Whenever a patient seeks treatment at a hospital, the doctor gives a report. The number of reports dictated everyday runs into hundreds. These reports need to be transformed to the written form and stored in a computer. This is where the medical transcriptionist steps in. Using headphones and a foot pedal alternately, the transcriptionist is able to listen to the dictated recordings and type it into a computer.. The kind of reports they generate could range from discharge summaries, operative reports, history and physical examination, progress reports to mere referral letters. These transcriptions are then forwarded to the concerned physician or healthcare professional who then files them.
| All this however is easier said than done, Knowledge of anatomy, physiology, medical terminology, how certain procedures are conducted, familiarity with medical jargon and abbreviations used, names of drugs and diseases - all this goes a long way to making the task easier. Medical reference material is available in the form of texts and over the Internet. This comes in useful when there is doubt or when something is not very clear. While compiling the records, accuracy, grammar and lucidity are aspects that the transcriptionist needs to pay attention to. |
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They must be keen and able to research about things which they are unfamiliar with. Speech recognition technology is an upcoming software which converts acoustics into text and generates reports.. These however are far from perfect and need to be edited and checked for errors of all kinds. Of course this is in the nascent stage and it will be some time before it becomes popular. Online dictation requires the transcriptionist to listen, transcribe and return the report via the Internet.
The duties of a medical
transcriptionist working in clinics are more general. In addition to
transcribing, other secretarial duties such as fixing appointments or
looking after the patients are also carried out. . Some of the
transcriptionists work from home as independent transcriptionists. On an
average a medical transcriptionist puts in 40 hours per week, while those
working part-time work in the day, or in the evenings or on week ends or
only when they are called to do so.
Although a certified medical transcriptionist is desirable, there are
individuals who have completed either a 2-year associate degree or a 1 year
certificate program and are equally good. Some acquire knowledge of medical
terminology by virtue of having been a nurse or having worked as a medical
secretary. As medical technology keeps changing, the transcriptionists would
constantly have to keep in touch with the new concepts. As they gain more
and more experience, these medical transcriptionists can become consultants,
teachers or health administrators
.The demand for medical
transcriptionists is increasing. Many countries abroad have outsourced their
work to countries like India, which has a large English speaking population.
Depending on the place they work in, medical transcriptionists are paid
accordingly. A beginner could start off with Rs. 5000 and go on to make
double that amount. Some are also paid according to the no. of lines they
manage to transcribe while others are paid according to the number of hours
they work. Sometimes incentives are given when production exceeds the
desired no. of lines. There is no doubt that it is a lucrative profession,
but you should be able to combat the stress of working for long hours in the
same position.
We need to take medical transcription very seriously, because the reports
that are created are kept in the patients file. Based on what is in the
report, treatment is given. Wrong information could result in harmful
treatment. There are many transcriptionists but good ones are rare.
medical transcription jobs ~. copyright data 2004 Indianchild.com
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