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MTWorld News Blog
Free Info on our recommended Medical Transcription Program leading to an exciting home based medical transcription career
Welcome to the MTWorld blog. Bringing you relevant
and insightful thoughts and opinions to keep you up-to-date
on the medical transcription and healthcare documentation
industry.
Archive for April, 2011
Saturday, April 23rd, 2011
A few words should be written about the state of the medical transcription industry today with respect to training. The industry has gone from one offering virtually no formal training options a couple of decades ago, to one that has attracted an increasing number of participants – not all of which are reputable. To be fair, many of these training programs are well meaning. However, some are simply ill prepared to deliver a training experience that will yield a positive career outcome.
Remember – you can spend just as much time and money (and in many cases much, much more) on a second or third rate program as you can on a first rate program. In my experience, I have found that most people who select one of these lesser options do so for one or more of the following reasons:
1. Effectiveness of their marketing messages
2. Perceived low price of the program
3. Lack of available information regarding alternative training options
When evaluating any MT training program, consider what your ultimate goals are. Many people who express an interest in the MT career field have two primary goals:
1. To get a good job upon graduation
2. To work from home as a medical transcriptionist upon graduation
Both of these goals depend on the ability of the training program you choose to deliver a marketable education and to facilitate a number of positive post-graduation employment opportunities.
So when you consider the cost of a program that is fundamentally incapable of delivering on either of your goals, then what initially seemed like a great value can quickly turn out to be one of the most expensive and frustrating options imaginable.
Ultimately you should do your homework and ask the hard questions. Look at the evidence of how existing transcription employers view the training program you are considering. Look at whether the program is approved by AHDI. In the end, there are few decisions you will make that will ultimately prove to be more important to the success of your career.
Posted in Transcriptionists | Comments Off
Wednesday, April 20th, 2011
Many, if not most of us, spend a significant amount of time in front of a keyboard. Some of us rely on our typing skills (to one degree or another) to generate a living. And while point and click technology has made speed typing less of a requirement than it was a few decades ago, good communication increasingly demands solid typing skills.
A computer keyboard may seem like a simple and relatively unimportant tool, but the reality is that the keyboard interface has allowed information to be created and replicated in a way that has transformed the world. Think about it. What would a computer be without a keyboard? Certainly, the mouse and other innovations have reduced keystrokes. But there is simply no shortcut to entering vast quantities of raw information into a computer system. And like it or not, virtually every sentence, every word, every syllable, and every letter has had to be pounded out by a typist. It turns out that the lowly keyboard is one of the most important tools mankind has ever devised.
Standardized Keyboard Arrangement: The Key to Typing Productivity
The standard keyboard arrangement in Western countries is often referred to as QWERTY. Take a look at the top row of letters on a standard keyboard – moving from left to right – and you will understand why. All keyboards have a common placement of letters to ensure that any skilled typist can move seamlessly from one keyboard to another without losing anything in productivity. The current computer keyboard configuration may not seem all that intuitive at first glance, but it is elegantly designed to result in maximum typing speed and efficiency.
Most standard keyboards manufactured today have 101 keys. Increasingly, additional symbols and specialized applications are generating a lot of keyboard variations. However, the fundamental arrangement of the standard letters and numbers is generally never changed. This allows individuals to move from one keyboard to another without trying to figure out a new keyboard arrangement every time they type. Over time key positioning can be memorized and fingers can be trained to type keys without searching or even looking down at the keyboard. This is much the same concept as we see with the piano keyboard. Piano keys are arranged in a standard fashion, allowing play by touch rather than by sight. Of course, like sight reading on a piano, touch typing on a keyboard requires a lot of practice. With dedication, however, typing can become second nature and speed and efficiency can increase dramatically.
Posted in Typing and Keyboarding | Comments Off
Monday, April 18th, 2011
Medical transcriptions are medical language specialists. The bulk of the transcription work in this country is performed by home-based professionals. As statutory or contract employees or subcontractors, it is generally up to the home based professional to develop and maintain their own library of professional industry resources. While there are a lot of options available, there are certain medical transcription books that should be considered mandatory for any home based MT professional.
