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

The future of transcription - Ugghhhh

Posted: May 07, 2013

I had to take my two kids to the doctor the other day. Thought I was lucky, because there were only 2 people in front of us, but it was TWO HOURS before we were called back. Once I got back there, I saw why. When the nurse came in to ask the pre-visit questions, she asked a MILLION questions and entered them all into her laptop, typing out what we said (typed VERY slow, by the way) and we were just on HER portion for over 45 minutes. Then, the doctor came in and saw the kids and she spent about 15 minutes just entering stuff in the computer, not even talking to us or anything, we were just sitting there wasting our time. Once she got finished, the nurse came back in and spent another 20 minutes typing things into the computer, such as Strep test results, etc. I do understand technology advancement and I understand the idea of saving money, BUT to have a patient just sit there in an exam room for an hour and a half, while you do charting, to keep from having to pay an MT, I don't know why they get away with that. I have better things to do with my time as well.

Oh, and another thought - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
It wouldn't have taken an MT near an hour and a half to type reports of two clinic visits. So, the amount of money paid to the doctor and the nurse would outweigh what they could have just paid an MT.

And just for a kick in the teeth - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
You will probably be charged for a double (back to back) office visit because you took too long!!!

This goes on at my Doc's office too - MT4Eight

[ In Reply To ..]
I now cannot go to the doc's, even for a simple prescription refill appointment, without spending half my day there waiting for people who don't know how to type to type things into a laptop while I sit there and watch. Frustrating to say the least.

I'd be tempted.... - Trampled underfoot

[ In Reply To ..]
Next time, I'd be tempted to say, "Here, let me have that!" and start typing it in myself. Also, once the doctor left and the nurse came back to start doing her thing again, I'd say, "If you're done with us, we're going to leave."

I''d have said that when the doc started with the computer - Drive it home right up the where it belongs. NM

[ In Reply To ..]
.

I actually told my doctor ......... - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
to finish my visit and do her charting on her time not mine, that I did not have time to sit around and wait for her to type.

I think it will eventually turn into a problem. - HC

[ In Reply To ..]
They keep the patient in the room, while charting, because that way they can charge the insurance company for a more extensive visit. The time has to be face-to-face time, for the insurance companies to pay. When I worked at a doctor's office, visits were charged levels I through IV, with consultations taking the most time and followups with the least. There were MANY times when the insurance company would question a more extensive visit and we would have to provide additional information on WHY that visit took so long, whether labs were done, additional education, etc.

I don't see insurance companies agreeing to pay for time spent with the patient sitting there and the staff documenting. Maybe they will, but doubtfully, the insurance companies are even more money hungry than doctors, so it will probably eventually stop.

Medical Stuff - And the so-called Green issue

[ In Reply To ..]
I have to sometimes laugh, too, at this everyone wanting to "go green." I worked in an MRI center for a short time in the office and also doing MT work.

Being a "green" environment, they didn't have paper files. Funny part is, the reports for the MRIs were still printed out, then scanned. THEN, since they couldn't use it for scrap paper because of HIPAA, they shredded the report right away.

Okay, we just wasted all those trees, all for about 2 minutes so we could scan the paper into the computer, then we can't even re-use the paper. THAT, is a bigger waste of paper than using them either on file, or at least scrap paper.

Maybe we patients should rat out the MD charting - practices to the insurance companies.

[ In Reply To ..]
Just a thought, anyway.

That is NOT how physicians are paid. - Coder

[ In Reply To ..]
That is a mistaken view of how physicians are paid. Time is NOT the factor driving those services. You, or that office, were coding incorrectly if you were doing it by time.

That type of service is based on the complexity of medical decision-making, for the most part. The insurers were not asking you for more documentation to prove time, but to establish medical necessity for what they must have felt were unnecessarily high levels of services. In other words, your office was doing something wrong, the insurer suspected it, and they were denying or trying to deny the excessive charges.

This is a common misunderstanding in doctors's offices.

Do all the ratting you like . . . the insurers will tell you the same thing.

doc visit - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
At a visit with my hubby the doctor printed out a page from the mini laptop they call carry around now and his spelling was atrocious. How is this acceptable when we were held to such high standards? How can this be a permanent part of my husband's medical record now? I just don't get it.

Not only about MTs - EMR Stimulus

[ In Reply To ..]
This is a few years old; there's more if you care to research for yourself.

