MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTION TRAINING IN KOCHI

 MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTION DEFINED

  What is medical transcription? It is the process of transcribing medical information from audio files. These files are recordings of healthcare practitioners’ voices. Doctors, nurses and other medical professionals record their notes, then the medical transcriptionist – meaning a professional transcriber with medical knowledge – types it up.  

The medical transcription definition includes the transcribing of any dictated medical material, from case notes to lecture content. In some instances, physician dictation takes place over the phone. Increasingly, given the technology available these days, doctors’ dictation (and that of other medical professionals) is provided to the transcriber as a voice file through a smart phone app or over the internet. 

For a broader look at transcription services and how they could benefit you, you can click the link below. 

WHAT MAKE MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTION A SPECIALISED FIEL

  I find a common misconception about transcription services is that there’s just one kind of transcriber, who can handle whatever transcribing work comes their way. In reality, transcription includes many specialise areas of work. 

What is a medical transcriptionist? A medical transcriptionist is a transcriber who has in-depth medical knowledge. It is this knowledge requirement that makes medical transcription a specialised field. 

The definition of medical transcription clearly assumes detailed medical knowledge and experience on the part of the transcriber. Without such experience, the process of producing the medical transcript would be long and arduous. I’m not saying it couldn’t be done by an intelligent transcriber without a medical background, but it would take much, much longer and be a far less efficient and cost-effective task. 

The reason that medical knowledge is a requirement for this specialised area of transcription is because medical transcribing involves:

• Compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
• Extensive medical terminology knowledge
• Experience in the medical field
• Pharmaceutical terminology knowledge

HOW TO FIND THE RIGHT MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTION SERVICES

If you’re ready to use a medical records transcription service, it’s essential to put time into finding the right one. I appreciate that doing so will be a distraction from your day-to-day tasks, but it’s a time commitment that can, ultimately, save you a great deal of time further down the line, making it a worthwhile investment of your time upfront. 

Finding the right medical transcription services for your needs is key. You need a service that operates smoothly and efficiently. One that you can send your audio files to and know that the medical transcripts will be produced without generating multiple interruptions to your work and without you needing to chase up the transcriptionist repeatedly after yet another deadline has been missed. 

If you’ve not used medical transcribing before, I recommend asking around your professional network for recommendations (of course, I also highly recommend using Tomedes’ professional medical transcribers). If you aim to shortlist three or four companies, you’ll be able to grill each of them on their approach to security, timescales, commitment to accuracy, medical experience and so forth, then see how they compare. 

You’ll also need to discuss costs. I mentioned the cost above as one of the cons of using medical transcribing. However, if you factor in the cost of your own time, then it becomes much easier to view the transcription cost as being offset against that. Still, that doesn’t mean that you don’t need to get value for money from the transcription service you use, so find out which of the agencies you’re looking at provides the best value (and note that I say ‘best value’ rather than ‘lowest cost’ as there are distinct differences between those two). 

One area to focus on particularly is the transcriber’s medical experience. The more closely this relates to your own medical specialism, the better. If you work with a medical transcription agency, rather than an individual transcriber, you will likely have access to a far wider range of specialist experience and expertise. 

Medical transcription companies may also have the edge when it comes to HIPAA compliance, as businesses with their own IT teams tend to have more time and energy to devote to electronic and data security matters. I’m generalising, clearly, but it’s a point that needs careful consideration when you choose who to appoint to undertake your medical records transcription work. 

Once you have your shortlist, it’s a good idea to ask each of the transcribers to undertake a test transcription. This can help you to assess not just the quality of the resulting medical transcript, but also things such as customer service and adherence to deadlines. 

I would caution here that you’re essentially asking for them to work for free, so don’t make the test too long and bear in mind that some transcription companies may be reluctant to provide free tests as it takes their transcriptionists’ time away from paid work. For any test that you do assign (and every recording for that matter), always speak as clearly as possible so that you get the best results.

Make sure you check out the transcription services that you shortlist online as well. Look for recent reviews and ones that relate to your particular medical specialism, if at all possible. You can click the link below for a list of the best transcription companies, to get you started.