A Basic home library should include at a minimum:
1. A Standard English language Dictionary – Try Webster’s.
2. A Comprehensive Medical Dictionary – Try Dorland’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary or Stedman’s Medical Dictionary
3. A Good Drug Reference Book – Try Stedman’s Quick Look Drug Book and/or American Drug Index by Facts and Comparisons
4. A Good Medical Abbreviations Book – Try Medical Abbreviations: 30000 Conveniences at the Expense of Communication and Safety by Neil M. Davis
5. A Good General Medical Word Book: Try Sloane’s Medical Word Book
6. A Solid Grammar and Style Guide – Try the Book of Style (AHDI), or the Chicago Book of Style.
In addition to general purpose resources most MT’s will rely from time to time on specialty resources. Every medical specialty has its own peculiar terminology and vocabulary. Radiologists will use an entirely different set of terms to describe their findings compared to an internal medicine specialist, for example. Stedmans offers an entire library of medical word books. These books average $40 a piece and are continually being revised and updated. You would be well advised to hold off on purchasing specific specialty word books until you have a need for them. If you are beginning a new transcription specialty account or expect to be assigned to a specialty work group then a good medical word book is not only invaluable, but should be considered essential. It will add immeasurably to your productivity as a transcriptionist.
Titles from the Stedmans library of Medical Word Books include:
- Cardiovascular & Pulmonary Words
- Dermatology & Immunology Words
- Emergency Medicine Words
- Medical & Surgical Equipment Words
- Neurology & Neurosurgery Words, 4th Edition
- OB-GYN & Pediatric Words, 5th Edition
- Endocrinology Words
- GI & GU Words
- Oncology Words
- Ophthalmology Words
- Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Words
- Orthopedic and Rehab Words
- Plastic Surgery, ENT, & Dentistry Words, 5th Edition
- Internal Medicine Words
- Radiology Words
- Surgery Words
- Organisms and Infectious Diseases Words
- Alternative and Complementary Medicine Words
- Psychiatric Words
As a medical transcription practitioner, you will be continually adding books and resources to your personal library over the years. Be aware that many books are available on CD and increasingly are available online. The ability to search electronically can add significantly to your medical transcription productivity.
Posted in Medical Transcription Resources | Comments Off
Friday, April 15th, 2011
Typing speed and efficiency is one of the most crucial aspects of many careers such as medical transcription – where every keystroke counts – literally. It turns out that typing form can be one of the most important determinants of ultimate typing speed and efficiency. Most of us are aware that the most effective method of typing is referred to as “touch” typing. With touch typing, the hands are placed over the keyboard with the fingers in a specific formation. The position of each key on the keyboard is memorized and typing occurs fluidly and without the requirement to continuously look at the keyboard. Typing keyboards have become standardized so that the keys are always organized in a specific way – arguably allowing for maximum efficiency. I say arguably because there are schools of thought that insist that there are actually more efficient ways of organizing a keyboard. Nevertheless, these schools of thought have not prevailed and the current keyboard arrangement that you see on almost all keyboards today in one variation or another has taken hold and become a ubiquitous standard.
Standardization has occurred for a very important reason. Consider the vast amount of information available in books, libraries and on the internet. All of that information has been hand typed by an army of skilled typists. Standardized computer keyboards have allowed a mechanization of the typing process resulting in incredible advances in typing speed and efficiency.
Touch Typing Technique
The old method of typing (and sadly, a method still in widespread use) is the “hunt and peck” methodology of keyboarding. This is an extremely tedious and inefficient method of typing. People who use this style of typing are either incapable, unwilling, or possibly have just never considered that it was worth their time to memorize the position of the keys on a keyboard and to adopt standard finger positioning techniques. Unless you are a person who truly only interacts with a keyboard once or twice a year you will profit from the efficiency that can be generated through keyboard memorization and touch typing techniques.
Speed Typing Checklist
In addition to learning to “touch” type, many people find that they can incrementally increase their typing speed through a combination of:
1. Maintaining a correct typing posture: this means sitting erect with elbows to your sides and fingers neither hovering above nor pressing down, but rather resting gently on the keys in a standard finger position – more about this below.
