Medical Transcription Proofreading Tips

The correct attitude for a Medical Transcriptionist should be one of independence and responsibility for his or her work. Medical Transcriptionists function with a minimum of direct supervision. The majority do have an immediate supervisor "somewhere" responsible for quality control. Working as a professional Medical Transcriptionist means to take pride in the accuracy and completeness of your work. A professional gains satisfaction from a job well done.

Excellent proofreading skills are critical for a Medical Transcriptionist. Proofreading is looking for mistakes of all types in a transcribed document and correcting them. The most common errors a Medical Transcriptionist will be looking for include:

• Omission of important dictated words
• Selecting the wrong English or medical word
• Misspelling words
• Typographical errors
• Grammatical errors
• Punctuation errors

Proofreading skills will improve with practice. You will know what your areas of weaknesses are as you proofread and find your errors. If you find that you miss few medical words, but misspell many English words, you can improve by paying particular interest in English words as you transcribe and proofread dictation.

Consider the following four-step method to help you achieve the best results from your proofreading:

1. Look words up in reference books as you encounter them. Don't wait until the end of the report. You will have forgotten how some of the words sounded. Search until you find and don't go any further in your medical transcribing until you find the words you get stumped on. Leave a blank if you exhaust all resources and still cannot find your word.
   
2. Briefly proofread what you transcribe as it appears on the screen of your word processor or the paper you are typing on. This will help you catch missed words and typographical errors as they occur. Print out your reports on paper if you are using a word processor. It is easier to proofread the printed report on paper than it is on the screen.
   
3. If you just cannot find a word, leave a blank of an appropriate length, according to how long or short the word sounds. Attach a flag (a flag is a sheet of paper clipped to the report or a sticky note placed on the report which identifies all blanks, which lines of the report they are located on, and what the dictated word sounded like to you.
   
4. Use a medical or English spellchecker as the final step in proofreading. Spellcheckers will not catch errors such as transcribing no instead of not or transcribing ilium instead of ileum.
   
   Excellent proofreading skills come only after continual practice to perfect. Consider the following tips:
   
   
   • To avoid omitting important dictated words adjust the speed control on the transcriber unit and transcribe slowly to assure no dictated words are overlooked. Slowly increase your speed of the tape, which will increase transcription speed as you learn to keep up with the dictator.
     
   • The tape recording (if you are transcribing from a tape) does not perfectly reproduce the human voice. Sometimes the words and phrases sound garbled or something quite different from what they really are. A Medical Transcriptionist should never transcribe what he or she "thinks" they hear. You should transcribe only what makes sense in the context of the report. Careful word searching and careful attention to word definitions help the Medical Transcriptionist to avoid selecting the wrong English or medical word. The wrong medical word can convey a wrong diagnosis for a patient. The error can be carried in the patient's permanent medical record and cause extreme havoc and chaos. The professional Medical Transcriptionist NEVER transcribes anything that does not make sense and/or cannot be verified in a reference book. In other words, don't just make up a word either just to fill in all the blanks. It is better to leave a blank.
     
   • Misspelling of medical and English words can be avoided by careful proofreading and using a spellchecker.
     
   • Typographical errors are usually the result of carelessness or attempts to type too fast rather than focusing on accuracy. Careful proofreading will eliminate typographical errors.
     
   • Grammatical errors are hard to catch while transcribing and must be identified through careful proofreading.
     
   • Punctuation errors can actually change the medical meaning of a sentence. Keep your punctuation references within easy reach.

About the Author:

Connie Limon, Medical Transcriptionist. Visit us at http://www.aboutmedicaltranscription.info for more information about the unique and rewarding career choice of Medical Transcription. Join Camelot Articles http://www.camelotarticles.com and submit your original articles for website promotion and backlinks.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/

New speech recognition technology introduced

Coimbatore (TI): Manila-based SPi, a leading global BPO provider, on Wednesday introduced state-of-the-art Speech Recognition Technology into its transcription platform (Chartnet), at its facility here.

This new technology is considered to be the most advanced in the medical transcription industry and has transformed the Company's facility into a truly world-class one, S N Srinivasan, Director of India Operations, SPi Healthcare, told reporters on Wednesday.

With 40 million lines transcripted across the Globe this year, it would be doubled the next year using this advanced technology, he said.

