Tuesday, November 6, 2007

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.

Monday, November 5, 2007

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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Friday, November 2, 2007

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

Thursday, November 1, 2007

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/

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