Home Transcription and Work-Life balance

Many medical transcriptionist are de-prioritising achieving a work-life balance in today's work culture of high pressure and competitiveness.

According to a recent US study for the Center for Work-Life Policy, of the 1.7 million respondents who agreed they suffered from excessive work hours and job stress, a whopping 64 per cent admitted it was "self-inflicted", and was taking a toll on their lives. Eighty-one per cent of the respondents said work was adversely affecting their health while 46 per cent felt it was affecting their interpersonal relationships. 

While doing medical transcription work from home allows you to stay at home while letting someone else remain in control of the business aspects, if you are uncomfortable with it.

There is no rule as such for what a proper work-life balance is. Your personal circumstances, whether you are in your late 30s, married with children and living with inlaws or a swinging single, fresh out of university, determine your priorities. The bottom line is simply to invest some quality time for yourself, to allow yourself the chance to 'stop and smell the roses' rather than letting work and strain overcome you.

Home Transcription Jobs booming despite of recession

Despite global economic downtrend, the Medical Transcription (MT) industry is looking for a further growth buoyed by a report of the NASSCOM stating that recession has not hit the healthcare industry.

Reverse is the trend in medical transcription outsourcing in the US, which is witnessing agonising attrition in large scale in IT, financial, manufacturing and other sectors.

MT companies in India observe that the demand for medical transcriptionists is great. There is currently a shortage of qualified medical transcriptionists - and demographic trends suggest that the outlook will continue to be favorable for some time to come. Good medical transcriptionists typically have no problem in obtaining and maintaining employment.

“High-speed Internet access and faster, more reliable operating systems have made collaboration and information exchange more efficient than ever before. Technology advances such as these make it possible for us to offer home-based transcriptionists positions to our staff. This enables us to create a pleasant, family-friendly work environment that promotes both productivity and employee satisfaction,” says Anupam Gupta, HR Executive, MTHomeMD.com.

What is 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.

Advantage of being in India

MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTION AS A PROFESSION

In simple terms, MT is the conversion of doctors’ digitized audio files into text files. The doctor, while examining patients or performing surgery, dictates the details of the procedures into a Dictaphone which is attached to the computers. The data is collected and transferred to the respective Transcription Company in the form of voice files. The Transcription Company downloads these files and transcribes them using sophisticated software. Upon completion, these files are transferred back to the doctors via the Internet. 

Advantage of being in INDIA

1) A virtual 12-hour time zone difference with USA makes it possible for
us to meet the turn-around-time for MT work. Since we work when it
is night in USA, we are able to deliver work faster than Medical
Transcription companies based in USA
2) A huge pool of English speaking and skilled Computer literate
manpower.
3) Cost of employing qualified personnel is much lower than the USA.

Job Profile of Medical Transcriptionist

The primary task of the medical transcriptionist is to transcribe, format and proofread medical records. Medical records for transcription are primarily sourced from the USA. They are outsourced for transcription from a variety of healthcare settings including doctor's offices, private/public hospitals, clinics, laboratories, legal offices, veterinary and medical clinics, research centres. Dictations are done not only by doctors but also by surgeons, nurses pharmacists, therapists, nurses and other paramedical staff. Medical transcriptionists receive the doctor's dictation by tape, digital systems or as a voice data file. Digitised data through the Internet is the most common means of receiving medical data from the USA.

The local transcription company receives the data and they uncompress it. At this point, the medical transcriptionist takes over. Using a suitable word processing programme/application the audio file is transcribed and edited. There are two stages in MT. The first is the actual process of transcription by a medical transcriptionist. This is followed by proofreading and editing. The MT industry employs a number of proofreaders, junior and senior editors as well. Proofreaders and editors perform the following functions:

* Visual proofreading
* Electronic spellcheck
* Grammar check
* Checking for medical inconsistencies and inaccuracies

The medical record - now in text form - is then routed back to the concerned doctor or hospital.

Is Medical transcription on revival ?

Industry players unanimously agree. "The potential is huge," says Vishal Jain, CEO of Delhi-based Rekha Transcription India. All the key medical transcription companies, he notes, have been logging 30-50% growth. "We are all scrambling for capacity and this is because transcription companies in the United States are scrambling for capacity.

