Meditec- Learn at Home to Work at Home

FREE EBOOK ABOUT THE CAREER OF YOUR CHOICE!!!

2009-10-28T22:57:00.001-07:00

We, at Meditec.com, offer a FREE No Obligation E-Book about several career choices. Here are you choices in FREE E-Books:

All About Medical Transcription
All About Medical Coding and Billing
All About Legal Careers- Paralegal and Legal Transcription

If you have interest in any of the above careers, please send an E-Mail to MTMentor@Meditec.com and in the subject line put the name of the FREE E-Book that you are interested in and it will be sent via E-Mail attaching and is a PDF file.

Enjoy!

Medical Coders- Worrying About ICD 10 Implementation?

2009-10-28T22:55:00.001-07:00

ICD-9 to ICD-10: Speculations are rife, but it’s certainly a change for the better
By: James Smith | Posted: Aug 26th, 2009
ICD 9 codes, which were published in 1977, are widely used in the health care industry today. Therefore, the classifications in ICD-9 are at this point fairly old and inadequate to keep pace with the changes that have taken place in this sector. Some feel that ICD 9 codes need to be replaced badly and that the terminology and classification of some conditions are obsolete.

Therefore, ICD-10 codes are well on course to become the new required standard replacing the existing ICD-9 codes. Although healthcare organizations will still keep their records in ICD-9, they will need to address the challenge of accessing this data for the future. But the good news is that technological developments are well on course that will help carry out automated mappings from ICD-9 to the appropriate codes in ICD-10, thereby aiding in the conversion process.

CMS will also help you make the transition from the current ICD-9 to ICD-10 code set as its general equivalence mappings offer a backward and forward tool to help you convert diagnosis codes. However, you’ll need to keep in mind that in some instances you won’t get a direct match between the code sets. One ICD-9 code may lead you to various options on new code sets.

The ICD-10 coding system is more complex than ICD 9 but it’ll allow for greater level of clinical detail and will help you to keep pace with the advances in technology better. The new codes will have better data for evaluating and improving quality of care and will allow health officials to track and respond to global health threats better. The best thing that the new code set is likely to bring is reduction in fraud.

About the Author:
We provide you simple, instant connection to official code descriptors & guidelines and other tools for CPT coding, HCPCS lookup that help coders and billers to excel in the work they do every day.

Printed From: http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/icd9-to-icd10-speculations-are-rife-but-its-certainly-a-change-for-the-better-1162447.html

Tips to De-Stress

2009-10-25T17:04:00.002-07:00

With the seemingly ongoing recession in progress, more families and individuals are feeling the financial impact on their family budget, and this is causing untold stress for so many people. A few tips follow to remind us to get back to the basics of life, take time for ourselves, and for our family and to draw closer together as families and communities to weather life storm's together.

Tips to De-Stress:
-Read a book out that you typically would not. I've am an avid non-fiction reader but recently decided to pick up the Twilight Series and some of Diana Gabaldon's books. This assists in just transporting yourself away from stress and worry for a short period of time and can lift your spirits to higher place.

-Take a walk- take your dog, child, or family with you. Enjoy the fresh air, sunshine, or sunset. Exercise, even moderate, alleviates stress in the body and mind.

-Take the family out- but it doesn't have to be expensive- a few quickly made sandwiches and picnic in the park does wonders for the soul. Maybe a ride in the country would be in order. Even a trip to your local library where everyone will choose a great book to read the following week.

-Have a family game night. Making so quick snacks and gathering around the family dinner table to play some board games is fun, and lightens the mood.

-Rent some movies at your local Red Box Kiosk (just $1 a night) or even rent them free at your local library- go for some comedy's, or old classics that you know you love and enjoy.

-Learn something new. Increasing your skill set or picking up an inexpensive hobby is a wonderful way to take your mind off stress.

-Learn to work with positive affirmations. Changing your thinking can truly change your life. Your local library may have some great books on this topics or a Google search on Positive Affirmations could be very valuable.

-Give your spouse a massage and the next day they give you one. Nothing relaxes one more than a great body massage.

-A hot bath with a great magazine is a great destresser or even an herbal candlelit bath can be a great way to de-stress after a hard day.

-Make saving money fun- get the family together to think up creative ways to save money- cut out coupons together, think of ways to conserve.

