Start your own Medical Transcription Business and Work from Home!
 By Michele Miller

As a medical transcriptionist, I do get asked
several times a month, how I got started in this
business.  So many people nowadays want to work
from home, especially mothers with young children.
That’s the primary reason I started my home business
ten years ago, so I could be there for my daughter.
I didn’t want someone else taking care of her after
school instead of me.

It’s really not hard to start a medical transcription
business.  The start-up costs are low compared to many
other home-based businesses. 

You need a form of education, via home study courses
or by attending your local community college.  You do
NOT need a degree in medical transcription to start a
business either.  In a short amount of time, usually
nine months or less, you can be working from the
comfort of your own home, just like me.

You will need some equipment, such as a computer,
a printer, a transcriber, and some reference books. 
All of which can be purchased second hand if need be. 
The latest and greatest equipment is not necessary to
get started.

Now, there are some special skills you will need,
outside of the education, which include:

*  Excellent grammar skills

*  Good Listening Skills,

*  Basic computer skills with a word processing program

*  Research Skills

*  Ability to type – your speed will increase with experience

*  Must be detail oriented

*  Ability to work on your own

*  Ability to maintain work deadlines and be a
   self-motivator
 
You will also need some computer programs such as a
medical spellchecker and a word expander utility to
cut down on the amount of actual typing you do.  Some
programs, such as Microsoft Word® include this type of
utility.  It is the best invention by far, in my opinion.

Basic bookkeeping is necessary, but not difficult.  A
good bookkeeper is great to have when it comes to taxes
and advising you about saving money with tax deductions
for your business. 

Medical transcription is usually paid by the amount of
work transcribed.  Therefore, it is quite normal to charge
your clients by the line.  If you charge 13 cents per line
and type 200 lines per hour, (this is a very comfortable
speed to type) your hourly rate would end up being about
$26.00. 

Being self-employed does have some pitfalls.  One must
consider, as with any home based business, that once you
become self-employed you are responsible for securing
your own health insurance, and putting away money for
retirement.

However, there are many positive things about being
self-employed, as I’m sure you can imagine.  For me, what
I love the most, is the flexibility I have with my time.
If I want to work late in the day I can, and if I want
to work early in the morning, that’s up to me.  Running
a home-based medical transcription business is a lot
of fun. 

Medical transcription is not for everyone, and it is
important before venturing in to any business that
you weigh up the pros and cons of it all and do what
is best for your situation. 



Michele Miller is a home-based business owner and author of an Ebook about starting a medical transcription business.  www.medical-transcription-at-home.com