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

Has anyone seen this PDF re the MT's change in title? - see msg

Posted: Jul 02, 2012

Seriously, I see a lot of words in there such as:

Specialist
Expertise
Skills
Knowledge
Critical information
Accuracy and completeness
Well educated/well trained

Oh...and this, "Healthcare documentation specialists are second only to physicians in the amount of content inputted directly into the EHR."

Sounds like MTs are evolving into what is apparently a pretty important job with serious responsibilities.

So why, why, WHY in the name of all that is good on Earth are we being paid so very little and being forced out of this "profession" because most of us are starving???

why don't you ask the AHDI? nm - Snow Bunny

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Oh, okay. I thought this was an MT discussion forum. - I will take myself elsewhere. Have a good one. nm

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I wasn't being snarky, and - Snow Bunny

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I apologize if you feel that I was.

The AHDI (former AAMT) is the root of the current problem. Everybody is standing with them at a highway that forks in 2 directions. They are heading to the left and countless MTs are traveling down the right.

IMO, they opened a can of worms and I think they need to be held accountable. So, let's get them on the witness stand, so to speak, and ask.

And to set the record straight, your mention of the topic is something that is long overdue for discussion. You asked a good question ... do YOU have any thoughts on the matter?

Had not seen this - Thanks for posting

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Please don't let one person discourage you from posting. Some of us appreciate this information.

Thanks! Actually, I was going t leave after that response - but then thought not. sm

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If this board is going to start turning into a board of MTSOs and/or their employees posting about how wonderful things are, then there needs to be a balance.

I think the things noted in that article can make a GREAT negotiating tool for MTs and MTSOs if they'd only open their eyes and see it. We may be able to get our respect back and demand and receive professional pay for professional work.

Now's the time to JUMP on that, while everything is still new!

I think it may be a good start for MTs and MTSOs to - negotiate higher wages now. It is, in a way, our I

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I agree! I posted the same thing above! - :) nm

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I researched this term, and I believe the real opportunity - is being missed. This job is NOT a name change

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for us. MTs cannot be HDSs without at least some further training, and a 2-year degree might well be a standard official requirement, although I would imagine many would come in through non-degreed maneuvers.

BUT, that's why it is an exciting possibility. So many of us have been waiting for an EVOLUTION of our declining work into a new position that will be in demand in future. Demand = jobs = pay. A place to go as this field disappears. New work that can build substantially on the skills and knowledge we already have, so we aren't effectively having to start all over again.

It's important not to confuse this job title with an already established line of work "Clinical Documentation Specialist," also clerical but requiring MUCH more medical knowledge than "Healthcare Documentation Specialist" would, with a concomitant gap in earnings and responsibilities. CDSs often come to that work from nursing and other clinical positions.

I would imagine that HDSs would act "below" that job, taking care of areas requiring little medical and legal knowledge and judgement to free up their time for the stuff that does.

One question is how much of it could be done at home (for people who cannot go out to work) and how much would be in-house, something a lot of people are longing to go back to anyway. Very little coding is done remotely, and this might well turn out to be the same. How many hand-scribbled notes will still be left on charts after everyone goes to the EHR?

Physicians are not paying higher.....that is the problem - just me

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It is extremely difficult to get physicians to pay even 10 cpl. The low prices advertised for overseas transcription is what is bring us down....Ironically, they are not so low priced any more, and the quality is horrible.

change in title - transitioning MT

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Yes, I've been following this name change idea for awhile. While at first I opposed it, I actually did change my title a couple of months ago. AHDI and whether they are good for MT's aside, I feel that name encompasses what I do and may help us stay relevant when looking for a job. I'm just glad I never bent under AHDI pressure to get certified. Not that I would pass the test anyway, I've always been a Radiology/Ortho MT.

Have they come up with a curriculum yet? "Staying relevant" - will require a higher level of knowledge. NM

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staying relevant - transitioning MT

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I meant staying relevant applies to having a broader set of skills than "medical transcription" implies to someone that does not know the difference(by that I mean hiring agents).

This is not to say I'm a proponent of AHDI, in fact I think they are in CYA mode because they failed us horribly. If they offer education for HDS, I won't by applying for it. I would assume it will be along the lines of course taught for health information management (I just finished that degree, thank goodness).

I got involved in many discussions in the AHDI lounge leading up to the name change. They at first decided to change the name to Clinical Documentation Integrity Specialists. If you look that one up, it is already taken by nursing professionals. After much debate, I guess AHDI saw the light and thought better of using the word Clinical.

Here is a job description of a Clinical Documentation Specialist:

http://www.nslijcareers.com/jobs/clinical-documentation-specialist-job-lake-success-new-york-2896928

Who here is savvy enough to compose a petition - to present to the AHDI on behalf of MTs?

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They need to know that the information in the document above is enough to warrant professional pay for the experience, skills, and ongoing training necessary to perform the job as stated.

I'll sign it if someone knows how to write one, and I'd hope that other MTs and MTSOs will, too.

but - are you willing

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to get certified? I know a lot of people dismiss AHDI out of hand, but they are the only organization we have (AHIMA seems better but is not just MT oriented).

Until we have mandatory certification, salaries will NOT go up. Any other healthcare profession that wants to be taken seriously has either certification (even food workers!) or licensing. Until we have that for MT, things will remain the same.

I do think the above article is a good starting point, but I also feel people have to realize it's not as simple as petitioning AHDI, it will require something on our end, too, and that would be getting the credentials that indicate you are, indeed, a qualified healthcare documentation specialist :)

I'm afraid certification did not and will not make salaries go up. - If being a healthcare documentation specialist

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required a higher level of training, though, that might well result in an increase in pay. Depends on how many of the people who say they don't make enough money at this would pursue that additional training that would be needed. I.e, the more workers available the less the pay and vice versa.