2. Ensuring that the keyboard is at the proper height. Most desks and keyboard trays are set at a standard height. Be aware that if you are shorter or taller than average you will need to adjust your chair to establish comfortable positioning. Speaking of chairs, if you make your living interfacing with a keyboard as medical transcriptionists, data entry specialists and computer programmers do, then a chair is simply not a place to skimp. You need a chair that will provide excellent support and facilitate a healthy typing posture. Additionally, your chair selection should consider the maneuverability – both in terms of vertical adjustment to set the chair to the exact height and the ability to move from side to side or swivel depending on the need. Further, you should not forget about comfort and circulation. I have personally had seats that restrict the flow of blood to my legs because of the way they were designed. You need to be careful and pay attention to the chair you select. Realize that it can have a measurable and long term impact on your health. If you type a lot, you need to care for your spine, your arms,wrists, and fingers, and pay attention to ensure that you get adequate circulation through your legs.
3. Typing with finesse – type fluidly with fingers resting gently on the keyboard. Every ounce of extra effort will add up. Poor technique can contribute to carpal tunnel and other repetitive injuries.
4. Refraining from overworking yourself. Take periodic respites from your typing routine. Gluing yourself to a keyboard for hours of uninterrupted typing will lead to problems and fatigue and render you less productive in the long run. It will also jeopardize your health, possibly taking you permanently from your career.
5. Monitoring your typing speed and accuracy by returning frequently to the free speed typing test available at MTWorld.com can motivate you toward higher levels of speed and accuracy as you see the results of your efforts.
6. Making proper and generous use of macros and keyboard efficiency tools. With a modest amount of setup and a relatively minor investment, you can increase your typing speed, efficiency and productivity substantially by taking advantage of productivity software. Macros basically allow you to substitute words, word strings, or even entire repetitive paragraphs with a few keystrokes. Again, even if you feel that the typing macros don’t speed up your typing significantly, it may still make sense to utilize them as much as possible to minimize the volume of repetitive physical keystroke activity you are subjecting your body to on a daily basis. At the very least it will result in less repetitive stress on your fingers and wrists.
7. Fixing typing errors in real time. Taking the time to stop and correct each mistake at the moment that you notice it is one of the biggest time drags on your overall keyboarding speed and efficiency. By continuing past a mistake even when you realize you have made it you will maintain a continuous uninterrupted typing rhythm, yielding huge benefits over the course of a typing session. Correcting errors at the conclusion of a completed report with the assistance of automated spell and grammar check software will in the long run be far more efficient. Don’t underestimate the need for a final proof read to catch mistakes that are not caught by spell check software, which is notorious for missing obvious contextual problems.
8. Determining the proper auto-correct setting for your circumstances. Depending on the sophistication of your auto-correct software capability, you may want to avail yourself of an auto-correct feature, which basically corrects problems as they happen. However, this can also become your worst productivity nightmare as auto-correct programs are notorious for thinking they have you outsmarted and correcting a lot of things that do not need correcting – requiring you to go back and fix the problems. What is worse, these problems will not be caught by spell check and will have to be discovered manually. The right option for your specific circumstance will likely be discovered after one or two typing sessions.Often out of sheer frustration you will turn the silly feature off after a paragraph or two. Use your judgment on this one.
9. Practicing short bursts of high-speed typing. By typing as fast as you can for relatively short periods of time you will begin to acclimate your fingers and your mind to the notion that you can type faster than you believed possible. This is important and will eventually result in a higher rate of average typing speed for most people. Your brain and fingers will typically cooperate to allow you to type at a comfort level rate of typing speed. Most people are capable of typing much faster than this comfort level rate. It requires practice and effort and a basic mind adjustment to accomplish it – but it will pay big dividends if you keep after it.
With proper attention to some of these details you will be surprised at how quickly you can improve your typing speed and efficiency. The MTWorld.com speed typing test will allow you to monitor your typing speed and efficiency and measure your progress toward your goals.
Posted in Transcriptionists, Typing and Keyboarding | Comments Off
Thursday, April 14th, 2011
The Medical Transcription work at home trend has gained significant momentum in the past decade or so. It is a production model that has now all but replaced the traditional employment arrangement for medical transcriptionists. Most transcription is now outsourced to large MT service providers who employ hundreds and sometimes even thousands of home based specialists.
