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Serving Over 20,000 US Medical Transcriptionists

Does anyone do Pathology?

Posted By: diane on 2008-07-06
In Reply to:

if so, what system do you use - if you work for a big transcription company (as opposed to directly for a pathologist)  do they pay the same for pathology as for other work.  I've recently been asked to come back to work for a pathologist I worked for (for 10 years).  They then switched to a big outsourcing company and have not been happy ever since.  Their "new system" seems to require 20% of the time transcribing and 80% of the time on busy work - looking up names, demographics, etc.  Does anyone have an opinion about this?  Thank you.


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Pathology
Looking for pathology transcription, any suggestions on companies?
pathology
As I have done pathology in the past, I do not believe they will ever outsource pathology. The turn around time is too close and the way that pathology is dictated is very hard to dupliate. The gross part is dictated in the morning and then the ending evaluation is dictated that evening, with all of this having to be on the same report. Then, if any special stains are done, this has to be appended to the corresponding report as well.
Pathology

I have done pathology for years; was trained with a state coroner's office and then worked in 2 large hospital pathology offices.  Yes, it can be very repetitive and boring. 


I'll just give you a basic overview for general pathology:


First, you will have the "gross description".  It will be dictated as soon as specimens are received.  It is literally a physical description of the specimen, including color, size, shape, texture, marks, etc.


Sometimes a "frozen section diagnosis" is issued while a patient is in surgery and the surgeon needs to know immediately if carcinoma is present. 


Once slides are made and the pathologist reviews them, then the "microscopic description" will be dictated.  You go back to the same report and below the gross description you type the microscopic.  It will be very detailed with heavy pathology terminology and a diagnosis or diagnoses.  Sometimes it will state that further studies are being done and only give a tentative diagnosis, etc.  You may handle that one report many times before it is completed and ready to be signed off.


There are many different other types of reports you may do including bone marrow aspirations, peripheral blood smears, cytology (pathological review of urine, sputum, and blood - liquids), hormone receptor testing, and even autopsies.


You should invest in a pathology word book and be very familiar with pathology style, which is extremely important.  Become familiar with the names and style to appropriately type bacteria, viruses, various pathogens, stains, laboratory values. 


Overall, I love it.  It is fast-paced and time-sensitive.  If ever I can help you, write me and I will do all I can.


Pathology
I used to do that about 6 years ago. The pay isn't as good, try branching out? Or call Spheris they used to hound me for pathology transcription, although I wouldn't go back to it now.
pathology
Just applied for a job transcribing pathology at a large hospital and need to learn this quick!  Any suggestions or ideas would be very much appreciated
Pathology
How come nobody hardly ever talks about pathology on these boards?
If you like pathology.
This way you can leave work at work.  If that doesn't work out, you could always come home to QA'ing....   Good luck! 
Pathology
Can you tell me where I can find pathology typing at home. I have 16 years experience in Pathology
Pathology MT

Hi, I am currently a pathology Transcriptionist at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, NC.  I have been on this job a little over 2 years on a Lanier machine and it has done me well.  It is very repetitious and I have a ton of macros, which affords me to fly through the dictations.  Some of the dictators have accents, but I've come to recognize what they are saying to make the necessary adjustments.  I do like pathology transcription, never done it before this job, however, like I said it is repetitious and monotonous; so if you get bored easily, this is not the job for you.  : )   I also make a good living doing it on site.  I don't know how much you'd make doing it at home.  They are trying to move us home now, so we'll see. 


I wish you luck.


Pathology

Love pathology, worked in pathology departments (1 year for VA and 1 year for  children's hospital). Pathology is cool.


Want Pathology also

Am looking for a home-based Pathology MT position.  Tried Medical Examiner's offices also, but they were not looking.  Have over 30 years experinence. 


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Is my nightmare.
Pathology
I LOVE Pathology!! (Guess it's because I have been transcrbing it for 20 years). I have transcribed other specialties but I will admit - Pathology is definitely my favorite...
Pathology MT

Hi there,


I do pathology transcription.