Indeed, that's what is driving this growth. While the $12 billion medical transcription industry there (US), is growing at 20%, the growth of employees is only 10%. The industry, says Valuenotes, will grow to $16.8 billion in 2010.

Around 30% of the work is outsourced in the United States, of which around 10-15% comes to India, which offers a huge cost advantage - work here is 30% cheaper.

Medical transcription was among the first IT-enabled services to be outsourced to India. It is the process whereby one transcribes medical records dictated by doctors and others, including history and physical reports. It is in demand in the US as the entire healthcare industry there is based on insurance and detailed medical records are needed for processing these claims.

After a boom in the mid-1990s, when a lot of mom-and-pop shops erupted on the scene, the industry went bust around 2001, following a huge decline in the quality of work.

Is home-medical-transcription a right career for me?

Medical transcriptionists are in demand.

Transcription services now range from small, one-person home-based businesses to sophisticated, high-tech corporations. Localmedical transcription services serve client hospitals throughout the nation. Some medical transcription services now employ both "on-site" and home-based medical transcriptionists. Medical transcription is a career that easily moves across geographic borders.

Many areas of the country are desperate for qualified medical transcriptionists. Fortunately, technological advances have allowed medical transcriptionists in one part of the country to work from home for employers located elsewhere.

Home based Medical Transcription

The simplest definition of Transcription is conversion of voice to electronic text form. Medical Transcription is an IT enabled service that requires specialized skills in utilizing Information technology in converting the voice data of the doctors who are in the US, consisting of patient history and medical advises into electronic documents. Medical transcription as an industry in India has shown very encouraging growth providing employment for millions of Indian youth, as well as business opportunities. Medical transcription is one of the fastest-growing professions in the country today, notifies the U.S. Department of Labor. It is ranked #14 in the top 25 professions and is ranked as a #1 home based MT career. The continuous growing demand for medical transcriptionists is attributed to a growing and aging population. Older age groups receive greater numbers of medical tests, procedures, etc. This growing demand is also spurred by the need for electronic documentation that can be easily accessed by providers, third-party payers, consumers, etc.

US Recession and Medical Transcription

Time has come for to realize that US financial crisis can affectMedical transcription industry too and will gradually effect transcriptionist wallet. As transcriptionist get paid by MT companies, and MT companies get paid by physicians, and physician get money from insurance companies or from the patients themselves.

The majority of patients don’t have insurance, then it depends upon how much cash do they have? 

If the income were suddenly reduced or eliminated, are they prepared? I’ll tell you one thing; Washington does not have a “bailout plan” for you personally.

That’s definitely not going to happen. So there will be no “government lottery.” As hard as it might be for you to believe, there are people who aren’t worried at all right now, why? Because they have no debt! If they lost their income, they won’t lose their home, they won’t lose their cars, and many of them have enough cash to live on for quite a while. Okay, debt free and worriless living is a different topic.

So, what do you think? Kindly cast you vote on the poll……..

Medical Transcription And Economic Crisis

Will US crisis affect Medical Transcription?

THE financial meltdown in the United States and general slowdown in the world economy will impact negatively on the call center industry.

We should start preparing for the worst, as American companies that invested in call centers in the India might pull out their investments in the industry.

Where as the medical transcription industry is stable, those accounts servicing the financial or banking sector of the US may be in jeopardy. Medical transcription is one of the services outsourced by US firms.

Medical Transcription as a career

A role of medical transcriptionist is basically to covert voice files to word documents.
The voice files are recorded/dictated by doctors or medical professionals. The transcribed word document is sent back to physician so that it can be printed or stored in computer as a softcopy.

Major business in medical transcription industry is sourced from United State of America.

To build your career in MT no "formal" educational ids required. There are some traditional schools impart trainings, certificate or diploma programs, Some Medical transcription companies do provide on job training too. The training improves the medical terminology knowledge, improves the ability to listen and type simultaneously. Such programs help the MTs to use playback controls like foot pedal.

A trusted certification is CMT (certified medical transcriptionist) and RMT (Registered Medical Transcriptionist) is given by AAMT (American Association for Medical Transcription). RMT is entry level medical transcription certification where as CMT is for advance level of transcription. Both of credentials are obtain after pass medical transcription test. 