The benefits of a medical transcription at home career are obvious and compelling. They include things like:
- Avoiding tedious commutes
- Minimizing daycare expenses
- Eliminating the need for expensive wardrobe upgrades
- Enjoying the freedom and flexibility of working from home
- Creating a personalized, comfortable home office environment
- Finding time for daily life errands during work breaks
- Having access to your own living areas for comfortable, stress free breaks
However, as you take stock of the benefits of a home based medical transcription career, it is also wise to maintain some perspective on the potential drawbacks. In my personal experience, the positive benefits of working from home far outweigh the negatives. Nevertheless, it is important to approach any new career opportunity with your eyes open.
Working as a home based transcriptionist can have certain challenges. For example:
- It requires careful planning to manage your work from home schedule around unexpected family or household emergencies.
- You may be tempted to schedule parent teacher conferences, shopping, trips to the gym, or other errands during prime production hours.
- A work at home environment can be distracting if you are not focused and motivated.
- Well meaning friends, family, and neighbors can assume that because you are home you are available to chat or interact.
- Friends or family may incorrectly assume that it is o.k. to drop off their kids for you to watch as they run their own errands.
- Working at home can leave you feeling isolated.
To succeed in any home based work environment you need to treat your work activities the same way you would treat a real job. This is definitely true of the medical transcription career. This means allocating specific chunks of time to uninterrupted MT work to ensure that you consistently meet your production, quality, and turnaround targets. You should plan to schedule breaks, errands, and any other non-work activities around your transcription work. If you allow these non-productive activities to encroach on your transcription time you will find that the stay at home opportunity that looked so appealing will quickly become frustrating, chaotic, and unprofitable - exactly the opposite of your work at home dream.
The time to assert yourself is at the outset of your new career. You should begin by developing a rigid schedule and post it for all to see – particularly family and others who may have a tendency to take your responsibilities lightly. Don’t be timid. Let people know that your top priority must be a commitment to earning a living and fulfilling obligations to your employer. As a medical transcription at home professional, this is never something you should find yourself apologizing for. As you establish proper boundaries, you will discover that the benefits of a work at home career in medical transcription will far exceed the hassles and drawbacks. With a little discipline, you will find that you will have the flexibility you desire when you need it most, while still protecting your professional turf. It will be a win-win-win for you, your family, and your employer.
Posted in medical transcription | Comments Off
Tuesday, April 12th, 2011
Historically medical transcription employment has enjoyed above average growth – surpassing the average growth rate for most occupations. In recent years, however, technology advances and offshoring trends have contributed to a moderation of growth in the medical transcription industry. The question is rightly posed as to what the future holds for the medical transcription and healthcare documentation industry.
The following facts exist:
1. The most recent statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics suggest that there are in excess of 105,000 medical transcriptionists currently operating on a full time or part time basis in the United States – this doesn’t count any overseas medical transcription employment. Some estimates put the count at a figure almost double the 105,000 medical transcriptionist government estimate. The BLS expects the overall industry job growth to continue to keep pace with or exceed that of most other occupations – particularly non-healthcare occupations.
2. The BLS projects medical transcription to post an 11% overall growth over the coming decade. An expansion of the active medical transcription workforce of 11% would equate to approximately 12,000 new jobs – at a bare minimum. However, with natural attrition that figure could be far higher. It is noteworthy to bear in mind that a high percentage of the most seasoned and productive medical transcriptionists will be retiring in coming years – consistent with broader demographic trends seen in the United States. One of the most important things that the BLS statistics miss is the fact that it takes years of experience for a transcriptionist to achieve a peak level of productive capacity. In other words, it is not possible to replace the production of a highly productive and efficient retiring MT with the capacity of a single new graduate. The reality is that the BLS statistics likely underestimate the overall demand for medical transcriptionists in the coming decade. This is good news for prospective MT’s and harder news for healthcare managers who will continue to struggle to keep up with surging demand and a persistent capacity imbalance.
In addition to the raw statistical projections discussed above, consider the following demographic, legal, political and social trends that will all converge to shape the medical transcription industry over the next several decades – primarily driving demand for healthcare documentation to higher and higher levels – at least until the end of the current baby boom cycle – at least another 25-30 years.
