Taken courses, but not much hands-on experience as of yet. n/m
Posted By: Anybody know company hiring coders? on 2007-06-25
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MT courses and pay
I was hoping to get some recommedations for online courses and find out what the going rate is for a new MT per year.
I do medical coding & billing right now, but would like to work from home since I am a single mom of 3. The only thing is I currently make $44,000 per year and cannot make much less then that because of mortgage and bills. Thanks for any info.
Best on-line courses?
Hello,
I'd like to take an on-line transcription course, does anyone recommend one over another? Thanks!
Kirsten in CO
Have you taken MT courses yet? Or are you just jumping in on your own? nm
x
I never took any special courses, but I had
worked a total of almost 15 years in a hospital, first in billing, where we had to code all the diagnoses and ops ourselves, and then in another hospital in rehab, where part of my duties were transcription for that dept and some of their various clinics. After my second child was born, I quit the hospital and a friend who had 20 years in transcription taught me what I needed to learn. I got hired by one of the first company's I applied with, and have been doing this for seven years now, and love what I do!
Not bogus, there are good courses..
Some are scams. Career Step is not a scam. However, really nobody makes decent money starting out. I used to train MTs, some from Career Step. Most made close to minimum wage at first. They were also limited in the number of reports and work types at first and hours worked. They had the basics but didn't have the overall experience so it takes a lot of time and patience from both the trainer/mentor and the MT. But these MTs are the ones that usually do well. If you start out with a national and are just handed a job and not given a trainer/mentor per se, you will not learn much and will likely fail the QA reviews but hopefully they will give good feedback and you can learn that way. Newbies don't usually do well with that kind of situation in my experience. So finding a company that is willing to take on trainees and mentor them as a first job is a good idea. The pay is also not like it used to be and even after training if you have a job with a national paying 6 cpl you would only be making around 9 an hour based on 150 lph. In my experience I have rarely seen a newbie getting over 150 lph accurately until maybe after a good six months of heavy mentoring/close monitoring by an experienced MT. JMO. Hope that helps.
courses with Career Step
Have you seen the new issue of Women For Hire and the article about MT, how you can be making up to $32/hour and "you control how much you make." They also suggest you go to AHDI website for more info.
What are the best at home medical billing courses out there?
Have a friend who is interested in training to become a medical biller/coder from home and I really have no idea where to tell her to start. Can anyone help?
Universities with the best free online courses
http://education-portal.com/articles/Universities_with_the_Best_Free_Online_Courses.html
The schools are in the business of "selling" their courses.
Of course they are going to "sell" the profession as fastest growing, make great money staying at home, etc.
I'm studying coding too. I've been looking at different courses plus I bought SM
Step by Step Medical Coding by Carol J. Buck along with the workbook that goes along with it. So while I'm trying to decide on a school, I can be studying on my own. According to the AHIMA website though with my years of experience as an MT, I am eligible to take the certification exam without having to complete a formal coding course. Transcription is considered part of the HIM department and thus if you have worked in any position in HIM, you are qualified to take the test.
So, I may find that studying on my own will benefit me better than paying money for a course I'm not sure about. I also have the benefit of tuition reimbursement with my employer and I may take advantage of that if I find a program I like.
So, I'm with you! Let me know what school you decide on or what avenue you decide to take. Might help me make the decision in the long run!
Andrews School or M-TEC online are excellent courses. See inside.
If you complete one of those courses, you should have no trouble finding a job working from home. They are a bit more expensive than some of the other courses, but MANY companies will waive their 2 years' experience requirement for grads of those two schools. Do not be suckered in by cheaper schools, MT companies know which schools supply good training and which ones don't.
community college. those online courses/schools are not very good and
very expensive.
but don't do it just to work at home.
Assciate in Arts, medical secretarial curriculum. 2 years with courses in sm
anatomy and physiology, biology, clinical biology (taking and processing lab tests--drawing blood on each other!!), filing, skills on all types of office machines, English composition, accounting, psychology, economics, medical terminology/transcription, and, of course, typing. In the second year we did internships at local city hospitals.
I went into transcription after working as a medical secretary for 7 years in a very large clinic.
Either one are 9 month courses at the local community college..worth a shot!
!!!
Experience on top, current experience first. Education second. Leave out ALL fluff.
