Medical Transcription

The simple definition of a medical transcriptionist is an individual that listens to dictated material and then converts that material into a written or typed document. Doctors rely on medical transcriptions to transcribe patient information and the like because it saves the doctor a considerable amount of time in the office. By relying on a medical transcriptionist the doctor is then available to see more patients and the entire medical office runs more proficiently when a medical transcriptionists is taken on to handle all of the documentation.

The material that a medical transcriptionist is responsible for is vast. In addition to medical reports pertaining to patients, a medical transcriptionist may be required to deal with letters, medical correspondences, and various medical documents. Most medical transcriptionists rely on a special recorder with a headset and foot pedal. The foot pedal causes the tape to play and stop and the medical transcriptionist simply listens to the tape and then records the information that is being heard into a word processing application. Once the medical transcriptionist has documented the information, it is then carefully proofread to ensure that all of the grammar and punctuation is correct and that there are no errors or missing information in the text.

Medical transcriptionists must be completely familiar with medical jargon and terminology. Since many of the reports produced by the medical transcriptions rely on the knowledge of medical terminology, the transcriptionist will be required to take special classes in a medical transcription training course. Spelling will need to be accurate and the medical transcriptionist will need to know all of the terminology associated with physicals, operations, doctor consultations, coroner reports, x-rays, MRIs and the like. All of the latter mentioned reports involve the comprehension of physiology, human anatomy, and pharmacology, as well as the understanding special medical abbreviations. Studies will vary from one school to the next but the curriculum will waver little.

The medical transcriptionist is certainly in high demand. There is clearly no shortage of available jobs for the student that successfully completed a medical transcription training course. A medical transcriptionist can easily find available work at a private physician's office, in a medical office setting, in local hospitals, through medical clinics, and even in special libraries that pertain to the medical field. Meanwhile, a medical transcriptionist may discover special companies that offer medical transcription services and there are government positions that also require the skills of trained and qualified medical transcriptionists. In the end, there are medical transcriptionists that start a business, working entirely for themselves as they provide services to multiple medical establishments.

Depending on the location of the job, a medical transcriptionists hours may vary. Some people take on the medical transcription job fulltime and others choose to work as a medical transcriptionist part-time. Further, if the individual works as a medical transcriptionist in a regular medical office, they will more than likely have regular hours Monday through Friday. The entrepreneur may find that they have to work on the week end or that they have far different hours than a transcriptionist that works in a standard office setting. For all intents and purposes, the choice is up to the individual-the field of medical transcription allows for flexibility in terms of hours and job location, thereby making the job and enticing choice for many.

The typical medical transcription training courses consists of two years of full time study. Also, the medical transcription student will find that they must complete at least one hundred training hours in the task of transcription. There are, of course programs that do not require as many hours of study, but students should consider the benefits derived from longer, more focused studies. Most colleges, some vocational schools and online universities offer transcription training courses and the student can choose to complete the coursework on a fulltime or part-time basis.

Using the Internet to locate training programs is something many potential students do. The Internet offers online educational directories and students can easily browse course catalogs to determine if the coursework for medical transcription is something that interests them. Students that elect to enroll in online universities will find that the enrollment process is completely easy: often times the student can enroll just by spending a few minutes filling out the appropriate electronic submission forms. Once the student has completed the enrollment application a qualified representative will contact them to discuss the student's future education. At that time, financial aid and other prerequisites will be thoroughly discussed and the student can have any questions or concerns addressed by the representative.

After the student completes a two year study program for medical transcription they are typically provided with a certificate or diploma proving that they have completed the required studies for the job. The American Association for Medical Transcription offers additional certification, where the student can take a special exam to receive certification. The only way a student can take the examination offered by the American Association for Medical Transcription is if they have already completed a two year program of study. Finally, upon successful completion, the student gains the title of Certified Medical Transcriptionist.

There is no legal requirement that demands that a student earn the title of Certified Medical Transcriptionist. On the other hand, the title does offer some advantages. First, the title shows that an organization has deemed the individual's skills as exceptional. Secondly, the title makes the individual more desirable in the workforce, giving them a competitive edge over other medical transcriptionists. Finally, more skills means more money for the individual interested in a medical transcription career.

The term work at home medical transcriptionist can be taken literally. Some doctors will send the information to the transcriptionist to be transcribed. Upon completion of the transcription process, the transcriptionist then returns the material to the doctor's office in the form of written documentation. On the other hand, those medical transcriptionists that work from home may also have side jobs that require their appearance in the doctor's office so many times a week or month. Finally, some individuals prefer to work full time while others prefer to work part-time only.