Docs have been "encouraged" (paid off) to scrap paper charts in favor of EMRs--all part of Obamacare.

If I'd encountered what the OP and others had, I'd have gotten up and walked out.

Similar Messages:

Jul 27, 2011

With the president's health care reform he is giving incentives to doctors to switch to EMR. From what I understand, if doctors have not switched over to EMR by 2014 they will be taxed. What is the future of our business with this policy? Especially the big transcription companies like Transcend? ...

Mar 22, 2011

Are you thinking of going into medical transcription for a career? Don't do it! The field is growing smaller every day, and soon will be gone completely. In Alaska, all the major hospitals have gone to voice recognition, and work is scarcer all the time. Look into medical coding maybe, or working in a doctor's office as an assistant or receptionist. DON'T GO INTO MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTION! Liza ...

Sep 22, 2011

There has been an obvious decrease in medical transcriptionist positions being advertised where I live. However, I tend to see openings for radiology transcriptionists at the local hospitals. Due to the nature of this work and the quick TAT needed, I wonder if radiology transcriptionists will always be in need or if it too will die off. ...

Dec 15, 2011

Now, don't shoot me because this is presented by the AAMT. Just watch it and consider what our role will be in the coming years in the healtcare profession. ...

Jan 29, 2012

It is my opinion that transcription, whether it be standard or voice, will be replaced altogether in the very near future. There may be some little independent offices or hospitals that continue, but not for long. I say this for 2 reasons. One is that the hospital I worked for locally started withe EHR about 5 years ago and the introduction of VR about 3 years ago with the push for the doctors to do their own "point & click" type of transcription. The software made a ...

Sep 05, 2012

What do you feel is the future of the medical transcription profession? In my area, the hospitals and their doctors' groups are switching over to voice recognition systems and not using traditional medical transcription. Will I be out of a job soon? ...

Jan 29, 2013

Wouldn't it be great if we got our jobs back?? Hey, I can dream.... ...

Feb 25, 2010

Really not expecting to hear back. Left several blanks in 2 of the reports. I have 30 years experience and can transcribe ESL, but on one-try, give me a break. ...

Nov 25, 2009

Many have said that MT is not what it once was. Here's a topic: What is/could be the future of medical transcirption? Diane ...

Feb 20, 2010

I was told not to enter the medical transcription field because it was not going to exist in about five or six years. Is this true? I really want a job that is professional and allows me to work at home as well. Thanks ...

Sep 26, 2012

Wondering what thoughts are on this article. I believe MT is changing but is not a dying profession. ...

Jun 06, 2013

Iâ��ve been doing more research into the future of the MT field and I find that it is morphing into something I do not want to be a part of. Are EMR/EHR really cutting down transcription costs/jobs? If you goggle this you will find a huge disparity of opinion from â��goal being to have no transcriptionists whatsoeverâ�� at one extreme to â��all this new fangled stuff is just some new toys for the kids to play withâ�� being at the other. Some are on the fence and some are crying itâ��s a ...

Jan 18, 2014

I am a former MT who is going to school for Health Informatics. I worked as a transcriptionist for over 20 years. Two and a half years ago our team was told the organization we worked for was going to voice recognition and our jobs were being phased out which is when I chose to go back to school. I am writing my final paper on “The Future of Medical Transcription – Is There One?” I would like to get information from other transcriptionists on this ...

Mar 19, 2014

Hello to everyone on MTStars. I've been reading all these posts for weeks. My hospital announced in Jan. that we would get laid off in July b/c they had decided to go with M*Modal. After everything I have read here you could not beat me with a stick to apply for M*Modal; even though that is what they wanted us to do. I've come to terms with it. I am at peace. I have been transcribing for 16 years, and have made EXCELLENT money, $25-30/hour. If this is the ...

May 08, 2014

Anybody still there? After months of shoving MModal down our throats they just sent an email out on how to fix the spellchecker in the program! Do you think that should have been done before forcing this on MTs? Looks like there is no turning back, they are just forcing the issue and you can either make less than minimum wage, WAY less, or take a hike as many of us have been told. A ton of work in regular SR every day because looks like everyone is in fact leaving but at the same time, m ...

