A good medical transcription means fast and accurate documentation of any medical record. Medical transcriptionists have to take care of many things along with transcribing a voice file. One can not provide the best transcription services until they take care of all the crucial factors of the job. The job gets tougher when one has to transcribe for the health industry. As it involves major health conditions and actual human lives.

One of the many factors that put your medical transcription service ahead of all the other services is the on-time delivery. A transcriptionist needs to be comfortable working at any given time and able to provide the final copies within quick turnaround time.

So what makes a simple transcriptionist a medical transcription expert? What are their responsibilities for this job? Here are the answers to all of your queries:

Primary Responsibility of Medical Transcriptionist
1) The first and most important responsibility is carefully transcribe dictated recordings from the medical professionals

2) Transcribe medical history, physical examination reports, operative reports, routine check charts, consultation reports, autopsy reports, diagnostic imaging studies, progress notes, and referral letters

3) Make sure you use the right terminology as per the medical industry’s norms

4) Make sure to efficiently utilize the speech recognization technology

5) The complete client/patient transcription related procedures, voice files, and data storage, and other documents that you deliver conforms or exceeds every HIPAA regulations. In other words, a transcriptionist has to make sure that each copy of the MT compliances with HIPAA

6)File document in the patient’s file

7) Translate medical jargon and abbreviations

8) Quality check by proofreading the final draft for errors and grammar and making updates as required

9) Store the final copy of the transcription on the secure server or sent it over to the client through a secure mode. Or the final documentation can be uploaded on the client’s EMR/EHR

Few Tips to Create High-Quality Medical Transcription
1) Carefully Listen to the Whole Voice File First
Many transcriptionists make the mistake of not listening to the whole audio first. Many believe that it is a waste of time when transcription can be done while listening word to word. However, the reality is MT can be done more accurately once you have the complete picture in mind. Making it practice will also enhance your writing speed. It is also helpful when you are listening to a completely new accent.

2) Don’t Rush Until you are Sure!
In the field of medical transcription accuracy is everything. You need to follow all the medical laws and documentation guidelines. Many people believe that clients are looking for quick delivery. Which is true only when you are delivering a high quality work. However, if your speed is compromising the accuracy of the MT, it is not worth it. Therefore, always make sure the final copy of the transcription is accurate and has no grammatical errors.

3) Get Habitual of the Lingo
Suppose you are working for a medical organization from a completely different region of the country or that belongs to a different country. What will happen? The first obstacle to come in your work will be the different accents and unique local dialects. You must enhance your listening skills. Especially, for regional English accents and local slangs.

4) Work on your Typing Skills
As the work is all about writing down the content of a voice file, it is quite obvious that you have great typing skills. A good typing practice will help you reduce typos and will improve your speed. In the end, it will help you generate great quality work in much lesser time.

In the medical industry, documentation of every minor to major details of every case is crucial. It has always helped the industry to evolve and be able to conquer diseases that were once thought to be incurable. A case history allows researchers from all over the world to understand, analyze, and find answers to any unpredictable situation. These documents are also used for educational purposes.

However, it is not always possible for a doctor or nurse or any other healthcare professional to take out the time and write down all the details of their cases or other significant activities from their daily schedule. Especially when their plates are already full of other epoch-making activities. That was the reason recording reports came into place. Such recordings allowed the medical professionals to smoothly go on with their day-to-day activities without worrying about creating physical reports, as these voice files can be sent for transcription for proper documentation.  

Medical Transcription (MT) is the process of documenting all the details by transcribing voice-recorded medical reports that are dictated by physicians, nurses and other healthcare practitioners. An MT includes voice files of everything from the dictation of chart reviews, operations, office visits, emergency room visits, diagnostic imaging studies to a final summary of a case.

As recorded reports reduce medical professionals’ burden, it is still a lengthy and time-consuming task for which many medicals, clinics, and doctors hire another staff. However, hiring people only for transcription work can be an expensive deal with their training, payroll, other benefits, sick pay, etc. 

Medical Transcription Services are made to reduce such hassles. These outsourcing services boast skilled and experienced professionals who can provide high-quality transcriptions promptly. 

A medical transcription service, like Eyered, does not only reduces medical industries’ expenses but also offers security and accuracy of content while keeping all the medical laws and best practices in mind. To understand why a medical transcription service can be the best decision for any medical organization’s growth, let’s have a look at how these services work to provide accurate and high-quality content.

To provide medical organizations with accurate and secure medical transcriptions these services make sure that every transcriptionist on these projects has knowledge, skills, and experience. They also have an error-proof process to ensure reliable and high-quality medical transcription.  

