Posts Tagged ‘Medical Transcription’
admin on July 14th, 2010
Medical transcription technology has been fast evolving according to the needs of the times. The US healthcare system demands that all medical transactions be on record. Thus today we have medical transcription dictations that are even given over the telephone. To make the whole process easier physicians and doctors can now just dial in using a telephone and a PIN number anytime of the day or night and dictate for a transcript.
Most of the renowned transcription service providers usually have work units both domestically within the US and also in Asian locations like India or the Philippines. Thus they are able to be very flexible with regards to the turnaround time, pricing etc. Transcripts can be got even within a few hours if required. As all data sent over the Internet is always encrypted (using 256-bit encryption) there is total security and safety for all client files / information.
There are a few challenges in Medical dictation transcription and certain rules that all physicians have to follow if they are to get transcripts with over 99% accuracy. These are some of the points.
- Be aware of the background sounds/ noise
- Mention title of the document at the outset itself
- Do not forget to dictate basic demographic information
- Difficult medical terms should be pronounced well
- Avoid summarizing in long sentences
- Please expand uncommon abbreviations
- Avoid eating/ drinking/ coughing near microphone/ while dictating
Besides dictation on the phone there is a wide range other dictation equipment available that include desk top stations and various hand held digital dictation units. Thus recordings can be also transferred to the computer and transmitted as audio files for transcription. Dictation equipment accessories include devices like microphones and hands free kits.
Source:http://maryanngarth.easyworldwidemall.com/2010/04/10/medical-dictation-transcription/
admin on July 8th, 2010
A key factor that persuades developed economies such as the US to outsource their medical transcription jobs to developing countries such as India and the Philippines is the availability of cheap and qualified labor in these countries
Medical transcription is one of the most widely outsourced jobs in the healthcare industry and is adopted as a part of easing the tedious process of medical records documentation. Processing of medical transcription jobs in-house means medical care providers have to invest a lot in terms of time and money for selecting and training the right manpower, apart from installing and maintaining costly infrastructure such as dictation equipments and computers. To keep operating costs low, outsourcing of medical transcription is the preferred choice for most healthcare firms operating in the US and UK.
A key factor that persuades developed economies such as the US to outsource their medical transcription jobs to developing countries such as India and the Philippines is the availability of cheap and qualified labor in these countries. The medical transcription firms in these countries have better infrastructures with backups for labor and internet and are thus capable of providing round-the-clock uninterrupted transcription services. The skills of medical transcriptionists in these countries include a better understanding of the spoken English language. The majority of these professionals have excellent academic qualifications and in-depth awareness of the subject.
Another major benefit of outsourcing these medical transcription jobs is that backup copies of patient records are always available at the servers of these outsourcing companies and hence it is easier to search and access patient records which are years old. Moreover, these documents can be sent across multiple destinations through the internet so that doctors, regardless of their location can keep in touch with their patients and their medical treatments.
Source: http://www.globalservicesmedia.com/BPO/Industry-specific-Processes/Medical-Transcription-Outsourcing-Benefits/23/29/0/GS100615518457
admin on July 2nd, 2010
In today’s business world, the demands for medical transcription services are increasing at a rapid rate. It is basically the process of transcribing the dictated medical recording made by physicians and other healthcare professionals into soft copy format. Today there are a wide range of medical transcription services that encompass almost most of the different specialties in medicine.
As the health care industry grows, one finds that the number of companies that are specializing in providing MT services is growing by the day as these services are provided to a wide range of practices and organizations that can include healthcare facilities, hospitals, laboratories, clinics, individual doctors and physicians’ groups. Because of the development of ITES (Information Technology Enabled Services), many of the medical transcription companies are outsourcing their jobs to offshore centers located in India and the Philippines.
In order to provide reliable and error free documents to the clients, the companies have to appoint technically trained medical language specialists who have an in-depth knowledge of all the medical terminologies. How else will someone understand the technical dictations of the physician, surgeon or an anesthesiologist? Specialized professional medical transcriptionists help in transcribing patients’ physical reports, clinical notes, operative reports, consultation notes, autopsy reports, psychiatric evaluations, laboratory reports, X-ray reports, referral letters, and discharge summaries.