May 20, 2014

I am beginning to think that the future with VR and point-and-click plus offshoring means that the work that is remaining will be just a little bit from a bunch of different accounts, meaning we have to navigate through a bunch of different account specs for those MTs left. My old account went completely offshore, the new account I was transferred to went completely over to Epic and my new assignment has me with 3 accounts and the work is dried up so I will have to ask for more. The ...

Nov 02, 2014

Recently, I saw several posts about TSMs being let go, about other things that are changing in the different regions. Will that be happening across the board I wonder? Are these changes in place right now? Thank you for your input. ...

Mar 25, 2015

Well, just saw a report on my local news that one of the hospitals in my area is trying out the Dragon Medical voice/rec system, where they are doing it directly at the hospital right into the medical record. Allegedly it is just a pilot program, but it showed the doctor looking at a computer screen and dictating into the machine, and the text would appear directly on the computer. Then he can read what he said and put it directly into the chart. Then any doctor in the hospital ...

Feb 03, 2010

I don't mean to start a downer post here, but I sincerely want to know if there is a future for MT work. I see posts by a few who have succeeded, at least somewhat, in the MT world. However, these are very few. Then there are those who were happy just to find a job, but a few months later, were let go because of no work. There are some whom I know to be conscientious workers who were fired out of the blue. Could this just be the company losing accounts and placing t ...

Feb 09, 2010

I'm currently an MT, wanting to change careers. In your opinion, what are the chances of coding going the way of MT with outsourcing to foreign countries and/or technology cutting back the number or coders needed? Any opinions would be appreciated. I'm thinking about starting classes. ...

Aug 03, 2010

Go to this website. Transcriptionists will no longer be needed in the future for transcribing or editing. One of my friends told me the hospital she retired from is going to this system and their transcription department will eventually no longer exist. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGMEf11GmBo ...

Feb 09, 2011

I'm on the fence and need some advice. I would like to make a move and I've applied to TransTech, but I think I might want to apply for an in-house position versus at-home position. I have friends who work at TransTech, but they are at-home MTs and they don't know how TransTech in-house MTs are set up or even how many there are. Are there any in-house MTs for TransTech who could tell me why they chose the in-house versus at-home position? Other than ...

Aug 13, 2011

I am currently taking a program taught by a coder in my city. It is very in depth and I will be able to sit for the CPC when I finish, but I am worried about the future of coding. I read an article (I can't remember where but was in a health journal of some kind) that in 5 years coding will be mostly computer-assisted, documentation for coding will be 3/4 electronic, and coding staffing levels will be starting to decrease due to technology. Who agrees with this? Am I ...

Dec 18, 2011

I just finished typing a patient - 106 years old - NO past medical history, NO past surgical history, completely negative ROS, NO medications at all. She came into the ER for a tooth abscess! ...

Jun 29, 2012

I don't know why I'm posting, just a last bit of hope left in me. I have devoted my entire adult life to this industry, what I used to consider a career. Over the decades, I became a top-notch professional MT, basically 100% accuracy, never needed QA help, and was a huge producer. Fast forward 20 years, and I climbed up the ladder in our industry, joining QA, being a team lead, then up into management levels, and.... rather than have my salary 'commensurate with ...

Sep 01, 2012

You know, I just stumbled upon this website a week or so ago. Reading some of your post have really opened my eyes as to how lucky I am to have my position. I am semi-new to the MT world. I work for a wonderful company, but it makes me sad to see everyone has to put up with just insane working conditions from other companies. I hope all of you find companies that realize you are their biggest asset. They cannot make deadlines, or quality goals without the hard work that all of you ...

Oct 15, 2012

So everything is going swimmingly for Mmodal - getting better in every way every day -- except, of course, for MT pay. ...

Feb 05, 2013

Hello, all! I am a new MT searching for my first job in the field. Just about a year ago, this forum was discussing EPIC, EMTs, technology and policies negatively impacting the medical transcriptionist. What has your experience been? Any new thoughts concerning the future of MT? If you have a job, is it being impacted negatively, if at all? I'd love to hear from the job-hunters as well. Thanks. ...

Mar 10, 2013

....that says that Nuance is not doing well. It's stocks are down and they are losing accounts to more advanced speech technology. It also goes to say that there is a possibility that Nuance will be sold. ...

Apr 16, 2013

Wondering what you small MTSO companies have lined up for the future? We have discussed what MTs are possibly switching to in the near future and now I wonder if all of these small MTSO companies that might be making a good living now have a backup plan for when it all dries up? ...