Recession and Healthcare

Recession and Healthcare:

By: Dawn Moreno, contributor www.meditec.com

According to Tom Barry of the Atlanta Business Chronicle the healthcare industry is less affected by recession. He quotes the University of Georgia’s Economic Outlook 2002, stating “Health services typically are viewed as necessities, which consumers are very reluctant to forgo or even postpone, even during hard times,” due to the fact that people need healthcare and they hesitate to cut back on that even when things are not good, therefore, jobs in healthcare are for the most part stable through recessions. This does not mean, however, that the healthcare industry will not feel a recession to some degree. Bringing on extra staff or starting additional projects like new wings of a hospital, wage freezes, or extra employee benefit plans may be things that would be affected during a recession. Hospitals or doctors’ offices may be inclined to work with the least amount of staff possible, but there will continue to be a need for qualified healthcare and support personnel in both the good and bad economic times.

It is always a wise idea for an individual to think ahead and have a plan in place should a job loss occur for any reason. Gaining new and additional skills especially during a recession is a smart idea. A medical transcriptionist would be wise to cross train into medical coding or billing. A medical coder or biller would be smart to obtain training in medical transcription. The more varied skill sets one has to fall back on, the less chance of floundering during an unexpected job loss. Additionally, enhancing your skills is a smart idea in case you ever want to launch out on your own and start your own business. If you can transcribe the medical record, then code it, then bill it, you have the capacity to triple your income. Many people today find themselves in jobs that are not what they have their college degree in. Last week, I read a post on a message board from a woman who had just completed her master’s degree in counseling and has been unable to find a job in her field. It was suggested she begin looking for work using her degree in another capacity like the human services field for now. In my opinion, even more important than having money in the bank during a recession is having a large repertoire of employable job skills.
Medical Transcription- Is it for you?

By: Dawn Moreno, volunteer mentor www.meditec.com

When people hear that I work at home in the medical transcription field, I’m frequently asked “how can I work at home and type too!” They are both enthusiastic and under the delusion that “anyone” can be an MT – after all, it’s just a typing job. Thinking like this usually makes the seasoned MT cringe. However, we can’t expect people outside of our profession to fully understand what it is we do, the skill set needed, and the importance and significance of our job. Medical transcriptionists do much more than just “type.” So, what do MTs actually do and is it you?

Medical transcriptionists take the audio dictation from a doctor and transcribe it to create the legal patient medical record. They must have a detailed understanding of medical terminology across a wide variety of medical specialties as well as a good understanding of anatomy, disease processes, laboratory medicine, and pharmacology. Why does an MT need to understand all these things? It is because medical transcriptionists must translate what they hear into correct words and coherent sentences that make sense. There are many words that sound alike and if an MT doesn’t have a good working knowledge of medicine, then it would be easy to type the wrong word and not know if something wasn’t heard correctly. Additionally, sometimes even doctors make mistakes like starting out talking about the metacarpal injury and ending with the metatarsal injury. An astute medical transcriptionist can pick out these inconsistencies and fix them so that the patient medical record is correct.

The medical transcriptionist’s job is very important because errors could cost a patient their life. For example, there is a huge difference between 0.5 mg and 50 mg. A typo such as this combined with a doctor in a very business practice not catching it could mean an incorrect dosage of medication being prescribed to the patient. Additionally, MTs have an important role in healthcare documentation because the medical record is a legal document and must be accurate. If a doctor is called into court to testify about a treatment, protocol, or any number of things, having an accurate transcription of the patient’s record is imperative.

Is medical transcription for you? Medical transcriptionists sit at their computer for long periods of time, and it is a highly detail oriented job. It is a production based job so both speed and accuracy are very important. MTs must reference what they don’t know. If they come upon a particular word, procedure, instrument, lab value, etc that they are unfamiliar with, they will need to use medical reference resources like books, Internet, and other available references to find what they need. MTs after about a year of experience do make very good money of $18-$20 an hour with some MTs making much more than that. MTs must have impeccable English grammar and spelling skills. Usually MTs have a flexible schedule and have the option of getting their own accounts or working for an MT service. MTs usually work at home but some do work in a doctor’s office or hospital transcription department. The work at home aspect of this career choice is very appealing to young mothers who wish to stay home with their children. Over 80% of transcription nationally is now done from home offices. If these job specific requirements sound enjoyable to you, then possibly MT is a career choice worth pursuing.
Do Medical Coders Have a Recession Proof Job?