Medical transcription outsourcing units provide specialty services such as:
- Cardiology Transcription
- Emergency Room Transcription
- Radiology Transcription
- Gastroenterology Transcription
- Surgery Transcription
- Chiropractic Transcription
- Internal Medicine Transcription
- Physical Medicine Transcription
- Maxillofacial Surgery Transcription
- Plastic Surgery Transcription
- General Surgery Transcription
For detailing, the MT companies support toll free numbers, digital recorders, and computer dictation systems and almost all the other necessary medical transcription devices. Depending on the client’s needs and document management systems, the medical reports are delivered in the appropriate data/ file format. Medical transcription services can consistently give you the combined unique experience of 99% accuracy, data security, and absolute privacy for your records and documents. Medical transcription industry strives to support all professionals and also ensure that all services are HIPAA compliant besides secured with 256 bit AES encryption.
Source:http://maryanngarth.easyworldwidemall.com/2010/05/30/medical-transcription-services/
admin on June 21st, 2010
The Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI) and The Medical Transcription Industry Association (MTIA) have combined to create the Manual of Ethical Best Practices for the Healthcare Documentation Sector.
The manual will help health care documentation and medical transcription businesses and professionals to adopt policies and procedures for complying with HIPAA privacy and security laws and operating in a manner consistent with best ethical practices related to transcription billing, compensation, and outsourcing. The manual is part of the associations’ ongoing commitment to safeguarding protected health information and upholding the integrity of the profession and industry.
“With the emerging demand from healthcare delivery for increased standardization and greater specificity around exchange of health information, the time is ripe for the healthcare documentation sector to look closely at its compliance practices to ensure that the sector is best positioned to respond to the future needs of health care,” stated AHDI/MTIA CEO Peter Preziosi, PhD, CAE. “We want to be a resource for business owners and healthcare documentation professionals in developing policies, procedures, and contracts that reflect high-integrity business practices and promote transparency around key issues that reflect well on the industry as a whole.”
The associations convened an advisory council composed of industry content and practice experts including transcription professionals, managers, quality assurance coordinators, educators, and medical transcription service owners and executives to provide input regarding areas that could benefit from the creation of ethical best practices and to assist in content development for the manual. Council participants recognize that a set of ethical best practices is a necessity at this time of greater regulation, scrutiny, and enforcement by the federal government.
“The medical transcription/healthcare documentation industry is entering a new age of regulation with the increased emphasis on data privacy and security by consumers, the healthcare industry and the government combined with the trend towards increased governmental scrutiny of healthcare vendors,” added Scott Edelstein, Esq., a partner in the health law practice of Squire, Sanders & Dempsey LLP.
Source: http://health-information.advanceweb.com/News/Industry-Buzz/AHDI-MTIA-Combine-to-Create-Compliance-and-Transparency-Manual.aspx
admin on June 15th, 2010
MTIA (Medical Transcription Industry Association) along with AHIMA (American Health Information Management Association) recommends a standard unit of measure for medical transcription of patient medical records. It recommends the visible black character (VBC) measurement standard to be the best document counting method. What was the purpose of having such a standard?
The final goal was to implement a standard for content measurement that the health information management (HIM) practitioners can use to evaluate in-house transcription staff and external transcription service suppliers. The earlier 65-character line standard (also called as the AAMT line) had previously been a standard industry wide unit of measure for content measurement that includes space bar, shift key, bold, underscore, and other keystrokes. With this system the cost for the line/character goes beyond just labor as the cost of the technology is bundled along with domain knowledge and human resources. Thus it became mandatory to develop/choose the best possible Industry standard. The benefits of having such a standard include ease in maintaining service level agreements, better business relationships and having a better tool for evaluation.
According to The MTIA /AHIMA task force among all the different counting methods like ASCII line, the 65-character line, gross line, gross page, per minute pricing, and visible black character (VBC) measurement standards, VBC is the only counting method that can be easily understood, verified, and replicated by all parties in the medical transcription business processes.
Whenever a transcription document is reviewed for quality what are the principles that establish the quality of the documents?
The transcribed report should be reviewed against the actual dictation. Reading the report without listening to the dictation does not provide an accurate comparison of the transcription to the dictation.
The review should apply industry-specific standards as provided by current resources and references. When evaluating style, punctuation, or grammar, The AAMT Book of Style is the industry standard.
The review should encompass attention to risk management issues and the documentation standards of accreditation and healthcare compliance agencies.
Accuracy scores (ratings) should be quantified with the use of a numeric calculation that weights varying degrees of error against the length of the report. AAMT recommends the following quality goals: 100% accuracy with respect to critical errors; 98% accuracy with respect to major errors; and 98% accuracy with respect to all errors in the report, including minor errors (see below for definitions of “critical,” “major,” and “minor” errors).
The reviewer (or the review process) should provide timely and consistent feedback to the medical transcriptionist in order to eliminate repetition of errors.
All measurements, standards, and benchmarks should be disclosed to the medical transcriptionist and should be set forth in written guidelines by the healthcare provider or transcription service.
