| Especially with the current economic woes, people | | | | experience counts for something, but that's true |
| looking at becoming medical transcriptionists are | | | | in any industry. |
| worried about job security and how much work | | | | But what many people worry about are |
| will really be there. Will there be enough to make | | | | outsourcing and voice recognition. And while these |
| a living or will you be constantly on the lookout | | | | are legitimate enough concerns, their impact so |
| for more? | | | | far has not been an insoluble problem. |
| From my own experience, I found that while | | | | The trouble with outsourcing has to do with |
| there were occasional slow times as a medical | | | | language barriers, quality control and patient |
| transcriptionist, the work overall was quite steady. | | | | privacy. Patient privacy in particular has been a |
| And it never completely dried up. | | | | thorny issue, as transcriptionists in other countries |
| The main slow time was often around holidays, | | | | are not bound by the same laws as those within |
| particularly Christmas. People don't like to make | | | | the United States. And if English is their second |
| doctor's appointments then. But they do go when | | | | language, it can be even harder to get the work |
| they need to, and of course there are still many | | | | done to a high level of accuracy. |
| regular appointments at that time. | | | | Voice recognition creates other challenges. It has |
| And of course doctors take vacations too, which | | | | been around for a while, although not of a good |
| can slow things down. | | | | enough quality for medical purposes. Some |
| The key where I worked (one of the big | | | | doctors do take advantage of it, however. Many |
| transcription companies) was to get assigned to | | | | feel that it takes too much of their time to train |
| more than one account. Often one account would | | | | the software, and would rather leave it to |
| be coping with a slowdown, but another would be | | | | transcriptionists. |
| swamped with work. So the focus would shift | | | | For that matter, some transcriptionists use voice |
| from one to the other. | | | | recognition software themselves. |
| If you're working on your own, on the other | | | | But even when doctors use it, someone has to |
| hand, shortages depend on the practices you | | | | check that work, and that's where a trained |
| work for. But even then you may be able to find | | | | medical transcriptionist still comes in. Voice |
| more work by subcontracting from another | | | | recognition doesn't leave medical transcriptionists |
| medical transcriptionist. | | | | completely out; it simply changes how they work. |
| One of the best things about medical transcription | | | | Overall, the expectation is that medical |
| is that people always have to go to the doctor, | | | | transcription will thrive as a career option for |
| so there is always work somewhere. The trick is | | | | many years to come. Even as the technology |
| to find it. The longer you have been working in | | | | changes, the job is likely to adapt and move |
| the industry, the easier it can be, certainly, as | | | | forward. |