Alpha II Announces Contract with Meditec.com

2009-10-25T17:04:00.001-07:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 22, 2009

Alpha II Announces Contract with Meditec.com
Real-life clinical scenarios will now be used to enhance Alpha II’s user manual as well as Meditec’s coding and compliance training program

MONTGOMERY, Ala. and SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – October 22, 2009 – Alpha II co-developer Unicor Medical, Inc., a leader in healthcare coding, compliance and reimbursement and Meditec.com, a provider of online learning solutions have reached an agreement to incorporate Alpha II’s CodingSystem application into Meditec’s coding training program, as well as formalizing its value-add reseller relationship. In addition, Meditec has incorporated real-life clinical scenarios and coding exercises into the Alpha II training manual to enhance the learning experience of new Alpha II users.

“I recall with great fondness working with Peter Tanaka, a former (now deceased and sorely missed) executive of Unicor Medical,” said Jari Davis, CEO of Meditec.com. “Peter and I had many in-depth conversations about coding issues and trends, which helped to better position our respective companies for success in this changing landscape.”

“Alpha II’s partner relationships have always been of vital importance to our organization,” said Stuart Newsome, vice president, business development of Unicor Medical, one of the software developers behind the Alpha II cobranded solution. “We’ve been committed to working closely with Meditec for many years now, and their use of our CodingSystem application will enhance their coding and compliance training even further, allowing both companies to better serve their respective customers.”

Davis added: “We believe in a synergistic relationship with our integration partners, and our internal experts carefully research and test all medical information management offerings until we are confident enough to recommend them to our customers. The Unicor Medical Easy Coder ICD-9CM book and related Alpha II software have always been of the highest quality.”

In 1999, Meditec.com began using Unicor Medical’s Easy Coder ICD-9CM and has become an early adopter of the Alpha II software, both for practice management and for its coding-billing training process. Under the terms of the new agreement, Meditec.com has been confirmed as an authorized reseller of Alpha II’s Coding System application.

Alpha II’s CodingSystem outpatient coding software provides front-end code search and coding edit capabilities can improve revenues through faster, more accurate coding. The company’s revenue cycle management products can be used by information technology vendors and other developers as embedded software or can be implemented as a stand-alone solution directly for healthcare providers.

About Meditech, Inc.
Meditech, Inc., (the parent company of Meditec.com) has been in the business of innovating, implementing, practicing and refining medical information management solutions, all of which require specialized training. Meditec.com was one of the very first online training program offering medical coding, billing, transcription and office administration.

Meditec.com offers customers a wide library of dynamic, interactive self-study programs designed to meet the training and certification needs of healthcare professionals. The courseware incorporates proven training methods to ensure the highest rate of information retention and productivity. Online mentoring, comprehensive testing and real medical simulations provide valuable working experience and extraordinary skill sets. Meditec’s affiliate, http://www.med-certification.com provides practice and certification testing for school graduates and provider employees.

About Alpha II
The Alpha II technology solutions support coding, compliance, claims editing and revenue analysis for more than 30,000 healthcare professionals at medical practices, hospitals and health systems, clinics, billing services, outpatient facilities and other healthcare organizations, both commercial and governmental. More than 30 developer partners trust Alpha II solutions to enhance their practice management, electronic medical record (EMR) and other healthcare information systems. Alpha II is a cobranded solution suite developed jointly by Tallahassee, Fla.-based, MEGAS Corporation and Montgomery, Ala.-based Unicor Medical. For additional information, visit Alpha II on the Web at www.alphaII.com.

Press contact information:
Dave Anderson, Dodge Communications, 770-998-0500 ext. 229
danderson@dodgecommunications.com

Stuart Newsome, Unicor Medical, 334-395-9807
snewsome@unicormed.com

Jari Davis, Meditec.com, 877-335-4072
info@meditec.com

Is Online Learning for the Older Generation?

2009-10-15T17:50:00.001-07:00

Some people believe that older adults have more trouble learning new things. I've been told that learning a new language is extremely difficult for an older adult. However, this has not proved true for me- and I'm 45-years-old. I did have trouble with some of the "old-fashioned" teaching systems, but once I started learning conversationally, and using tools like flash cards, mnemonic devices, etc.. it's been a breeze.

I believe that older adults between 40s and upwards to 80s and onward have an advantage over their younger counterparts when learning something new. Older adults have become acquainted with their learning style, and know what is going to work for them and what will not. In college, in my 40s, I noticed in the student lounge younger students "reading" textbooks while lounging on a comfortable bench. In contrast the older students would be highlighting their books while reading, taking notes, and creating flash cards.

No one is ever too old to learn something new and meaningful to them. Life is all about learning new things! Don't ever feel too "old" to do anything that really feel positive and excited about.

