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

Changing professions - itype2

Posted: Feb 28, 2010

This message is to everyone who posts on this board, especially those who are advising/telling others to get out of the medical transcription field. It seems that things have changed overnight with voice recognition and electronic charting but it is still very new and probably too soon to tell for sure how it will impact us. Many of you are imagining the worst and every directive from a company or news item that appears is taken out of context and blown out of proportion by certain particiipants on this board. If you choose to see the downside in everything that is fine, but it is creating a panic atmosphere in this forum.

I'm employed full-time as an MT and for the present time I have a great job with good pay and good benefits. My employer is planning on converting to EPIC and VR but I can tell all of you that the doctors do not love it; in fact, many of them are refusing to use it and want to keep straight transcription, so now other options are being explored. We outsource part of our work and one option they are looking at is cutting ties with the MTSOs and bringing the work back on site. I want to become a VR editor so I hope I get to stay if they do have to cut staff. Either way, I want to be trained on the new technology, that is probably the only way I am going to survive in the MT world.

I've asked myself what percentage of MTs this forum represents, we can't all be getting the shaft from our employers. I would like to think that there are still many of us who have good jobs and are willing to wait and see what happens with the new technology. For one thing, I can't afford quit my job, I have bills to pay and groceries to buy. I am looking at other options but I have chosen to wait for a while and see what happens. I regret that I was ever sucked into this negativity because it is making me an emotional wreck.

Best wishes to all of you in your career pursuits.

I understand where you are coming from...... - radtypist

[ In Reply To ..]
I've been doing transcription for 16 years. Within the past year to year and a half, I have seen a significant decline in RADIOLOGY transcription. I'm IC with a company that I love, but I can't see myself retiring from this kind of work. I'm 38 and thinking ahead. I have gone back to school to be a nurse. I think in the future, transcription is not going to be like it was when I first started. I enjoy being home sometimes, I have elementary aged school kids. But I'm happy with my decision to go back to school, and by the time I become a nurse, my boys will be teenagers, and my income should be a great deal more than what I'm making now. I've always wanted to get into nursing, but wanted to be at home with my boys while they were young. I used to love this work, but starting to get very burned out on it. To each their own. Good luck to those of you who are making career changes and to those of you waiting it out with the transcription.

going back to school - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
I realize what is happening in the MT industry and i'm taking the necessary steps to prepare myself. I'm tired of panicking, worrying, and basically getting upset over a job. It still pays my bills, the conditions have gone down hill, but I won't lose sleep over it anymore. I'm doing what I need to prepare and thats all I can do. My first class starts tomorrow. Starting on the road to a BA in social work, working towards an MSW. I've been a transcriptionist since 1994 and have rolled with the changes but I really think the days are numbered. Hopefully two years at least so I can have an income while i'm in school. Good luck to all who are starting out fresh, it can be scary, but exciting at the same time.

Funny enough, I trained and graduated in another....sm - Cyndiee

[ In Reply To ..]
part of medicine, I was a practicing LPN, certified MA, surgical tech, EKG tech, and administrative medical assistant, and loved it. I started doing MT when I stared having babies around 1988, no daycare for me! Tough, but I was blessed with the best kids as far as naps, keeping busy with projects with me, etc. Supportive husband. I had done tons of transcription during all my nursing/tech days, and started out in the Diagnostic Imaging Departments and Acute Care departments, where I learned a ton from some amazing old-time MTs.

I also have gotten fed up, thinking how much I used to make and all the fringe benefits, sometimes being treated like an indentured servant or slave, no respect, etc., but I have had in the past five years the best jobs I could hope for with caring, supportive, wonderful bosses. Pay is extremely good, hours are whatever I make them, no weekends or holidays, but I am IC. And all of the MTSOs that I have worked very closely with as far as securing new accounts and keeping the ones we have have said the same thing, that doctors are finding EMR and VR to be a HUGE PAIN for them and find straight transcription with a good company to give them less grief and time.

I cannot say for sure where this field is going, but I know I have been able to bring up three smart, happy, thriving kids, been home to make dinners and clean, I was able to take of my Dad when he was on hospice and slowly dying (my boss made all my hours and work very flexible), and I feel very content overall.

Please, before you jump and quit, take your time, look around, put your best resumes and cover letters out there, and belive me, there are some very good MTSOs out there (I have been finding them in the smaller companies, but the way, who will pay high wages by the GROSS line, everything counts. If you have to move, think about medical-related fields because the only real sustained growth in the job market have been mostly in the medical fields. So many technology degrees, great pain and bennies, and your already-acquired knowledge will be a help.