On the benefits of the technology, Srinivasan said there would be significant improvements in accuracy, 30 to 50 per cent gain in productivity and faster turnaround times and the ability to take on higher volumes of work.

In addition, it would allow the company to advance the careers of its medical language specialists by providing them with higher level skillsets and a greater variety in the work that they are doing, he said.

The company, with delivery centres in Delhi, Chennai Puducherry and Coimbatore in India, would expand its client-base and also employees from the present 1500 across the country.

SPi, which took over a city-based medical transcription company a couple of years ago, would soon acquire two companies- one E-learning and another Multimedia-- in India, Srinivasan said.

Source: http://www.hindu.com/

Medical Transcription Career Benefits

What are the benefits of a medical transcription career? This article gives you more information about why a career in medical transcription is a great choice.

Have you been thinking about a medical transcription career? What's holding you back?

Medical transcription is a great career choice which allows you the flexibility to work from home, earn a good living and have full career control.

As a medical transcriptionist your work will be exciting and vary every day. You'll build relationships with doctors and other hospital staff. You'll have a career that's lucrative, exciting and prestigious.

There are also many differnet choices for jobs. You can choose to work from home for a national online company or for a local company.

You can choose to work at a local hospital or doctor's office. You can start your own local business with small doctor's accounts.

Or you can choose to start your own home based medical transcription business. Your clients can be local where you pick up a micro cassette (where the dictation is recorded) or you can choose to have national clients where they dictate onto wav files which you receive over the internet.

The possibilities for medical transcription job choices are endless. You can choose as many or as little of the above choices as you'd like. Medical transcription is a business where you really do have full control of your earnings and growth.

And there is no shortage of medical transcription jobs in site, so you can be sure this will be a long-term profitable career. Here's what the US Department of Labor has to say:

“Employment of medical transcriptionists is projected to grow faster than average for all occupations through 2014. Demand for medical transcription services will be spurred by a growing and aging population.”

Source : http://www.askthemt.com/

Digital File Types for Audio Transcription

There are a variety of recording systems available, suitable for dictation to conference recording. If you already have a digital recording mechanism, there is a good chance that it will record a variety of different file types for different purposes. This article aims to discuss these different types and suggest the right one for you, depending on your circumstances. If you are still considering which digital recording device to purchase then you have the opportunity to consider the file types it will produce before you buy.

If you do not know what file types you are working with, you can tell by looking at the file extension. This is the set of three letters that follow the dot, as in, for example, 'interview.wav'

The different file types all have advantages and disadvantages for transcription services, the most obvious of which is a trade-off between quality and file size. Sound files can be very, very large if they are not compressed, but compression is 'lossy'; in other words a complete or 'lossless' audio file has been taken and compressed, which removes data that is considered redundant, resulting in reduced audio quality, which can cause problems for the transcriber.

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ZyDoc Medical Transcription Enhances the Practice Fusion EMR

ZyDoc Medical Transcription (http://www.zydoc.com/index.htm)announced today it has formed a business alliance with Practice Fusion, Inc. ZyDoc will offer transcription services that are tightly integrated with Practice Fusion's EMR. Both systems are ASP based and will work from any Internet-connected computer.

With no change in work habits, doctors can dictate from any telephone to the TelDoc system or utilize handheld professional digital recorders. The dictation and records are tracked on the ZyDoc TrackDoc Internet site, similar to UPS packages, and are transcribed and returned within the required turnaround time as quickly as two hours. The highly accurate transcribed reports are available on the web and after review are automatically inserted into the Practice Fusion EMR system as part of the specific patient record.

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General Recording Tips for Transcription

When recording an interview, meeting, lecture or other event with the intention of having it transcribed later, you can help make the transcription process as efficient and accurate as possible. While it's not always possible to follow all of these tips, taking them into account can help ensure better transcription by improving sound quality and minimizing incidental noise.

The better the recording, the more accurate and cost-effective the transcription will be.

As much as possible, try to follow these guidelines for best results:

• Ask participants to avoid talking at the same time.
  
  
• Before you start the event, a sound check (where you record a few words from each subject and then listen to make sure the result is clear) is helpful. When doing a sound check, make sure to speak at the distance from the mike that you will be at during the entire interview.
  
