CHAPTER 3

This chapter will discuss the methods used to collect data by the researcher to present a study on "Strategies for Establishing and Managing a Home-Based Medical Transcription Business". This chapter includes the method of gathering data, the base data collected for analysis, and the resources for determining legitimacy, uniqueness, and the limitations of the study.

Approach

Because of the nature of the researcher's topic, "Strategies for Establishing and Managing a Home-Based Medical Transcription Business", combinations of historical and descriptive research methods were used to compile the study.
The researcher reviewed the needs of working mothers who would like to work from home. Many of these mothers are single and find working outside the home does not allow them to spend enough quality time with their children. The researcher observed the possibilities of working from home. One solution was to start a medical transcribing home-based business. This was looked at as a major social issue, with offering a possible solution to the working mother's dream of being available to spend more time with their children and the flexibility this occupation has to offer.
The researcher looked at the history of medical transcription, interviewed people working in the profession, gathered data written by educators and experts in the field, including books, magazines articles, and web sites. The researcher intends this study to provide guidelines for people who are considering medical transcription as a career path and therefore the following topics were included in the research: necessary education, training, and what it takes to ultimately be successful. The researcher also looked into the existing threats to the industry.

Data Gathering Method

The data gathering method used in this study was accumulated from various sources including textbooks, magazines, on-line Internet web sites, medical transcribing schools, and the Small Business Administration. Personal interviews with small business owners, and graduates from medical transcribing schools are also included in the study. After analyzing all the data, it was reviewed for hypotheses to see if starting a home-based medical transcribing business would satisfy the desire of stay at home mothers to earn a living while working at home.
The writer's process of research began with the Internet to locate as much information as possible. In addition, many other sources were very helpful such as academic textbooks, and newspaper and magazine articles. The writer researched the following subjects:

1. What is Medical Transcription?
2. What does a Medical Transcriptionist do?
3. How is Medical Transcription done?
4. What are the qualifications/education/skills required?
5. How can an individual start a successful Medical Transcribing business?
6. Deciding to go into Business
7. The Business Plan
8. Selecting the Legal form of Business
9. Selecting a name for the Business
10. Tax Considerations & Planning
11. Other Record Keeping
12. Hiring Accountants & Attorneys
13. Insurance for the Home-Based Business
14. Marketing Strategies
15. Primary Research
16. Secondary Research
17. Pricing & Salaries
18. Equipping the Home Office
19. The future of Medical Transcription

The writer interviewed several officials from medical transcribing schools, small professional business owners, transcribing graduates, and students. In addition, the researcher consulted a variety of textbooks, websites, books written by experts on the topic, and magazine articles on the above subjects.

Database of the Study

The database for this study consists of three personal interviews with medical transcription business owners, and a recent graduate of a medical transcribing school, based out of the State of Utah. The researcher also interviewed an independent contractor and a professional who hires medical transcriptionists to transcribe specifically for her business clientele who are located across the United States.
Additional personal interviews were conducted with officials from various medical transcribing schools throughout the United States. These particular medical transcribing schools varied in size, tuition cost, and the range of their curriculum options. The research shows most of these courses took 6-12 months or more to complete. The time frame measurements for some of these courses were based on how fast the individual could complete the course materials, test, graduate and then become employed by a medical transcribing company or start their own medical transcribing business.
This data is presented in support of what the medical transcribing home-based business is all about and how to be successful in starting this type of business.

Validity of the Study

The personal interview method used allows the researcher to access the mind set of people who are actually working in the field and making a good living from the medical transcription business. This in combination with the research materials available from textbooks, magazine articles and web sites, which were written by experts in small home-based medical transcription businesses, gives the reader a solid base for information that will assist in avoiding the pitfalls experienced by those who have failed in training or trying to set up a home-based medical transcription business.

Originality & Limitation of the Data

The data accumulated for this study; except for that derived from the literature is original with the researcher. Additionally, the interpretation of both the data from the interviews and from the literature, as well as the conclusions drawn, are equally original with the researcher. The researcher has had experience working in the medical field for a group of physicians in private practice. The researcher is currently training to acquire credentials in the medical transcription field. The researcher would eventually like to start a home-based medical transcription business. The researcher lives in a remote area of Wyoming where good paying jobs are limited and would like to work from home. In addition, the researcher knows single mothers who have acquired appropriate training in this field and have been successful in the medical transcription business. The researcher is also familiar with people who have tried to acquire training and have not been able to complete their training because they didn't know what was involved. These experiences can be viewed as helpful or as bias toward the positive aspects of the medical transcribing field. The researcher has attempted to look at both the positives and the negatives of preparing for a career in the medical transcription business and hopes that the study presented will be of help to those who are seriously considering medical transcription as a career.
Limitation is centered on the unknown affect, capability and acceptability of speech recognition technology in the medical transcription field. This technology is not new, however it has not been perfected enough to have a major impact on the medical transcribing business up to this point in time. Because this technology is now becoming more perfected, its affect on the medical transcription business may change in the future. The researcher is not comfortable in knowing the timing for any major affects that this speech recognition technology software would have on the future earning power of medical transcribers. This information would have to be studied in the future when more statistics become available.

Summary of this Chapter

This research project will be conducted using a combination of the historical and descriptive research methods for presenting a study on "Strategies for Establishing and Managing a Home-Based Medical Transcribing Business".
The researcher intends this study to provide guidelines for people who are considering medical transcription as a career path and therefore the following topics were included in the research: necessary education, training, what must be considered to set up the business, and what it takes to ultimately be successful. The researcher is aware of the existing threats to the industry including the perfection of speech recognition software.
The data for the study was accumulated from various sources including text books, magazine articles, on-line Internet web sites, and interviews with officials from medical transcribing schools, small medical transcribing business owners, and graduates from medical transcribing schools.
The researcher believes that the validity of the study is solid because of the availability and use of personal interviews from small business owners who were enthusiastic to share their success stories on how they make a living in the medical transcribing field. In addition, the researcher found many credible literature sources written by experts in the small business and medical transcribing fields which provided excellent information on the many issues that must be considered when starting a medical transcribing home-based business.
The one limitation which the researcher is not comfortable with is the unknown affect that speech recognition software might have in the future on the small medical transcription business owner.