God bless, everybody, hope everyone finds a really great niche for them!

THE ALL THOSE REPLIES TO THE MT WORLD - glitrgrammi

[ In Reply To ..]
I have been an MT for 26 years. I now work two jobs, one IC, one employee status (for the benefits). It is the only profession where the pay has DECREASED instead of INCREASED. What happen to the templates for us? I used to type 2800-3000 lines a day, no problem. I am lucky to get in 1800 lines a day, in 10-11 hours. All of you MTs out there considering go back to school, ABSOLUTELY DO IT!! I have looked into various health care schooling, but I am almost 60 years old and want to retire in 2 years. They say to "do what you love". I no longer "love" this job. In fact, I dread it every single day. I used to make 55K a year, now I am lucky to make 28-30K a day, and that is working 2 jobs, 60-70 hours a week. Something is wrong with this picture. The job I have now I have to keep up 10,000 lines a pay period to keep the benefits. What is up with that? I work over 40 hours a week to try to keep that up. It's just not the same. They are asking us to be secretaries, when we are medical transcriptionists. Cannot wait to retire. I will then do something that I love.

Good luck to all!

Yes, I too feel the pinch - MTSO

[ In Reply To ..]
I am a small MTSO. I used to be able to pick my clients but now I am having to go out and find them. They are still out there but they are as frightened as we are. They see vendors coming at them in drove telling them lies about some nebulous EMR mandate by 2014. I don't have resources to re-inform them about the fact that there is no federal EMR mandate. But high profile vendors will tell them a different story. In the end, they may realize that it takes 38 seconds of their valuable time to dictate a returning patient and 2 minutes to dictate a new patient. A far cry from the time it takes to complete tedious point and click EMR that they are being lied to about. Then we have offshoring with which to contend which is produced by third world country personnel who know nothing about our culture, let alone medical technicalities. If a medical provider does not produce accurate medical records, their reimbursements dwindle. But somewhere, somehow, the accuracy still suffers in the name of cost savings. They don't consider the exponential costs of hiring IT professionals whose salaries far outweigh ours. We will see how this all shakes out. Don't hold your breath, though.

EMR - Lynda

[ In Reply To ..]
I lost my IC job to EMR. I worked for a small company who lost its biggest client when the business was sold and the new one uses EMR. She will not be able to even stay in the business anymore. I still have an in house job, but I am not fond of working there. I prefered my at home job. The idea of starting over again by putting our resumes day after day looking for fewer and fewer jobs does not appeal to me. I have also decided to go back to school. I will be working as a doula after training and then work on getting a degree as a direct entry midwife. My heart is just not in transcription anymore.

Technology & Offshoring, Corp. Greed & OBama Mandate - My take on it all

[ In Reply To ..]
Everything changes -- but usually not so fast or hit by so many major factors almost simultaneously.

The above four factors (VR,offshoring, corporate greed and O'Bama's EMR mandate) ... have hit us all pretty much within the last 5 years and there is absolutely nothing we as individuals can do about it. It is NOT the profession it once was.

I think this realization is slowly coming to all MTs. It has everyone I know. And honestly, it has not affected all the same - I am very fast and no matter what I do, I lose money with VR.

I used to take tremendous pride in my reports being professional, consistent and being a vital part of patient care.

Now, I find in order to survive, if what VR puts is not WRONG but not the way I usually do it, I just leave it. If I took the time reformat things, etc., like I used too - I would cut my income in half or more (i.e., I like to list medicines instead of putting them in paragraph form like VR does).

I agree there will be MT work for awhile yet, I am simply not willing to do it for the income I am able to generate. It still takes all the skills necessary to do it -- but we are not going to be compensated for that knowledge.

And I honestly believe those skills and intelligence are what will allow me to be successful in another field.

So . . . .. I too am moving on .. not sure exactly what but I think this ship, while maybe it has not sailed, is getting ready too.

And this all makes me sad. Very sad. In a way I feel like I am grieving the loss of a loved one -- because I did love my job. I'm not leaving today, or even next month and probably not this year. But I refuse to sit back and in 2 years .. so .."what happened? I don't have a job that I can make more than minimum wage. Now what am I going to do? How am I going to pay my bills?" I am preparing.

And anyone who thinks a small MTSO that won't do VR and pays decent wages, etc., is going to be able to survive more than a few years better re-think that.

