've been certain all along the once a corporation buys these guys out, they really have no say regarding transcription. I wish it weren't true but the bottom line is the bottom line. It won't be a smooth transition unless they can coerce someone who is making 15 cpl as the vet MT is to give up working from home (although she works her butt off) and come in for 9 bucks an hour. Who are they kidding.

... - nevermind

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Medical Scribes or - Clinical Information Managers

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I have written several times about this over the past year or so.

They generally do not hire MTs. There may be an exception, but they are targeting premed, nursing, and EMT students. They are presenting these jobs as learning opportunities for these students.

Clinical information manager is how you will find these jobs in a search engine such as indeed.com. Also as scribes.

I cringe at the thought of fly by night schools popping up and stealing people's money.

Correct -- targeting pre-med students for these low-paying jobs. (nm) - In-House Lead

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nm

Joe - Here is the problem... - Rose

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SmartType sounds like just an expansion program, right? We already have expansion programs. How is an independent MT to get into this unless she is a tech wiz who can get her PC set up to be compatible with a HIPAA-compliant exchange of documentation and voice files? Most of us are not that technically savvy, or we'd be making twenty times as much as an IT tech.

Other problem, Schools and MTSOs are already trying to capitalize on the Scribe sales, promising great careers if you go to their MT school to become a scribe rather than an MT. The problem with wages is the middleman, the MTSOs paying us a minute fraction of what they charge the clients.

The problem with using MTs as scribes is that we are not going to sit there listening to an entire office visit for 15 minutes to enter 4 lines of demographics for .16 cents in wages, so clients would have to pay by the hour. Paying hourly is going to jack up health care costs because it is much more expensive than paying by the line documented - MUCH more expensive.

If I have misunderstood the concept, I'd appreciate your explaining. I just don't see where SmartType offers more than a good expansion program that has been around a long time with a great reputation. I just do not see it getting us out of the the poverty we are currently stuck in, other than having to pay another $150 we can no longer afford.

Smartype is much more than an expansion program, but.... - Joe

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...it has nothing to do with the remote scribe comments I posted. I just happen to have the article accessible from our Smartype website.

If you read the article and view the video at www.valadoc.com, methinks you'll recognize the awesome value proposition of this MC approach. MTs get it right away. But it's tougher to convince the MDs to pay for it, even though the increased income from seeing more patients more than pays for the MC. It will, however, catch on eventually.

Physicians love innovation; they hate change.

BTW, Smartype's word-completion engine, coupled with its built-in vocabulary of 48,000 words used in medical reports, all with correct spelling and capitalization, IMHO blows away the conventional word expanders. That should become clear from viewing the screen shots and/or downloading the 30-day free trial. But that's not what I'm trying to communicate at this time. I'd like to see MTs grab the remote-scribing profession away from the pre-med students and the others far less qualified than MTs for this gig.

I personally viewed - the valadoc vid

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when it first came to light a few months ago. I was impressed and was quite interested in the program. However, when investigating further, there were no docs in my area that were involved, and quite honestly, using an "interested MT" to do your sales pitch for you to local docs is rather exploitive. We make a referral...you reap the rewards...and I may still not have a job...if the doc decides to "invest." Sorry...you are not duping me.

thank you! Because the more I read of Joe the more I want - to ask what are you selling and why pitch to us? N

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I am selling the concept of MTs capturing the Scribe profession - Joe

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From my experience with scribes, which matches what I would have expected, MTs are far and away the best candidates for this position. It seems like leaders and others in the transcription community should endeavor to make it clear to the industry that MTs will be much better at this than pre-med students.

You can lobby the scribe-service companies and the physician organizations. It will be a pity if MTs don't become recognized as the profession to be training as scribes, particularly since transcription is being decimated by EHRs and speech recognition. Of course, you will also want to push for a substantial increase in the pay for scribes, which will be worth it to get MT-level expertise.

Pitch to the small MTSOs - getting swallowed up

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The small MTSO who contracts directly with physicians is probably in a better position to lobby than those of us sitting at home anonymously with no physician contact.

I actually have some clinical experience in medicine now (went back to school for a different profession - trying to get out of MT), and I think MTs don't know what they don't know, especially the work-at-home MTs who never worked in a hospital or directly for a physician.

Not going to happen, many hospital orgs as stated already by another - are hiring pre-meds cheaply for this, and

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(this has also been said before) I believe Scribes is a falsh in the pan fad that will fade away. Scribing is nothing more than what we do now except it is done on site and totally disregards patient privacy (of the physical kind) - unless done by none other than a pre-med student or nurses' aide. I would not be surprised if this Scribes thing was not absorbed by the medical community as part of the medical internship duties for doctors and/or nurses and not paid a salary at all. That is the mentality these days - why hire another and create a new job title when there's an inside solution to be had? Even you have to say it would be bad business management on their end to opt your solution.

My personal opinion, you put an MT office person in the roomg with me, I'll start some deep chit about it. It ranks right up there with being stripped searched at the airport by some nobody nonprofessional. Hey, I can take the train, because this is my BODY. No, actually, this is MY body and I have final say in that or I quit America.

My hospital: MTs $20-23/hr; scribes $8-10/hr - In-House Lead

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Our ED uses them and has been for a while now. They follow the docs around from room to room with rolling computer stands. Keep in mind they are in the same room with burn victims, women who've just been raped, etc., etc. No thanks.

Selling on eBay is working out much better for me. I am encouraging all my displaced MT friends go to in that direction. Look for my eBay auction where I am selling my Book of Style and foot pedal (for real). ROFL.

LOL - I see a little of Joe has rubbed off on you! - NM

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