Medical Transcription Error

Medical transcription errors are not inevitable. Medical transcription like legal transcription or any other transcription demands the highest level of accuracy. Medical transcripts can be used as evidence in a court of law. Medical transcription must be error free because only based on these transcripts, medical billing and coding has to be done. Any errors can reflect on the medical coding and billing processes. It is a critical situation because all medical claims have to be made for services that were given by the healthcare providers from the respective insurance companies.An error in a medical record can sometimes become a very expensive mistake. Experts warn that medical transcription errors along with outdated information and inadvertent omissions can put to risk our ability to secure individual health, life or disability insurance. Even if the client does get insurance coverage, inaccurate data can also become the reason for him to pay much more than he should be paying.According to a very recent study conducted by the New York based health issues researching group Commonwealth Fund one-fifth of working-age adults who seek insurance coverage are turned down. They get charged higher because of pre-existing conditions or are offered plans that exclude some types of health issuesThese are the common types/causes of errors during transcriptionDifficult voice recordings.Lack of judgment of transcriptionistNot clear audioSpeed of dictationDictation accentOmission of process stepKnowledge errorsWhat can be done about the problem and can medical transcription errors be reduced? There had been discussions earlier that the transcription output quality variability cannot be systematically improved because of the inherent variability of input quality and human skills involved. But this problem was well researched and it was later found out that by the application of quality control method using Six Sigma techniques relevant to the medical transcription problem of errors, major mindset changes became possible. Today it has paved the way to significantly understand, monitor and avoid medical transcription errors.

Medical Transcription and the US-India Time Difference

It seems that nature and the sun’s movement is in favor of the medical transcription communities of India and the US. Doctors and other medical professionals across USA treat diseases and take care of the sick all day long. But just treating or curing is not enough. The why, what, and how details of every single patient that walked into a hospital have to go on digital record because today it is required by law. So after finishing every single process /procedure doctors are seen talking in and recording details into Dictaphones or other recording devices.Who listens to these miles of tapes that get accumulated at the end of the day in these hospitals? Well that is precisely the medical transcription professional’s job. The medical transcription must transcribe every uttered word into text so that it can be stored as printed or electronic data and become accessible in the future for the world if required. Actually medical transcription has always been there since ages. The medical transcribers of yesteryears were usually those who assisted the doctors and manually made note of the patient and the treatment details.Outsourcing of Medical transcription to India is very favorable. Of course primarily because Indian labor is good and cheaper and also because of the low TAT (Turn Around Time). All voice recordings that are sent can get transcribed by the next day morning itself. Is it that someone sits all night and transcribes those tapes? Yes and No. Let me explain. The day’s audio files are daily sent by evening to India where it is now day break. (Due to the natural 12 hour time difference) The data is then transcribed during the day (Indian day) and uploaded back via the Internet to the US in the evening (Indian evening) where it is going to be dawn. So the doctors are happy when they come in next day and see all their yesterday’s work / dictations in print or as transcripts first thing in the morning. Now isn’t that naturally convenient for the medical transcription outsourcing community in the US and also for the transcription professionals based in India?

Medical Transcription and the US-India Time Difference

It seems that nature and the sun’s movement is in favor of the medical transcription communities of India and the US. Doctors and other medical professionals across USA treat diseases and take care of the sick all day long. But just treating or curing is not enough. The why, what, and how details of every single patient that walked into a hospital have to go on digital record because today it is required by law. So after finishing every single process /procedure doctors are seen talking in and recording details into Dictaphones or other recording devices.Who listens to these miles of tapes that get accumulated at the end of the day in these hospitals? Well that is precisely the medical transcription professional’s job. The medical transcription must transcribe every uttered word into text so that it can be stored as printed or electronic data and become accessible in the future for the world if required. Actually medical transcription has always been there since ages. The medical transcribers of yesteryears were usually those who assisted the doctors and manually made note of the patient and the treatment details.Outsourcing of Medical transcription to India is very favorable. Of course primarily because Indian labor is good and cheaper and also because of the low TAT (Turn Around Time). All voice recordings that are sent can get transcribed by the next day morning itself. Is it that someone sits all night and transcribes those tapes? Yes and No. Let me explain. The day’s audio files are daily sent by evening to India where it is now day break. (Due to the natural 12 hour time difference) The data is then transcribed during the day (Indian day) and uploaded back via the Internet to the US in the evening (Indian evening) where it is going to be dawn. So the doctors are happy when they come in next day and see all their yesterday’s work / dictations in print or as transcripts first thing in the morning. Now isn’t that naturally convenient for the medical transcription outsourcing community in the US and also for the transcription professionals based in India?