  
• Try to minimize background noise. Some common sources of background noise include:
  
• Traffic, construction and other street noise coming through open (or even closed) windows.
• Noise from other rooms or hallways through open doors.
• Machinery running in the background, e.g. fans or air conditioners.
• TV sets and radios.
• People making noise in the background.
• Pets or other animals.
• Clocks that chime (especially those that do so every fifteen minutes).
• Doors shutting or slamming.
• Coughs, sneezes, etc.
• If anyone is leaving or entering the room during the conversation, encourage them to close the door softly and encourage speakers to pause while the door is being opened.
  
  
• Ensure that a microphone is close to the person speaking. One mike per person is ideal.
  
  
• Try to place microphones quite close to the speaker and pointing directly toward him or her.
  
  
• If in an interview with only one microphone, direct the mike to the interviewee as it will be less of a concern to miss out on transcription of the questions than the answers.
  
  
• If you have a choice of microphones, you might prefer an omnidirectional mike (which picks up sounds from all directions) if you do not have one mike available per speaker or if a speaker will be moving during the event. Conversely, directional mikes work best if you have one mike per speaker and the speakers will not be moving much.
  
  
• If you use lapel mikes, make sure they won't be rubbed by a piece of clothing and that they pick up the speaker's voice when his or her head is turned.
  
  
• If recording onto a cassette:
  
  • Make sure the tape is wound ahead or runs for ten or fifteen seconds before beginning to talk; otherwise the beginning of the recording can be cut off.
    
  • If possible, pause the conversation when flipping the tape over. You may wish to time the event and flip over or replace the tape at a convenient natural pause (e.g. when a speaker is taking out visual aids and not talking) when you are close to the end of the tape.
    
  • If you are using a machine that records at two different speeds, you will get better quality sound with the faster tape speed. This is the one that puts less total time on each cassette, but the difference in the sound quality is significant. Using the higher speed will make for fewer inaudible sections during the transcription.
  
  
• If possible, encourage speakers to make some verbal reference to things they may be indicating visually.
  
  
• If it's important to get down references to people, places, Web sites, organizations, etc. that the transcriber might not know or be able to easily distinguish, it's ideal to repeat them clearly or even spell them out.
  
  
• Alternatively, if your project involves reference to much jargon, or technical terminology, consider sending the transcriptionists a list of terms likely to have been used. The more context the transcriptionist has, the more accurate their work.
  
  
• If you feel comfortable that the recording is quite clear, you may wish to urge an interviewer not to repeat back what the respondents say, as some interviewers are inclined to do. Alternatively, you might direct that the transcription leave out such repetitions.
  
  
• Alternatively, if you're concerned about sound quality of a recorded interview, you might prefer to have an interviewer repeat important responses.
  
  
• If an interviewer is using a standard list of questions, you may want to provide that list with the recorded interview.

Source : http://www.wordsworthcoop.com/

Kerala e-Kendras to impart medical transcription training

Kerala's drive to tap ICT to fuel development is entering a new phase with a training programme on medical transcription set to be launched by the end of this month.

The state's networked multipurpose community technology centres, known as Akshaya e-Kendras, will launch the training programme initially in Malappuram district.

Medical transcription training is being conducted in collaboration with Keltron (Kerala State Electronics Development Corp) and will be monitored by the state's IT Mission.

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Medical Transcription Tips for Word Searching

Word searching is locating the medical word that is correct both in spelling and meaning. This is a Medical Transcription skill that takes time and practice to develop.

Tip #1:

If you find yourself unable to locate a medical word in your reference books, it might be the word has an initial letter different than the sound or initial letter you hear. For example, the v sounds very much like that of f, the letter m may actually be an x (xiphoid) and the k might be ch (ischemic).

In addition, medical terms that contain silent letters such as euthyroid, herniorrhaphy, pneumonia or words frequently mispronounced such as menstruation present a unique challenge for the Medical Transcriptionist.

Experience is often more the teacher in using available resources. The longer you remain a Medical Transcriptionist, the more proficient you will become in determining sound-alikes and locating terms with silent letters.

Tip #2:

When you are unable to locate a phrase under a particular entry, look under a related entry.

Tip #3:

When you hear a phrase you cannot understand, look first under the noun and not the adjective. Nouns usually follow adjectives. An example: If you are looking for bullous emphysema, look under emphysema (the noun) and not bullous. To find particular diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, look under disease.