Source:http://maryanngarth.easyworldwidemall.com/2010/06/02/medical-transcription-standard/
admin on June 1st, 2010
By, Lea M. Sims
With our nation engaged in dialogue around health care reform, and health care delivery engaged in discussions around what “meaningful use” of EHRs will look like, there has never been a more important time for the health care documentation sector to stand up and demonstrate its contributory value to these critical issues. This means aligning our key messages with health care’s goals and demonstrating why we matter to the health data capture process, both now and in the evolving EHR.
What is health care delivery telling us?
More than anything, health care needs cost-effective, technology-centric solutions that ensure quality of care, eliminate redundancy and inefficiency, and improve the quality and accessibility of patient information within and between health care enterprises. When it comes to our sector, the health care system is looking for the right solutions to securely and accurately capture, consume and repurpose health information. It needs partners and advocates who will advance its EHR adoption goals, facilitate reliable data exchange, and deliver robust health encounter information that allows providers to make real-time clinical decisions. And out of the evolving debate around “meaningful use,” a new concern is also emerging-How much of the EHR documentation burden should be shouldered by the physician?
How can our sector respond to those challenges?
The Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI) and the Medical Transcription Industry Association have been delivering a core message to legislators, policymakers and health care stakeholders around the ability of the health care documentation sector to meet these evolving needs for managing health information. Our key messages around EHR adoption have focused on the following points:
1. Preservation of narrative capture is critical to meaningful use of EHRs because:
- More than 1.2 billion clinical records are produced in the U.S. every year.
- 60 percent of all clinical records are documented via traditional dictation/transcription.
- No documentation method captures complex patient stories better than narrative dictation.
- Dictation/transcription is still the preferred method among U.S. physicians for documenting patient encounters.
- Point-and-click templates cannot adequately capture a comprehensive, complete patient story.
- Physician-driven data entry is costing health care time and money; physicians are better deployed in frontline care than burdened with clerical capture.
2. Health care documentation specialists are critical to effective capture of health information because we:
- Understand the diagnostic process and the complex story-telling of patient care.
- Provide risk management support and oversight to ensure health encounters are captured accurately.
- Are able to indentify error/inconsistency in the record as well as support pay-for-performance goals through documentation improvement measures.
- Know how to apply data capture standards that ensure health information is available at point of care for clinical decision-making.
- Integrate seamlessly with data capture technologies, such as EHRs and speech recognition technology (SRT) solutions.
- Partner with physicians to document care encounters in a way that frees up providers for hands-on patient care.
How can you promote this campaign in 2010?
Be an advocate. First and foremost, our sector needs you to promote the concepts above to your providers, clients, health care facilities and legislators. Be proactive in advocating for your current and future value in advancing health care’s goals for EHR adoption. Download the MT Week flyer/poster-Capturing America’s Healthcare Story: Why We Matter to Health Care-at www.ahdionline.org and share it with your professional contacts.
Be ready to deliver. The value proposition we’re making to health care is predicated on the assumption that our workforce can facilitate EHR adoption by being an extra set of eyes on the health record, well-oriented to the diagnostic process, and capable of recognizing error and inconsistency in health information. This will require MTs to embrace professional development, continuing education and credentialing. Position yourself well for evolving and future roles by seeking additional training in new roles/technologies (receive $100 off the cost of our SRT training course if you register in the months of April/May for May/June courses), obtaining your certified medical transcription (CMT) or registered medical transcription (RMT) credential, becoming an AHDI member to stay in the stream of cutting-edge information, and embracing long-term continuing education.
Above article publish on http://health-information.advanceweb.com/Columns/AHDI-Track/Why-We-Matter-to-Health-Care.aspx
admin on April 9th, 2010
Companies who are in the medical transcription industry may underestimate the importance of a powerful voice transcription software platform. Consider for a moment that almost every function of that business will be affected by and handled by that system and it is easy to see how important it is to select the right one. Trying to save money on a system that does not significantly improve the productivity of medical transcriptionists can end up being a waste of capital.
There are many ways that voice transcription software can improve the profitability of a medical transcription business. The equation for making money is fairly simple; revenue has to go up and expenses must go down. The right voice transcription software platform can help a company to do both of these things.
In terms of reducing costs, things that medical transcription companies can look for in a software platform are advantages like local dictation telephone numbers that reduce the telephone bill. If a provider of this software has local numbers that are based in major centers across the country, then long distance charges will be minimized. It may not seem like a large expense, but when all of the clients that are dictating into a system are doing so for long periods of time and frequently then it can add up quickly.
