Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!yale!bunker!hcap!hnews!104!810!Phil.Scovell
From: Phil.Scovell@f810.n104.z1.fidonet.org (Phil Scovell)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: Re: Medical Transcription
Message-ID: <12492@bunker.UUCP>
Date: 27 Jun 90 20:24:25 GMT
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[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

Hi Linda,
I just mentioned to my wife again last night about your message.  Maybe 
when she comes home tonight I can get her on the echo to reply.  My 
wife has worked for a medical transcription company since about 1973 
here in Denver.  If you can type fast, you can make very good money.  
There are several independent transcription companies in Denver.  One 
lady contracts with women individually and they type from their home.  
She is just kinda the boss or manager who gets the contracts from 
hospitals or doctors.  My wife did work at home for about a year typing 
for doctors herself.  We had a separate phone line and continuous 
answering machine.  Doctors called and she typed whatever they 
dictated.  The biggest problem with such a home medical transcription 
service is getting the typed materials back to the doctors offices 
quickly.  MOst doctors want the reports back the next day; especially 
if they are charts.  If a sighted friend can shuttle the reports back 
and forth, that helps.  The mail often just isn't quick enough to 
satisfy doctors.  I am sure, however, that any blind person who really 
can type could work out of their home doing medical or legal 
transcription work.  Like any home business, however, it takes time to 
generate business.  One nice thing, however, is that many offices are 
getting computers and modems which provides for the reports to be sent 
back over the phone line.  This is in fact what my wife's company is 
now doing with their largest hospital account here in Denver.  Nothing 
in the office is on paper.  After the reports are typed, the files are 
collected and sent via modem to the hospital.  The hospital prints the 
reports on their end; thus no one is now required to shuttle the paper 
work back and forth.  Denver especially has gone to smaller independant 
medical transcriptionist services.  The disadvantage of such is 
generally no benefits such as insurance but the money is big.  Some 
will suggest that since everybody is getting computers for home and the 
office that such a home business isn't practical.     Not so! Most 
people with a home computer don't hardly use it and most offices, 
unless they have trained someone to use the office computer, know next 
to nothing about the computer and its software.  I repeat, the biggest 
problem is getting the reports back to the doctors quickly.  I am sure 
the legal transcription work is pretty much the same as the medical so 
if you already have training in the field, you might consider staying 
with it.  Sandy took her medical termonology when she was at the Iowa 
Commission for the Blind in Des Moines, Iowa in about 1968 but I'm sure 
she'll be able to give you better information than I have Linda.  I've 
been self employed since 1975 and am a strong believer in home 
businesses; especially since the talking computer opens up so many 
possibilities for the blind.
Phil.

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