The basic skills required are good knowledge of English language, medical terminology, good typing speed, and stamina to work on stretch, good grasping power.

The medical transcription industry has good growth potential and the salary in this field varies from 0 to 60 thousand rupees per month based on your experience and quality.

Operative Report

A surgeon or an assistant generally dictates the operative reports.

The OP report describes an operation or a surgical procedure for the purpose of correcting and diagnosing medical abnormality or disease. the core of the operative report is about the description of the surgical procedure performed. Another important section of the report is preoperative and postoperative diagnoses performed. Apart from these 2 section other information that are transcribed are physician name, date of procedure performed, indication and surgical findings.

Appropriate filing of medical records is an essential requirement for every physician. Operative note transcription is vital to surgeons. Generating an appropriate and well-timed dictation after an operative procedure is crucial for offering fine medical care to the patient.

How much work should an average medical transcriptionist (MT) produce

"How much work should an average medical transcriptionist (MT) produce in a
day" is one of the most frequently asked questions by managers, supervisors and
others who play numbers games. 

To answer the question we must agree on the definition of the average MT. In my opinion, defining the average MT is like searching for the Holy Grail. If you are looking for one, good luck. In my 10 years in this industry, I have yet to meet one...one who would admit it, at least.

MTs may be outpacing their furry friends when it comes to current-day demands. Both remain focused and work diligently for long periods of time, continuing to make extraordinary progress in relatively short periods of time. Given just the right amount of uninterrupted time, knowledge, and experience, both still deliver an impressive final product.

The answer to the question of how much work an average MT should be able to
produce has not changed. You can add to that statement that there is no such thing as an average MT.

Date Dictated and Date Transcribed

Date Dictated and Date Transcribed

These dates should be recorded to monitor dictation and transcription patterns as well as to provide documentation of when the work (dictation or transcription) was done. Some dictation and transcription systems are specially designed to automatically record these dates.

Health care reports are, among other things, legal documents. As part of risk management, dictation and transcription dates should be entered accurately and should not be altered.

Capitalize D and T and follow each by a colon and appropriate date, using numerals separated by virgules or hyphens.

Some facilities prefer to use six-digit dates and others, eight-digit. All these styles are acceptable.

D: 4/18/00
T: 4/19/00

D: 04-18-00
T: 04-19-00

D: 04/18/2000
T: 04/19/2000

Note: ASTM’s E2184, Standard Specification for Healthcare Document Formats calls for identification of the place of dictation as well.

When the month, day, and year are given in this sequence, set off the year by commas. Do not use ordinals.

She was admitted on December 14, 2001, and discharged on January 4, 2002. not ...January 4th, 2002 (4th is an ordinal)

Do not use commas when the month and year are given without the day,
or when the military date sequence (day, month, year) is used.

She was admitted in December 2001 and discharged in January 2002.

She was admitted on 14 December 2001 and discharged on 4 January 2002.

Best way to handling corrections revision of the Patient Record

The rules to modifying the Patient Record should be strong foundation for the enterprise seeking to develop policies and procedures. In order to ensure the admissibility of the medical record as evidence, the enterprise must first establish policies and procedures that address

• Author authentication
• Medical record access control
• Medical record archiving and retention
• Medical record security
• Medical record disaster recovery policies and procedures

By establishing controls over the creation of medical records, enterprises can ensure the nonrepudiation of corrections, revisions, additions, and addenda made in the normal course of business.

Ultimately, by controlling the how, who, where, and when of creating the medical record, the enterprise establishes the methodology for performing valid corrections, revisions, additions, and addenda.

The best practices of a healthcare enterprise can develop an effective and valid policy and procedure for the correction, revision, addition, and addenda of health information contained within the medical record.

The key characteristics of an effective policy and procedure include

• Author authentication and accountability
• Clear indication of correction or amendment date and time
• Policies and procedures that prevent unauthorized alteration of documents
• Clear delineation of parent document
• Clear delineation of corrected or amended document
• Notification of health information recipients when amendments and corrections occur
• Retention of the parent document for historical reference 

Though it is true that no single rule that addresses medical record correction and amendment exists, enough guidance is available to allow healthcare providers to develop a workable policy and procedure to address the creation of valid medical record corrections and amendments.