- A continuously growing population – the population of the United States and the world continues to expand relatively unabated. This US population growth rate may be significantly understated as a consequence of the rapid growth of undocumented workers entering the country each year.
- A rapidly aging population attributable to an upcoming and ongoing wave of elderly baby boomers and advances in healthcare treatments designed to extend life spans.
- Increasing pressure on healthcare systems and processes to continue to extend life spans and provide quality of life to the elderly and other segments of the population.
- A rapid increase in chronic and age and lifestyle related infirmities requiring acute care and non-acute but continuous care.
- A significant increase in the quantity of malpractice lawsuits targeted at the healthcare industry and its practitioners. The healthcare industry will continue to respond with more inclusive and detailed medical documentation reports to reduce liability and provide an important legal papertrail. (Translation: longer reports, more documentation – not less, more reports – not fewer, higher volumes of line counts, etc. etc.)
- A continuation of the current trend toward medical specialization. This will result in a single patient being seen by multiple specialists instead of a single general practitioner with each visit requiring an additional layer of documentation.
- An acceleration of the movement toward electronic information documentation as a means of enhancing both the quality of patient care and the accessibility of patient healthcare information.
- An increasing ability to successfully treat conditions and prolong life in previously terminal patients.
While it is true that some of the projected future demand will be siphoned off by offshoring organizations or mitigated by technology, it seems clear that the supply-demand conundrum that has existed for many decades will only be accentuated in coming years. The need for quality medical transcription practitioners should begin to accelerate again after a brief respite.
Posted in medical transcription | Comments Off
Monday, April 11th, 2011
Due to the amount of regulation and scrutiny given to medical coding activities the need for Medical Coding Certification is greater for individuals embarking on a medical coding career compared with many other career fields. An entry level or advanced medical coding certification is typically considered a prerequisite for entry into the medical coding profession.
There are two national organizations that certify medical coders:
1. AHIMA – American Health Information Management Association
2. AAPC – American Association of Professional Coders
Both of these organizations provide a variety of entry level and advanced medical coding certification options. While an entry level medical coding certification will get you started in a medical coding career, in order for a medical coder to advance in the career field, it is usually necessary to gain advanced medical coding certification status. The medical coding certifications offered by both of these organizations are widely recognized and respected in the medical coding industry. At this point, most medical coding work is still performed by medical coders working in hospitals or clinics. Medical coders work in a professional environment and perform a vital behind the scenes billing support activity.
There is a trend toward outsourcing of medical coding work to third party vendors. As this trend catches on, more medical coding work will be done in homes and it will evolve to become more of a home based career – much like medical transcription is today. As technology continues to evolve and highly secure and remote coding platforms are developed, the outsourcing model will begin to take hold in the industry. However, at this point most medical coding and billing is still performed in hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare facilities.
Posted in Medical Coding | Comments Off
Friday, April 8th, 2011
For those contemplating entry into the medical transcription career field and for experienced transcription practitioners alike, there are a number of outstanding publications focused on the medical transcription industry. These publications contain insightful articles about the profession and serve to keep the community up to date on trends affecting the industry. If you are serious about your career you should make it a practice to subscribe to a few of these medical transcription and healthcare documentation publications to stay abreast of changes in the industry. They also offer a great opportunity to network and become aware of job postings and opportunities. Some of the best publications include the following:
Plexus is a bi-monthly publication of AHDI, the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity. It’s readership includes medical transcriptionists, healthcare documentation and medical records professionals, business owners, MT employers, and others with an interest in the medical transcription profession. More information can be found at ahdionline.org.
Matrix is another solid bi-monthly publication offered by AHDI. It is focused specifically on the business and technology aspects of the healthcare documentation industry. Information is available at ahdionline.org.
eBrief – formerly known as Vitals is, according to AHDI, “a weekly e-newsletter designed to keep AHDI members and subscribers informed about news and trends in the industry and the strategic direction and initiatives of the association”. Information is available at ahdionline.org.
Advance for Health Information Professionals is a bi-monthly publication offered free of charge to health information professionals. Information can be obtained at health-information.advanceweb.com.
For The Record, is an informative publication for health information professionals. Information can be obtained at fortherecordmag.com.