Cheryl


 


PATHOLOGY MT
I work in Pathology and have for the last 29 years. I work for a major medical center and we are currently using Cerner CoPath Laboratory information System. We use a digital dictating/transcription system by MedQuest formerly Lanier.
Pay for a pathology MT

Have interview for a Pathology MT.  I am an acute-care MT but have an interview with a pathology group.   I also have another job offer as an IC typing Op reports from my parttime boss. 


The pathology MT job is by the hour with a quota.  I was wondering if any pathology MT would want to share a rough estimate on what they make per hour for MTs that are paid by the hour.  Thanks


 


Pathology transcription
Hi there, I was just wondering if anybody would know of any good home-based transcription company that involves pathology, cytology, and autopsy related?  Thx. 
Pathology Transcription
It is unclear whether you are looking for work or looking for a home-based transcriptionist. I have pathology experience.
Because typing pathology from
rare. I would love to do pathology again, but I will never go back to an office environment again.
Pathology Compensation
Can anyone tell me what the average compensation is for transcribing the gross only for pathology, by report, not lines?  Thanks so much for your assistance.
I'm not an expert in pathology

but it seems the experience that I have had with these, they are fairly short.  I guess they could be lengthy, but I would say on an average $3.00 a page should make you a mighty fine living.  You may want to see some samples before pricing this one out.  The experiences I've had were with a hospital, and these were fairly short reports.  The pathology department employed two full-time hourly MTs for a hospital that probably held about 650 beds.  The OR had about 12 rooms.  The ambulatory surgery department had about 5 rooms.  These are all just my opinions though.  Good luck to you! 


Pathology at home
I do pathology transcription at home with 30+ years experience in a hospital setting in general pathology, cytology and autopsy reports. What are you looking for?
Pathology transcription
Does anyone know if Pathology transcriptionists are paid more for that specialty? I've been offered a job and am trying to determine a price per line.  Thank you.
pathology work
Would anyone like to contribute their thoughts on the difficulty or nondifficulty of pathology work? 
pathology transcription
i am also looking to do pathology transcription from home. anyone know of a reliable company looking for a experienced Transcriptionist for pathology
I started out in Pathology - sm
as an electron microscopist, then graduated to supervisor of 5 different clinical labs. A friend of mine who was an OR tech badly damaged her ankle and could no longer do that line of work, and an orthopedic surgeon asked her if she would be interested in doing his transcription. She asked me to help, and soon we had 11 accounts and our own little business. She did full-time, I was part-time. Well, at the hospital, with downsizing and buy-outs, my labs which previously employed almost 30 people, were soon down to 7, then 5. When they told me I had to lay off another person (even with the workload climbing), I laid off myself, and went to doing MT full-time. My terminology base was great, but going back and forth to those doctors' offices, picking up microcassettes, printing reports, etc. got to be a hassle so when I located to another area of the country, I sought out employment at home. Beend doing it ever since. As in your case, it allowed me to support myself and my 3 boys, and I still feel part of the healthcare industry, doing my own little part for the patients. I am glad it worked out so well for you. Good luck in the future!!
PATHOLOGY transcription question

Hello all !  I'm going on an interview for a pathology transcription position.  I've only done medical records in the past, but the company wants to meet me and is confident I will adapt.  But my question is - what is PATHOLOGY like?  Does anyone have a link that I can read or review pathology ?   I hear it's very boring and repetitive - is this true ?


Does it command a greater salary than medical records transcription?  Im in NY, btw.


Any advice you experts have I would love to hear ! 


Thanks!  


Transcribing pathology reports

Just a thought.  You could call medical examiner's offices and ask if they need help or ask them who they contract their work out to.  I used to type for an agency that had the New York Medical Examiner's Office contract.  You could try them.  Good luck!


Carrie


What is the best platform for pathology transcription?

This is not for a company, but for an in-house system that we will want to purchase. 