Meditec.com has many older students. Some are retired from professions like nursing, teaching, or even IT fields. They are looking for something to do in retirement that is flexible and can be done at home. Medical transcription is a wonderful career choice to accomodate these needs. Additionally, we have many students in their 30s and 40s and older who have gone through divorce, or realize that they've spent too many years in a career that they didn't like and it's time for a change. We have young housewives who want to stay home with their children and yet still supplement the family income. The point is that it's never too late to make a great change in your life, and one is never too old to learning something new.

Is a Home Biz for you - A Go or a No?

2009-10-15T17:36:00.000-07:00

Self Assessment:

The first step in home-business planning is gathering information about you. You might discover a few things you didn't know.

So, let’s take the a little quick quiz… circle your response for each category.

Are You a Self-Starter?
If someone gets me started, I keep going all right.

I do things my own way. Nobody needs to tell me to get going.

Easy does it. I don't put myself out until I have to.
How Do You Feel About Other People?
Most people bug me.

I like people. I can get along with just about anybody.

I have enough friends and I don't need anybody else.
Can You Lead Others?
I can get people to do things if I drive them.
I can get most people to go along with me without much difficulty.
I usually let someone else get things moving.
Can You Take Responsibility?
I'll take over if I have to, but I'd rather let someone else be responsible.

There's always some eager beaver around waiting to show off. I say, let him.

I like to take charge of and see things through.
How Good An Organizer Are You?
I like to have a plan before I start. I'm usually the one who lines things up.

I do all right unless things get too complicated. Then I may cop out.

Just take things as they come.
How Good a Worker Are You?
I can't see that hard work gets you anywhere.

I'll work hard for a time, but when I've had enough, that's it.

I can keep going as long as necessary. I don't mind working hard.
Can You Make Decisions?
I can if I have plenty of time. If I have to make up my mind fast, I usually regret it.

I can make up my mind in a hurry if necessary, and my decision is usually O.K.

I don't like to be the one who decides things. I'd probably blow it.
Can People Trust What You Say?
I try to be on the level, but sometimes I just say what's easiest.

They sure can. I don't say things I don't mean.

What's the sweat if the other fellow doesn't know the difference?
Can You Stick With It?
If I make up my mind to do something, I don't let anything stop me.

If a job doesn't go right, I turn off. Why beat your brains out?

I usually finish what I start.
Can You Keep Records?
Records are not important. I know what's needed to be known without keeping records.

I can, but it's more important to get the work out than to shuffle numbers.

Since they are needed I'll keep records even though I don't want to.

That's it ... write down your scores.

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Count the points by the letter you selected
A. a=7, b=10, c=5 Your score ____
B. a=7, b=10, c=5 Your score ____
C. a=8, b=10, c=5 Your score ____
D. a=7, b=5, c=10 Your score ____
E. a=10, b=8, c=5 Your score ____
F. a=5, b=6, c=10 Your score ____
G. a=8, b=10, c=5 Your score ____
H. a=8, b=10, c=5 Your score ____
I. a=10, b=5, c=8 Your score ____
J. a=5, b=10, c=8 Your score ____

Total score _____________

Now, let’s interpret your score.
Score 100
Excellent.

A perfect score. You are a born entrepreneur. If you are not presently running your own business you should definitely start one -- the sooner the better. You are on the way to taking charge of your own life and career.
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Score 91 - 99
Very good.

You definitely have what it takes to succeed in a business of your own. Don't hesitate, your way to business success is wide open.
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Score 72 - 90
Good.

You have the qualities of a successful entrepreneur with some weak spots. You should be able to cover that deficiency by either retraining yourself or hiring someone with the necessary skill to co-partner with or who will work for you.
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Score 40 - 71
So-so.

The prospect of your success in a business of your own is questionable. You have some deficiencies that might out-shadow some good traits you have. If you still want to go on with it, be sure to call up all the persistence you can get. You are going to face some tough adversity on the way.
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Score 40 and below
Unsatisfactory.

Forget your dreams of being your own boss, it's not for you. You'd better plan to work at home on contract for somebody else. Too many hassles starting a business.

What Do You Need in a Recession?

2009-10-15T17:21:00.000-07:00

What do you need in a recession. Most people would say "money." Others might answer, land, a mortgage paid off, and food stocked up. Whereas both of these answers would be helpful to have in a recession. I believe a better answer is employable job skills. Money in a recession will only carry you for so long and then you will need more money. Paid off land, no mortgage, and stored up food, is also a great idea but again, families have so many other needs that these would not fulfill. Also note that I didn't say a great employable job "skill." I said "skills."

