Medical Transcription Training - Typing Skills

Typing skills:

Medical transcription requires fast and accurate typing with a minimum speed of 50 wpm (words per minute) for freshers. As far as accuracy is concerned a fresher should be able to produce a document with at least 90% accuracy. A good transcriptionist with a year’s experience generally types around 75 wpm with about 95% accuracy.

The most effective method of typing is referred to as “touch” typing. In this method the hands are placed over the keyboard with the fingers in a specific formation. Typing keyboards have become standardized so that the keys are always organized in a specific way that allows for maximum efficiency. The position of each key on the keyboard is memorized and typing occurs fluidly and without the requirement to continuously look at the keyboard.

In addition to learning to touch type, the following can contribute towards improving typing speed:

•    Correct sitting posture – ergonomic chairs are recommended for this
•    Positioning of hands with fingers resting gently on the keyboard.
•    Periodic breaks – improves typing productivity and accuracy.

Although learning how to type is important for this field, it is also important to learn how to spell the various medical terms used by the dictators. Doing so might reduce the necessity of constantly rechecking the spellings, thus improving your productivity.

Note: A recent trend has been for the dictating doctors and nurses to use electronic medical records with voice-recognition software. These online charting products convert speech into word documents. This means that medical transcriptionists are slowly being bypassed as the files are routed directly to the editors or quality analysts who simply edit and correct the errors in the documents and send them back to the dictating physician or nurse. Due to this new development, it has also become important for transcriptionists to concentrate more on accuracy rather than speed, in order to prepare themselves for the next stage – editing and/or quality analysis. There are, however, many clinics and hospitals which still prefer the older methods since the online charting products are not very economical and do not provide an accuracy of over 60-70%.

MT Company in Chennai - E care

E Care India Pvt Ltd

No 27/28 B R Complex 2nd Floor, Near Spencer Plaza, 

Woods Road, Mount Road, Chennai - 600002

Phone - 044-28461197

MT Company in Chennai - Prime India

Prime India Healthcare Solutions Pvt Ltd  No 201, Poonamallee HighRoad, Avadi, Chennai -  600054   Phone - 044-66246343

Rapid Care - Medical Transcription Company in Chennai

Rapid Care

2nd floor,VLV Complex,
Old #21, New #41, Mount Road,
Little Mount, Saidapet, Chennai 600015.

Phone: 044-22352151, 22350446

Medical Transcription Company in Chennai

Azimuth Software India Pvt Ltd.

#10, Taas Mahal Building, Montieth Road, Egmore, Chennai - 600008

Contact Number - 044 - 42696767
Website - www.azisoft.com

Service - Medical Transcritpion, E-learning, Software Development, HTML5 conversion, Soft Skills & Life skills training.

Is there scope for growth in the transcription business?

Is there scope for growth in the transcription business?
A. The usual stages of growth within an organization for a medical transcriptionist are as follows:

1.    Trainee Medical Transcriptionist
2.    Junior Medical Transcriptionist
3.    Senior Medical Transcriptionist
4.    Junior Quality Analyst
5.    Senior Quality Analyst
6.    Deputy Team Leader
7.    Team Leader
8.    Project Manager
9.    Operations Manager

While the first five positions are wholly dependent on a person’s ability to produce a document with at least 98.5 to 99.5% accuracy, the latter four positions require management and people-handling skills. The stages are the same for a person wishing to pursue a career in legal transcription. After the fifth stage, with suitable qualifications, one can also diversify into the training and development aspects of transcription.

Who can do transcription jobs?

Who can do transcription jobs?

Anybody with a good understanding of day-to-day English can become a general or media transcriptionist. To become a medical or legal transcriptionist, however, one needs to know the basics of both subjects.

Transcription is a good career choice and provides excellent chances for growth and promotion. It is also a viable career option for housewives, pensioners and even college students who need some extra pocket money or simply want to keep themselves occupied. 
  

The main requirements are:

i.    A good understanding of English grammar and syntax
ii.    A typing speed of 60 words per minute or above
iii.    Excellent listening skills
iv.    A familiarity with MS-Word and other Office related software.

While there are a few companies that provide transcription training to freshers and later absorb them, most companies prefer new entrants to have at least a year or two of prior experience with transcription.

Who needs transcription services ?

Who needs transcription services?

A. Medical transcription :

 Insurance companies request patient records from their customers’ doctors in order to have their own physicians check the accuracy of such reports and comment on the advisability of a particular course of treatment for such patients.

When a patient’s doctor recommends a certain course of treatment, the insurance company’s doctor (ICD) studies and analyses the report of the original doctor and concludes whether that particular procedure or treatment is necessary or not. The ICD can also recommend cheaper medicines or alternative ways of dealing with the patient’s problem. This way the insurance company saves a lot of money.