Pathology transcription jobs
Hi.  Anyone know of a company that employs transcriptionists for at-home position, who specialize in pathology?  If so, please reply.  Thanks
Home-based Pathology
Does anyone out there type for a Pathology Dept. or a medical examiner in the privacy of their own home?  I saw a message where one gal said she worked for a hospital Path. Dept. from her home which included benefits, etc.  I cannot find her message now, and am wondering if she is still out there and would answer my message.  I would love this as I really need the benefits.  Thanks  Del
Going from acute care to pathology
I would like to transition from acute care to pathology. What are the key differences? Any suggestions on reference material for pathology?
I interviewed for an in-house pathology MT - sm
position a few years ago. What they did was a transcription typing test, so I had actual dictation and of course they timed me. I did okay there I think without any errors I was aware of but speed wise I tend to type a lot slower when being tested as I just freak at typing tests. Then they interviewed me, and I feel so dumbb at interviews, 2 people at once, totally dumbb questions for the most part with nothing to do with transcription. I thought I did well but did not get called back. They gave me a full tour of the facilities, etc, the MT office, the lab, etc. Let me "interview" the MTs there too. It was quite interesting.
When I worked pathology office in a hospital
My experience was that I worked 3 times as hard for a set wage than I ever did as an MT - and in medical records as MT earned set wage plus incentive.

At pathology lab, we were responsible for getting there first thing in the morning and transcribing all the micro before 10 a.m. so the pathologists could then look at slides and dictate the gross report. Doctors tried to get the gross reports back to us by 1 p.m. -- because they had to be typed by 3 p.m. so the doctors could sign the reports, and get them back to us so we could get them sorted and in the mail before we went home. In addition, we fielded phone calls, took messages for pathologists, searched for and mailed slides when other labs requested them, provided courier coverage to transport slides and things between our lab and hospital lab in the next building, and when we had a spare minute, we entered Pap smear results from precoded sheets used by the technicians reading the Pap smears (like between 10 a.m. and noon, if we had all the micro typed)!!! Every day was hurry up and meet this 2-hour deadline, then hurry to meet the next 2-hour deadline...

I learned a lot of terminology -- but I would have to be very hungry to do it again. It is hard to describe or comprehend a pathology secretary job unless you have actually been there, done that -- you will either love it or hate it... good luck.
Home-based Pathology, ME dictation

Dear Carrie Bella,


Could you possibly give me the name of the company that the New York ME's office uses for their transcription.  I am very much interested in either typing Pathology or ME's reports at home.  Thanks.  Del


This is very true. None of our local hospitals outsource their pathology, as far as I know. But...sm
I work for MQ's Seattle office and for a time was assigned to a pathology account there. I was always curious how/why they outsourced their pathology. Anyway, I quickly found it BORING (especially the gross dictations) and asked to be taken off the account because I made NO money (very short jobs + software slower than molasses = no money).

Hope this helps some.


you must own a pathology book. Go to stedman's and order online.

Does pathology dictation always have LOUD background noise?

I went for an interview and I was given some trial dictations regarding gross specimens and the background noise was HORRIBLE.  There was more background noise than dictator's voice.  I asked about that and was told "Oh, that's the way it has always been. The lab is just noisy."  I inquired further and they admitted the doctor uses a speaker phone type arrangement and the noise of the ventilating fans, electrical equipment, etc. is what creates the overpowering background noise.  But the lab director insisted that there was no other way, as they doctor needs both hands free when cutting up the specimen.  Is that true? 


 


I should point out that the benefits package with the pathology group... SM

is significantly better than what I've got right now.  They are offering a matching 401K, profit sharing, flexible spending account, healthcare benefits and dental for me and my kids for about 150 per month versus 400 per month where I work now.


Then there is the issue of job security.  I'm a realist and I know that in this business of medical transcription, my job could be gone tomorrow due to lost accounts, low work volume, or offshoring.  Not to mention, the powers that be at my company could decide that it would be more cost effective to pay their editors per line versus hourly (which has happened to me before) and only offer 4 cpl because after all "we don't actually type all that much." 


Maybe I'm paranoid, but I've lost jobs due to all those things I listed.  It's upsetting the thought of losing another job.  So that is one of my major considerations with this job offer.  I'm sure they could offer me a measure of job security because they are a locally owned practice by the physician and all of the the transcriptionists there have been with the practice for more than five years.  This position I'm being offered was created because they have increased their work load.


I just don't know.  Geez, I hate making big decisions!


Oncology, Rheumatology, Pathology, Infectious Disease
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Wow..youare gaining WAY more than you are losing. I hope you love pathology as much as I did.
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