An exception to the above tip is that in Latin phrases, the noun is followed by the adjective such as “fascia lata,” and “ligamentum flavum.” You would look under the first word with Latin phrases. Bacterial names are another exception in that the genus is given first, followed by the species: Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

If you exhaust all you know to do when word searching on the job, a Medical Transcriptionist should:

1. seek another transcriptionist’s opinion
2. refer to the patient’s chart
3. contact the dictating physician for clarification
4. leave a blank in the report and attach a note so that the dictator may insert the correct word
   

If you leave a blank in the report, you should flag the report by attaching a note with a paperclip. The note should list all blanks left in the report, and giving as many details as possible for ease of identification such as page and line number. The Medical Transcriptionist may also give a phonetic spelling of what the word or words sounded like to assist the dictator in filling in the blank or blanks.

The main thing to remember about word searching is to never guess at a word. A blank in the medical report does not reflect poorly on the Medical Transcriptionist who thoroughly researched for the words and exhausted all else before leaving the blank. Leaving a blank is the correct thing to do. Integrity and accuracy of the medical report is much more important than presenting documents that never leave blanks.

Source :

Connie Limon, Medical Transcriptionist. Visit us at http://www.aboutmedicaltranscription.info for more information about the unique and rewarding career choice of Medical Transcription.

Investment Authority explores new industry

The Antigua and Barbuda Investment Authority (ABIA) has announced that it is partnering with two overseas companies to launch the medical transcription industry in Antigua and Barbuda.

Transcriptionists are expert in reproducing the technical terms of a medical professional after seeing a patient into a written form for future reference.

Three industry officials from Interfix Corporation and Transcription Relief Services International are expected to hold meetings on island this week, holding talks with the government and prospective business partners about the infrastructure needed to establish the industry here. Interfix provides medical transcription technology, wile Transcription Relief deals with the recruitment and training of transcriptionists.

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What is the Demand for General Transcription?

The need for general transcriptionists is good. This is due in part to the fact you’re able to take on a variety of different clients. Some transcriptionists choose to niche into a specific field such as real estate, insurance or marketing and still have plenty of work to keep them busy.

Whether you chose to concentrate on one specific field or transcribe for various fields, there are always plenty of opportunities to find clients.

As with many other service-oriented businesses, many of your clients may come from recommendations from past clients. By providing a high quality service and meeting the needs of your clients, you’ll greatly improve your chances for success in this type of business.

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Abnormal glutamine repeats interfere with key transcription factor, leading to neurodegeneration

Although repeating sequences of three nucleotides encoding some of the bodies' 20 amino acids are a normal part of protein composition, abnormal expansion of trinucleotide repeats is the known cause of multiple inherited neurodegenerative disorders, including Huntington disease.

Scientists at Emory University School of Medicine, in research with mice, now have discovered more specific information about how this inherited expansion of a normal repeated DNA sequence alters gene expression. The research is reported online in the journal Nature Neuroscience.

The inherited diseases caused by an abnormal number of glutamine repeats (generally, more than 37) are known as polyglutamine, or PolyQ diseases. The diseases lead to a progressive degeneration of nerve cells usually affecting people later in life. Although these diseases share the same abnormal expansion of the repeated glutamine sequence and some symptoms, the repeats for the different PolyQ diseases occur in genes on different chromosomes.

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Medical Transcription Practice Tapes: Ways to Achieve Proficiency in Medical Transcription

A keen sense of hearing is an ace in the game of medical transcription. A typical hearing acuity alone will not assure a 100% accuracy in the medical transcripts you produce. If you wish to master the art of medical transcription, you need to achieve a well-developed if not possess an excellent sense of hearing. In this field, you can't afford to make mistakes when you're typing what the doctor says. This is because there is a very thin line between each word's pronunciation as with the terms "a rock" and "Iraq". And, in a case like this, slight misheards could mean a difference between life and death especially when you're dealing with the patients' medicines.

We all know that it's hard to find a medical transcriptionist who is born with an excellent sense of hearing. But wait, don't get the wrong end of the stick. If you're just an average medical transcriptionist or just starting, hold on to your spirit and don't give up yet. You have a lot of potential to achieve good listening skills. As we always say "practice makes perfect". You can start training your ears by watching English TV shows or by talking to different kinds of people and study their voice patterns and pronunciations. Also, you can start listening to the varying accents in English of American, Australian, British, Mexican, or Indian doctors. Really, it's your choice. Although, the best approach is exposure to real physician dictations, you can also enhance yourself through the use of medical transcription practice tapes.