Many remember the good old days in MT. Pay was extremely good for this specialized transcription work specifically because institutions had to compete for the limited number of skilled people available within their commuting distance. Inadequate supply = higher pay offered. Not quite the situation today.

BTW, AHIMA is "better" definitely, but that's because the people it represents do lines of work that require more education and training than MT does, most requiring 2 or 4-year degrees, work experience, and licensing arising from the increased levels of responsibility of that work.

AHIMA has not been interested in representing MTs. As it is, there are too many alternatives to CMTs for us (I do have mine) to apply wage pressure through a certification--like trying to blow up a balloon with a hole in it. Also, a mere 30 minutes on the job will reveal a new employee's skill level to an employer quite well, meaning there's just no compelling need for a credential as a screening tool.

It's this defeatist attitude that has flushed our profession - down the crapper. Sorry but true. sm

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Naysaying and doomsdaying, yeesh...

In general, most women are just too naturally passive (whether they want to admit it or not) and shouldn't be in the business world if they're so passive and soft. MT business owners cowering and submitting themselves and their MTs to gross undercutting by other slimy subpar companies, slashing everyone's pay in HALF... Freaking shameful. I still say that if this was a MALE dominated profession, none of this pay cut crap would've ever happened. You have to swim with the sharks or get eaten.

NOW is the time to do something, can't you see that? Especially when we have fresh ammo and this whole MT thing is being remodeled and reborn.

Seems at the present time we're inside the window to make it happen, and once that window closes, we're all doomed to minimum wage or less once again. The time to act is NOW.

Respectfully, DTC, it's been a long time since I took economics - classes in college, but the balloon analogy

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is all too valid. I'm not being a defeatist, I'm being a realist.

I'm also someone who worked from the 1960s on through the last century without EVER saying, "I'm not a feminist but,". (Much more of a distinction than younger women can possibly realize.) I was and am a feminist. I have chosen and worked in positions typically held by men--because they were more interesting, carried more responsibility, and paid much beter. I moved to this field as a "semi-retirement" in the country with eyes wide open, knowing the pay was where it was because it is a female-dominated field.

I also know that all over the country men in many fields are seeing similar wage slashings and exploitation. Sadly, choosing "men's" work is no longer the good route to a satisfactory living wage that it once was.

Now, back to this! Just as soon as I see an upsurge in job offerings for this title, employers specifically inviting MTs to consider training for these jobs and offering higher pay to fill the need, and AHDI or others posting a curriculum of classes one should have, I'll start plugging the holes in my resume by signing up for the training needed.

I hope. This may just be the GOOD thing we need finally coming along. A new, better-paying job that will build on our skills with a few classes, instead of having to give this up entirely and go back to college for another 2 years for something else.

Nice post, agree especially with your last paragraph. - DTC

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i agree wholeheartedly - transitioning MT

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I think it is the opportunity to re-position ourselves AND to distance ourselves from the travesty called voice recognition editing. Especially since any document produced by anyone with access to a medical record system is called "transcription." Not to mention front end editing or reports that are so error-ridden they are begging for a lawsuit. I'll accept the title Healthcare Documentation Specialist, just like I accepted the title Medical Language Specialist before that.

Absolutely - IF it meant higher pay and the respect - we deserve. It has to work for us, not work agains

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oh no - title inflation

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Sounds like calling the garbage man a sanitary engineer. Same pay, fancy title. It's like calling the Medical Records Department "Health Information Management." Patients still want to go to the Medical Records Department. Of course in both cases there is an evolution of responsibility and expertise but please. Why try to improve on what's not broken!

One thing I don't understand, if anyone knows... - (Please see message)

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Does AHDI's change in the title to "healthcare documentation specialist" include an expected change in the actual job itself? I read the attached link, but I still wasn't sure I understand it. Do you suppose an HDS would have to physically be in the clinic setting to assist with completing the EHR or EMR on the spot? Or is this considered a change in title only, with transcribing and editing of the medical reports still being done electronically, just as they are now?

I remember when medical transcriptionists started being called "medical language specialists" instead (they even changed our official title on our written job-description documents, our hospital reviews, our ID name tags, etc.), but the job itself didn't change at all. Consequently, we were still ALWAYS referred to as "transcriptionists" by our manager, director, other departments, and even among ourselves. If someone asks what I do for a living, I say I'm a medical transcriptionist. No one else seems to know what a "medical language specialist" is or does. I use "medical transcriptionist" as my job title on my resume and have always used that on my tax return where you have to give your occupation.

So, my question is: Does anyone know if this change to Healthcare Documentation Specialist includes a complete overhaul of the job description and duties, or it a change in name only to better reflect an MT's current role?

I would love to see our occupation evolve in a positive way. Like so many of my fellow MTs, I don't have even a couple of years to devote to going back to school but would gladly do some skills updating if I thought it would mean more secure job opportunities in the very near future and better pay, more commensurate with our intelligence and skills.

Maybe this will help - transitioning MT

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Here is a blog on the subject.

http://ahdilounge.blogspot.com/search?q=healthcare+documentation+specialist&x=0&y=0

Thank you, Transitioning MT... - (see message)

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I appreciate you posting the link to that piece. It was very interesting, and I think it's great that this is getting some attention by AHDI; but I still didn't understand what, if anything, would change about what we MTs actually do.

I'll follow this and would love to see some hope that highly skilled MTs will once again be paid what we're worth for our years of experience and knowledge. Until then, I see that more and more of the really high-quality MTs are dropping like flies from this career. I hope things turn around sooner rather than later.

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