Yes, home-based work makes you an entrepreneur. You are no longer just an employee. Do you understand how many more responsibilities you have on your shoulder? Home-based medical transcription is a business. Are you ready to handle this business?

Start with making a good office space for yourself. Find a place that’s not frequented by others at home. Make sure it is noise-free. Most importantly, it should help you be productive.

Next, get everything you need to run this business from home. When buying furniture, make sure it is extremely comfortable. You will be spending a lot of your time in the home office. Get yourself all medical transcription aids. And yes, get a phone dedicated to your work; you don’t want other family members keeping the phone busy or answering calls from your client.

Equip your computer with the latest firewall and anti-virus software and keep them updated. Also, you need to get a secure FTP connection in order to transfer work files. Learn to encrypt e-mails so that work related e-mails cannot be compromised in transit. Make sure your computer and the FTP site are password protected.

Take measures to comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). This will make you a credible medical transcriptionist.

Treat work as work; don’t become too comfortable because you are at home. Being disciplined at work will help you find time for yourself, family and friends.

Do drop in a line if you have concerns about starting your own home-based medical transcription business.