Work @ Home

With several transcription companies setting up their base in India, medical transcription has become a lucrative and feasible option for those looking for home-based careers

Vatsala Bhatt, a nutritionist in a well-known health club in Bangalore, quit her job two years ago when she had a baby. Unable to move out, she started looking for a home-based career. She found the perfect option - medical transcription.

It worked out well for Vatsala, who now works for about six hours at home and makes Rs 10,000 per month or so. She also gets time to spend with her daughter.

Vatsala is one among the many who discovered the comfort of working from home and be independent. Until recently home-based medical transcription was popular only among US based home transcriptionists. Now it's slowly gaining a foothold in India. That's good news for people who are compelled to work from home, either for health or for family reasons, and also for people who are looking at a second job to supplement their income.

The system here works on two models. In some companies, which offer 'work-from-home' opportunities transcriptionists can opt to work out of home once they have reached the required level of proficiency.

What is medical transcription?

Medical transcription is the process where one accurately and swiftly transcribes medical records dictated by doctors and others, including history and physical reports, clinic notes, office notes, operative reports, consultation notes, discharge summaries, letters, psychiatric evaluations, laboratory reports, x-ray reports and pathology reports.

It involves receiving dictation by tape, digital system or voice file, and using earphones, a foot pedal for start-stop control and a word processing program. It sometimes includes the use of a printer and sometimes a modem. A variety of word-processing systems are used. It requires good listening and language skills, computer skills and knowledge of medical terms.

Read this FAQ for more information

It makes a lot of sense for companies to allow employees to work from home. According to Sreekumar, programme co-ordinator of Spryance, "Greater quality control is possible with home transcriptionists." Boston based Spryance set shop in India in 2000 with the prime intention of promoting home-based transcription.

Acusis is a Pittsburgh based medical transcription company and has recently opened three offices in Bangalore, Mysore and Chennai. They offer home-based transcription work and so far have hired more than 150 home transcriptionists (mostly women) in the three cities. According to the CEO of Acusis, David Iwenski, India was selected to set up their business because of the country's high literacy rate and excellent English language skills.

Acusis has their own software called Acusuite, which allows the candidate to access an encrypted platform to download the .wav files (audio files) and then upload Word files. The software also contains dictionary and glossary of medical terms along with an error-checking module.

Companies like Spryance (Mumbai) and iQ infotech (Chennai) also work in the same way. However, they have no company-specific software. Candidates are simply given user name and password that allows them to access files from the company site. A team of in-house transcriptionists monitors the work of home-based transcriptionists to weed out possible errors.

Home transcriptionists are allowed to retain files for a maximum of six hours from the time of download. The editing starts as soon as they upload the files. It is very important to stick to deadlines. In case of sudden problems, like power failure, most companies allow the transcriptionist to work from their offices.

Says Radha Sridhar, a medical transcriptionist in Bangalore, who opted to work from home after her marriage: "I download my files at about 7 am and start work at 8.30 am after my husband leaves for work. I upload the files by 3:00 pm."

Payment

Transcriptionists who work from home are paid on the basis of speed and accuracy. The pay ranges from 60 paisa to Rs.1.25 per line depending on the accuracy.

Radha says she now earns about Rs. 20,000 a month; more than what she used to earn earlier. "When I worked from office, I used to get a monthly salary. Now I am paid per line."

Once you have honed your listening skills to hit 99-100 per cent accuracy level, you can reach the editor stage, with higher pays and less tedious work. Companies like Spryance already employ home-based editors.

According to Nasscom, medical transcription is projected as the India's fourth largest foreign exchange earners in about five years. If the figures are to be believed, medical transcription will employ more than 50,000 people by 2008. Very good news for people looking out for flexible home-based careers.

Online Share Trading

What made Black Thursday, the catastrophic 1929 stock market crash; Legend has it that USA President Joseph Kennedy sold all the stock he owned the day before "Black Thursday," the start of the catastrophic 1929 stock market crash. Many investors suffered enormous losses in the crash, which became one of the hallmarks of the Great Depression. What made Kennedy sell? According to the story, he got a stock tip from a shoeshine boy. In the 1920s, the stock market was the realm of the rich and powerful. Kennedy thought that if a shoeshine boy could own stock, something must have gone terribly wrong.

Now, plenty of "common" people own stock. Online trading has given anyone who has a computer, enough money to open an account and a reasonably good financial history the ability to invest in the market. You don't have to have a personal broker or a disposable fortune to do it, and most analysts agree that average people trading stock is no longer a sign of impending doom.
The market has become more accessible, but that doesn't mean you should take online trading lightly. In this article, we'll look at the different types of online trading accounts, as well as how to choose an online brokerage, make trades and protect yourself from fraud.

Stocks & Markets Review
Quick look at the basics of the stock market.

A share of stock is basically a tiny piece of a corporation. Shareholders -- people who buy stock -- are investing in the future of a company for as long as they own their shares. The price of a share varies according to economic conditions, the performance of the company and investors' attitudes. The first time a company offers its stock for public sale is called an initial public offering (IPO), also known as "going public."

When a business makes a profit, it can share that money with its stockholders by issuing a dividend. A business can also save its profit or re-invest it by making improvements to the business or hiring new people. Stocks that issue frequent dividends are income stocks. Stocks in companies that re-invest their profits are growth stocks.

