Today, there are various industries, for instance: media, journalism, health care legal, etc. that constantly require skilled professional transcriptionists to create digitized texts from the voice recordings. The demand to carry out transcription processes is high and the requirement is on a regular basis but before we get into the requirements of the industry and why should you become a professional transcriptionist? Let’s understand what exactly the transcription process is!

As described earlier, it is a key requirement of various industries. The transcription process ensures smooth workflow operations and accurate documentation for future references. The transcription process requires professionals to be skilled at converting voice recordings into digitized texts. These digitized texts that are transcribed during the transcription process need to be error-free and they need to attain the utmost accuracy! The transcriptionist should have a stronghold on the English language and is competent in understanding the terminologies of the specified profession. Now you know what the daily requirement of the job is, so lets’ explore why you should adopt the profession of transcription?  

Listing Top 5 Reasons on why should you become a professional transcriptionist?

A high skill job that is challenging and rewarding!

The job of a professional transcriptionist is a high skill job that requires the transcriptionist to be proficient at many levels. Some of these are the following:

• The transcriptionist needs to be computer savvy
  • Should understand the technical terminologies  
  • Need to be proficient in the English Language
  • Should know how to use grammar correctly and implement punctuation. 
  • They need to be able to type accurately with speed!
  • They need to possess problem-solving and analytical skills.
  • And finally, they need to produce error-free documents which means Attention to detail needs to be one of their strongest suits!

Undoubtedly, the job of a professional transcriptionist is a high skill job that requires combating a lot of challenges on a daily basis but a job that challenging is also rewarding! It rewards through both, satisfactory and monetary means.

A challenging job pays well!

As described above, the job profile of a professional transcriptionist is a high skill job. In general, this industry pays well on average! The job of a professional transcriptionist generally pays 15 Dollars on an average. If you are a specialized transcriptionist of either the medical or legal industry, you can expect better pay than the general transcription industry standards. Some of the specialized industries that pay more than average are the medical and legal industries. These industries deal have special requirements because they deal with sensitive data that needs to be maintained private! These industries not only skilled transcriptionists but they also require professional transcriptionists. Who can understand the importance and need of maintaining data confidential which is why they are willing to pay well.  

READ MORE: HOW DO YOU BECOME A MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTIONIST WHO CAN WORK FROM HOME?

You can start at an entry-level and work your way up!

Professional transcription, you can start at an entry-level and work your way up to attain experience and skills. The primary reason for this is because; professional transcription jobs do not rely on a specific degree. Instead, they require skills!

For this particular reason, you can start at an entry-level. There are various companies that take the time to train their employees so that they are proficient in their jobs, however; you may need to complete certain certifications or attain a license, but that is completely dependent upon the field you choose.    

There is always a high demand for skilled professional transcriptionist!

It is always in suspicion that the transcription industry will reach a saturation point. Because today, there are numerous professional transcriptionists across the globe and while many are continually joining the workforce and tuning into the transcription process, truth is told, there is always a demand for more skilled professionals! This is one of the few industries that always has a high demand for transcriptionists.

READ MORE: MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTION AS A CAREER OPTION FOR DOCTORS

Flexibility to work from anywhere, anytime!

The job of a professional transcriptionist allows their skilled professionals to work from anywhere, anytime! This is one of the perks of the industry. There are various transcription service companies that offer the flexibility of time and place to their employees. Thus, the job of a professional transcriptionist is not for a specific location. As long as you are willing to work hard and submit your work within the specified timelines. Transcription service companies are willing to hire!

In a nutshell, it is one of the few careers that can be started at an entry-level. And, If you are dedicated to the industry, there is no stopping you from honing your skills and converting your entry-level job into a career!

Ever since the health care system of United States initiated an infrastructure to establish and develop a national database for the maintenance of health care records, the field of medical transcription and medical transcriptionists themselves have found their roles to be transformed but before we get into that, let’s understand what has brought about this transformation? Well, the answer is Electronic Health Records.