Legal Transcription Errors

An attorney’s office or a law firm has to daily create a lot of documents or other paper work for clients like general correspondence, letters to clients, legal pleadings, interrogatories, briefs, subpoenas etc some of which will have to be produced in court. Legal transcription like medical and business transcription requires the professional transcriptionist to coordinate his ears, eyes, fingers and sometimes the foot (while using foot pedal). A transcription error can be defined as a type of data entry error that is made by a human operator. Quite often, while the transcript is being typed the operator may touch his fingers in the wrong place on the keyboard and this can result in a typographical error. There are many other types of errors that can occur; like typing the wrong syllable, omitting word/ words, and using the wrong punctuation spellings, etc. What are the different causes for these errors in legal transcription? Well some of the basic reasons for errors in transcription include, Passive listening skillsUnusual accentsProblem in audio/video recordingsPoor judgment of the case by the transcriptionistSkipping the editing/proofreading processNot well experienced in legalese / legal termsMisdiagnosis of errorsError due to wrong OCR/ICR readingsIllegible writingSyntax errorIt is very essential to use the latest digital technologies while doing legal transcription and all transcription work should always be done under the supervision of experienced law professionals. Frontline transcriptionists should also be trained to consistently deliver legal transcripts with a high degree of accuracy. The best and most effective philosophy to be followed in reducing errors during transcription is “Prevent defects closest to the point of creation.” Thus if one can create a fairly accurate transcription in the beginning/ first level itself, will allow the second level editors and quality control staff to concentrate their attention on more subtler errors This will result in an almost error free transcript with a minimal turnaround time.

Outsourcing of Radiology Reading

One of the recent success stories in medical outsourcing after medical transcription, medical coding and medical tourism is probably radiology reading outsourcing a part of telemedicine. What do we mean by radiology reading? Before knowing that it is important that we define telemedicine. By definition, Telemedicine is the application of clinical medicine where medical information is transferred via telephone, the Internet or other networks for the purpose of consulting, and sometimes remote medical procedures or examinations.Radiology Reading or Teleradiology is the ability to send radiographic images (x-rays) from one location to another. For many the idea of sending images across the globe to countries like India for “reading” or review / assessment may be frightening, but the fact is that it does work quite efficiently. One need not fear because they do not do complete reading and moreover final medical judgements are never passed by the Indian counterparts. There is a known shortage of radiologist in the US and doctors in India are available on call night long and it is day there. A part of this shortage problem has been successfully found the solution in outsourcing. Technology enables the speedy transfer of medical data over the Internet to any global location. All that is required is just a computer network. The the receiving computer can have a printer so that images can also be printed for convenience. Besides X-rays, other radiology reading areas include, MusculoskeletalDopplerAbdominal and Echocardiography Ultrasounds CT screenings of the whole body, MRIs ( Musculoskeletal, Spine,etc, Thoracic Imaging, Clinical Trials, Nuclear Medicine/ Cardiology Services are known to be available with a turnaround time of less than 20 minutes. It can be a big relief for the US based hospital authorities who may find it difficult to find a radiologist at odd hours.