But what are medical transcription practice tapes? Actually, medical transcription practice tapes are recording and storage devices used by doctors for their dictations, which are converted as wav or voice files in the computer just like that of an mp3. But, there are also those medical transcription practice tapes being used by students in some medical transcription schools, which may be bought online. They are not really that different from those used by physicians except for the fact that they are utilized for a specific purpose. Medical transcription practice tapes as the name implies are only used for practice and not for actual transcription. They either contain simulated or real physician dictations. Medical transcription practice tapes are for the use of beginners who have no exposure to real physician dictations as well as for already established medical transcriptionists who just want to attain a higher level of competency in the field.

Although medical transcription practice tapes may be rented, the best option for beginners is perhaps to have a copy of their own. These days, you need not go to a specific store to purchase medical transcription practice tapes. They are available online from several websites that specialize in medical transcription. They usually come in two sizes, that is standard-sized medical transcription practice tapes and micro-sized medical transcription practice tapes.

The duration of dictation for these medical transcription practice tapes and the level of the terms' difficulty vary as well. As an added feature, answer keys are provided to compare your work with.

Whoever said you can't learn on your own must be bluffing. Medical transcription practice tapes can truly make a difference in your performance. In fact, for beginners, early exposure to actual dictations could give you the edge you need, and for seasoned transcriptionists, or people going back into the field of medical transcription, the extra practice will definitely improve the skills necessary to become a true medical language specialist.

Source : http://www.articlealley.com/

GMR Transcription, an Irvine, CA based Transcription Company, Launches Call Transcription Services

Irvine, CA based transcription Services Company; GMR Transcription, announced the launch of their affordable “Conference Call Transcription Services” on Monday, November 12, 2007.

Ms. Joyce Warran, Transcription Supervisor/Business Development Manager of GMR Transcription, explained the process as follows.

The client would be responsible for recording the conference call in 15-minute segments. Each of multiple typists would be assigned one segment for transcription according to the client’s instructions and using either their formatting or ours (to be agreed upon between the client and Ms. Warran in advance).

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What Makes a Good Transcriptionist?

When you think of a transcriptionist, one of the first helpful skills that may come to mind is being a good typist. This is definitely a plus but it can also be learned if you’re not currently very fast. A good typing software program and a little practice will get you up to speed in no time.

Along with good typing skills there are a few other key traits.

Helpful Skills to be a Transcriptionist:

• Ability to apply common sense. Often times you won’t understand what the dictation is saying and you’ll need to try to put the phrase into context to figure out what the speaker means.
  
  
• A keen eye for detail. This will help in proofreading and editing to ensure you turn in the highest quality work.
  
  
• Strong work ethics. You’ll have to meet deadlines and be extremely reliable.
  
  
• Good organizational skills. If you have a lot of clients it’s important to stay organized.
  
  
• Good communication skills. For marketing your business and dealing with clients.
  
  
• Professionalism and discreetness (often times you’ll be transcribing very sensitive documents which require full confidentiality).
  
  
• Basic computer skills and the ability to get around a word processing program

Source: http://www.internetbasedmoms.com

Could transcription save as much as EMRs?

A few years ago my shrink showed off her new toy.

It was hidden inside her tablet PC, which she wrote on with a stylus during sessions. As I got up to leave, I saw her click a command and watched as her “hand-written” notes became typed notes before my eyes.

This is a simple form of transcription. More complex forms take spoken notes and turn them into something readable. It’s hand-work assisted by technology.

A small CNN story on the turnaround of Transcend Services, a medical dictation outfit which learned through a small 2005 acquisition this is a people business, opened my eyes to the opportunity.

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Modest Acquisition Helps Medical Firm Remake Itself

What a difference an acquisition can make.

Business improved dramatically after the struggling medical transcription firm Transcend Services (NASDAQ:TRCR) TRCR bought a small rival two years ago that was run by a mother-and-daughter team.

That's because Transcend decided to copy the mother and daughter's successful business strategy.

Their strategy relied heavily on building personal ties with hospitals and other medical customers. From satisfied customers, their Florida-based firm -- Medical Dictation Inc., or MDI -- got lots of word-of-mouth advertising and plenty of referrals.