Recruiters don't need your life story. They need to know if you can do the job. If you want, put your current employer, then state "I have 20 years in the profession doing....." Keep it simple; keep it clean. If you want to go into more detail, do it during the interview. A HUGE red flag is to see that you've worked for 10 different companies, for months at a time. I know that someone who has worked for the same company for 2 years or more is going to have some degree of loyalty and will work through issues rather than cut and run.
hands down by the....
LINE!!
I am currently getting paid per report on one acct and per line on another and hands down...per line always adds up to more money.
From years of experience, there is at least one MT that will tend to skip the longer reports when being paid by the report - if this weren't the case then it might be about the same but just from years of experience it seems there is always one bad apple in the bunch that spoils it for the rest.
When being paid per line, at least when they skip reports they don't want to do - it just means more lines for me and more $$$.
Hands
Does anyone else have problems with puffy, stiff hands during the hot weather. Never bother me in the cold but this heat kills my speed and accuracy. Anybody have any home remedies that helps. I feel like the Pillsbury Dough boy with regards to my fingers and hands. Please don't tell me it is old age setting in. 
Thanks.
Hands
I tried Glucosamine with chondtritin and it did not help with any of my aches. But then I was told by a chiropractor to try MSM Glucosamine after I was T-boned and had terrible hip and buttock problems. Tried 2 to 4 did not help much and gave up -- I give up easily. But the past several months tried again at 2 twice a day and after a couple of days it helped not only with my hip but my hands have not ached all summer/fall now. Really helped and I now take only 2 or so and not every day. Vioxx also helped but they took that off the market. But this helps tremendously. But you should check to see if by chance you have Raynaud's or something in your hands or low thyroid. Good luck.
is there something i can use to help my hands....
to be smoother. i have been using baby powder, but have already went through 2 keyboards...is there a transcription something i can buy? also, how about my hands freezing....what can i do about that?
Female..hands down !
I swear, every account I've ever worked had one problem dictator.. always female ! One REFUSED to use macros, even on normals.. and she would always make sure she made every report unique, so that we couldn't sneak away with using a macro for her. Another one spoke a hundred miles a minute. I remember my first day with her. She said something several times in her reports and I went crazy trying to figure it out.... lumbar spine ?? supine ?? Turns out she was saying "skip a line" !!
Obviously not for his face, but maybe his hands?
x
Hands On Transcription
Does anyone have any info on Hands On Transcription? They say they pay daily. Thanks
not sure what you are looking for exactly but for my aching hands sm
i have a mixture i make. it leaves your hands for soft and smooth and feels great too. take table salt and mix in essential oil. i love to use peppermint as it leaves a "cooling sensation" afterwards. just mix it until the salt is moist, not drowned. rub it is (preferably over the sink as it will make a mess), rub deeply or massage and it feels great. then rinse hands with warm water and it leaves your hands so soft and feeling great as the oil is left on your hands.
hang on with both hands - and don't let go
some swear by, but I think my hands are too big.
Voc. Rehab. let me try one out when they were helping me get my ergonomics together, and I knew right away I could never get used to it. I have rather "fat" fingers, though, and I think that was part of it. If you have longer, thinner fingers, it might be right up your alley.
You can rent one (which can then be applied to the purchase price, I think?) for awhile from this site to try it out, rather than outright buying it.
http://www.sforh.com/keyboards/kinesis.html
http://www.keyalt.com/kkeybrdp.htm
hands down..hourly
Hands down, if I had to pick one, my best
resource for medical terms is The Surgical Word Book. Boy that book is awesome. For meds, Quick Look Drug Book is The One! Online, the only site I really frequent is Dr. 411. Now, most of my coworkers are going to know who I am, as I am always singing the praises of these!! Oh well. It won't be any surprise to them how miserable I am at work - we all are. 
I am MT/ME and ME is easier on the hands...
I love ASR (automated speech recognition) aka editing as it's easier on the hands for some (me!!). It does pay 20% less per line but I'm very fast with editing. I like it a lot but to each his/her own opinion on it.
Good luck!!
Insuring hands??
I apologize if this sounds foolish but has anyone ever heard of a Transcriptionist insuring their hands in case they were in an auto accident, etc?? Is it even possible??
Cold hands
Does anyone else have freezing hands as they type? It's worse of course in the colder weather. Are there any gloves or similar products out there that we can wear while we type? Any ideas are appreciated! I freeze all the time, in warm weather or cold, but my hands are what I need to be warm to keep transcribing. I need a space heater that doesn't cause my electric bill to go sky high, but haven't found one of those either.