The patient also benefits in two ways:

•     He/she is given the benefit of a second opinion without paying anything extra; and/or
•     When the patient’s insurance company suggests a cheaper alternative, the amount of money deducted by the insurance company from the principal sum (through paying for medical expenses) is reduced.

Legal transcription services are generally required by attorneys, lawyers, paralegals, law firms, etc.

Media transcription and media monitoring services are generally necessary for media companies, various industries, political individuals or parties, sportspersons and sports groups, etc.

General Transcription

General Transcription: 

Similar to media transcription, this deals mainly with the transcription requirements of businesses, corporations and individuals. It can include:

1. Minutes of meetings (Board meeting, shareholders’ meeting, etc.)
2. Classroom lectures
3. School/college dissertations
4. Interviews
5. Conferences and seminars
6. Panel discussion
7. Interviews

Media Transcription

Media Transcription: As the name suggests, media transcription relates to the kind of transcription required for the various forms of news media – TV, radio and online (podcasts).

This kind of transcription involves the following:

•    News
•    Interviews
•    Documentaries
•    Reality shows
•    Panel discussions
•    Debates
•    Press meetings

Media Monitoring: 

A related sector is media monitoring, defined as the act of monitoring the output of the print, online and broadcast media. Media monitoring services provide summaries– generally limited to 2-3 lines – that are uploaded on to the client’s website. The person browsing the website can read the summaries and then decide if the complete version of the news or interview or discussion is relevant to his/her interests. Media monitoring can be conducted for a variety of reasons, including political, commercial, scientific, etc.

Legal Transcription

Legal Transcription:

Legal transcription is similar to medical transcription, except that it usually involves legal documents or case details. The dictation is usually handled by a lawyer/attorney or their paralegal and requires specialized knowledge of terms used in the field.

Legal transcription is not the same as court reporting. Court reporting is a form of real-time transcription, meaning words are transcribed as they are spoken live—not from a recording. Court reporters must undergo certification, legal transcriptionists don’t have to.

The format of these reports is usually as follows:

•    About the client
•    Issue/Problem facing the client
•    Circumstances surrounding the issue/problem (or) Details of the accident
•    Evidence
•    Witnesses, if any
•    Opinion/Recommendation

Legal transcription can be broadly divided into the following categories:

a.    Consultation (first visit)
b.    Follow-up visits (second or subsequent visit)
c.    Interviews
d.    Letters
e.    Memos
f.    Agreements
g.    Pleadings
h.    Depositions
i.    Client statements

Medical Transcription

Medical Transcription in Detail:

Medical transcription is the act of transcribing or typing a doctor’s report on his/her patients from dictated audio files into written text (usually electronically, i.e. on a computer). Whenever a medical professional – doctor, nurse or other healthcare personnel – sees a patient, he/she maintains a record of certain important aspects of the patient’s health.

This usually consists of:

1.       Current issue(s) the patient is presenting with;
2.       History of present illness;
3.       Medications he/she is on;
4.       Prior surgeries or problems (if any);
5.       Details of physical examination performed;
6.       Laboratory values for any test(s) performed; and
7.       Conclusion or diagnosis.

These medical records are usually of four types:

a.    Consultation (first visit)
b.    Follow-up/Clinical visits (second or subsequent visit)
c.    Operative procedures (surgeries)
d.    Letters to other doctors recommending a patient for consultation or          second opinion.

Types of Transcription

Transcription can be divided into four main categories.

1)    Medical Transcription

2)    Legal Transcription

3)    Media Transcription

4)    General Transcription

What is Transcription?

What is transcription?

Transcription simply means converting speech into a written or electronic text document. Transcription services are often provided for business, legal, or medical purposes. The most common type of transcription is from a spoken language source into text, i.e., speech to text (usually on a computer, though it could also be on paper).

For a transcription service, different individuals and organizations have different methods of pricing. This can be per line, per word, per minute, or per hour - varying from individual to individual and industry to industry. Transcription is among the fastest growing jobs around the world.

In the beginning, transcription used to be done by secretaries who used to take notes in short-hand and then work on typewriters for long hours to get a report ready. With the advancement of technology, the same work is now done at a fraction of the price and within a much shorter period of time. The availability of highly sophisticated recording equipment ensures that multiple files can be created, stored and sent for transcription purposes.

Nowadays, many companies also offer their employees the luxury of providing these services from the comfort of their homes.

Asian countries like India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are highly sought after by countries USA, Canada, UK, Australia as sources of cheaper transcription services that also ensure good quality and quick turnaround times.