This is a sponsored post.
When it comes to being a medical transcriptionist, there are several vital parts to ensure the quality of a patient and their care. Since many of large number of them work from home, their home office requires a unique set up in order to perform these duties successfully and diligently. If you are considering this career opportunity or if you’ve already been in training, here are some home office tips and medical transcription tools to help you perform these duties and activities.
Computer Requirements: The most important piece of equipment you are going to need is your computer. A computer with the right specifications will make your job so much easier which is why you should consider one that it has at least 15-17 inches display with a matte finish, a built in ethernet networking for Wi-Fi networking and at least 5 Gb of RAM or more if you have your own clients. Also make sure that your computer has a hard drive with at least 250 GB, at least 3-4 USB ports, a DVD drive that contains reading and writing capabilities and a keyboard and mouse that is wireless.
Many of transcriptionist use their laptop computers to work at home this way. This situation is fine as long as your laptop has a full-size keyboard. If not, a separate full-size keyboard may be purchased separately and attached to the laptop. Having a full size keyboard when transcribing ensures your hands won’t be cramped up after a few hours of transcribing. It’s not required but having a Bluetooth connectivity may be useful to sync data to a tablet or connect external devices such a mouse or keyboard to your USB ports. You’ll also need to make arrangements for patient privacy and ways to keep your work confidential.
Software- Some software is a medical transcription. What you’ll use will determine by your working situations. If you plan to start your own medical service with your own clients, there is no right or wrong choice when it comes to your software. Read online reviews and talk with other professionals what they like or don’t based on different software. If you plan to work on your own MT business, one software is Bytescribe. It’s used for your clients, and works hand-in-hand with one another to the transcription software for your employees and help keep track of it all. Most larger MT series use their own software or have specific requirements.
Word Expanding Software- word expanding software is just what it sounds like: software which allows you to type several letters in succession or a phrase and then expand that phrase into longer words, sentences and even a paragraph. This is one of the secrets of how professional medical transcriptionist can type 20 or even 30 more words per minute above their usual typing speed.
Word Program and Line Counters – Even the most advanced medical transcriptionist software may not allow you to easily create documents in word can be frustrating. Many transcriptionist’s bill according to lines, a program such a Microsoft Word that contains a built-in-line counter is recommended if you are starting your own service. It can be inaccurate and therefore you might prefer to download a separate program for line-counting purposes.
Foot Pedal– A foot pedal plugs right into your computer and is needed to help you start or stop the recording. This foot pedal lets you program it to your specifications. An added benefit is that you can set it up to rewind a fraction of a second or so each time you lift your foot off the foot pedal, before starting up again. This is to ensure you’re not skipping any important dictation from stopping or starting the dictation. It also helps to keep your hands free to continue typing.
Home Office Setup– Make sure that you have a quiet work area that is free from distractions. Your workstation should contain good lighting and comfortable seating. Make sure to have a scanner, fax or printer nearby as well as basic office supplies such as a stapler, paper clips and copy paper.
Earphones – Some experienced transcriptionist say it’s important to select a quality pair of noise-cancelling headphones, regardless of their price. Actually just an average pair of earphones will work just fine. If you prefer, a quality set of earphones does last longer and can provide you with better results making them well worth the investment. Make sure to have a back up pair if you lose them.
Image: iMedX
Reliable Company – You also want to make sure you work for a reliable company when you work from home. One company as such is iMedX. This company was started in 2002 is an integrated medical document management and health information solutions company based in the Atlanta, Georgia area. It offers a full suite of high-value revenue management solutions including those that are in the medical transcription field plus coding services, result-based consultation, education, training opportunities and data analytics! If you want IMedX to focus on driving your company with positive results and success of thousands, it’s one that you can count on day in and day out to help with all your transcribing needs.
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