My hands are always cold too.
I have seen gloves with the fingertips cut out, but do not know how comfy they would be to type with.
I sit with a heating pad on my back cause I have arthritis in my hip and when my hands get cold I just put them behind my back to warm them up.
There are also those heat packs you can squeeze or rub together to warm up your hands.
You would think after typing and typing our hands would stay warm with all this exercise, but NO.
Keep Warm.
Warm Hands
Or how about a heated wrist pad for in front of your keyboard?
http://www.raynauds.org/offers/ThermalRest.cfm
Vonage the best hands down! I never
have trouble with them, either service or billing. No hidden charges, no monthly surprises. My bill is $32 every month for unlimited LD, plus I love their voice mail features, being able to access calls and messagers on line, their privacy settings - all calls can go right to voice mail if you want, etc. They are a miracle to me. Verizon, on the other hand, were skunks to me - my bill was always a nightmare each month, and though I had every Freedom Plan available, it was always a 3-digit bill. Service was great - billing was not.
When your hands feel like they are
going to fall off and your arms are killing you, what do you do/use to keep them going full speed for another 8 hours? 
Nothing pill-wise though...that has already been done.
I'd like them for when I have cold hands
wonder if they would work for that...
I have had cold hands lately
and I tried buying some little stretch gloves and cut the fingers out, but I found in the Sunday paper an add for Miracle Therapy Gloves that supposedly reflect body heat. I was going to order them and try them. They do have a web site it's called www.DreamProductsCatalog.com
cold hands
My hands get so cold in my office that it's difficult to type. They're stiff from being cold. Any suggestions for a type of warming glove that wouldn't be cumbersome while typing?
what I did for my cold hands
I bought a duel-headed lamp with adjustable necks (kind of like the 50's space-age atomic style). I have it on my desk in front of the keyboard with a lamp head bent over and trained on each hand as I type. The warmth is wonderful, and it doesn't get in my way at all. And you can move them up a little if your hands get too warm. No cumbersome gloves that will slow your speed and accuracy down.
stiffness in hands
At 40, you could be premenopausal. I know it sounds early but some women are. You might try getting some progesterone cream OTC and rubbing it into your hands. It's touted to help just about all that ails bones, joints, tiredness or anxiety. Just a thought.
Radiology, hands down.
x
Hands-On Transcription Company
Anyone have any information on Hands-On Transcription Company? Information appreciated. MK
I have Raynaud's, so I know all about cold hands.
Raynaud's is a fairly common circulatory problem of the capillaries of the fingers and toes. When your hands are cold, look for distal portions of digits that are white compared to the rest of the hand. Treatment for Raynaud's is keeping hands warm. Wear mittens when it is 50 degrees or below. Don't use bare hands in frozen foods.
Transcriptionists who want to protect their precious median nerves AND keep their hands warm use these gloves:
www.softflex.com
You may actually type faster with them - I do.
Another option is to keep a heating pad on your lap as you work. That's what my dad's secretary used to do in Wisconsin.
im needing it to make my hands
run smooht across the keys, becuase they tend to sweat. lotion makes them greasy and sticky on the keys.
its not for moisture or dry cracked hands.....
its to help my hands run smoother, faster across my keyboard. try putting some baby powder on your hands and tehn type for a minute. your hands will go so fast you wont be able to keep up.
Sean Connery Hands down
nm
Joaquin Phoenix...hands down - nm
Keep your hands warm! Even if it means your (s/m)
body temperature feels a little too warm, better that than cold hands. Athletes don't do their thing with cold muscles and joints - if they do they risk injury. Same goes for the muscles and joints in your hands and wrists.
If that fails, I get pretty good relief with Aleve.
Absolutely, hands down, do not miss...
Cirque DE soleil's newest show "Love." Absolutely astounding. Incredible show. It just opened at the end of June, and we saw it the 2nd week in July. take a look:
my opinion is that VR is easier on hands...nm
.
That's what I've been doing, but sometimes my hands are like ice and it takes more than the fe
seconds I have in between reports to really get them warmed up. Thanks for all the great suggestions to everyone. I wish there was a store that I could go to and just try on all the different gloves! I'm very persnickety when I'm typing. My comfort level must be as near perfect as I can get it and if my gloves are too tight or too itchy, I'll be distracted. I guess I'll hang onto my heating pad for now until I decide.
No...I actually love VR/ASR...easy on my hands
.
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