Over the past decade of economic upheaval that the United States has been subjected to, we have seen one industry that has remained prosperous and undeterred—healthcare. In fact, instead of seeing a decrease of employment in healthcare, we are witnessing quite the opposite. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says that the total employment in the healthcare industry is projected to increase by 15.6 million jobs from 2012 to 2022.
This doesn’t just mean we will have more doctors and nurses. What it actually entails is that there will be a rise in the need for more administrative staff in hospitals and other healthcare institutes. This will open up a new pool of jobs for medical transcriptionists, pharmacy technicians, medical coders and billers, and basically any type of job in clinical administration.
As for the question of whether it will still be lucrative to work from home with a healthcare job, let the following facts answer that question for you:
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Quick and Easy Certification
If you aren’t already qualified to take up a job in healthcare, the process could not be simpler. There are hundreds of online career schools that offer quick and thorough courses in a variety of fields related to healthcare.
All you have to do is find one that offers a course you like and enroll. Courses like these may take as little as 4 months or as much as 18 months. Either way, it is a lot faster and more efficient than going to college.
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Courses Are Affordable and Reliable
Career schools charge less than half of what one year of college would cost, for an entire course. Some schools like Career Step charge as little as $600 for some of their healthcare-related courses.
A lot of these career schools are accredited and are therefore extremely reliable and well-recognized. So you need not be afraid of spending money on a course so long as it has official recognition.
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Career Schools Provide Large Networks and Sometimes Even Job Interviews
The best thing about career schools, whether they are online or not, is that they provide great opportunities for their students to build networks. And we all know how important networking is for job hunting. A lot of career schools also provide placements, set students up with interviews and also give internships to students who are eligible.
Basically, you can get qualified for anything in a maximum of 18 months, be job-ready by the time your course is done and earn back your money in 6 months or less. That said, here are a few work-from-home healthcare options that will allow you plenty of flexibility while at the same time bringing in a decent income:
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Medical Transcription
Medical transcription is the newest up and coming job in the healthcare industry. We all know how the world is brimming with doctors, lawyers and MBAs. The doctors of this world are ever in need of skilled transcriptionists who can document their notes quickly and efficiently.
You don’t have to work in a hospital or a clinic to be a medical transcriptionist. It is easily something you can do at home. Once you have a firm clientele, there is no reason why anyone shouldn’t be able to manage their medical transcription job at home.
According to the BLS medical transcription pays about $34,000 a year. Of course, if you are employed by people in the private sector, you would definitely make a lot more than that.
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Pharmacy Technician
Pharmacy technicians are also largely in demand at the moment. It may appear that a pharmacy technician work-from-home job is impossible to find but this isn’t true. A lot of private pharmacies and clinics seem to be expanding their enterprise and are looking to hire new pharmacy technicians.
BLS says that pharmacy techs can make anything between $29,000 and $44,000 depending on employment and experience. This job is also growing at 20% every year which is much faster than average (the average being about 8%). It seems that this is probably the best and most secure work-from-home option out of the lot.
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Medical Coder/Biller
Medical coding and billing at home is another great option. The switch from ICD-9 to ICD-10 has brought a lot of uncertainty and chaos to the coding and billing world. A lot of coders and billers are resisting the change and are unwilling to retake a course in ICD-10 just to be able to continue on in their same job.
This will open up a lot of jobs and also create new ones since employers are looking for a set of fresh applicants who have mastery over ICD-10 and are willing to take it on happily. Medical coding and billing will pay about $36,000 on an average but this figure could go up to $60,000 depending on employment and experience, according to the BLS.
All these jobs, especially at-home transcription jobs, offer great flexibility as you have the freedom to take on as much or as little work as you want to and you can work at your own pace and at your own schedule, provided you are able to meet deadlines set for you by your clients.