Medical Transcription Telecommuting Vs. Home Business

I recently had a question from a subscriber who is in the process of completing her medical transcription course.  She’s not sure whether she should start working for an online company or go into business for herself. 

The answer really depends on you, your skills and what you want to do with your medical transcription career.  Here are some pros and cons for both telecommuting or starting your own home based medical transcription business.

Telecommuting MTs

Provided you took a course with a reputable online school most large national companies will consider hiring new MTs as long as you pass an entrance exam.  The exam may include English/grammar questions as well as a hands on transcribing portion.  The exam will tell the company whether or not you’ll be able to handle the work. 

As a new MT with little experience working for an online company is a really good way to get your “feet wet” in the medical transcription field.  Most companies have plenty of work so you definitely won’t be short for work and you have the safety net of knowing your work will be edited and proof read.  A good company will give you lots of feedback on your work which will help you learn and grow as an MT.

You won’t have to worry about finding clients, customer service or providing extra equipment. 

The downside of working for an online company is that the pay is relatively low compared with working on your own accounts.  You may be paid anywhere between $0.06 to $0.07 per line versus your own accounts where you can get paid anywhere from $0.10 to $0.15 per line. 

You’ll also have less control over the work you take or decide to pass on to someone else.  However, this isn’t a bad thing.  Being able to transcribe a variety of doctors even the less favored ones will give you a lot of added experience.

Home Business MTs

To really make money as a medical transcription having your own home based business is the way to go.  You’ll be responsible for finding your own clients, sometimes providing equipment and the overall customer service and running of your business.

The great news is in the medical transcription field finding new clients isn’t all that difficult.  Once you find the first one or two you should be able to find future clients through word of mouth alone.  As long as you provide good quality and timely work this shouldn’t be a problem.

There are extra benefits of having your own home business such as writing off certain equipment and company expenses during your taxes.  Being able to outsource work you don’t like or have time to do to other MTs.  As well as knowing you’ll make more money.

Depending on where you live the average rate per line you can charge clients can be anywhere from $0.10 to $0.15 per line.  If you take into account that a lot of the times you’ll be using macros and word expanders to make your job easier that can really add up.

As you gain more experience you can outsource some or all of your work to subcontracted MTs and only have to worry about editing, delivering and customer service.  In this case you won’t be restricted on the amount of work you can take on and this is where MT companies can really become profitable. 

Telecommuting and Home Business The Perfect Combination

Want to know the best way to go?  Do both.  First start by working for an online company for a few months (or until you feel comfortable) and then start taking on small accounts on the side.  Start with one or two and eventually you’ll know which you prefer to do.

Most online companies are very flexible so you can easily work for them and your own accounts as well.  Depending on your needs once you have enough accounts to have a profitable business you can give notice to your online company and really concentrate on building your own MT business.

Medical transcription is one career which definitely gives you plenty of choices.  How many careers offer you the chance to build your own business while having the safety net of working for someone else too?