1. Medical dictation –
   Voice files are received in one of these formats;
   a. Pre-recorded digital files that can be uploaded on the safe server of the service provider
   b. Live recordings over calls through toll-free lines
   
   
2. Secure transfer –
   The major concern of any medical institute is keeping their patients’ confidentiality when they outsource MT. That’s why it is the highest priority of medical transcription services like Eyered. They make sure all the voice files received by them go through a strict security measure. To provide the clients with the at most satisfaction these services operate in HIPPA compliance. Along with that, they also follow international security regulations, use updated security software, and keep all the transcription work in house to make sure seal-proof protection of the data.
   
   
3. Transcription –
   Once these voice files are received, the transcription process gets started. A qualified and experienced team of transcriptionists who are familiar with the medical terminology are assigned to the project.
   
   
4. Quality Control –
   The final copy of the medical transcription goes through a diligent Quality Control team to ensure the accuracy of the transcription. Every document is checked for errors, and any required corrections are made there. Once ensuring the highest quality of the transcription it gets saved on a secure server.
   
   
5. Saved on Secure Server/EMR/EHR –
   The final copy from quality control team gets stored on a secured server or uploaded to clients’ EMR/EHR per their requirements. No data goes beyond these confines in any shape or form.
   
   
6. Delivered to Provider –
   The files saved on a secured server are then sent to the clients or as mentioned above uploaded on EMR/EHR.

Keeping a few health care processes aside, most of the health care processes either have an impact on the wellness aspect of the patient or they influence the revenue cycle management of the practice or the physician. For this particular reason, Health care practitioners and professionals like doctors, nurses, para-medicals and surgeons have some of the most stressful profiles across the globe! And aside from performing daily responsibilities of their health care processes diligently, health care professionals often need to document clinical and medical data for their records as well as future references. The documentation of patients’ health information and medical data is one of top critical processes that require experienced and skilled professionals to accurately document details!

One of the allied health care processes that rely on the accurate documentation of details is the medical transcription process – Any discrepancy in the medical transcription process needs to be immediately and effectively resolved and the reasoning for this is lucid: Any information that is incorrectly entered can lead to the hampering of current as well as future health care processes. For these particular reasons, it is absolutely essential that while transcribing each and every detail is documented accurately. It also needs to be ensured that there is no detail spared from the documentation process of medical transcription!

So lets’ understand, what role medical transcription process and its’ service provider’s play in the health care industry: 

• – The Health care industry today, is more of a collaborative community than it was ever before! This has led to the adoption of novice technology that has in turn sophisticated the processes leading to smoother work flow operations. The same holds true for the medical transcription industry! The process of medical transcription is especially essential in solving complex surgical cases where the opinion of various medical specialists is required. In such cases, the medical transcriptionist ensures that the flow of patient health information is facilitated in the most efficient manner! Thus, a collaborative process here helps the various health care professionals such as doctors, nurses, para-medicals and surgeons to implement the required diagnostic procedures and treatment plan.

• – The medical transcription process ensures that every health care professional involved in the process has the same patient health information and medical data to refer to. So whether its’ a doctor, surgeon, medical specialist or a nurse or any other supporting staff, they will all have the same set of data! This ensures that there are no communication errors within the staff and it also avoids any complications. It also helps the health care professionals to provide a high quality care to their patients!

• – It cannot be stressed enough that the process of medical transcription requires each and every detail to be documented with the utmost accuracy. There is almost no room for error and while that is obvious, lets’ explore but why is that the case? Well, the medical transcription process enlists the details of the diagnosis, treatment and the progress of the patient that has happened so far! These details further help the health care professionals to assess and plan patients future treatment plans. The details transcribed in the medical report help health care professionals to develop strategies and follow up plans to avoid any complications and ensure that the patient’s condition doesn’t worsen and there are no relapses especially in the case of chronic diseases.   

• – The medical transcription process not only helps to ensure that the work flow operations are smooth but it also helps in creating records for billing purposes. It helps to ensure that the health care professionals’ revenue cycle will not be hampered due to lack of records but how does the process exactly helps in the billing processes? Well, the process of medical transcription ensures that the transcribed medical records are not only accurate but also consistent and this is of tremendous value for the purpose of medical insurances and billing processes. A transcribed medical report that is consistent and accurate helps to verify insurance details easily thereby, preventing the hampering of a physician or clinic’s revenue cycle management!

• – The compliance requirements of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) truly revolutionized the health care industry! It is today, one of the most critical elements of the health care industry and requires health care professionals to protect patient health information with due diligence. How does a medical transcription service provider contribute to the compliance requirements of HIPPA? Well, not only does a transcribed report help to ensure that the treatment plan provided to the patient is of highest quality but it is also a record of details that can be provided in case there are any law-suits. A correctly transcribed medical report gives a security to health care providers against any legal battles that may arise in the future. If your medical transcription service provider is focused in providing you with high quality medical reports that are consistent and accurate, then these high quality medical reports can be employed to protect your practice and medical staff from any law-suits that may arise in the future. Thus, the medical transcriptionist carries a considerable amount of responsibility in delivering high quality medical reports that are correctly transcribed to each and every detail!     

