"Medical Transcription: Its Past, Present and Future"

• Longevity of MTing - worried MT
  • "Medical Transcription: Its Past, Present and Future" - This article answers your question in great detail
  • Get out of MTing. That's my advice. - Slide into coding or
    • Coding will be automated too. - mtathome
    • Scary - Long-time MT
  • Even if you could count on MT as - Burned out MT
  • I've been in it 23 yr and not good prospects... - NTK

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Actually, it's listed in job future forecasting as a growing field, in light of the aging Baby Boomers.  There's one thing for sure in this world, people will get old and sick.  As far as voice recognition, I think it will fall by the wayside just as soon as people realize that it has very limited realistic possibilities for quickly producing a quality document.  It will NEVER happen and I've said it all along.  A "few" doctors who are very committed have made it work in their own practice, but as my eye doctor told me (who tried it a while back for his office dictation), "I don't have time to fuss with it."  He said that if we going to have to hire someone to make it right, since he didn't have time to make sure it was right himself, then he might as well just have someone transcribe it. 

The last factor in the availability of experienced MTs is the pay.  It has gone continually down in the last 10 years.  How can you expect to hire someone to do something which is very specialized and pay them peanuts?  If it were a job where people thought they could make a good income, they'd pursue the field.  But the word is out that it's no more than sweat shop wages in many places, so why bother?  And I agree with you about mentoring.  The hospital I work for (at home) does hire a newbie at a time and train them.  But that's increasingly rare as the almighty dollar dictates everything these days.

I have been doing transcription now for a while, under five years, for a national.  How long do you all think it will be until it is a completely a speech recognition technology? My national is definitely trending towards the speech recognition and I just wonder how long it will be until it is totally that platform, and before hospitals and other nationals as a whole start using it mainstream.  Medical editing doesn't seem like it will be very lucrative as transcription has been in the past.

I have been doing transcription now for a while, under five years, for a national.  How long do you all think it will be until it is a completely a speech recognition technology? My national is definitely trending towards the speech recognition and I just wonder how long it will be until it is totally that platform, and before hospitals and other nationals as a whole start using it mainstream.  Medical editing doesn't seem like it will be very lucrative as transcription has been in the past.

I came across the following website regarding the future of transcription. 

Lisa Croydon is the owner of Ask the MT an informative website on how to become a medical Transcriptionist from home.  She writes this very informative article that I refer almost every MT to.  Of course, having a backup plan is always a good idea, but this article can reassure MTs that their jobs won't disappear.

http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Lisa_Croydon

I just looked at this site! My gosh--what is that guy on.  So our job is to transcribe medical jargon, huh?  According to Webster's, jargon is incoherent speech, gibberish (okay--that could be true), dialect unknown to one so that it seems incomprehensible (maybe for some of the dictators), a mixed or hybrid language (some dictators could fall into that category).

Ah--here we go--the specialized vocabulary and idioms of those in the same work, professional, etc., sportswriters (if only we got paid THAT well) or social workers (they make less than we do), or a somewhat derogatory term, often implying unintelligibility:  see SLANG, and lastly, speech or writing full of long unfamiliar or roundabout words or phrases.

This could explain the downward trend in pay scales for MTs!!  And very good point on not even having our own tax code--sportswriters do! 

It seems that they dredged up the past by wanting the release signed to keep them out of trouble for unfair employment practices.  Usually when a person ends the working relationship, they give formal written notice, the company accepts the notice, and the employment is over.  Smells pretty fishy to send a termination agreement and, oh by the way, sign this release.  LOL

She underwent the above procedures without difficulty. period. ummm period. She ummm period. She ummm

 I think its time for a break already

in he political system.  These politicians are bought by special interests.  Many of the people with special interests are corporations, insurance companies, etc.  They have major money to contribute to run a politician's campaign.  Both Democrats and Republicans take this money.  So if both the politicians are in need of money to win an election and you and I can provide the money the special interests are going to be heard above and beyond the little guy with a beer in his hand who is working 8-5 and wouldn't know how to organize a revolution if he had an instruction book.  Besides he is too darn tired and has to mow the grass, take the kids to the movies, etc, etc, etc. 

So you got both parties taking special interest money in return for favors granted (or the funding is stopped and the party can't win) What is the American public going to do?  Not vote?  You only get two choices and the system is corrupt.  What do you do?  Once again, you are assuming the American public is intelligent and united.  If you read posts or editorials anywhere you will see the American public is divided led by sound bites or blind loyalty to a political party.  You aren't going to see anyone overthrow this government in this lifetime.  People in power are not going to give it up to let Joe-Six-Pack run the country on his $100 day budget to campaign.  It is sad but true.  We have been led down a path that it is too late to turn back.  While the politicians were passing these laws to allow offshoring/outsourcing, we were watching TV or busy with daily activities of living, thinking this will never affect me.  And it's the same deal now. 

Anybody agree on who should be president?  How about Iraq war?  Anybody agree on forcing the national companies to pay us more for MT?  Come on.  Be real.  You can't unite this country on the smallest issues.

I've gone back to school as well.  I'm completely torn as to what I want to do, i'm back and forth, and the past two years have been taking courses for nutrition and psychology, and cannot decide between the two.  When I was a soph in HS I knew I wanted to do something with psychology,  but here it is 15 years later, when I've decided to go for it, and its just brutal, the studying, the work on top of a full time job.  I SOOO wish I would have just started 15 years ago, in that direction. I've always had a full time job and moved out at a young age, so just took the technical college route and learned MTing. 

 I'm looking at about 10 years of college because I can only go part-time, to be a clinical psychologist.  I'm thinking of just going for the nutrition.  I love working with food, time flies when i'm in the kitchen and I love watching people enjoy what i've made.  I just know its a stressful job, you're on your feet a lot, and its more about speed than anything.  I went to the library today and bought a book "can you stand the heat" all about the working conditions of a chef.  I know I do not have it in me to be in school the next 10 years, i'm sorry, maybe if I were independently wealthy and could just focus on that.  Becoming a chef will take less than three years.  I will do MT'ing as long as its around though, as I enjoy working independently.

Go to the library, there are books that fit your personality type with a specific job, and then a list of the pros and cons, the money you would make.  Just really research it.  If its what you want to do the rest of your life, make sure its something that will make you happy.