Medical Transcription :Job prospectus and career options, Curricular requirements, skills and abilities

Medical Transcription (MT) means converting into written form, the dictation by the physicians and other healthcare professionals regarding patient assessment, workup, therapeutic procedures, clinical course, diagnosis, prognosis etc. in order to document patient care and facilitate healthcare services.
A Medical Transcriptionist is a medical Language specialist who, using a computer and accessories like headphones and a footpedal, transcribes the recorded audio into electronic data. This data is further scrutinized for grammar and clarity by a proofreader.
It flows from the need for documentation of medical records and the inability of hard-pressed doctors to sit and write those reports themselves. In Western countries, particularly the US, maintaining extensive medical records is mandatory-and vital-for each patient treated. The fact that medical insurance claims and lawsuits are decided on the documented case history makes this all the more necessary.
Further, doctors are frequently invited to deliver lectures at medical colleges. This implies preparing extensive notes on case studies to be handed out to participating students.
So, what does a harried medico do? Simple: he or she just speaks into a tape-recorder, these days, into voice recording PCs. That’s faster, and can be done even while walking from one hospital ward to the next. These tapes, or audio files, have to be converted into written statements, which is what medical transcriptions are all about.Medical Transcription is one of the fastest growing fields in health care. Medical Transcriptionists are in demand in Western countries especially in the US where the entire healthcare industry is based on insurance and detailed medical records are needed for processing insurance claims. Medical transcription could be one of the speedy growing IT enabled service in India also, with the rapid change in the outlook in Indian healthcare and privatization of the insurance sector. India provides an ideal location for conducting medical transcription with the large population of educated English speaking people and the comparative low cost which encourages companies abroad to outsource their work to the Indian Medical Transcription field.
Medical transcription is an interesting and challenging career. It is the process whereby one accurately and swiftly transcribes medical records dictated by doctors and others, including history and physical reports, clinic notes, office notes, operative reports, consultation notes, discharge summaries, letters, psychiatric evaluations, laboratory reports, x-ray reports and pathology reports. M.T. or Medical Transcriptionist is a person who assists physicians and specialty surgeons usually by transcribing, formatting, and proof reading their dictated medically oriented report of a patient’s health history. This dictation covers pretty much everything that takes place between the health care provider and the patient. Usually, the information dictated by doctors is recorded either into tape or onto digital voice processing systems. The process of medical transcription is transferring this information using word processing. Transcription services range from small, one-person home-based businesses to sophisticated, high-tech corporations which employ transcriptionists. Some medical transcription services now employ both ‘on-site’ and home-based medical transcriptionists. Medical transcription services serve client hospitals throughout the nation and abroad.
In India there was a boom in this industry couple of years back with a lot of companies and training institutes entering this field. Most companies except a few could not survive due to lack of proper training and understanding of this comparatively new concept in India. By improving the work standards and quality of service, India has a wide scope for capturing the huge clientele in the US and provide employment opportunities to the huge mass of English speaking and computer literate people in the country. The success of the surviving companies proves that Medical transcription can hold a vital link in altering the Indian job scenario.
It is a lucrative career with lot of benefits. At entry level medical transcriptionist is paid around Rs. 5000/- per month, which can exceed to Rs. 20000/- per month with two years, depending on their capabilities. There are also additional perks and performance incentives. Usually there are editors who help the transcriptionists in their work. If the MTs can become independent and do editors work also they have better prospects to earn more. With experience one can move on to becoming a supervisor, editor, trainer or manager of a medical transcription unit.
Eligibility:
It does not require specialised IT skills but it requires primary skills like good listening and language skills and knowledge of medical terms. Fluency in English, especially understanding of American way of speech and accent is a must to be in this field. However, an ideal qualification for a medical transcriptionist is Graduation with English comprehension skill and undergoing a training course in MT is an added advantage. Further, the candidate should be able to quickly develop new skills and adjust with the different accents and diction. Throughout the career as a medical transcriptionist one would need to keep up with changes in medical terminologies, medical procedures etc. and have the ability to detect medical inconsistencies in dictation and fix poor grammar and syntax. One must also have patience, as the work may get monotonous and repetitive. Regular comprehensive quality training is necessary to be successful in this field.