When the political campaigns were rolling and everyone was talking about Joe the plumber, I thought it awfully amusing. Well, let me use Joe the plumber as my example of what I'm talking about. Plumbing is a pretty high paying career field. Trust me, if you have ever had a plumbing problem and then gotten the bill and nearly fainted, you will agree that plumbers do pretty well for themselves. However, in a recession, depression, or any huge economic hardship what do people do that cannot afford a plumber? They get out the duct tape, monkey glue, and use their hope! When you hear that piples rattling and you know soon they will need to be replaced, are you going to "jump to it" when you are worried about feeding your children and paying the rent or mortgage? The point here is that many great career fileds are greatly affected in a recession, depression, or hard economic times. I can think of many careers that fall into these categories: sales, marketing, advertising, construction, labor jobs, retail, etc. So, what is Joe the plumber going to do when no one is calling for plumbing help? My advice- learn a new skill Joe!

Seriously speaking cross-training in several employable career paths is a smart idea and with the advent of online self-paced learning, there is just no reason not to do it. In hard economic times, the person who has flexibility in their skill set will be the most likely to continue working in some capacity.

At Meditec.com we encourage our students to cross-train and take several of our self-paced online programs in order to always have employable job skills. The medical and legal fields do not feel hard economic times like many professions do. Plus, it is interesting and fun to learn something new. We have had retired nurses, school teachers who have been laid off, and even high-paid executives enroll in our online career programs in order to prepare for what could lie ahead economically.

Planning and preparing is the smart thing to do in any time, but especially in hard economic times.

Home-Based Businesses-Working from Home

2009-10-09T19:16:00.000-07:00

Home-Based Businesses - Working From Home:

According to funcareers.com, jobs in the medical support services industry, such as medical transcription and billing, are among the top-ranked home-based business opportunities available today. Meditec agrees with that assessment and in fact, we've known this to be true for more than 20 years!

A recent article in the Salt Lake Tribune's employment section, highlighted the growing number of employment opportunities for people who want to work from home. The article primarily focused on the growing home-based call center industry employees now termed "cyberagents." As of the date written, it was estimated that 112,000 cyberagents were presently working with that number expected to triple by 2010! Those numbers represent an overall trend for businesses - it costs much less for the same or better work products. Economic facts: Whatever work may possibly be done at home will be done at home using the latest computer and internet technologies.

Meditec.com recently featured (in the What's New section on the home page) a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics website which highlighted the continued growth and strength of the job market in the medical services industry. Medical transcription and medical billing opportunities continue to be very strong and the opportunities for those trained in these skills, who also want (or need) to work from home, are virtually limitless.

For many years, Meditec.com has observed this potential in its own business as well as nationally - Early on, Meditec marketed outsourcing for medical transcription services - unheard of in the industry…including private and government (VA and Indian ) hospitals. Some of these facilities were hundreds of miles away from Salt Lake City, yet independent contractors working for Meditec -- working from home -- provided the transcription services for these facilities. With a then state-of-the-art telephone call-in system, hundreds of physicians in private practice also used the service, eliminating the overhead related to in-house personnel transcription in their operating budget. The economic fact was the savings - hospitals at 30 to 40% less than in-house personnel, yet everyone still made money. The MT-at-home eliminated work travel, clothing, babysitters, inconvenience with the less financially tangible benefit of being at home.

Interestingly enough, it was not the internet which enabled these contracts to succeed. Quite the contrary. At a time even before the huge expansion of internet based communications, Meditec transcriptionists worked from their home offices, using standard typewriters, and cassette tape transcription equipment to generate reports. This work naturally evolved to the use of PC-based word processing applications and direct (point to point) modem-based communications to transmit completed reports, and only recently evolved to use the internet. That ultimate explosion in internet communications has definitely enhanced and increased the opportunities that have been around medical transcriptionists for decades.

The short and sweet of all this, is that medical transcriptionists have in many ways led the revolution in work-at-home business. While there are both pros and cons to being your own boss, the rewards and benefits are also outstanding. Those benefits obviously include being at home in your own comfortable space, and in many cases being able to dictate your own office hours. For most transcriptionists, the ability to earn is tied directly to the number of lines (production), so as speed and experience increase, transcriptionists automatically make more money, without having to wait for a yearly evaluation from their boss, or having to worry about incremental salary increase issues.

Meditec.com has seen experienced transcriptionists make more than 50K per year working less than 40 hours a week, and while this may not be typical for part-timers, it certainly demonstrates the potential for making a very good income working at home. Starting your own home-based business in the medical transcription field is one of the easiest ways to make money, and doesn't involve stuffing envelopes or making telephone solicitations to angry consumers who'd rather be eating their dinner!

2009-10-09T19:05:00.000-07:00

Demand is up in the legal field for paralegals, legal assistants, and legal transcriptionists.