Like other medical transcription firms, Atlanta-based Transcend transcribes and edits physician-dictated medical records. In the U.S., it's a $5 billion to $7 billion industry with many small mom-and-pops.

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BIDC technical assistance fund now at $8 million

THE Barbados Investment and Development Corporation (BIDC) has earmarked over $8 million this year for helping businesses with technical assistance.

Chief executive officer Anthony Sobers told the SATURDAY SUN on Wednesday that aid from the Technical Assistance Fund was eing increased by 25 per cent over last year's disbursement of $6.4 million.

"We were ahead of the 25 per cent increase at the end of September," he admitted.

The aid was earmarked for marketing initiatives, training, installation of software, development of websites, certification and other projects, he explained.

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Amphion Medical Solutions Deliver Results with AVISTA

Medical Transcription Company Improves Product Development Process with Expertise from Experienced, Process-Driven Software Engineering Services Provider

MADISON, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--After struggling to find the right software development resources for its growing services business, Amphion Medical Solutions, a leading medical transcription and coding services company, found an outsourced software development solution that works. Amphion partnered with AVISTA Incorporated®, a leader in software engineering services, to create and maintain the software used to deliver important medical record transcription and coding services.

Amphion focuses on providing high value solutions to support their customers with a team of experienced medical language specialists and credentialed coders. While the company uses its own software to support its service delivery, software development is not a core business focus. For years the company used independent contractors to create this software. The contractors would move on to new projects once a product was complete — taking their experience and product knowledge with them. Amphion wanted to find a more consistent resource and ensure their products were maintained by software experts. After a costly and off-putting experience with a high-profile software consulting firm, Amphion turned to AVISTA Incorporated.

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Medical Transcription Job Opportunities Tips and Techniques

As soon as you are ready to find medical transcription job opportunities, volunteer your time, effort and resources to establish your professionalism. Seek out and join a local chapter of the American Association of Medical Transcriptionists (AAMT) in your area, and ask how you may be of help to your local chapter. Volunteers are always needed and will be welcomed with open arms. This is a terrific way to brand yourself as a person who is serious about the medical transcription career. Veteran medical transcriptionists will take notice of you, and that will open the doors to medical transcription job opportunities in the future.

When seeking medical transcription job opportunities, market yourself to local medical transcription agencies. Set up an appointment or interview, if possible. Expand your network by talking to everyone you can in the medical transcription field and let them know that you are willing to do whatever it takes, including volunteer work, to get your foot in the door. Do not forget to thank those who have helped you along the way.

Unique strategies are sometimes required to locate medical transcription job opportunities. Look for unusual local situations. For instance, in the 1990s Orange County, California, declared bankruptcy. On a hunch, I called the Sheriff-Coroner's Office to see if they needed help. I was told that all but one full-time medical transcriptionist had been laid off, and there was a nine- month backlog of autopsy reports. Nine months! After interviewing there and being welcomed with open arms, I worked there every Saturday for almost a year. I received a wonderful education in Pathology terminology, and I must say it was the most rewarding experience I ever had. Additionally, the sole medical transcriptionist was nearing retirement which put me in a great position to receive a job offer once she retired.

In your quest for medical transcription job opportunities, ask your MT instructors if they might need help with transcribing classroom assignments. As an MT student, I can clearly remember how bad the assignment copies were. After I completed the medical transcription courses, I word processed the assignments, corrected the mistakes that had been in them, and then took them to a print shop for reprinting and binding. Then I sent these to my medical transcription instructor; it was my way of thanking her for all she had done for me. I also helped my medical terminology instructor, who was writing a book. I word processed the medical reports for her medical terminology book. In case you are wondering, I was working full time as a medical transcription and word processor all the while.

Volunteering is a wonderful way to find medical transcription job opportunities that are not advertised. It is something that most people do not think of doing. Even if you do not get immediate results from doing volunteer medical transcription work, people will have good things to say about you. The word will get out that you are looking for medical transcription job opportunities, and it will just be a matter of time before you get the chance to prove yourself as a medical transcriptionist.

Article Source: http://www.fullofarticles.com

Mary Ruff-King is a veteran MT who helps entry level MTs with tips on how to find medical transcription job opportunities. Other tips are provided at MT Mastery Center.

