Many ideas abound about what constitutes a good MT program. Some people feel that the schools that advertise on TV showing a mother working at her computer while her children play quietly at her feet is an accurate portrayal of the life of an MT. What is true and what is not true in regard to MT education?
What is AAMT and COMPRO?
The American Association of Medical Transcription (www.aamt.org) is the professional industry organization that represents medical transcriptionists. The AAMT has developed a competency profile for medical transcription education (COMPRO). This profile outlines many of the areas that a good solid MT program should cover. In brief, some of these areas include the following: English language, medical knowledge, technology, healthcare documentation, and professional practice. Under each of these broad headings are very particular sets of competencies that an MT student must demonstrate to show they have mastered that area. The full COMPRO guidelines are listed on the AAMT's web site, and we highly recommend that all prospective MT students visit the site and go over the profile in detail.
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Wednesday, October 29, 2008
How To Choose A Good Medical Transcription Training Program
Friday, October 24, 2008
113 are now certified medical workers
BARBADOS has produced its first ever group of qualified medical transcriptionists, taking advantage of the "critical" shortage in the United states.
One hundred and thirteen pioneers in the profession, which is new to Barbados, graduated from a one-year course as part of a project set up last year to establish the infrastructure necessary for the development of medical transcription services here. It is expected to boost the island's foreign exchange earning capacity substantially in the future.
Speaking at the graduation ceremony at Kensington Oval on Tuesday evening, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office with special responsibility for Finance and Energy, Senator Darcy Boyce, said the Barbados project involved the establishment of the infrastructure necessary for the development of medical transcription services in Barbados, through the establishment of an educational/ training facility supported by Government.
"The objective was to develop a fully staffed medical transcription training facility to train 500 persons, with the aim of eventually developing three to five production facilities," Senator Boyce disclosed.
The project was also intended to provide the opportunity for local and foreign investors "to work together in strategic investment relationships to establish new businesses earning foreign exchange", according to Boyce.
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Thursday, October 23, 2008
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:
- seek another transcriptionist’s opinion
- refer to the patient’s chart
- contact the dictating physician for clarification
- leave a blank in the report and attach a note so that the dictator may insert the correct word
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.
Written by: Connie Limon, Medical Transcriptionist. Visit us at http://www.aboutmedicaltranscription.info for more information about the unique and rewarding career choice of Medical Transcription.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Remote Medical Transcription Services
In the competitive healthcare arena, remote medical transcription services have great significance. Every healthcare facility, whether small or large, has to maintain proper and consistent healthcare documentation. Even though the demand for medical transcription has gone up steadily over the years, there has been a lack of skilled and trained personnel in key areas of medical transcription.
Nowadays, many healthcare practices in the US are finding it difficult to maintain the medical records of patients. As there is critical shortage of medical transcription workforce, many healthcare providers face a serious situation in which they do not get patients’ records transcribed on time, usually in times of emergency. In such situations, remote medical transcription services are the best option.
Excellent remote medical transcription services are now offered by many medical transcription firms, where the medical transcription specialists work from remote locations, even from their own homes. As this line of service is of great help for healthcare facilities, it is now being availed by medical facilities and establishments of all sizes including hospitals, professional practices, pain clinics, and others in the field, in all medical specialties. As per the needs of clients, remote medical transcriptionists transcribe the medical records dictated by doctors and others, including history and physical reports, discharge summaries, clinic notes, office notes, consultation notes, operative reports, x-ray reports, psychiatric evaluations, laboratory reports, pathology reports, and more.
By availing of the remote medical transcription services, you can gain many competitive advantages and benefits in terms of higher output and turnaround time.
Apart from these initial benefits, other benefits that can be gained include:
- Superior work product
- HIPAA compliant transcription practices
- 24x7 customer support service
- Cost-effective rates
- Security and confidentiality
- Customer satisfaction
If you are in search for an MT firm that can offer remote medical transcription services, the internet is the best place to start your search. Before making a choice, it is better to conduct some research in terms of turnaround times and costs.
About the Author:
Outsource Strategies International (OSI) is a medical transcription company and a medical billing services company providing HIPAA compliant medical transcription services added with other services such as medical billing, medical coding, patient scheduling, authorizations and verifications.