These are some of the roles that the medical transcription and its’ service providers play in the health care industry! It is important to note that the health care industry is constantly evolving but during this progress, it requires to not only upgrade itself with education and technology but also maintain the documentation work-flow. The medical transcription process and its’ service providers help in the same which is why it is an integral and allied health care process that streamlines the workflow operations!

It’s no secret that today, one of the most booming industries across the globe is the health care industry but along with being one of the most booming industries across the globe, it is also one of the most heavily regulated industries that are required to follow the HIPAA compliance with strict adherence! Now, if you are wondering the reasons then, it is primarily because medical and health care processes directly impact either the patient’s wellness which is why it is absolutely essential that the health care professionals adhere to the regulations and follow the various compliances that are laid down by the industry professionals.

One of the compliances that no health care professional is unfamiliar with is HIPAA compliancy that requires the health care professional to protect the patient’s health information at all times! But how do you ensure as a health care professional that the medical transcription service company you sough to hire is taking all the measures to ensure HIPAA compliance?

Read More: Partial List Of the Rules and Regulations that We Strictly Follow While Delivering the Medical Transcription Services:

Well, lets’ explore the factors section by section that any medical transcription service company should undertake to ensure HIPAA compliance:

• Understanding the importance of privacy, security, and confidentiality:

Make sure that the medical transcription service company you seek to hire understands the meaning and difference between the three legs of the health care industry i.e. privacy, security, and confidentiality! These three terms privacy, confidentiality and security are quite often intertwined and they are used very interchangeably within the health care industry. However; each one of these plays a unique role in the health care industry. If you are a health care professional, you expect your medical transcription service company to understand the following in order to ensure HIPAA compliance:

• The Medical transcription service company you seek to hire must understand how HIPAA regulates confidentiality, privacy, and security for patient data!
  • What does HIPAA’s Act of privacy and Act of security govern?
  • Your medical transcription service company should understand the means of securing confidential information and maintaining the privacy of patient data.

• Customize Current Process to ensure HIPAA compliance:

A medical transcription service company must be willing to customize their current processes in order to take apt measures to ensure HIPAA compliance and there are various means of developing such processes. For instance: Developing a customized algorithm to splice audio/video files for random assignments to various medical transcriptionists is one way to ensure HIPAA compliance. Through this process, they don’t have access to the entire audio/video files and will only have access to a fraction of the file. This is one of the few ways to customize your current transcription processes and ensure HIPAA compliance!

• Developing robust infrastructure and impenetrable security walls:

In order to maintain HIPAA compliance, a medical transcription service company should be willing to develop infrastructure that has security walls to prevent both kinds of intrusion – physical as well as digital! Here, developing robust infrastructure means installing fingerprint access to restrict entries. This process allows only authorized personnel to access the operation areas. Another way to ensure robust infrastructure is by securing the servers so that there is no breach of patient data via digital means.

• Training Professionals in order to ensure they are HIPAA compliant

The next measure that ensures HIPAA compliancy within a medical transcription service company is the willingness to train the employees! It is essential that every professional employed within the medical transcription service company understand why it is important to protect and secure patient data at all times – They should be HIPAA compliant and trained to always adhere to HIPAA guidelines. Additionally, it must be ensured that the transcription professionals are securing patient data at all times and in order to do so, the medical transcription service company needs to conduct periodic HIPAA training for their employees.

• Offering Services of Extra Security and advanced confidentiality

Very often, there are instances when the doctor or the physician needs to ensure extra caution for particular cases. These cases may be very sensitive and it may be required by the physician to maintain discretion! In such cases, the medical transcription service company must be equipped to provide a service of advanced confidentiality. These services through a medical transcription service company can entail the following:

• If required, providing background checks of the employees. 
• The client should be able to interview the chosen employees. So they can make sure they are the right candidate to carry out the project.  
• Ability to sign any specific non-disclosure agreement and any other legal contracts as deemed necessary.
• Ability to customize the transcription process according to the requirements  

These measures ensure that the medical transcription service company is capable of providing the necessary security. That also helps to maintain the confidentiality and privacy of the patient’s health information and their medical data! If the medical transcription service company is willing to exercise caution, then they should focus on providing these security measures. These security measures ensure that the medical transcription service company takes all the steps to ensure HIPAA compliance!  

EyeRed Transcription Services only focus on providing you with high-quality transcription services. Above all, we also focus on ensuring that we take all the measures to be HIPAA compliant. Most importantly, we ensure that each and every transcriptionist professional handling your project is not only skilled to deliver high-quality reports but also understands the need to maintain confidentiality and protect the privacy of patient data.

Our organization assures you that you will not have to worry about the requirements of HIPAA compliance.

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!