In the Meditec.com paralegal course you will learn all about the law - court system(s), documents required, law specialties, how to do on-line and law library research, quote citations, prepare cases, do client and adversarial interviews, and to write and/or transcribe legal documents.

Susan Rojo, our certified paralegal says: "It took me 3 years and $20,000 to learn what is included in the Paralegal Training Course."

The Meditec paralegal course consists of the following:

SECTION I - GENERAL LAW

Chapter A - The Profession
Chapter B - The Law
Chapter C - The Court System
Chapter D - Civil Litigation
Chapter E - The Law Office
Chapter F - Interview and Investigation
Chapter G - Legal Writing
Chapter H - Research and Citations

SECTION II - LAW BY SPECIALTY

CHAPTER 1 – BANKRUPTCY LAW
CHAPTER 2 – BUSINESS LAW
CHAPTER 3 – LAW OF CONTRACTS
CHAPTER 4 – FAMILY LAW
CHAPTER 5 – TORTS AND TORTFEASORS
CHAPTER 6 – LITIGATION
CHAPTER 7 – CRIMINAL LAW
CHAPTER 8 – REAL ESTATE LAW
CHAPTER 9 - WILLS

INTERNET RESOURCE DIRECTORY

FINAL EXAMINATION, CERTIFICATE and EMPLOYER REFERENCES

Other recommended learning material:

Black’s Law Dictionary by Bryan A. Garner (Amazon and Barnes & Noble for about $55.00)
Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (latest edition) or comparable
The Bluebook of Citations – check at www:legalbluebook.com (about $16.00)
A Handbook of Basic Law Terms by Bryan A. Garner (see above, $12.95)
We encourage you to compare this syllabus with any course.

Our training is affordable, self-paced, and top quality.

Enrollment Special- All Courses- October Special

2009-10-09T19:04:00.001-07:00

MEDITEC.COM: Our October Monthly Special: - Purchase selected full training courses, complete with books, online access, 1 Year Enrollment, and final exam, and receive a $200.00 cash discount off your paid order. Order two courses, save $400 -

Enrollment Special- All Courses- October Special

2009-10-09T19:04:00.000-07:00

Medical Billing- Scam or Real Home Business?

2009-10-03T15:13:00.000-07:00

Medical Billing “Opportunities:” Worth a Second Opinion
If you're looking for a home-based business that can help you pull in $20,000 to $45,000 a year using your computer, a work-at-home opportunity doing medical billing may sound like the perfect choice. But before you part with your money, consider this: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has brought charges against promoters of medical billing opportunities for misrepresenting the earnings potential of their businesses and for failing to provide key pre-investment information required by law.

Medical Billing Scams.
Ads for medical billing business opportunities appear on the Internet and in the classified sections of local newspapers and "giveaway" shopper's guides. In the "Help-Wanted" classified sections, the ads may appear next to legitimate ads for hospital medical claims processors, leading consumers who respond to think they're applying for a job, not buying a business opportunity. The ads lure consumers with promises of substantial income working from home full- or part-time - "no experience required." They direct consumers to call a toll-free number for more information. If you call, a sales representative will entice you to sign up by telling you that the processing of medical claims is a lucrative business, that doctors are eager for help with electronic claims processing, and that you - even without any experience - can do this work from the comfort of your home.

Medical Claims versus Medical Billing.
First, let’s clarify the difference. Medical Billing is a system with people who review every patient encounter, figure out what the services rendered were, then post the charges on a computer software system. The insurance processing (and statements) are then cycled with either a hard copy printed or an electronic version of the claim form sent to a clearing house. The clearing house then “pre-audits” the claim to make sure there is no missing information which could pend the claim (keep the payer from paying it). Once the audit is complete, it is then sent on to the payer. What the companies who sell these “medical billing opportunities” are doing is trying to get people to enter the arena of only the claim processing, not the billing service. Since most providers have software which already provides the electronic processing, those who sell only that element of the medical billing process fall far short of a realistic home business opportunity. Medical billing scammers charge a fee of $300 to $500 or more. In exchange, they claim to provide everything you supposedly need to launch your medical billing business: the software program to process the claims and a list of potential clients. These “clients” are simply lists of existing physicians in a given state. But the reality is that few consumers who pay for medical billing opportunities for processing claims find clients or make any money. Promoters of fraudulent medical billing opportunities are not interested in helping consumers, either. They only want their money. Many times, the client lists they provide are based on out-of-date databases of doctors who haven't asked for medical billing services. The software they send may not work or may not have been properly authorized and so is useless. And the money-back "guarantees" often prove worthless. Even after making repeated calls to the promoter or complaining to their credit card companies, government agencies or consumer groups, only a few people actually get refunds.

