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Online Medical Transcription Jobs

Do jobs for online medical transcription exist? Are they legit work from home jobs where I can earn from home?

The answer is yes they do exist but before you decide on this career, you need to understand what a medical transcriptionist is and isn't. It's not your normal work from home typing job.

To qualify for a job in online medical transcription, you must understand medical terminology, anatomy, physiology, diagnostic procedures and treatment assessment as described by doctors. You will be listening to audio recorded by physicians. You must be able to decipher and transcribe this information accurately as you are preparing patients' medical records, discharge summaries and treatment assessments. One incorrect phrase could cause someone a lifetime of despair should it be transcribed wrong. A patient could receive harmful treatment should there be inaccuracies.

As a medical transcriptionist, you'll be using playback equipment for the audio recordings. The equipment will most often consist of a headset and foot pedal that are connected to your computer. You'll also need to be proficient in word processing software as well as medical reference guides as needed to transcribe accurately.

To be hired as a medical transcriptionist, you'll need to have training. The training is offered by many vocational schools, community colleges as well as online learning programs.

Certifications

A certification is not required for employment, but you may want to become certified if you are new to the field. It can help you in your search for a job.

The certifications offered by the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity are:

• Registered Medical Transcriptionist (RMT) is for someone with less than 2 years of experience and work in a specialized environment such as a clinic or doctors office.
• Certified Medical Transcriptionist (CMT) is for transcriptionist who work in several medical specialties.

What's the Pay?

The average pay is around 40K per year. Your earnings are based on production so the more productive you are, the more money you earn. As you become an experienced transcriptionist with high production, you can potentially earn up to 70K per year.

Many medical transcriptionist work from home. Online medical transcription is a legitimate work from home job.

Training

A certificate in medical transcription generally takes a year to complete. You can also enroll in an associate degree program which will take approximately 2 years to complete. During your training, you will have courses that include anatomy, medical terms, legal issues related to healthcare, grammar and punctuation. Most of these programs include on the job experience as part of the training.

Everett Community College offers a 100% distance education program that allows you receive your medical transcription training from home.

Career Step offers programs to become a Medical Transcriptionist Online.

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