Brokers buy and sell stocks through an exchange, charging a commission to do so. A broker is simply a person who is licensed to trade stocks through the exchange. A broker can be on the trading floor or can make trades by phone or electronically.

An exchange is like a warehouse in which people buy and sell stocks. A person or computer must match each buy order to a sell order, and vice versa. Some exchanges work like auctions on an actual trading floor, and others match buyers to sellers electronically. Some examples of major stock exchanges are:

The New York Stock Exchange, which trades stocks auction-style on a trading floor

The NASDAQ, an electronic stock exchange

The Tokyo Stock Exchange, a Japanese stock exchange


Worldwide Stock Exchanges has a list of major exchanges. Over-the-counter (OTC) stocks are not listed on a major exchange, and you can look up information on them at the OTC Bulletin Board or PinkSheets.

When you buy and sell stocks online, you're using an online broker that largely takes the place of a human broker. You still use real money, but instead of talking to someone about investments, you decide which stocks to buy and sell, and you request your trades yourself. Some online brokerages offer advice from live brokers and broker-assisted trades as part of their service.

If you need a broker to help you with your trades, you'll need to choose a firm that offers that service.

Other Online Investments
In addition to buying and selling stocks, you can make a number of other investments online, depending on what your online brokerage offers. Several firms allow investors to participate in IPOs. Some also allow you to trade in:

Options - contracts granting the right to buy or sell stock at a specific price on or before a specific date

Mutual funds - companies that combine many people's money and invest it in a variety of companies

Bonds - loans to companies or businesses that are repaid with interest

Futures - agreements to buy or sell stock at a future date

Most investment analysts consider options and futures to be the territory of experienced investors.

Choosing a Broker and Opening an Account
Before you can trade stocks online, you have to select an online broker. Your online broker will execute your trades and store your money and stock in an account. The online trading industry has seen lots of mergers and acquisitions, but there are still many firms to choose from. Different firms also offer different levels of help, account types and other services. Here are some things you should keep in mind as you look for a broker.

How much money you plan to invest. Most firms require investors to have a certain amount of money to open an account. This is different from a minimum account balance -- although most brokerages have those, too.

How frequently you plan to make trades. Are you going to buy one stock and hold on to it? If so, you'll need to make sure the brokerage doesn't charge a fee for account inactivity. On the other hand, if you're going to make lots of trades, you'll want a lower fee per trade. Regardless of how much you plan to use your account, you should evaluate how much using the site will cost you.

Your level of trading experience and how much guidance you need. Some of the least expensive brokerages don't offer much in the way of research or broker-assisted trades. Others, while still moderately priced, offer market analysis, articles on successful trading and help from licensed brokers.

Any other services you may want. A few trading sites let you buy and sell stocks but not much else. Others are more like major banks, offering debit cards, mortgage loans and opportunities for other investments like bonds and futures.

Some sites, such as Keynote and Smartmoney, rate online brokerages based on success rates, customer service response time, trading tools and other factors. They can help you make a decision as you shop around for the best trading site for your needs, but keep in mind that there are no official standards for ranking or evaluating brokerages.

As with any site that requires your personal and financial information, you should make sure your online broker has good security measures, including automatic logouts and transmission encryption. You should also make sure your brokerage is reputable.

Hiring your first employee

Hiring the first employee is a big decision. Suddenly, you become responsible for another individual. However, you need not be emotional when hiring your first employee. Instead you should proceed methodically, making sure that you meet all the requirements laid down under different Laws.

Among other things, you need to check the background of the applicant regarding his previous employment claim(s), criminal record, drug test, credit history and driving record. In some cases an identity or a social security check may be essential.

While much of this information comes under public domain, certain personal records including education, military and
medical, are confidential and therefore requires applicant's consent before scrutinizing them. You should ask for original certificates since in this electronic age any fake document can be produced.

Regarding the applicant's criminal past, a criminal conviction report is permanent whereas arrest records, debts, civil suits and court judgments cannot be included in employment background check after seven years. In case you want to use a third party to verify the credentials of the potential employee, then as per federal law you have to alert the person under investigation in writing.

It is easier to verify use of illegal substances like cocaine since drug-abusing employees are six times more likely to file workers' compensation claims than other staff members. You can even consider random drug testing and pre-employment interviews. However, you must note that it is illegal to inquire about a candidate's prescribed drug for medication.

A job applicant should be screened for unwarranted behavior. Psychological tests, hand writing analysis, skill and aptitude tests and even lie detector tests are additional assessment tools available to business owners to help them select the best candidate for the job.

Some questions are unlawful like applicant's sexual orientation, religion or race. While interviewing the candidate, you should be aware of other federal laws as well. The best place to get such information is from government sites like the US Department of Labor or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.



Before making a final job offer, you must check references. Two references should be professional and one should be personal to help endorse the character of the applicant.

Federal laws provide clear guidelines regarding salary and classification of employees. You must check minimum wage and make sure that the salary offered is more than this. The part-time workers can work for 20 hours or less per week while full -time workers can log in 30 hours per week. According to the US Department of Labor there are 12 records an employer must maintain on each staff member during their employment.

You should handle the immigration issues carefully while sponsoring or employing a foreign national. Right insurance coverage like disability coverage is also necessary. There are two types of disability coverage viz. short and long term. There is a waiting period before benefits are paid. For short-term, the waiting period is generally 14 days and in case of long-term disability coverage it is 30 days to one year.

So, make sure you know all laws of the land before you hire your first employee.