How to Protect Yourself & Where to Complain:
To avoid losing your money to a bogus medical billing business opportunity, the FTC advises you to: How to Protect Yourself
Ask the promoter to give you the names of many previous purchasers so that you can pick and choose who to call for references. Make sure you get many names from which to choose. If the promoter provides only one or two names, be careful: The contacts may be "shills" - people hired to give favorable testimonials. Interview the references, preferably where the business operates, to get a better sense of how the business works. Ask for the names of their clients and a description of their operation.

Consult with organizations for medical claims processors or medical billing businesses and with doctors in your community. Ask them about the medical billing field: How much of a need is there for this type of work? How much work does medical billing entail? What kind of training is required? Do they know anything about the promotion or promoter you're interested in?
Check with the state Attorney General's office, consumer protection agency and the Better Business Bureau in your area and the area where the promoter is based to learn whether there are any unresolved complaints about the business opportunity or the promoter. While complaints may alert you to problems, the absence of complaints does not necessarily mean the company is legitimate. Unscrupulous companies may settle complaints, change their names or move to hide a history of complaints. If the medical billing opportunity sells another company's software, check with the software company to find out whether company representatives know of any problems with the medical billing promoter. Consult an attorney, accountant or other business advisor before you sign any agreement or make any payments up front. An attorney can review the promoter's contract and advise you on how best to proceed.

Where to ComplainIf you think you've been defrauded in a medical billing business opportunity scheme, contact the company and ask for your money back. Let the company representatives know that you plan to notify law enforcement and other officials about your experience. Keep a record of your conversations and correspondence. If you send documents to the company, send copies, not originals. Send correspondence by certified mail - and request a return receipt - to document what the company received.

Medical Billing Training for Real
Here at Meditec.com, we train you to become a medical biller (not a claims processor only, though you will learn how all of that works). The training will provide you a good background to apply for a job in any medical provider setting. Adding insurance specialist training (included in the billing course) or opting to add coding and medical office specialist training to your learning process will dramatically increase your skill level for marketability. With experience, you may certainly look to management positions in medical arenas, go for consulting services to providers, or even set up a home-based business.

In Hard Times What is Better Than Money in the Bank?

2009-10-03T14:56:00.000-07:00

In today's times we are hearing about massive lay-offs, people losing their long-time jobs, factories and businesses shutting down, a high unemployment rate. It would appear that money in the bank is the be all and end all in hard times, but is it really? It seems that money whether in your hand, pocket, or bank in hard times will simply disappear for the necessities of life, and then what?

What is better than money in the bank during hard times? Employable job skills- and, a lot of them. If you have a great skill set in one area, but in hard times, a recession, depression, etc and your particular career field is hard hit, then what? There are several career fields that in hard times always seem to get hit hard- construction, city work, most types of manual labor, real estate, manufacturing, sales, etc. However, there are some career fields that may feel some effects from hard times, but nearly always survive- the medical field and the legal field.

As our population ages, there will always be sick people. When one is sick, they go to the doctor. Additionally, there will always be crime, and reasons that people need lawyers.

Many of my friends who are professionals in their respective jobs are in fact going to night school or entering online programs to expand their skill sets. This is simply a great idea. Meditec.com offers training programs in medical transcription, medical coding & billing, paralegal, and legal transcription. More and more of our students are enrolling in our "combination" programs in order to have the most diversified skill set possible. This is very good life planning.

In brief, medical transcriptionists work at home transcribing audio dictation from doctors. They receive the dictation through FTP software over the Internet, and send it back the same way. The average MT makes about $20 but superior MTs make more. Medical coders and billers work in a physicians office or hospital where they review the transcribed patient medical record, and apply alphanumeric codes to the diagnosis, procedures, and supplies used in order for the insurance company to be billed. The medical biller takes the coded record and bills the various insurance carriers. It is now possible for medical coders and billers to even work from home. Paralegals assist attorney's in doing research, case citation, and other various legal duties. The legal transcriptionist types lawyers dictation creating legal reports and documents. All of these careers are in demand and are usually not hit hard by recessions, depressions, or hard economic times. Cross-training in two or even three of these areas basically assures a person of a good job, paying decent money, in both good and bad times.

For more information on any of these career choices, Meditec.com offers a free E-Book. Just E-mail MTMentor@meditec.com and request the Ebook of your choice. The ones you may choose from are as follows:

All About Medical Transcription
All About Medical Coding & Billing
All About Legal Careers.