5 Tips To Make Good Quality Medical Transcription

Good quality transcriptions require good input first as well as good outcomes through managing the different aspects.It is essential to get the better quality to get the quality results as per the clients needs.Here are the five tips to deliver quality products to the clients: basic tips for medical transcription that we hope will help you.1. Once you get the record you must have to check the quality of all the files need to be transcript. If you identify some file gets corrupted you need to inform your clients to replace the existing files. If you are working online with the client your voice transfer quality must be good so you must have to check all your instruments properly.2. You must take your position while starting the work, on allocations of the files you need to start your work as per defined systems. You also need to make separate data sheet for the records.3. In medical transcription the office environments must be keep cool and quite as main priority. If you office environment is good than your performance gets increases and you give better results than in the disturbed environment. It is essential to keep according to the HIPPA compliments.4. You must have to listen the voice carefully while making any transcription. Understanding pronouncements of the physician is most important thing. If you are not able to identify some medical terms you must have to use medical dictionary as well. If you have good experience your dictation quality is also good. If you don’t understand any words you must keep it blank and avoid guessing.5. You must use the software to get better quality work. It is most essential to use special software, which can check the medical terms which normally not available in the normal online dictionary.

The Medical Transcription Professional

A Medical transcription professional is often referred to as a medical transcriber or just as an MT. Earlier in the late 1990s medical transcription professionals were also called as Medical language specialists or Health Information Management professionals. An MT professional has to do the transcription with the help of transcription equipment that may include tape recorders PCs foot pedals etc. They use the tape to playback the recording and transcribing the dictations that have been recorded by the doctors. What makes a good MT? A good medical transcription should ideally have skills in the following areas.Good knowledge of medical termsSuperior typing skillsCommunication skillsOffice automation skillsAccuracy in sorting/counting and number verificationKnowledge of Grammar/punctuationExperience with multiple medical specialtiesWhat is the work done by an MT? Well it is an MT’s responsibility to convert the physician dictated medical records of patients into type written formats. Transcriptionists have to accurately transcribe information like the patient’s name and the medical records have to be perfectly transcribed. It is the responsibility of the MT professional to correct any inconsistencies, edit, punctuate and give a perfect finish to the documents. He also has to maintain a back up and log of all the transcription work done. If he has any technical doubts that need to be cleared he will have to follow up with the concerned physicians.A medical transcription professional has to be very familiar with the dictations that he listens to most of the time. Usually the dictations will consist of the names of various diseases, its signs and symptoms, the different diagnostic methods and also its treatments and prevention. Besides this the transcriptionist also has to bean expert in reading various medical reports including, autopsy reports, surgery reports, pharmacology, laboratory reports, pathology reports etc. He will also have to be familiar with other advanced medical terminologies, medications, generic names, classifications, dosages and more.Medical transcription professionals can gain the title of a Certified Medical Transcription’s (CMT) by passing a certification examination that is conducted only by the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI). The AHDI was formerly in the name of American Association for Medical Transcription (AAMT). Medical transcription professionals can now choose to specialize in any one of the different medical specialties.

What is Osteopathy Medical Transcription?

Osteopathic medical transcription is a specialty transcription that is fast growing. This is because there is a rising demand for preventive healthcare and people prefer a holistic approach to medicine in the world today. But, often we find that there is always confusion among the common people about the differences between allopathic, osteopathic and chiropractic practices. This is because of the differences between osteopathy and chiropractic systems can be very subtle. An increase in the demand for osteopathy medical transcription has seen many medical transcriptionists specializing in osteopathy. There are similarities and differences between the osteopathy and chioropractic professions. While Osteopathy is an approach to healthcare that focuses on the role of the musculoskeletal system in health and disease, Chiropractic practices is a complementary and alternative medicine health care profession that focuses on diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system and the effects of these disorders on the functions of the nervous system and general health. Chiropractors usually rely much on x-rays for diagnosis and manipulations of bones, but the Osteopaths do not order for x-rays unless they are clinically indicated. This greatly reduces a person’s exposure to harmful radiation. Osteopathic medicine in the American medical care system is more holistic. It was started in 1874 by Andrew Taylor Still, M.D., D.O. Take a look at the website of the American Osteopathic Association http://www.osteopathic.org/index.cfm Naturopathic osteopathy is a sub division that tries to understand the patient’s symptoms not only from physical factors but also, if relevant, also from emotional and/or nutritional factors. This system believes that health derives from a balance between the three fundamental factors i.e., the physical, emotional, and the biochemical.In the United States, an osteopath (or an osteopathic physician) must be a graduate of one of the nation’s osteopathic medical schools. Each school is accredited by the American Osteopathic Association’s and has recognition by the U.S. Department of Education. Thus Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.s) are fully licensed medical physicians and surgeons and do practice all clinical specialties along with their M.D. colleagues. However, they are trained to be generalists first, and specialists second. Osteopaths being one of the fastest growing segments of healthcare professionals in the United States, it is estimated that, by 2020 at least 100,000 osteopathic physicians will be in active medical practice.Osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) is practiced by osteopathic physicians and involves the use of hands to diagnose illness and injury and encourages the body’s natural tendency toward good health. Along with all other available medical options, Osteopathy physicians are able to offer the most comprehensive care available in medicine today. And this means more and more transcriptionists will choose to specialize in Osteopathy.