Good luck to all!

EMR Mandate - cmmcd472

[ In Reply To ..]
EMR was not an Obama mandate, it went into effect under Bush while Obama was still in office. It is not a mandate, by the way...if facilities participate, they receive federal matching funds, that is why so many want to implement it.

my bad then .. I thought OBama signed it. - However, the doctors I know ..

[ In Reply To ..]
are under the impression they have to do it. I have told them they can still dictate if they wish and insert it in their EMR, but that is not what they are being told.

My local doctors do not want it. However, they feel it will be a mandate soon and figure they might as well go ahead and do it.

That is verbatim from a doctor I am losing next month that I have worked for for 12 years.

No mandate - the greedy point and dlick EMR vendors - are lying thru their teeth

[ In Reply To ..]
It was an executive order signed by Bush. That is not a law. It merely put into motion the mechanism for providing incentives for providers to implement it. EMR does not have to be point and dlick but the liars selling point and click and telling providers that it is. BTW, the costs far outweight the incentives. Doctors will actually lose money by doing what the EMR point and click vendors are pushing.

EMR - cmmcd472

[ In Reply To ..]
As with most new technology, VR and the electronic record that accompanies it do not work as well as promised when tested in real life situations. At my place there are still many bugs to work out and decisions to be made. At one point we were told that transcription at our place was history but now they are rethinking that; I expect we will be around for a few more years.

I have to ask you...are you getting out of transcription because you want to or because of what other people in this forum are telling you?

Getting out because I feel I have to .. - small message

[ In Reply To ..]
With all the changes, I am working harder and making less and less income.

It has nothing to do what people on this board are saying, other than validating the feeling that I am not alone in my assessment.

In 1997, I made 60K doing local accounts. I worked hard but not 7 days a week and most of the time not even 6. Last year, I made about 48K, but that was working 2-3 jobs, working 7 days a week. And now my company is going to VR, and there will be the pay cut associated with that.

I personally feel like the trend to working harder and making less will continue, and that I am personally worth more than I can make on VR. This won't happen overnight -- but I know it is getting harder and harder to get clients locally, and the MTSOs are having to be more and more competitive to get and keep work.

I can take the same skills and intelligence that I used to do well with in MT and find something else where I can be compensated for that. I am looking at State and/or Government jobs. A local word processing job for the State paid only 35K a year -- but with amazing benefits. I did not apply for that one but will be watching for them in the future. I think it is time for me personally to make a move.

I too agree that people should not do something they are not ready to do because of what people are saying on this board.

Getting out - cmmcd472

[ In Reply To ..]
I guess the pay thing is relative and whatever the market will bear. The MTs at my clinic are the highest paid employees, making more than the nurses, I personally think there's something wrong with that picture. None of us come close to 60K, 48K would be pushing it but we have full benefits. I'd probably jump at 35K but I've never been paid as well as you. Good luck finding any non-MT job that meets your salary expectations in today's job market.

Thanks! - I believe in dreams ... LOL

[ In Reply To ..]
Your 48K plus benefits would be close to my 60K, that was 1099 income. I'd love to find a job like yours!

And I would have applied for the 35K with State benefits, I just found it on the last day to apply! So now I check their website at least every other day.

I believe there is still money to be had in this economy. My husband and I talked about getting into cleaning out foreclosed homes back when the recession started but did not do anything about it as we were both working full time. Now, boy, do I wish we had! We know a couple that has done EXTREMELY well.

My husband is in the process of starting his own small business, so we are hoping that takes off. Previously job security and less stress was a good reason to work for someone else. However, there is little job security anywhere anymore, so our focus is trying to find something where we can work for ourselves and cut out the middle man.

People limit ourselves so often by what we think is going to happen. I am trying to focus on figuring out a dream and going for it. Nothing ventured, nothing gained! :)

Just gotta pay the bills in the meantime! :)

EMR - Lynda

[ In Reply To ..]
My FP actually uses EMR. Implemented it at least a year ago and still using it. Although I am sure the initial outlay was substantial. I still have my in house job and probably will keep it. I dont see them (a small 2 surgeon office) as going with EMR anytime soon even with the incentives from insurance companies. From what I understand they will decrease reimbursments for offices that do not use EMR. I am getting out of IC for complex reasons. I just think we are the first of many MT casualties of EMR. I see most things in my life as happening for a reason. This gives me the push I need to become a doula something I have always wanted to do. I made the decision to get out long before I read anything on this forum about it.

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