Author: J J Jameson

Credit market meltdown, bailouts, stock market crash, and hurricanes. That about summarizes the financial disaster happening in the US in 2008. So what’s a working stiff to do? Those who still can, should think about recession proof careers and jobs. Recession proof jobs are so essential to our society that we cannot do without them. One such occupation is medical coding. Why? Two major things happening in our society: people living longer and more are being born. Take note that the baby boomers (hippie generation) are retiring, yet their parents are still alive. Older folks need medical attention whether preventive or actual medical care. So they’re making regular visits to clinics and hospitals. Also, in 2007, a record high of babies were born, a number not seen since the baby boom years. Although experts have not yet disclosed the rational for this increase, one thing is certain, these babies will require care. They will also be visiting clinics and hospitals for proper care. It will be up to medical coders and other health information technicians to accurately record these visits for computer access and readability. Additionally, medical transcriptionists have the opportunity to work from home. They usually receive their assignments from an agency or directly from a hospital or clinic and take it home to complete. Another great thing with medical coders is that they can negotiate their own contract directly with a clinic or hospital as a freelance contractor instead of working as an employee. Hence, the future of jobs in this field is fantastic.

WHAT ARE MEDICAL CODERS:
Medical coders are specialists in the health information field. They organize and evaluate patient records for accuracy, collect, prepare and analyze statistical data, code diseases and operations for insurance purposes, and in general, provide quality control.

POTENTIAL HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNICIAN AND MEDICAL CODER SALARY
The median annual income for health information technicians was $28,030 in May 2006, according to a survey conducted by the National Bureau of Labor Statistics. The highest earner made more than $45,260.

HOW TO BECOME A CERTIFIED MEDICAL CODER
Medical coder schools offer classes in health information technology, medical terminology, legal training, anatomy and physiology, statistics, and computer science. Generally, those who finish their medical coding education will receive an associate’s degree. It is best to become a Registered Health Information Technical through certification by the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA). Medical coder courses and preparation classes for the AHIMA certificate are available as traditional and online classes. More information on becoming a certified medical coder and other recession-proof jobs are available for reading.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/career-management-articles/do-medical-coders-have-a-recession-proof-job-592127.html

About the Author: Planet Comic Book Radio is a weekly talkshow and blog on everything comic books.

Certification- why or why not?

Medical transcriptionists, medical coders, medical billers and paralegals all have struggled with the question of certification. Do you go for it or not? A few years ago I would have said that unless you absolutely needed to be certified, why pay for it and then pay to maintain the credentials? It seemed to me to be more of a money maker for certifying organizations rather than an asset to those taking the tests. However, my thoughts on this issue have changed. Becoming certified documents your skill set to a prospective employer and may give you that competitive edge over others who lack certification. Even though the healthcare industry doesn’t feel a recession to the degree many occupations do, every bit of competitive edge helps in the search for a job or in maintaining an edge in your current position. Due to ongoing concerns about the privacy of the patient medical record, and upcoming laws surrounding the confidentiality and handling of these records, certification is starting to look like a great option for many people.

There are many certifying organizations available such as AHDI, AHIMA and Med-Certification.com. How do you know which certification to obtain? The important aspect to becoming certified is in documenting your skills and professionalism. It is less important where you become certified or with whom than simply having one. Physician’s care more about ‘can you do the job efficiently’ than ‘where did you get certified.’ Good advice would be to check out several certifying organizations and compare continuing education costs and opportunities, cost of certification, how long the certification lasts, etc. Medical Record Blunders:

Source: http://www.geocities.com/medicaljokes/

* The skin was moist and dry.
* Rectal exam revealed a normal size thyroid. (Long fingers?)
* The patient had waffles for breakfast and anorexia for lunch.
* She stated that she had been constipated for most of her life until 1989 when she got a divorce.
* Between you and me, we ought to be able to get this lady pregnant.
* The patient was in his usual state of good health until his airplane ran out of gas and crashed.
* The lab test indicated abnormal lover function.

Recipe:

This recipe is great to start in the morning, and come home to a healthy, hot, ready meal.
Great for working Moms and Dads to make quickly.

Sausage Cabbage Soup:

1 head of cabbage – Chop into pieces
1 large can dark red kidney beans
1 large can of diced tomatoes
1 jar of real bacon bits
1 carton of chicken broth
4 slices of salt pork
Pepper to taste
2 packets of Sazon seasoning (Found in Latin section of store or spices section)
1 large kielbasa – cut into small pieces (can also use brats, Lil Smokies, or summer sausage)

Add all ingredients to large crock pot. Set on High 8 hours. It takes a long time to cook the cabbage to tender. Serve with large dinner rolls.

Meditec – “Learn at home to work at home!”

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