Medical Transcription School

First and foremost, a good medical transcription school will have a comprehensive curriculum designed specifically for medical transcription training. This does not mean some off-the-shelf program that mixes and matches curriculum and study material from a hodge-podge of medical and non-medical sources. You are looking for a solid A to Z curriculum that was designed by Medical Transcriptionists specifically for medical transcriptionists. There is a big difference. You don’t want a version of anatomy that is adapted from a veterinarian course. Yes, this sounds crazy, but you would be surprised at what you will find out there!

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How Does Medical Billing Help With Accounting?

Medical billing. This is probably not the first time youve heard of this word and you pretty much have a basic idea what the phrase connotes. However, one thing you should know is that most people have the wrong idea of what is medical billing in reality.

Often, what is medical billing is equated with what is medical transcription or what is medical coding when in fact, the three are as separate and as distinct from each other as night and day. While its true that all three of them are somehow related and sometimes even their responsibilities overlap, it still doesnt change the fact that medical coding deals strictly with codes and medical transcription is strictly on transcribing doctors notes.

So, what is medical billing then?

Some people say it is the doctors key to getting paid for services rendered. Others say that it is a process of submitting claims to insurance companies. But these descriptions are vague. What is it really?

Perhaps, the question what is medical billing is better answered with this definition of the term:

Medical billing is practice management. It involves front office skills, with emphasis on billing and accounting, insurance claims processing, and making decisions concerning the financial aspects of a practice.

What is medical billing compared to medical coding and medical transcription?

Compared to medical coding and medical transcription, medical billing is wider in scope and broader in its range of responsibilities. Front office also means acting as an executive secretary to the practice, dealing in clerical work such as patient scheduling, clearing appointments, documenting patient visits, recording diagnostic and treatment procedures, and organizing medical records using a software program.

What is medical billing and what are its responsibilities?

The job of the billing professional starts with the office visit where you will handle everything from scheduling of the appointment to making sure that the patient makes it to his appointment. After the doctor sees the patient, depending on the services provided and the examination, he will then create and update the patients medical record.

The billing professional then organizes these records according to a system earlier adopted by the practice. This record contains a summary of treatment and demographic information related to the patient. The medical billing specialist will have to organize these records according to their contents to provide for easier access in case of another visit or some such circumstance and to create the billing record which is the document submitted to either a clearinghouse or an insurance company.

For more articles and information or to view a selection of accounting articles and information and accounting receivables articles and information visit Articles.net.au - Your source for free Articles, Information and Website Content.

Article Source: 1ArticleWorld.com

Transcription Tips

TIPS FOR GETTING HIGH QUALITY COURT/INTERVIEWS/ FOCUS GROUPS TRANSCRIPTS

1. First of all do a test of the equipment and all microphones and play it back to ensure the equipment is hooked up properly and that you are getting a clear recording. Check your recorder for hums, faulty microphones, bad connections or loose wires. Make sure the tape is recorded on the correct speed.
   
   
2. Use high quality tapes. They are less likely to jam, break or distort voices. Do not use a tape twice.
   
   We can also transcribe digital files, DVD’s, CD’s, i.e. MP3’s, WAV files, etc.
   
   
3. Always use an external microphone, and if possible use an individual microphone for each person.
   
   If there are no microphones, have anyone speaking sit close to the recording device.
   
   
4. Please instruct everyone at the hearing/interview or focus group to speak loudly and clearly into the microphones or position the person(s) in front of the recording device. If they do not speak into recorder or microphone the tape will not be clear. If necessary, remind them again during the session.
   
   
5. For legal proceedings, please have each person (attorneys, clients, etc.) introduce themselves and spell their names, when introducing themselves. Ask that only one person speak at a time and remind them again during the hearing/interview if necessary. Try to eliminate side conversations. It will also help greatly if people do not interrupt each other. (It makes it very difficult to transcribe when more than one person is talking at the same time.)
   
   
6. Beware of background noise (fans, air conditioners, sirens, ruffling papers, open windows and doors, etc) in the room that creates extraneous noise and can affect the quality of your audio.
   
   
7. If someone in the room has a persistent cough, ask him/her to turn away from the microphone or recording device when coughing, so the other people’s words are not overshadowed and the transcriber’s ears don’t burst. (Just a little joke on the ears.)

Source: http://www.wordtechsecretarialservice.com/