Electronic health record commonly abbreviated as EHR is a digital record filing system for patient data. Today, through EHR, it is possible to securely access a patient’s health information and medical data.  Electronic health records also make it possible within the health care professionals to share patient’s health care data almost instantaneously – This is extremely beneficial in terms of second consultations or when doctors require emergency consultations. But, how does this change anything in the medical transcription industry? And what are their subsequent impacts on the role of a medical transcriptionist?

Even though many fret that the integration of EHR’s into the health care system will completely digitize the processes and replace the services themselves, the reality is that the transcription services are now more secure than ever! So, how has the integration of EHR’s affected the technological aspects of the medical transcription industry? Well, with the implementation of EHR’s, the medical transcription software’s can safely and directly create an interface with the EHR’s – This allows the software to analyze data more effectively which eliminates any static information or any kind of flat files. The integration of Electronic health records has managed to create data fields that are not only secure but also discrete. The implementation of EHR’s required the medical transcription process to comply with HL7 data requirements which means that a demand was created for medical transcription software’s – These medical transcription software’s could recognize and analyze an advanced level of speech! This is one of the first few ways in how the implementation of EHR’s has transformed the medical transcription industry.

EHR has not just upgraded the medical transcription industry on the technological front but it has also altered and upgraded the process with which medical transcription is carried out. Due to the integration of Electronic health records within the health care system, demographic information of the patient is now easily available and it can be merged in a systematic manner with the medical transcription software. Thus, the patient demographic can be easily available for transcribing the medical reports and this in turn has significantly increased the speed of the medical transcriptionist thereby lowering the turnaround time for transcribing a medical report. In addition to integrating the information of patient demographics, electronic health records also include details of the admission and discharge of the patient. They also include any current ot other prior medical data that was deemed as necessary information for patient’s health and medical records. This information is available for access to the medical transcriptionist thereby making the EHR records like reference documents to transcribe medical reports. The Medical transcriptionists can refer to the EHR records as source files to understand the patient history and create a detailed transcribed report for the doctor if required. Though the integration of EHR records has altered the medical transcription process to an extent, the most significant change has been observed due to the editor which has reduced the process of manual transcription. This is the factor that has affected the role of today’s medical transcriptionist!

As the speech recognition software’s gain increasing popularity and this factor coupled with the transition to the EHR editor has significantly reduced the activity of transcribing a medical report from the scratch. This sought of has had negative implications to an extent but if we deem this change from an evolutionary aspect, we will be able to adopt the integration of EHR with an embracing vision! Though the process of creating a transcribed document from the scratch is now going to be extinct, transcriptionists can upgrade themselves to understand medical terminologies better. They focus on developing their editing skills which is now a core requirement. Although, the integration of EHR records into the health care systems and other technological inventions have transformed the role of medical transcriptionist, one aspect to factor in is that these technological advances may save time to develop a report but they will not be able to deliver a 100% accurate report.

The above mentioned aspects of the integration of EHR records have truly transformed the process and technological front of medical transcription as well as the medical transcriptionist’s role! But how have they brought about this transition? Well, as it turns out that the technology infrastructure needed an update as well so that the transcription reports were not simply digitized texts but they were patient data that could be used by the physicians for future data analysis and treatments which is why the narratives are subject to NLP.

NLP abbreviated for Natural Language Processing is a technology that understands the doctor’s dictation and converts it into digitized texts that is then entered into the specific data fields. NLP when paired with the medical transcription software integrates the dictation of the doctor directly into a pre-defined template – This has proven to be extremely beneficial when medical transcriptionists are working with various transcription vendors because a significant portion of the time that used to be invested in formatting the article according to the clinic is now saved. Thus, the integration of EHR records and technological advancement has not only increased the productivity levels but they have also standardized the processes and increased the turnaround time.

Medical transcription is the process of converting voice recordings into digitized texts. It can involve listening to the voice recordings of various health care professionals that may range from doctors, nurses to various other practitioners – This is the daily medical transcription job!

Medical transcription jobs require the transcriptionist to have two key skills – The first being; they should basic medical knowledge and experience in understanding medical jargon. The second requirement is that they should possess excellent typing skills, which does not mean that they should be only typing fast. It means that they should be typing fast with 100% accuracy. A combination of these skills along with a couple of others are required if you want a home based medical transcription job. Let’s get into scrutinizing details and learn how do you become a medical transcriptionist that can work from home?