Medical Transcription and Drug Reference

Medicines and drugs are an integral part of mainstream western allopathic medicines that are consumed around the world. A medical transcription professional who daily transcribes the dictations by the physicians or any specialist doctors will often come across prescription of drugs both old and new. A medical transcriptionist has to be aware of the latest drugs introduced in the concerned market and this can be done with the following pharmacology (drug) reference books which should always be a part of his library.• Physician’s Desk Reference (PDR)• American Drug Index (ADI)• Saunders Pharmaceutical Word Book• Understanding PharmacologyWhenever a transcriptionist comes across a new drug name he must know how to search for it and become familiar with the drugs, their indications and dosages. Being up to date can save a lot of search time. Remember, good productivity in transcription is a critical factor as payment is usually made on a per line basis. While a drug’s trade name or brand name is selected for its appeal to prescribing physicians, the generic drug can have several trade names, each copyrighted by different manufacturers. While transcribing drug names these are some of the main factors that should be kept in mind by the transcriptionist.Generic names are in lower caseTrade names start in capitals and can have internal caps as wellPDR (Physicians’ Desk Reference) is for prescribed drugsSeparate publication for non prescribed drugsDrugs can sound similar but be totally different in spelling and usageDo not capitalize words like tablet / capsule / solution / cream etcOne of the biggest challenges medical transcriptionists often come across is when listening to tapes that may not be very clear. It can be confusing when there are two drugs are spelled differently but sound very much alike. These two drugs could be for completely different uses and the transcription professional has to be very alert to all such names.

Outsourcing of Radiology Reading

One of the recent success stories in medical outsourcing after medical transcription, medical coding and medical tourism is probably radiology reading outsourcing a part of telemedicine. What do we mean by radiology reading? Before knowing that it is important that we define telemedicine. By definition, Telemedicine is the application of clinical medicine where medical information is transferred via telephone, the Internet or other networks for the purpose of consulting, and sometimes remote medical procedures or examinations.Radiology Reading or Teleradiology is the ability to send radiographic images (x-rays) from one location to another. For many the idea of sending images across the globe to countries like India for “reading” or review / assessment may be frightening, but the fact is that it does work quite efficiently. One need not fear because they do not do complete reading and moreover final medical judgements are never passed by the Indian counterparts. There is a known shortage of radiologist in the US and doctors in India are available on call night long and it is day there. A part of this shortage problem has been successfully found the solution in outsourcing. Technology enables the speedy transfer of medical data over the Internet to any global location. All that is required is just a computer network. The the receiving computer can have a printer so that images can also be printed for convenience. Besides X-rays, other radiology reading areas include, MusculoskeletalDopplerAbdominal and Echocardiography Ultrasounds CT screenings of the whole body, MRIs ( Musculoskeletal, Spine,etc, Thoracic Imaging, Clinical Trials, Nuclear Medicine/ Cardiology Services are known to be available with a turnaround time of less than 20 minutes. It can be a big relief for the US based hospital authorities who may find it difficult to find a radiologist at odd hours.