The American MT

The American MT is usually a working mother who manages her household, children, and husband while working full time from her home office. She works piecemeal for pennies per line. She is expected to produce at least 1200 lines in an 8 hour day. She is expected to be well versed in medical terminology, human anatomy and physiology, pharmacology, and the English rules of grammar, punctuation, and spelling. The American MT is usually an independent contractor receiving no healthcare benefits. The American MT does all of this for an average of 8 cents per line.

The American MT is now losing her job to overseas outsourcing. Many medical transcription services are now sending more than half of their U.S. based transcription accounts to India and Pakistan where it is typed by English-as-a-second-language "medical transcriptionists" who work for 4 cents per line or less. The work of these overseas transcriptionist usually require extensive editing before actually becoming part of the American patient's medical record. Who edits and corrects these reports? The American MT who is now expected to edit and correct these reports for 4 cents per line or less.

Medical transcription has steadily declined since I began as an MT almost 20 years ago. Of course, in those days working at home was merely a pipe dream realized only by transcriptionists willing to pick up standard size cassette tapes from doctors offices, transcribe and print reports at home, and hand deliver them back to the office. Therefore, the majority of MTs worked in offices making $12 an hour which at that time was a very good wage. We were considered medical professionals with a very distinct and specialized skill.

With the fast pace of the medical field came an emphasis on production and faster turnaround times, but MTs were compensated for their efforts. Still making our hourly wage, we were offered incentive bonuses that equaled 4 to 5 cents per line for production of over 1000 lines a day. We were making very good money, were treated like professionals, and felt like we were making a contribution to the care of the patient.

Eventually, the emphasis on production turned into an obsession and with the internet came the realization that medical reports could be typed and sent electronically and turnaround times became shorter. With the digital boom, came the realization that everything could be done electronically through our personal computers and MTs could work at home without the hassle of picking up tapes and delivering work. We virtually never had to leave our homes.

Medical transcriptionists gradually lost their face. We became words on a screen, an email address, and finally machines much like the computers we type on. When we ceased to be "real" people, so ceased the hourly wage. We became machines paid only for what we put out. And just like with all technology, we became outdated, nearly obsolete. We've been forced to adapt, accept a humilatingly low per line rate. We've been forced to compete for our jobs with workers who live in poverty and are willing to take almost anything and call it a wage. We are being told that all that knowledge we've worked so hard to build up and keep up has been for nothing. It is worth nothing. No, it is worth about 8 cents per line.

Well, I think it is time to show our faces again. For too long medical transcriptiont has been considered the red-headed stepchild of the Health Information Management department, too easy to forget, and even easier to get rid by sending the work out. By sending the transcription work out, hospitals got rid of the MTs, and freed up more office space for more "important jobs." For too long the medical transcription service owners have treated us like slaves, cracking the whip over us and saying "faster, faster!" We need to make our presence felt by refusing to accept the peanuts they throw at us. We need to boycott the services who send transcription overseas. We need to let our government know that a global economy benefits only the greedy and does nothing for the little guy or girl.

I started this blog to post my thoughts, my rants, and my suggestions for my profession, medical transcription. I plan to rock the boat of medical transcription and in the next few weeks I will be posting a list of medical transcription services that outsource overseas. I encourage everyone who reads my blog to post comments, suggestions, or your rants. We are in this together. If you don't agree with me, let me know. If you do agree with me, let me know.

The American medical transcription industry has become a sweat shop in a third-world country, only the sweat shop is right here in American, in our own homes.

If you'd like to contribute to my boycott list of MTSO's, email me or post a comment!