In India, lot of companies in the metros and major cities have ventured into the field. Since the job requires experience, these companies are expected to recruit a lot of people as trainees and then develop their skills so that they become experts in this field. Induj Infotech Ltd. of the S. Kumar group based in Mumbai, Lloyds Medical Solutions Pvt. Ltd based in Bangalore, Infoscript Services Pvt. Ltd. in Bangalore, Webcom Infotech Ltd. in Mumbai, Pioneer Transcription Systems in Delhi etc are some of the companies in MT.
There are lots of options available in the field abroad. One may choose to work from home for yourself. Another option would be to work outside your home in a hospital or for a medical transcription service. Other options include working in a doctor’s office, insurance company, attorney’s office, or a company marketing medical products or a medicalbook publishing company.
Some of the companies

• Lloyds Medical Solutions Private Limited, #52, Prestige Hosto Chambers, I Main Road, Sheshadripuram, Bangalore – 560 020
  Phone: 91-80- 32522525
  Fax: 91-80-23341597
  Contact Now – Email
  Website – www.lloydssolutions.com
  
• Spheris India Pvt Ltd,
  One Spheris Plaza, Koramangala Block 8
  Banglore – 560 095
  Phone – 91-80-257157
  Contact Now – Email
  Website – www.spherisindia.com
• Pioneer Transcription Systems
  B-372, Meera Bagh, Paschim Vihar.
  New Delhi   Delhi
  Phone 011-5271696 / 011-5279693
  Fax 091-11-5279694
• Webcom Infotech Ltd.
  Regent Chambers, 10th floor, 208 Nariman Point
  Mumbai   Maharashtra
  Phone 2826352 / 2881176; Fax 2819289
• Transcript Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
  24\39 Gandhi layout Baswashwar nagar bangalore-560079
  Bangalore   Karnataka
  Phone 91-80-3209040 / 91-80-3102423; Fax 91-80-3209041
• ISA Softtech Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
  S.C.O 75, PHASE IX
  Mohali  Punjab
  India  
  Phone 0172-394517 / 0172-394518
• Focus Infosys
  #117-120, 2nd Floor 80 Feet Peripheral Road 4th Block, Koramangala
  Bangalore, Karnataka, India
  Phone 5527231; Fax 5527230
• Induj Infotech Ltd.
  SKumars House, Street 14 , plot no 60 , Phase II. MIDC 
  Andheri (E), Mumbai   Maharashtra
  Phone 8368429
• Drish Infotech limited
  SCO 104-106, Sector 34 A
  Chandigarh   Punjab
  Phone 0172665653 / 0172665654; Fax +91-172-615622

Curricular requirements, skills and abilities

experience that is directly related to the duties and responsibilities specified, and dependent on the employer (working directly for a physician or in hospital facility).

• Knowledge of medical terminology.
• Above-average spelling, grammar, communication and memory skills.
• Ability to sort, check, count, and verify numbers with accuracy.
• Skill in the use and operation of basic office equipment/computer; eye/hand/foot coordination.
• Ability to follow verbal and written instructions.
• Records maintenance skills or ability.
• Good to above-average typing skills.

Basic MT knowledge, skills and abilities

• Knowledge of basic to advanced medical terminology is essential.
• Knowledge of Anatomy and Physiology.
• Knowledge of disease processes.
• Knowledge of Medical Style and Grammar.
• Average verbal communication skills.
• Above-average memory skills.
• Ability to sort, check, count, and verify numbers with accuracy.
• Demonstrated skill in the use and operation of basic office equipment/computer.
• Ability to follow verbal and written instructions.
• Records maintenance skills or ability.
• Above-average typing skills.
• Knowledge and experience transcribing (from training or real report work) in the Basic Four work types.
• Knowledge of and proper application of grammar.
• Knowledge of and use of correct punctuation and capitalization rules.
• Demonstrated MT proficiencies in multiple report types and multiple specialties.

Duties and responsibilities

• Accurately transcribes the patient-identifying information such as name and Medical Record or Social Security Number.
• Transcribes accurately, utilizing correct punctuation, grammar and spelling, and edits for inconsistencies.
• Maintains/consults references for medical procedures and terminology.
• Keeps a transcription log.
• Foreign MTs may sort, copy, prepare, assemble, and file records and charts (though in the United States (US) the filing of charts and records are most often assigned to Medical Records Techs in Hospitals or Secretaries in Doctor offices).
• Distributes transcribed reports and collects dictation tapes.
• Follows up on physicians’ missing and/or late dictation, returns printed or electronic report in a timely fashion (in US Hospital, MT Supervisor performs).
• Performs quality assurance check.
• May maintain disk and disk backup system (in US Hospital, MT Supervisor performs).
• May order supplies and report equipment operational problems (In US, this task is most often done by Unit Secretaries, Office Secretaries, or Tech Support personnel).
• May collect, tabulate, and generate reports on statistical data, as appropriate (in US, generally performed by MT Supervisor).

Categories: Career Options