Journal of the American Health Information Management Association (Journal of AHIMA), is the official publication of AHIMA. Subscription information is available at the AHIMA website ahima.org.
Journal of Healthcare Information Management, According to HIMSS, “JHIM is a quarterly, peer-reviewed journal edited specifically for healthcare information and management systems professionals.” For more information go to: himss.org/asp/publications_jhim.asp.
Posted in Healthcare Documentation, Medical Transcription Resources | Comments Off
Thursday, April 7th, 2011
Many practicing and aspiring medical transcriptionists inquire about the potential for career advancement to in the MT industry. This is not only a valid question, but also a great goal. There are plenty of opportunities for advancement in this rapidly growing industry. Good transcription managers are in short supply. The reality is that many practitioners would rather retain the flexibility of being their own boss and doing what they enjoy doing on a production basis. As a result, healthcare providers and MT services often have difficulty attracting qualified transcriptionists to management level roles. Accepting a management level role means giving up a lot of autonomy and flexibility and assuming more responsibility. Many practitioners are reluctant to make this tradeoff.
However, there are many people who thrive on the challenges of working in a faster paced environment and in assuming higher levels of authority and responsibility within an organization. They see the benefits of advancing their career and increasing their long term income potential as well as earning retirement benefits. A medical transcription management position can provide continued upward career mobility and result in a challenging and rewarding career.
There are several options available for anyone considering a career in MT management. The interesting thing to note is that the options continue to grow as technology developments transform the industry.
Manager of Quality Assurance (QA)
A manager of QA does just what the title implies. He or she reviews the transcribed documents that come in from home based transcriptionists; evaluates them against a set of quality criteria; and edits them to ensure they meet the quality standards prescribed by the healthcare provider. QA experts look for errors in spelling, punctuation, and grammar – often using sophisticated tools to assist them in this effort. They also look for important errors in the documents that could lead to misinterpretations of the data by a physician or other health care provider. The QA manager is highly regarded and is integral to the optimal flow of any transcription operation.
Medical Transcription Supervisor
Another important manager is the Medical Transcription Supervisor. MT Supervisors work either for a hospital or an outsourced service provider. The role of the supervisor is to manage a team of transcription professionals. The supervisor is responsible for scheduling, hiring, firing, evaluating, and managing all final reports and workflows and ensuring compliance with turnaround requirements. The supervisor also ensures that all associates are equipped with a full complement of equipment and resources to perform their jobs as efficiently as possible. The transcription supervisor facilitates the development of the MT staff by working with HR and training departments to see that resources are consistently aligned with peak workloads and that all specialty areas are properly staffed to meet turnaround requirements. The supervisor generally reports to a Medical Records Director of a hospital or possibly a director or vice president of a transcription service provider. A supervisor often possesses a CMT (certified medical transcriptionist) credential from an certifying organization such as AHDI(Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity).
Medical Transcription Trainer
Another important management function is that of medical transcription trainer. MT trainers will train transcriptionists on new account types and specialty areas. Account specific information will vary from client to client and each practitioner will require training on the account specifics, turnaround requirements, and special instructions relating to each account they service. A trainer will be responsible for developing the talent pool of the organization’s staff and will work closely with the MT supervisor to ensure that the staff is optimally deployed for maximum effectiveness in meeting the production needs of the department or organization. Cross training is also an essential function of the trainer. It is imperative that all members of a staff are capable of shifting their focus at a moment’s notice to accommodate an urgent need resulting from either a new client startup or the absence of one or more key transcriptionists. A trainer may also monitor and recommend continuing education training opportunities to associates throughout the year.
Medical Transcription Recruiter
The medical transcription recruiter is increasingly one of the most important managers in an organization. Their job is to continually develop and replenish the base of talent within an organization. The recruiter is constantly searching the country for qualified transcriptionists to add to department or company staff. Recruiters run ads, conduct interviews, and work with other managers to forecast future hiring needs. They are also responsible for identifying opportunities to increase retention among existing associates.