• Experience Counts: Leaving a few companies aside, generally medical service providers require that their transcriptionists are skilled and experienced. They should have prior experience in transcribing medical reports in order to take up a work from home medical transcription job which is why we recommend starting off with an office based job if you are a fresher and then switching to work from home medical transcription job.

• Undergo Required Training Program’s: It is not a mandatory requirement but it is highly recommended that medical transcriptionists undergo training programs that are specifically designed for medical transcription jobs – These training programs could be either certificate programs or diploma courses that are offered by various institutions. When it comes to a medical transcription job, there are two types of certificates: The RMT which abbreviates for registered medical transcriptionist and CMT which abbreviates for certified medical transcriptionist. These certificates require the medical transcriptionist to appear for an entry-level exam and after the completion of the certificate program, the institution conducts periodical training to ensure that you are current and up do to date. The type of courses taught in these programs includes basics in anatomy and physiology, medical terminologies, grammar, punctuation and the correct use of syntax and medico-legal issues. These kinds of courses not only equip you for medical training jobs but they are also beneficial in explaining to your employer that you are current with the training required for the job.

• Honing of other Skills: In addition to certificate and training programs, it is essential that the medical transcriptionist hones their other skills so that they are adept to work from home for a medical transcription job. Some of the other skills that are required to be an exceptional and skilled medical transcriptionist include Strong research skills, analytical skills, being computer savvy, multi-tasking skills and most importantly being detail oriented. It is essential that the medical transcriptionist has the skill to focus on and churn high quality transcribed reports. This is only possible when they can pay attention to detail. Even though this is a key requirement for any job, how does it really apply to a medical transcription job? Well, when it comes to transcribing voice recordings of the doctors and the physicians, it is absolutely essential that the transcriptionist accurately notes the medication type and dosage forms that are administered to the patient. This kind of data needs to be accurately documented because any incorrect detail can change the meaning of the transcribed report significantly. In order to become a medical transcriptionist that can work from home, you need to be adept at honing your other skills.

• Equip yourself with Equipment: Generally, a medical transcriptionist working from the office will be provided for with some basic equipment that is necessary to carry out the medical transcription jobs, however, if you plan to work from home as a freelancer or an independent contractor, you will need to equip yourself with some basic types of equipment. These basic equipment include a computer, uninterrupted high-speed internet access, foot pedal, line counters, and headsets. If your home-based medical transcription job is due to a service providing company, you will probably not need to worry about this equipment, however, if you are going to take contracts or work as a freelancer from home to transcribe documents, you may need to equip yourself with the above-mentioned equipment.

• Medical Transcription Software’s: The addition of Medical Transcription Software to your equipment repertoire elevates your service providing skills. There are various Medical transcription software’s available within the industry and very often, you will use the same software that your service provider employer is using. However, if you are a freelancer taking up medical transcription jobs from home, we recommend trying and testing out some medical transcription software’s because they provide a wholesome package to carry out the transcription process.
The above pointers were some of the few ways that can equip you to become a medical transcriptionist that can work from home. Any transcriptionist whether based out of office or home must ensure that they are delivering high-quality medical reports within specified deadlines. Medical transcription jobs have a short turnaround time so a lax behavior will not take you further in this field – The transcriptionist must not only be skilled or experienced but they must be 110% dedicated towards delivered accurate transcribed reports within specified timelines. In addition, medical transcription jobs require the transcriptionist to self learn by implementing their research skills and expand their horizons by being inquisitive about the subject matter!

Today, the medical transcription industry is a global industry and is one of the few domains of the health care industry that has been constantly on the rise. If you take a look at the growth pattern of medical transcription services across the globe, you will realize that the last two decades have been indeed noteworthy for the medical transcription industry! This accelerated growth pattern can be attributed to the integration and implementation of digitized health care systems and automated reporting services.

Digitizing health care systems has led to a substantial growth of various health care domains and the same is true for medical transcription services as well! Technology has not only been advantageous in reducing process costs but it has also been advantageous in improving accuracy, portability and security of the medical transcription services. So let’s discuss further in detail as to how technology has revolutionized the services of medical transcription industry?

