Working at Home in Medical Transcription and Medical Billing and Records

Since the advent of computerized patient records there has been a never ending demand for competent medical transcriptionists, medical coders and medical billers to work from home. The healthcare industry is continuing with new advances in health-information technology. Being educated to current standards is necessary for every student.  Let us explain where we are in 2012 after the passage of national healthcare legislation (Obama Care).

Some doctors have changed to electronic health reports. There is no doubt physicians don’t like the new electronic systems, but it is always tempting to try new technology.  This dislike is simple to verify; just ask a doctor who uses one of these systems.

• Doctors using an electronic report will tell you, “I didn’t attend school to learn how to type!  Plus, I see two or three fewer patients per day.”
• "I can’t take the voice recognition software with me if I move to another location and I see two to three fewer patients per day; I have to speak so slowly to be understood by a computer.” 

Why do any doctors use these systems?  Money and Technology!  Many clinics and hospitals are owned by large corporations running a tight ship and looking at increased workload due to Obama Care.  Also, the last few years brought dramatic computer data advances (but little improvement in speed of operation).  We are evolving toward a more computerized patient record. The changes are slow moving, but computerization continues to play a role.  Within this dynamic, the AHDI states these facts: “transcription has increased faster than we can educate transcriptionists!  We are 35,000 transcriptionists short” and “Current statistics suggest that the US medical transcription industry’s workload is increasing by 20% annually and that manpower is decreasing by 10% annually, making the question of who will do the work a difficult question to answer”.   The AHDI also stated: “US Department of Labor has recognized the industry shortage of US transcriptionists and took action by recently declaring medical transcription to be an apprenticeable profession, which is the first step to establishing a national apprenticeship program.”  Apprentice as in internship.

If the new national healthcare legislation (Obama Care) goes into effect, it will add 15 to 30 million new patients to the doctor’s workload. It is obvious the number of doctors will remain the same while the number of patients increases.  These changes will increase workflow demand. More demand will require a larger staff.  Add in the Baby Boom Generation reaching healthcare age and it is obvious the medical records industry is expanding.

Looking ahead, a fully automated electronic health record system will combine medical transcription with medical coding and create one new specialist position.  This is a technology advance even if it does take more time for the doctor to enter the data.  The industry sees a time when transcriptionists and coders will be asked to be knowledgeable in both tasks so the patient’s computer generated record can be proofread by one "human specialist" to make sure the record is accurate before processing. This would produce one perfect, lasting patient record and aid in patient care.  These changes won't happen without a trained proofreader who knows transcription and coding.  This person will be better educated and paid a higher salary.

References:

The New England Journal of Medicine – a National Survey of Physicians http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/abstract/NEJMsa0802005v1

Medical Records Institute: Medical Transcription and EMRs: Opportunity Lost? http://www.medrecinst.com/News/Newsletter.php?article=1&origin=1

Medical Records Institute: Wrong National Strategy for EMRs? http://www.medrecinst.com/News/News.php?article=9

AHIMA Practice Brief: Speech Recognition in the Electronic Health Record http://library.ahima.org/xpedio/groups/public/documents/ahima/bok1_022192.hcsp?dDocName=bok1_022192

AHDI Sept. 2010 Plexus Issue about a Medical Transcription Career

For the Record: Friend or Foe? — The EMR Mandate’s Effect on Transcription Companies http://www.fortherecordmag.com/archives/ftr_081808p20.shtml

New England Journal of Medicine: Off the Record – Avoiding the Pitfalls of Going Electronic http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/extract/358/16/1656

Read "My Career" to learn about a work-from-home mom in medical transcription. 

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