Not if they want to stay employed for any length of time. It is an MTs job, even on the most verbatim of accounts, to be able to understand the terminology, correctly spell the terminology, fix glaring grammatical errors (verb tenses, etc.), correctly punctuate, spot any inconsistencies (to include anything from male/female, left/right to incorrect or impossible medication dosages).
If you are not asked to transcribe verbatim, it then becomes your job to perform all the tasks listed above in addition to rephrasing difficult sentences, moving text around to fit under the correct headings, deleting redundancies, expanding acronyms (you must know what those acronyms stand for), and any other thing that is requested of you on that particular account.
An MT may also be required to find the correct spelling of doctors' names, ensure a carbon copy of the report goes to whomever the dictator requests, spell the names of cities (which you may have never heard of) as well as local schools, stores, etc. All of this may require an extensive amount of research.
As well as all this, an MT is required to know how to format this legal medical document correctly, as per the doctor's, clinic's, or hospital's instructions. You will have to use proper headings, subheadings, numbering, etc.
Monday, April 6, 2009
What do doctors dictate?
Doctors dictate about anything from runny noses to highly specialized and technical surgical procedures, as well as letters to other doctors, letters to patients, notes to schools to get students out of PE or other activities. Radiologists and pathologists dictate test results and imaging results. You may have to transcribe echocardiograms, pulmonary function tests, sleep studies, physical therapy progress notes, and even expiration (death) summaries.
What does a medical transcriptionist do exactly?
A medical transcriptionist's job, in basic language, is to turn a doctor's dictated speech into a properly formatted and properly spelled text document. There are many ways of going about that task which depend on the method the doctor uses to dictate, the method used to get the audio to the transcriptionist, and the method used to get the completed document back to the doctor.
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
Until recently home-based medical transcription was popular only among US based home transcriptionist's. 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.
What you need:
To start as a home-based transcriptionist you need
have:
1. A Windows PC with at least the following configurations:
Pentium IV, 256 MB SDRAM, 20 GB hard disk, 52X CDROM drive, sound card with amplifier, and Internet access.
2. Stereo headphones
3. 56.6 kbps external modem
4. Foot pedal
5. UPS
6. Licensed software - English dictionary, medical dictionary, drugs reference dictionary, medical spellchecker, equipment glossary, abbreviation dictionary, etc.
Until recently home-based medical transcription was popular only among US based home transcriptionist's. 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.
What you need:
To start as a home-based transcriptionist you need
have:
1. A Windows PC with at least the following configurations:
Pentium IV, 256 MB SDRAM, 20 GB hard disk, 52X CDROM drive, sound card with amplifier, and Internet access.
2. Stereo headphones
3. 56.6 kbps external modem
4. Foot pedal
5. UPS
6. Licensed software - English dictionary, medical dictionary, drugs reference dictionary, medical spellchecker, equipment glossary, abbreviation dictionary, etc.
Future of medical transcription
With the demand for quality medical transcription services rising, medical transcription (MT) outsourcing jobs seem to have a bright and secure future. Medical transcription is the most outsourced job in the healthcare industry and is provided with the aim of reducing both time and cost factors involved in the daily documenting of patient details. As the healthcare industry in the United States is closely associated with insurance firms, time-bound processing of patient records is essential for the smooth functioning of both healthcare and insurance firms.
Almost all US based healthcare facilities find medical transcription outsourcing to be highly beneficial and these services have now become an integral part of their daily functioning. By outsourcing these jobs, healthcare providers can concentrate more on providing better infrastructure and facilities for patients and have to worry less about hiring and training medical transcriptionists.
With most transcription facilities functioning according to HIPAA regulations, all patient records remain secure, confident and safe. To produce good quality patient records, most of these healthcare firms have employed highly skilled and experienced professionals in healthcare documentation, and their skills and knowledge play a key role in the success of these transcription firms.
India and Philippines are two emerging powers in the medical transcription field and are set to become the hub of future healthcare documentation jobs. The availability of a vast pool of graduates who are computer-literate and fluent in English and the turnaround time of 24 hrs for submitting assignments, are factors working in favor of the growth of healthcare transcription firms in these countries.
Right from its initial stages, the medical transcription industry has been undergoing revolutionary changes regarding the equipments and technologies used. From the initial typewriters and Dictaphone transcribers to high-end computers, the healthcare documentation industry is always moving with the latest trends in technology. The quality in operations and the flexibility of the industry in adopting new technologies all ensure that the medical transcription community will have a long and bright future
Almost all US based healthcare facilities find medical transcription outsourcing to be highly beneficial and these services have now become an integral part of their daily functioning. By outsourcing these jobs, healthcare providers can concentrate more on providing better infrastructure and facilities for patients and have to worry less about hiring and training medical transcriptionists.
With most transcription facilities functioning according to HIPAA regulations, all patient records remain secure, confident and safe. To produce good quality patient records, most of these healthcare firms have employed highly skilled and experienced professionals in healthcare documentation, and their skills and knowledge play a key role in the success of these transcription firms.
India and Philippines are two emerging powers in the medical transcription field and are set to become the hub of future healthcare documentation jobs. The availability of a vast pool of graduates who are computer-literate and fluent in English and the turnaround time of 24 hrs for submitting assignments, are factors working in favor of the growth of healthcare transcription firms in these countries.
Right from its initial stages, the medical transcription industry has been undergoing revolutionary changes regarding the equipments and technologies used. From the initial typewriters and Dictaphone transcribers to high-end computers, the healthcare documentation industry is always moving with the latest trends in technology. The quality in operations and the flexibility of the industry in adopting new technologies all ensure that the medical transcription community will have a long and bright future
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.
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.
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