Inside Medical Transcription

The simple act of working as an MT provides an individual with continuing education. As we listen to dictation and our fingers fly across the keys, something unique is happening-we are absorbing information that is being stored in our memory banks. The best example of that is that while watching a nature show about gorillas recently and hearing the narrator start to talk about tracing the male gorilla’s ancestry back to the original female, I made the comment to my husband that they do this by using mitochondrial DNA because mitochondrial DNA is only passed through the female line.

Shortly after I completed my comment, the narrator said the exact same thing. My husband was curious as to how I knew that and I proudly said “I learned it while working on my genetic medical reports!” By truly listening to and not just hearing what is transcribed, the MT gains a valuable education in any and all specialties they work on. There are exciting facts to be learned if one just listens. Much of what we learn while transcribing becomes second nature-we hear it so often we know when a term is off kilter or just not quite right.

In addition, the constant research that needs to be done when coming into contact with new terminology, new medical devices, and new medical procedures provides us with a continuing education. In order to know that what we are typing is accurate, we must understand the meaning of new terminology, the function of a new device, or the purpose of a new procedure. Therefore we are absorbing new information on an almost daily basis. The Internet provides endless avenues for research.

As you research a new medical word or a new procedure, take a few moments to read the article that surrounds it-print it out for reading at your leisure. The Internet is one avenue for obtaining new knowledge, but there are others. If you work in a medical office setting, take the time to ask the doctor questions-you would be surprised at how often they are willing to expound on their area of expertise. Television can often be another avenue for continued learning. Some of the educational channels often show programs having to do with the health sciences and the newest technologies being used-you can learn fascinating things about Genetics, Cardiology, Plastic Surgery, Orthopedics, and other medical specialties this way.

For some MTs there is a unique way of increasing their knowledge-one that hopefully not many have to partake of too often. In our daily lives we all receive medical care in some form or fashion. This may involve procedures that you hear on a regular basis while transcribing, but have no idea of how they really function, such as an IVP or a renal arteriogram. I had always imagined an IVP (intravenous pyelogram) as something complicated until I had to have one done and discovered “oh, it’s an x-ray done with contrast dye while lying on an x-ray table.”

Not nearly as scary as it sounded. When I had to have a renal arteriogram, I immediately asked the doctor if I would be able to watch. Thanks to an anesthetic that did not put me to sleep, I paid very close attention to the overhead screens and watched the doctor perform this delicate procedure. I now have a real understanding of what a renal arteriogram is when I type those words because I can actually visualize it.

Whatever form continuing education takes, as MT’s it is extremely important that we continue to learn and obtain new information, thereby making ourselves proficient experts in our profession.

For years before telecommuting became a buzz word, medical transcription was taking place in homes all across the country. It remains an excellent option for the primarily female workforce. Women who want to be able to contribute to family finances or support their family while having the flexibility of working at home will find medical transcription challenging but rewarding, but choosing the right transcription school is absolutely essential.

What is medical transcription?

Medical transcriptionists listen to recorded dictation from healthcare providers who are documenting patient records. It is very similar to taking dictation for any other profession, but requires a highly specialized knowledge of medical terminology, anatomy and physiology, laboratory values, and pharmacology.

Getting an education

A good education is absolutely essential. It’s very difficult to get your first job, and nearly impossible if you haven’t gone to the “right” school. Entrants find themselves in a classic “catch-22,” needing experience to get a job and unable to get it.

A thorough education through the right transcription schools can help immensely in launching a successful medical transcription career. Many schools maintain agreements with employers and/or have job placement services for graduates.

The transcription school you choose should have:

• A curriculum developed by credentialed and experienced instructors.
• Instructors who are credentialed, experienced or both.
• At least 30 hours of real practice dictation tapes, not tapes recorded in a studio.
• A basic curriculum that includes English language, grammar and usage; medical terminology, anatomy, physiology, pharmacology; elements of style; privacy and security; technology.
• A commitment to participating in the transcription education community, visibility at meetings, supporting ongoing education, education standards, transparency and relationships with industry leaders.

The last thing you want is to spend money to get an education, only to find you can’t get a job. Careful attention to what makes a good medical transcription education will lead you to the best transcription schools and a successful start to your at-home career.

In medical transcription, the thing that often makes all the difference between success and failure is the number of errors that might have been made by a transcription company. Most of the medical transcription projects are now outsourced to third party medical transcription companies and since clients expect a very high level of performance, these companies just cannot afford to make mistakes.

This is the reason why many of these companies have now started deploying time-tested and highly-effective quality control management methodologies such as Six Sigma. To get a better understanding of how useful Six Sigma actually is for the medical transcription companies, we’ll discuss some of its associated benefits.

Significant Reduction in Transcription Errors

Since lives depend on accuracy, medical transcription executives just cannot afford to make errors while converting voice messages into electronic text form. Not to mention the transcription company’s losses in case the errors exceed the acceptable limits, leading to the decommissioning of the entire project. However, since transcriptionists also have to meet deadlines, it often becomes quite difficult to achieve that perfect balance of productivity and quality. This is exactly where Six Sigma comes into play.

What Six Sigma does is that it helps businesses to identify the root cause that might have been responsible for the majority of errors committed by transcriptionists. Six Sigma focuses on the majority simply because it’s just not possible for a company to look into each and every error committed while transcribing. After identifying the root cause, Six Sigma helps businesses to devise effective solutions that are acceptable to both the top management officials and the transcription executives hired by the company.

This way Six Sigma is able to solve the problems without affecting the morale and motivation of the employees.

Improved Quality Control

By combining statistical tools and techniques with advanced IT systems, Six Sigma enables transcription companies to keep an effective check over the final output. This certainly helps in improving output quality, but what is even better is that the objective is achieved without incurring huge costs. This becomes a possibility because most of the quality control systems are automated and have the capability to identify even the most difficult to detect errors and inaccuracies that might have occurred while transcribing.

Since no additional manpower is required for improving and maintaining the desired quality levels, medical transcription companies are able to make huge savings and that too without compromising on quality.

Six Sigma in the medical transcription business may be a relatively new phenomenon, but still there are many instances that prove the usefulness of Six Sigma in this highly demanding business domain. For proof, you just have to compare the ‘before and after’ financial statements of the transcription companies that have implemented Six Sigma. You can then easily notice that the results after the implementations are far better than they were earlier.