These books are offered to you free of charge and without any obligation. You are never too old to learn something new. All of our courses are online, interactive, self-paced, affordable, and fun.

Online Learning-Will it Work for You?

2009-10-03T14:50:00.000-07:00

Online Learning -- Will it Work for You?
Think online learning is just another flashy gimmick, left over from the late 1990s dot-com feeding frenzy? Maybe it’s time to take another look. Most people who lived through the 1990s would probably agree that the Internet was at least somewhat overhyped. After all, not enough people were willing to do their grocery shopping over the Internet to save several now-defunct dot-com companies. As well, much has been said about the nature of online education, in fact several years ago with the advent of online schools, a timely article described the end of brick and mortar education altogether, mainly because of the overhead to operate a school and the time it takes to learn subject matter in a brick and mortar school, to name a few. With the advent of “entrepreneurial” online teaching, most colleges and universities were totally unprepared, and had to scrabble around to meet the growing demand for online courses which had already been available for months and even years on the Internet. They did this by contacting the developers of courseware and licensing the use of same for their own purpose. Since that time, enrollment of students taking one or more courses online grew 18.2 percent in 2004 and online courses were available at more than 65 percent of all colleges offering face-to-face courses. That number is projected to have increased to 40% of students taking online courses by early 2006. Though a majority of U.S. higher education institutions offer some form of distance learning, many administrators and governing bodies question whether distance learning is as good as traditional learning. This scrutiny no longer falls on distance education alone; Congress and the U.S. Department of Education are holding all colleges and universities accountable to higher standards as the demand for federal financial aid increases and uncertainty surrounds the bottom-line contribution of postsecondary education. Much of that attitude is old hat since distance education has proven itself worthy in many areas, particularly in vocational training. How can higher education cope with escalating demands for institutional accountability? Ask the distance educators. Continuous growth in distance education forces constant evaluation and improvement, is less costly for both the educator and the learner, far less time-consuming, and permits the student to study at her/his own pace at work and at home. In 1996 Meditech undertook to put all of its courseware online. We had been training our own work force for several years for our own service (medical transcription, coding, billing) so we had the curricula well in hand. Limited templates were then available (Blackboard, etc.,) but none filled the criteria for what we believed was required for true interactive teaching and learning. So, undaunted, we decided to write our own. We employed a platform learning system just like the ones we used to train our own employees, where the learner is presented information sets and then is tested on the knowledge gained. The programs were all structured to learn as fast as possible, though obviously some applicants learned faster than others. The online courseware was well received, but its worthiness had to be tested. With national and international students, would the graduates find themselves well trained enough to enter the work force? Not a problem. The training worked just like we thought it would. A former student, a professor at a major university sent us his comments - we believe he confirmed our entire philosophy. He said: I am currently studying the MT (medical transcription) course and I am impressed. My background is: 46 year old male, native English with a BA in English Language and Linguistics and graduate certification in Teaching English as a Second Language. My degrees are fairly recent, 1998, and I have several years of university level teaching experience, while in school and after. In addition, over the last 6 years I have primarily taught grammar and composition classes, which I am currently teaching at [name omitted]. Thus, I am quite well-versed in most fundamental language issues. As far as I can see to this point (roughly halfway through Volume 2 of the Terminology portion), there is very little that I can say, aside from "nice job." I believe a student must be well-engaged to fuel the learning process. Moreover, you have absolutely no choice but to utilize this methodology with the variety of students you must encounter, so the courseware must be "user friendly." You cannot learn it for them, nor can you make it completely simple; however, you can keep them interested by creating a clear and concise approach, which I think you have done. Too many texts, in the past, have presented a cryptic approach to the learner in my view; thus, teachers mask their own ignorance of material by acting as if they are the vaults of knowledge that the students need to access. Your approach, though, encourages the learning process, attempts to make fairly dry material (for some) interesting and offers a clear and concise method to basic terminology retention. In addition, you have taken the need for an instructor out of the equation. The exercises turn the text into a reference guide and keep the student constantly moving between pages as well as referring to very fundamental ideas learned in the initial units. Your texts have the ring of a truly well-written composition. The thesis is reiterated sufficiently throughout, and the material is "scaffolded" as all new languages should be. For, as you well know, this is a process of truly learning a new language, which quite honestly is never easy. Trust me, I have spent 9 years with Japanese, and even 4 years of living there was not enough to put me in a comfortable position. Since my education is linguistically based, and I am certain I have studied material intensely more difficult, I find this approach refreshing. Anyone who has ever studied English Transformational Grammar, Semantics, Phonology and Morphology in one year can tell you that this is the kind of learning my colleagues and I had always yearned for. Moreover your approach dispenses with all rote-memorization techniques and focuses on use and familiarization as its basic tenets. If you are the creator of this material, then I commend you for a job well-done. To this point, these texts exhibit a true understanding of how people need to learn through continued use of vocabulary and concepts. For all of you weighing the pros and cons of the various Medical Transcription courses available, let me add some information for you to consider as well as explain why I chose Meditec. As a former university composition instructor, with an enviable background in English Linguistics, I was certain this would be the field for me. I tried not to become overconfident and looked at many different courses before deciding on Meditec. Once I selected the course, I began my work in earnest. I breezed right through the terminology portion, took a break from Transcription and completed the Coding course and studied the Billing course, then came back to the transcription. All of this went rather quickly; however, when I began to work diligently on the Transcription reports, I truly began to see the value of Meditec from the sheer volume and variety of reports from which I was to begin gaining crucial experience. I will never be able to say enough about this company overall; but in particular, their instructors utilize a no nonsense, professional approach that I consider a true benefit to anyone who selects their course. When I needed an answer, it was right there. Should you decide on Meditec for your training in this field, my recommendation is that you prepare yourself for a lively yet professional training experience. In addition, I see the staff as an entity interested in and genuinely concerned with properly training you for your future, and not solely motivated by making money. Meditec certainly serves the best interest of Medical Transcription, Billing, and Coding with every graduate they send out from their program, and you will find they are well respected in this field. I chose Meditec because the company philosophy is practical, and there should never be any other consideration. They believe in the two essential parts of basic education that many people seem to have conveniently forgotten: Hard work and practice. This company truly understands the need for people to be instructed properly in this field, and in turn, they comprehend the need for students to take charge of their own learning experience as a means of building additional confidence in their ability. Simply put, I would choose Meditec because the company follows through on their initial claims. Why am I training? A little disenchanted with teaching, I plan to widen my horizons (and my son has now achieved his MD status and wants me to help with his practice.) His perspective of online education, a la Meditec style, was certainly refreshing. His comments confirmed what our philosophy intended.