Medical Records Director
The Medical Records Director is typically a credentialed medical records specialist who oversees all aspects of the medical record production and archiving process. The director will typically manage all transcription and coding supervisors and sometimes the billing functions of a healthcare organization. A director will work with the MT supervisor to ensure that all documents are transcribed in accordance with contract requirements and that records are made available in a timely and professional manner to the healthcare professionals that need them. The secure electronic storage and delivery of records is a key function of the director. This individual will need to continually search out best practices and evaluate new and innovative technologies to ensure that the department operates at peak productive capacity. The health and well being of thousands of patients depends on the quality production and timely dissemination of health record information. The director is also responsible to ensure that all processes, documentation, workflows, relationships, and systems are HIPAA compliant. A director may possess one or more credentials or designations from a certifying organization such as AHDI, AHIMA, or AAPC. Credentials such as RHIA, RHIT, CCS, CPC, and CMT demonstrate a long term commitment to the profession and are evidence of the expertise developed by the director over the years.
Voice Recognition Medical Transcription Specialist
The relatively recent emergence of voice recognition specialists and supervisors is a good example of how new career opportunities are created in response to significant technology advancements in the industry. These are position that were not even on the radar screen a decade ago. As voice recognition technology gains a foothold in the industry, more and more of the MT workflow is going to be processed through a speech recognition engine. This will in no way eliminate the need for transcription, but this technology will transform the role of a growing subset of the workforce in the coming years. An increasing number of MT’s will use a speech recognition processed document as a starting point for their transcription activities. Speech recognition produced documents generally require significant editing. This editing process will be performed by practitioners whose role will change from traditional transcriptionist to medical language editor. The technology behind voice recognition processing is sufficiently different from the traditional process that voice recognition supervisors may also be required to manage these new activities.
Posted in Medical Transcription Management | Comments Off
Tuesday, April 5th, 2011
The best way to avoid financial catastrophe is to eliminate debt and spend within your means. Debt elimination may mean downsizing or getting rid of some things. Take a hard look around you.
Then take this quick financial self-assessment:
- Do you have one or more expensive cars with high payments each month?
- Are you living in a house that is really more expensive than you can afford?
- Are you eating out frequently?
- Do you have expensive cell phone plans for everyone in the family?
- Is your cable TV plan loaded up with premium movie channels?
- Do you carry credit cards that you use indiscriminately?
The first question to ask is: Are any of these things a matter of life and death?
Certainly we all need to eat and we all need basic shelter and transportation, but almost all of us fall into the trap of rationalizing the purchase of items that far exceed the requirement of satisfying the basic need.
The second question to ask is: How can I get out from under these excessive or unnecessary expenses and right size my financial obligations?
The answer in some cases may be surprisingly simple.
- Cancel the cable.
- Stop eating out.
- Eliminate or cut back on your cell phone plans.
- Cut up your credit cards.
The answer in other cases may require more work. Like most people you have probably taken on debt and other financial obligations that are not easy to get out of. You may have to work harder to eliminate some of these other things from your life.
Put your house up for sale and move into a less expensive one. In the current economy this may be more difficult than you would like it to be, but it is often doable. If you owe more than the house is worth then you may need to visit with your bank about accepting a short sale offer. Make sure that your agreement is one that doesn’t put you on the hook for any deficit in the future. Many banks are willing to accept short sale prices (an amount less than what is owed) and call it good. Others may accept the price but want you to be obligated to the difference. This is not a good outcome for you. Be careful to ask about this. Either way, you will want to get out from under the burden of financial debt associated with our extravagant and excessive house payment. Some creditors will also allow you to restructure your loan and make interest only payments or otherwise reduce your monthly outgo, at least for a time while you are trying to sell the house.
Put your cars up for sale. Again, you may find that you owe more than they are worth. It may mean another trip to the bank to explain your situation and ask them to work with you. They may restructure your loan or allow you to turn the car back in. The key is to get rid of these enormous financial burdens and then replace them with something sensible. Maybe a smaller, reliable, used car that gets good gas mileage and doesn’t come with a huge payment. If you can pay cash for a used car that would be the best possible thing.
Just get out there and do it. Gaining control of your financial future starts with making ONE good financial decision – no matter how small. You will be surprised at how much better you feel just by calling the cable company and cancelling the cable. It may not mean that much to your bottom line but it is the start of a new financial path that will lead to financial peace of mind and an ability to live within your means into the future.
Posted in Personal Finance | Comments Off
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