For those students interested in establishing a medical transcription business of their own, they may want to consider extensively studying business and business strategy in addition to studying medical transcription. The student will need to learn how to manage business finance, advertise, and how to keep the business up and running. During the course of one's studies it is probably a good idea that the student speak with various lawyers about what is expected of the individual when they run their own business. It is an equally good idea to learn every aspect of business management to ensure the business's success. Finally, talking to other independent medical transcriptionists may serve to assist the individual; it may help them to decide if running an independent business is really a good venture for them or if they are better suited in an established medical setting.

Medical transcriptionists earn wages that vary from one transcriptionist to the next. On the low end, most transcriptionists earn around 11 dollars an hours. On the high end of the spectrum, medical transcriptionists can make 20 dollars an hour or more. Meanwhile, an independent transcriptionist make more money than those that work in an office or vice versa. Also, the number of hours one works will directly affect how much income is earned in the medical transcription field.

If a medical transcriptionist works for a medical office they may be eligible for benefits thorough the employer, if the employer offers them. Medical, dental, and life insurance are sometimes offered and the medical transcriptionists may be eligible for paid vacation. In contrast, when working for oneself, the medical transcriptionist will also be responsible for any insurance. So, while the idea of working for oneself has some advantages, there are also some drawbacks to the practice.

The more knowledgeable the medical transcriptionist is the more money they are capable of earning. Many employers look to hire transcriptionists that are willing to go the extra mile and to upgrade their education on a regular basis. If one wants to become and remain a desirable hire in the field of medical transcription, continued learning will be part and parcel of keeping up in the field.

Four important pharmacology references in the medical tanscriptionist’s library are:
·Physician’s Desk Reference (PDR)
·American Drug Index (ADI)
·Saunders Pharmaceutical Word Book
·Understanding Pharmacology

It is very important that a medical transcriptionist be familiar with drugs, their indications and dosages as well as how to research new or unusual drug names in drug reference books. Elderly people especially sometimes take multiple, as many as ten or more medications per day. A wise medical transcriptionist will be sure to stay up-to-date. Familiarity with drugs and drug reference books will make transcription assignments much easier and will increase the rate of productivity, which is important if the medical transcription is being paid by line of transcription.

The pharmaceutical companies use three different names to describe a drug, they are:
• The chemical name (which is a complicated formula describing the drug’s molecular structure).
• The generic name (a shorter name assigned to the drug chemical)
• The trade or brand name (the copyrighted name selected by the pharmaceutical company)

The trade or brand name is easy to pronounce, and may indicate what the drug is used for or how often it is taken, and is selected for its appeal to prescribing physicians. A generic drug may have several trade names copyrighted by different manufacturers.

Rules to remember when transcribing drug names include:
• Generic drugs are always written in lowercase letters. Trade name drugs always start with a capital letter. Some trade name drugs will also have internal capitalization (such as pHisoHex). It is also important to note that the PDR contains only prescription drugs. There is a separate publication for nonprescription drugs. In addition, only drugs that the manufacturer pays to have listed in the PDR are included.
• Be alert to drug names that sound alike but their uses are completely different, such as Xanax used to treat anxiety and Zantac used to treat stomach ulcers
• Words such as tablet, capsule, solution, elixir and cream are not part of the trade name of a drug and should not be capitalized for use

The standard drug reference is the Physicians’ Desk Reference (published annually) and well known as the PDR. It contains various sections of drugs and is found in most physicians’ offices. Sections of the PDR of most interest to the medical transcriptionist are:

• Yellow pages (list generic names of drugs)
• Pink pages (list brand names of drugs)
• Blue pages (list therapeutic category
• White pages (give a complete description of the listed drugs including indications and dosages)

The American Drug Index (ADI) is another standard drug reference book. This is a comprehensive reference that lists both generic and trade name drugs and prescription and nonprescription drugs in alphabetical order throughout the reference book. It lists every drug name in all capital letters. Generic drugs are preceded by a small black dot to denote their difference from trade and brand name drugs. Trade name drugs list the name of the manufacturer to alert the medical transcriptionist that the drug is to be capitalized.

The Saunders Pharmaceutical Word Book is a new drug reference book to be updated annually first published n 1992. It is an A to Z listing of medications with generic drugs in lowercase letters and trade names capitalized as the medical transcriptionist must type them. Each entry states briefly what the drug is for and the usual methods of administration. It has an appendix list of Sound Alikes, 879 pairs of drugs that sound enough alike to be confusing which serves as a special help to the medical transcriptionist.

Understanding Pharmacology is an easy-to-read textbook used in many pharmacology classes. Medical transcriptionists seeking a greater understanding of drugs and their uses may find it especially useful to include in their library as well.

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