Because the systems are so technical, often it can be beyond the abilities of the medical transcription company to maintain the voice transcription software and the servers that it will run on. This should be handled by the provider, and a good one will offer the large amount of storage space required at a good price. It will also be able to commit to having technical support available when it is needed.
Upgrades to the voice transcription software can also be expensive. When a transcription company is looking to engage a software provider, they should inquire about what kind of future costs they will have to shoulder for system upgrades. It is also important to know that upgrades can be facilitated without the need to bring down the system.
Improving profitability also has to do with increased revenue. If a voice transcription software platform can allow every medical transcriptionist to produce more in the same amount of time then this will have an effect on the company’s fortunes. This means having the ability to review and edit the document quickly and it also requires a seamless distribution of the work to medical transcriptionists. When documents are complete, it should also incorporate an automated system that delivers the finished product to clients.
Companies should move very carefully when they are considering purchasing a voice transcription software platform. It touches every department of their business and ones that provide a complete system will reduce the administrative burden on a company. When much of the tedium that was present in the industry in past years is eliminated by advanced software platforms, companies can then focus on retaining good talent and acquiring new clients.
Above article publish on http://www.articlesbase.com/software-articles/voice-transcription-software-to-grow-a-medical-transcription-business-2011433.html
admin on March 31st, 2010
By Arvind Kashyap
Ever since the beginning of medical services & procedures around the world, there was always a need for properly writing down medical procedures. It was an important thing, because it could be easily referred to whenever a patient’ treatment history was required. Hence, initially it started with Doctor’s assistants writing down treatment procedures for the future reference of the doctor. But these instructions which were purely in Medical terms needed to be elaborated for easy comprehension of others in the medical fraternity.
To address this problem, and help in creating a comprehensible treatment history of every patient, Medical Transcription was formally introduced. The task of a Medical Transcriptionist thus involved understanding the medical jargon written by the doctor’s assistant, and document the same in easily understandable language. Slowly, this practice became popular and with the advent of recording devices, it was completely transformed to a totally new level.
The recorded tapes could now be sent to Medical Transcription companies located at the farthest corners of the world, and they would document the tape and send it across through internet in just a matter of hours. With the increasing presence of internet, Medical Transcription Services have attained greater significance in developed countries across the world. Doctors practicing in US, Canada, Australia & Europe are hiring transcription Companies based in Developing countries for their transcription work.
Countries like India have seen a big rise in the number of Companies, because of abundant availability of educated labor, who are able to deliver highly accurate transcription work at fairly cheap rates. And this also is the prime reason behind outsourcing of Medical Transcription Services to India which is growing at a pretty healthy rate through the past few years.
Considering the fact that rising concern about quality health services is only going up all the time, the future does look quite bright for people working in the business of transcription in India. As more and more Doctors in the west queue-up for quality Transcription services, the Transcription companies in India are sure looking for a pretty busy and booming future ahead.
Above article publish on http://ezinearticles.com/?Medical-Transcription-Poised-For-Bigger-Things-Ahead!&id=3957999
admin on July 17th, 2009
Should doctors be taken word-for-word?
By Cheryl McEvoy
A run-on sentence. A misspelled drug. A superfluous comma. Heck, maybe even a split infinitive. Dictation errors can irk word-wary MTs, but should they be forced to overlook such grammatical offenses? Thus begins the debate over verbatim transcription, a contractual item that makes MTs withhold all judgment — medical, grammatical or otherwise — and simply type what the dictator says. The controversial practice pits risk management against quality assurance (QA), but MTs’ reputations and patient care are what’s on the line.
While traditional transcription lets MTs correct punctuation, misspellings and dictation errors at their discretion, verbatim transcription requires MTs to transcribe notes exactly as dictated. The practice is usually based on the client’s preferences; if a doctor doesn’t want his words altered, the MT is expected to transcribe word-for-word. There are arguments for and against the no-edits approach, but most MTs aren’t thrilled about it.
The running joke is, “If you want verbatim transcription, I will put in every ‘uh,’ ‘ah,’ ‘oh’ and ‘um’ that you have dictated,” said Barb Marques, CMT, AHDI-F, president-elect of the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI).
In reality, it’s no laughing matter.
Risky Business
Doctors can make mistakes, so risk managers champion verbatim transcription as a way to keep MTs from taking the fall, according to Donna Brosmer, CMT, AHDI-F, NREMT-B, quality officer, Spheris. If the document ends up in court, an MT can claim no culpability because the doctor requested the dictation be transcribed word for word. If the MT changed any words, he or she might be held accountable for the error – a mark hospitals and medical transcription service organizations (MTSOs) don’t want on their hands.