• Increased and Flexible communication – Technological advancements dawned it’s very first revolutionary transformation on our modes of communication. This was clearly seen with the advent of smart cell phones, application software’s like team viewer, skype and zoom conference calls that made virtual team meetings a reality! These technological advancements profoundly influenced our style of communication and revolutionized the medical transcription services industry in 2 ways – First being, there has been an improvement and increment of accuracy between physician’s and medical transcriptionist’s communication and the second being, since there is now flexibility in the way we communicate, the frequency of effective communication within the medical transcription industry has increased very rapidly. These changes have had a very positive impact on the medical transcription services because now, the medical transcription service provider can communicate more effectively and precisely with the doctor.
• Flexible Communications lead to Flexible Solutions – The second revolutionary transformation that the medical transcription services industry has observed is that now service providers can offer their clients flexible solutions. With the various technological solutions that are available today, it is possible for doctors and physicians to conduct medical dictations anywhere and at any point of time. Following are some of the ways that a medical transcription service company can offer flexible solutions:
  • A Medical transcription service company can offer app’s which accept the medical dictation by the doctor directly. So, all the physician or the doctor will need to do is install the app on their smart phone and simply record and conduct the medical dictation into the app. The medical dictation will then be transferred to the medical transcription company’s servers and here, they will be stored securely which can then be accessed by the medical transcriptionist.  
  • Another way that the service provider can offer flexible solutions to their clients is offering a toll-free number. Here, the doctor can simply call the toll free number, follow instructions as laid down by the automate messages and then simply record the medical dictations over the phone.
• Employing Speech Recognition Technology – Speech recognition software’s use algorithms to convert voice messages into digitized texts and they have been very helpful to medical transcription service providers as well as doctors and physicians. Although, there has been some debate on employing speech recognition technology within the medical transcription service industry, they have proven to be successful in saving time! Speech recognition technologies can surely convert the medical dictations into digitized texts but there are chances that the dictation may not be 100% accurate especially if the medical dictations include complex terminologies. One of the best ways to deliver high quality flawless reports is to have a certified medical transcriptionist review and edit the transcribed reports that have been generated by the software. Even though, speech recognition technology has limitations in terms of delivering an absolutely accurate report, it can be employed in simpler dictations or in conjunction because speech recognition software’s have an added advantage of generating reports within a short time frame.
• High Security Solutions to Protect Patient Health Information – Another added advantage of technology within the medical transcription services industry has been that now, advanced technology can be used to build sophisticated software’s that are capable of providing high security solutions to protect patient data. Outsourcing health care services has always been a cause of concern among health care practitioners for various reasons – There has always been the risk of data leakage or data compromise but premium medical transcription services understand these challenges and they are today, incorporating high end security solutions and sophisticated encryption technologies to protect patient health information. Technology has provided support to medical transcription service industry so that they can provide a high level of security and protect all the details that are transmitted by the doctor or the physician to themselves. 
• A Digitized Filing System through Electronic Health Records (EHR’s) or Electronic Medical Records (EMR’s) – Ever since the advent of health care entities, it was always crucial to maintain patient health information and any medical records in a systematic manner that is easily accessed but secured. For many decades, health care organizations stored patient data as physical files in locked cabinets. Although this filing system has been effective for many and is still practiced today, it continues to be a cumbersome process. Also, there is always a risk of theft or damage to patient data but technology has now provided the health care system with an alternative! Today, health care organization can use a digitized filing system that is known as EHR and EMR. EHR’s and EMR’s are increasingly being employed across the globe – They provide an easy access to patient’s medical data from anywhere across the world and with the right security systems, they follow the health care compliances. But how can EHR or EMR revolutionize the medical transcription services industry? Well, If a medical transcription company has the means to invest in a high end technology, they can send the transcribed document in the required format to file it digitally and directly into the EMR or EHR system.     

These are some of the few ways in how the technology has revolutionized the services of medical transcription industry! Eyered medical transcription services is always evolving towards employing high end technologies so that we can offer premium services to our health care providers.

