Monday, August 10, 2009

The Medical Transcription Professional

By Jan Snewo

Few "administrative support" positions are as vital to so many people as those for medical transcription. This professional works hand in glove with qualified medical personnel in making sure that important medical documents are recorded and maintained.

Just as legal transcription is vital to a law office, with legal transcription services providing accurate records of depositions, legally binding arbitration and mediation, so the professional in medical transcription ensures effective medical care.

How so? Typically, a patient consults a doctor once or twice a year. In this visit, the physician asks probing questions, discusses ongoing or new problems, performs an exam, and possibly orders some lab work done. A diagnosis may be made, treatment options discussed. When the patient has exited the office, the doctor records all of this into a hand held recording device, which will later be used by the medical transcription professional.

Proof reading of completed documents is a must, as are the ability to edit and to format the reports correctly. Medical transcription jobs and quality assurance go hand in hand. If the doctor or other professional suggest edits or corrections of the finished product the provider of transcription services must make the corrections carefully yet quickly.

Transcription services produce documents that may be printed in hard copy format, or retained only in electronic formats. Either way, accurate records are obviously extremely important. The provider of medical transcription services may be employed directly by the doctor (or physician's group) but more likely, he or she is employed on a subcontracting basis via an agency.

With adequate training, the transcription services worker will find himself or herself in a variety or work settings. They may be called upon to listen to police interrogations, teleconferences of business leaders, newspaper interviews, legal proceedings of all kinds.

Medical transcription jobs involve dictation describing surgical consultations with world famous doctors, medical exams for army personnel, letters of referral for HMO patients, even autopsy reports for police departments. The variety is endless, and helps to ensure that boredom is not a problem.

Regardless of whether one chooses to specialize in legal transcription or in medical transcription jobs, the fact is that transcription services is a steady, even burgeoning field, one sure to reward the person who trains for it.

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