Medical Transcription Jobs from Home
Medical transcription jobs from home have become increasingly popular in recent years. With advances in technology, most people have all of the equipment they need to perform medical transcription from home just as well as at a regular medical transcriptionist job.
In fact, medical transcription from home is one of the most popular telecommuting careers in the healthcare industry. Rather than working in an office in a hospital or at a medical transcription company, medical transcriptionists working from home receive audio files through email. They do the actual medical transcription from home office equipment, and after transcribing they send back the completed file by email. The medical transcriptionist job description is essentially the same at home as in an office.
However, medical transcription jobs from home are not given to employees haphazardly. Employers know that a good amount of self-discipline is required to work effectively from home, so medical transcriptionists who have demonstrated their training, productivity and level of discipline are the most likely to be permitted to work from home.
In order to secure a medical transcription job from home, you must also make sure you have the proper equipment. This includes:
- A computer with word processing software and media playback software
- Internet connection
- Headphones
- Foot pedal to control audio playback (optional)
Ideally, your computer should be relatively new so you don’t have to worry about unexpected crashes or software incompatibility. Since medical transcription jobs from home require a lot of electronic communication and electronic documents, reliable hardware and software is important. A fast internet connection is also important, because you will be sending and receiving files to and from your employer.
Benefits of Medical Transcription from Home
Working in medical transcription from home offers a few benefits over traditional medical transcription jobs.
- Schedule Flexibility – Many medical transcription employers allow you to set your own hours and work the schedule that work best for you. This goes especially for at-home medical transcriptionists who are self employed.
- Independence – When working in medical transcription from home, you don’t constantly have a boss over your shoulder, or coworkers to distract you.
- No Daily Commute – Less driving can save you a lot of time and money.
- Home Office Tax Deductions – If you have turned part of your home into an office, you can deduct a portion of your rent or mortgage, and any supplies. Just remember to keep your receipts!
However, there are also a few things to keep in mind when working in medical transcription from home:
- Self Discipline – Though you can set your own hours, you must still meet deadlines and keep proper track of your time.
- Professionalism – Outside of a traditional medical transcription work environment, you must remember to keep communications over phone, email, and instant messenger respectful and professional.
- Experience – Because of the above, most employers prefer their medical transcriptionists working from home are more experienced.
Just like traditional medical transcription jobs, the best approach is to keep working to find a good medical transcription job from home until you land the right one.