Today, the health care industry is one of the most booming industries of the world but it is also one of the few industries across the globe that is heavily regulated and is required to follow strict adherence to the compliances! If you are wondering why is that the case? Well, it is primarily because health care and medical processes have a direct impact on the patient’s well being and for this particular reason, health care industries are heavily regulated and it is of the utmost importance that the health care professionals strictly follow the compliances that have been laid down according to the industry.

In addition to following the compliances and regulations, it is also critical for any health care professional to ensure that the patient data is protected at all times – It is extremely crucial that the patient health information is not shared to any other than the concerned personnel and that the patient data is used very discreetly at all times.

Now, most of the times when health care professionals discuss how to protect patient’s medical information, it’s the HIPAA term that comes to the mind and while that is a critical compliance to follow, it is also important to understand the concepts of confidentiality, privacy and security. These three concepts may seem intertwined but they are very often interchangeably employed however; each of these is fundamentally different from one another! So let’s understand the whys and what’s of each of these concepts:

Confidentiality: The term confidentiality within the health care industry means that the health care professionals have a legal obligation towards keeping patient’s medical information confidential. This is also very clearly stated in the privacy rule of HIPAA! HIPAA terms that it is extremely crucial that health care professionals protect patient’s medical information at all times and do not disclose it to unauthorized professionals. HIPAA terms also state that any health care professional accessing the patient’s data must take all the reasonable steps to ensure that the confidentiality of patient data is not compromised!  

Privacy: The next term that health care professionals must understand is privacy which is very distinct from confidentiality. Privacy too safe guards’ the information but privacy is viewed as the individual’s right to keep their personal information to themselves. As a health care professional, one must understand that privacy of a patient means that they have rights to withhold or share their personal information. Just like the term confidentiality is governed by the privacy rules of HIPAA terms, the tern privacy is also very clearly explained here! The main aim of the privacy rule of HIPAA terms is to ensure that the health and medical information of each and every patient is protected at all times and under all circumstances.

Security: The last term that health care professionals must be aware of is the term security! Security literally means protection and within health care organizations, it specifically means protecting the privacy of health care information. Security also refers to providing support to health care professionals who are protecting this information i.e. they are fulfilling their duties of maintaining confidentiality. Security has always been an integral part of the health care system. Ever since the advent of professional health care entities and clinics, securities have been implemented to protect the patient data. For instance: Filing of medical records in a locked cabinet is one such example or the maintenance of confidential health care data in a locked room that is accessible only to authorized personnel through finger print is another such example. The overall goal of security is to provide protection so that the patient data is safely secured within the organization! Just like the way Privacy and confidentiality are governed by HIPAA terms, Security is also governed by the terms of HIPAA. To maintain the security within health care organizations, there is a specific security rule stated by HIPAA. You can find this security rule at subparts A and C of Part 164 and 45 CFR, Part 160. HIPAA terms dictate that when it comes to protecting patient’s personal information and medical health records, there should be a standardized procedure to do so. Hence, the HIPAA security rule states that there will be national standards to secure any patient information that is electronically stored. All the personal health information that is received or created needs to be maintained in a covered entity. In addition the security rules of HIPAA terms that all the information needs to be safeguarded both ways, technically and physically to ensure confidentiality of the patient data. The security rules also require the health care entities to allocate appropriate administrative resources to ensure that the patient data is not tampered with and maintained well.    

The terms privacy, confidentiality and security may seem extremely intertwined but they all have a very unique role in the health care industry. As a health care professional, one must understand that HIPAA terms not only incorporate but regulate the important concepts of confidentiality, security and privacy! It is also important to note that it is possible to have security without privacy and confidentiality but it is not possible to have this the other way round. In other terms, any health care organization must secure confidential information to maintain privacy of the patient data! 

In order to protect patient information, one must not only be aware of the HIPAA terms but they must also be aware of how confidentiality, privacy and security should be maintained according to HIPAA privacy and security rules so that patient data is not compromised under any circumstances. When it comes to following compliances and protecting the patient’s medical information, it is these three concepts along with the HIPAA terms that form the three stable legs of the health care system!