But many say verbatim transcription neglects the value a skilled MT can bring to the table. With knowledge of diseases, diagnoses, treatments and medical terminology — not to mention, a knack for grammar and punctuation — MTs can serve as the first line of defense against errors, according to Brosmer. “You have a group of very intelligent people creating these reports, transcribing these reports,” she said.
For example, a good MT would know the difference between Xanax and Zantac and could correct the mix-up if a doctor misspoke, Brosmer said. MTs are also trained to notice when a doctor switches between left and right.
“If he said ‘right foot’ five times in the report and he gets down to the bottom and says ‘left,’ 99.9 percent [of the time], he really does mean the right foot,” Marques said.
Errors like that are becoming more common as good dictators become few and far between. With doctors able to dictate from their Blackberrys and iPhones, MTs are struggling to hear over the background sound of gyms, pools and oncoming traffic, Brosmer said.
Physicians are also getting more lax. Marques said today’s rising doctors do not speak in complete sentences, making it harder to understand the report. While a skilled MT would have the confidence to edit and make corrections without delaying the report, with verbatim transcription, the MT would have to query the physician or flag errors in hopes he would re-examine his work.
Making matters worse, many doctors don’t review their transcribed reports, according Lesli McGill, director of U.S. operations, SPi Healthcare. McGill hails from the “old school” of transcription, where she learned to edit as she transcribed. She recalled the “rubber stamp” method physicians used to approve reports — simply passing it on without so much as a glance. In today’s electronic environment, that stamp has been replaced with a click of approval, making it even easier to overlook flagged items.
Employee Pride
What the controversy boils down to is quality. MTs pride themselves on delivering a timely and accurate record, so they loathe initialing a document that isn’t up to par — especially if that document is hauled into court. “[MTs] want people to understand they did the best job they could with that document,” McGill said. “It reflects badly on them if it’s a verbatim account and you’ve got a bad dictator.”
The squabble isn’t likely to end soon, the experts said. The topic was among discussions at the Medical Transcription Industry Association (MTIA) Convention last April, and it’s expected to be on MTs’ minds at the AHDI conference later this month. In health care, quality isn’t something to take lightly; a mistake that slips through the cracks could mean the difference between life and death. MTs are supposed to be the first defense against errors, but amid the skirmish of lawsuits and legal liability, some fear verbatim transcription will push patient care to the wayside.
Cheryl McEvoy is an editorial assistant with ADVANCE
Above article published on
http://health-information.advanceweb.com/editorial/content/editorial.aspx?cc=202692
admin on July 16th, 2009
The proven ability for medical transcription to facilitate accurate, cost-effective EHR adoption will be the key message brought by the members of the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI) and the Medical Transcription Industry Association (MTIA) to federal legislators on Capitol Hill when the associations convene in Washington, DC, for their annual Advocacy Summit. With the HITECH Act, the Obama Administration’s high priority on nationwide EHR adoption has opened an opportunity for the transcription sector to educate the current Administration and Congress about the need for contemplative, prudent migration to the EHR – one that preserves the role of complex narrative and engages human intelligence in ensuring the accurate, secure capture of patient healthcare encounters.
The Advocacy Summit, being held June 3-4, 2009, in Washington, DC, will focus on the need for standards and regulations in EHR technology integration/adoption, the role of transcription in safeguarding protected health information (PHI), and the need for workforce development funding in healthcare documentation to ensure a knowledgeable, prepared next gen workforce that is capable of functioning in the quality assurance role the EHR will demand.
“Healthcare can ill afford a knee-jerk reaction to the EHR requirements of the HITECH Act,” states Peter Preziosi, PhD, CAE, AHDI/MTIA chief executive officer. “Successful EHR adoption and meaningful interoperability hinge on healthcare’s ability to set standards that promote efficient, cost-effective, quality-driven data capture solutions. The transcription sector is uniquely positioned to offer healthcare delivery the means to make that happen, and that’s what we’ll be sharing with this new Administration and the new Congress.”
The associations will take to the Hill their Transcription: Proven Accelerator to EHR Adoption whitepaper, which includes compelling statistics that demonstrate (a) the loss of income to physicians who integrate EMR/EHR technologies ineffectively, (b) the critical role of transcription technology solutions in facilitating better EHR adoption, (c) the value of solutions that create “rich, interrelated narratives” rather than cookie-cutter records, and (d) the irreplaceable role of a knowledge worker in data integrity management
Above article published on http://www.chiroeco.com/chiropractic/news/8027/865/Association-readies-for-EHR-advocacy-summit/