Tips for Choosing a Great Medical Transcription Program

2009-10-01T16:59:00.000-07:00

Tips for Choosing a Great Medical Transcription Training Program
By: Dawn Moreno, Meditec Instructor

Many people today are looking for ways to be able to work at home and still make good money. Many women wish to work at home to save on the expense of childcare. Many men now want to work at home to save on commuting expenses, lunches out, and the corporate rat race. Medical transcription is a wonderful career choice for those who wish to work at home, have a great career that uses their mind, and that can be achieved in a relatively short period of time. The problem is that there are a lot of scams out there, subpar training program and false information. So, how do you know what you do not know when it comes to choosing a good program for your medical transcription training? You need someone who’s been in the business for many years to give you some good information and tips on choosing a great program. Below you will find a series of tips on how to choose a great medical transcription training program.

Tip #1. Look for an established school that has been in business at least 7 years or more. Being in business and developing a good reputation over time is a good indication that the program is solid.

Tip #2. Ask for testimonials of those who have graduated from the program and are working.

Tip #3. Make sure that the school offers REAL job placement assistance and/or an internship program to assist you in making the transition from student to work.

Tip #4. The most expensive doesn’t mean it’s the best. It just means it’s the most expensive. A good MT program should not cost more than $2,000.

Tip#5. It’s a great idea to choose a school that also offers training in medical coding and billing so that you have the option to cross-train if you so desire.

Tip #6. Stay away from schools offering huge specials and discounts. That means they are hurting for enrollments and may not be financially stable.

Tip #7. Stay away from schools that advertise on television and also offer courses in auto mechanics and basket weaving. Employers traditionally do not look fondly on these schools and steer away from hiring their graduates.

Tip #8. Make sure the program has a lot of good dictation practice and teach you medical terminology, disease processes, anatomy, report formatting, and has a student forum and office number and E-mail address for your questions.

Tip#9. Steer clear of high-pressure strong sales tactics. Good schools don’t need to resort to these to get you to enroll.

Tip #10. Choose a school that doesn’t throw in 1,000 different books to jack up your tuition costs. You can buy what you need and only what you need when you need it. This is a tactic that some schools use to validate astronomically high tuition courses.

Choosing a good medical transcription takes a lot of research, asking the right questions, and being a good and educated consumer. Spend your money wisely and make sure that the program you choose is prepared to give you post-graduate support in finding your first job or that has an internship program to assist you in getting started. Medical transcription is a wonderful career choice, but one must be prudent when choosing a school for their training.