The Evolution of Medical Transcription

More than 60 years ago, medical transcription was developed as a method to assist physicians and medical facilities with accurate recording and filing of patient information related to treatment. Prior to this, the physicians were responsible for jotting down pertinent information in the patient's chart and this was often times misinterpreted if read by anyone other than the physician, primarily because of abbreviated forms. This illegible writing and terminology was not understood by everyone.

The first MTs were usually only trained to copy notes written by physicians and these were then placed in patient's records. Later, Dictaphones and typewriters were added to the list of equipment found in medical offices. This was a tedious task because the typewriters were slow. If an error was made, it had to be corrected by erasers or correction tape. Further evolution saw typewriters that added correction capabilities, carbon copies as well as components to change font of the typed material. In the 1970s and 1980s, some medical groups were beginning to see the need for more training in the area of medical transcription. This led to formal training programs that were designed to incorporate medical terminology, anatomy and typing to more accurately equip persons in this field. This was a tremendous success and medical transcription became a profession in demand.

And just as we were getting comfortable in our new skins as MTs, we entered into the age of computers. With this new age, medical transcription became an organized business. Because of the high cost involved in this process, medical transcription service organizations (MTSOs) sprang up to meet the needs of the industry. They offered competitive prices for the completion of dictated reports while maintaining the quality control and technology processes in house. These companies provided manpower and equipment for professional interpretation of all medical records. The MT was taken from the office setting and was able to ultimately work at home with the same benefits that used to only be offered working on site. This was a real boon for the MTs, as it eliminated the usual expenses incurred by a working person, i.e. transportation, clothing costs, child care, etc.

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Hands On: Google Voice's Voicemail Transcription

Recently Google took GrandCentral, spiffed up the software and rebadged it as Google Voice. Among the new offerings is the ability to transcribe voicemail messages! That's right--your messages are converted to text and emailed and/or text messaged to you. Since the PC came on the scene accurate automated voice transcription has been its missing link. Can Google do any better? I decided to give it a shot.

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Getting Hired as a Medical Transcriptionist

So you've gone through training as a medical transcriptionist and you're ready to work. Surely someone will hire you!

This may be the hardest part if your school does not offer job placement assistance or if you studied on your own. Not all or even many companies hire inexperienced medical transcriptionists. It can pay, however, to check with companies whose listed requirements you do not meet due to lack of experience. Some may make exceptions if you can pass their test.

Testing is a quick way for a company to find out what your skill level is. If the company is local, they may test you at their location; distant companies may send out a test or have you test online. No matter how the test is performed, don't rush, and make sure to check your work.

A good school will help you with finding companies willing to test and hire you.

You will want to have some idea as to the schedule you will be willing to work. I would suggest being available for at least 20 hours per week. Some companies may require that you stick to a schedule, so be realistic about the hours you can work. Don't assume that any children you may have will cooperate or that naps will always be a particular length. You'll have an advantage if they are in school, but otherwise, be ready to work at night or early in the morning when the children are asleep. You will need peace and quiet to be able to understand some of the doctors.

Be careful when you choose an employer, as there are scam companies in this field, just as in many other work at home opportunities. Some companies out there claim to hire completely inexperienced people and train them as medical transcriptionists, but so far I have not heard of one that was not a scam. The catch is that you can never meet their standards to become a paid employee. Don't fall for it.

Fortunately, there are plenty of good companies out there. With outsourcing to other countries it can be a little rougher than it used to be, but the jobs are still out there. If your school offers help in landing that first job, take their help. Some only include it with their more expensive plans, so you want to think ahead even before you begin training.

All is not lost if you don't have help finding that first job. Research medical transcription employers and ask on medical transcription forums about companies willing to hire new graduates. Check with local doctors, dentists, chiropractors, etc. The jobs are out there, it just takes a little effort to find them.

Stephanie Foster writes about her experience in medical transcription at http://www.homewiththekids.com/medical-transcription/. You can learn more about landing your first medical transcription job at her site.

Source : http://www.morethanarticles.com/

Medical Transcription and Voice Recognition

No doubt, you’ve heard different opinions and views on this subject. If you’re a medical transcriptionist you probably can’t understand how voice recognition can take over for a trained qualified medical transcriptionist. And you’re not alone.

Let’s dig a bit deeper into voice recognition and medical transcription.

As you already know, doctors are busy people. This is never more obvious then when they’re dictating their notes. It’s understandable they’re busy, and as their MT, I can surely forgive them but will the latest voice recognition software be as forgiving as me?

Not likely.

As a transcriptionist you will have typed through background noise, patients moaning, doctors eating their lunch, personal conversations (oops they forgot the recorder was on) and other incomprehensible noise. Not to mention, ESL doctors with heavy accents and very tired ER doctors after a long shift!

At this time there is no voice recognition software which can handle this type of voice recognition. It is impossible for the software to determine actual speech from mistakes in conversation, background noise, heavy accents, etc.

So what does this mean for our future?

I wouldn’t worry about voice recognition. Rumors of MTs beign out of r a job have been around long before I became an MT. Eight years later, there are still no real advances in this field.

Can voice recognition ever replace transcriptionists?

Sure it can.

If a doctor is willing to sit down and take the sufficient time to train his voice recognition software to recognize his voice and speech patterns (this takes time and is not done automatically), yes it is possible.

If the doctor thereafter dictates very clearly, using proper punctuation in his speech (stopping for periods, pausing for commas) without any background noise or interruptions. Yes, it is possible.

Will the document be 100% accurate? No.

Remember medical records have to be in compliance with a number of very strict regulations. Most doctors, will not trust voice recognition enough to send these records through without at least a quick glance through.

Even under the best dictating circumstances the report will still need to be proofread and edited. So, yes under the “perfect” circumstances, voice recognition can replace a transcriptionist.

Is it likely? Not unless every physician out there is willing to take the time, energy and ongoing effort to train their voice recognition software and maintain a certain standard of dictation.

I don’t see that happening any time soon. Doctors are busy people, remember? ;)

If anything, us MTs should embrace voice recognition and use it as a tool to help us in our MT careers. If applied properly, it can be a time-saving tool. So why not use it for our purposes?

As with any business to stay ahead of the game you have to adapt to change and technology. Learn how to use it to your advantage instead of being frightened by it. That’s the only way to stay ahead of the competition…. Voice recognition or otherwise.

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