MT Salary Takes a Dip

The dip in the transcription pay scale over the last 2 years was shocking to us, but it's not without explanation. In 2004, MTs reported an average pay scale of $32,847. In 2006, the average went down to $25,408. With so much focus on transcription within the last 2 years and a growing need for MT skills, why would the pay scale go down?

Possibly, as an indication of what's to come-a sign of the times if you will-our editor title (new this year) averaged a more anticipated $32,000 salary. "The editor role has changed what MTs are doing, so the pay is being structured differently," Hurley offered as an explanation. "In services, we get paid by line by our clients vs. a salary pay scale; it's a very precarious position for services when adopting the new editor role. We struggle with compensating them in a fair manner. So it's good to see editors are being paid above the average, and people will notice there's a high skill level; I think that's important," she emphasized.

Another reason why the average transcriptionist salary is much lower this year could be a result from the low percent of credentialed MTs who filled out the survey, see Table 2. More than half of our MT respondents, 55 percent, did not hold a credential.

"Many MTs have not embraced seeking credentials as a means for launching their career," explained Susan M. Lucci, RHIT, CMT, FAAMT, vice president, MedScribe Information Systems Inc. But Lucci wondered why, especially because "there are a number of employers who will pay more for certified MTs and will help reimburse them to maintain those credentials."

In addition to the lack of credentials held by this year's respondents, the majority of them are working from home, which could be an indication of MTs working part-time. The home-based office work setting came in second to the always popular hospital/acute care setting (see Table 4) for the entire HIM profession.

Even our online Opinion Poll tallied results proving the popularity of working from home. The November poll asked: "What is your ideal job perk?" By Nov. 20, 81 votes were collected giving "working from home" 48 percent of the votes (see Table 7).

For next year's results, we'll be sure to include the difference between full-time salaries and part-time salaries to help uncover the variations found in a home-based office setting.

Coders Coming Up Short

Coders reported an average pay scale of $30,163, down from our results in 2004; coders' average pay scale was $35,760. And our percent of coder respondents went up from 30 percent in 2004 to 35 percent in 2006, so this decrease in pay isn't because of a lack of participation.

Sam Farrell, KForce, explained that she has not seen a similar trend, but reminded, "Of course, we only interview coders with at least 3 years' experience and active credentials."

Speaking of experience and credentials, 16 percent of our respondents held a certified coding specialist (CCS) credential, and 12 percent held a certified professional coder (CPC) credential (see Table 2). The majority of our coder respondents, 49 percent, had only 1 to 5 years' experience, which could imply that lack of professional experience impacted the average pay scale reported. In fact, by the 5^th year of experience, the pay scale average was $31,250 and kept increasing to $80,000; the highest salary recorded.

Only 13 percent of coders reported holding no credential, a very different number than MTs' non-credentialed respondents. "Coding is requiring credentials more than transcription," Farrell related. "Many transcription departments are outsourced to other companies, while coding departments are still the responsibility of the hospital. I see the facility continuing to raise the bar in requiring coders to be credentialed."

Because the majority (49 percent) of coders in our survey reported having only 1 to 5 years experience and the percent of credentialed coders was high, one could conclude that within the last 5 years, coding has pushed the importance of earning credentials. "I think that observation is right on track," explained Farrell.