ByMegan
Medical Transcription Florida | What is expected of a Professional Medical Transcriptionist?
Medical Industry has been increasingly seeking ways of documentation of reports in accurate and reliable manner. With the advent of health information technology, speed and easy access have become feasible in producing meaningful medical dictation
Health Care Industry and the Scope of Medical Transcription Process
Health care sector is evolving fast. The demand for transcriptionists with high caliber and dedication is constantly rising. With medical professionals and practices kept busy with their own hectic activities, there is no wonder people with good transcription capability are highly in demand.
The Fundamentals requirements of Medical Transcription Professionals
To be able to pursue a career in medial dictation, one needs to have good command over the English language, an ear to details – such as various accents, the ability to listen well and key in content properly on a document, and the will to excel in the profession. Basic academic qualification will be sufficient, while certain inherent qualities are needed. A few of such skills have been listed below:
- Proficiency in English language
- Listening and writing, and comprehension competence
- Eye for details
- Logical reasoning and thinking
- Passion toward transcription process
- Will and dedication in learning
- Skills in word processing
What Aspirants Need to Do
- Health care segment has considerably expanded and so has the demand for efficient transcriptionists. Undergoing effective training is a vital step toward developing a very successful and lifelong transcription career.
- Medical transcriptionists need to familiarize with contemporary medical terminology for comprehending and meticulously transcribing crucial medical records.
- Taking classes in anatomy, physiology, and legal literature will be added advantages for those who wish to take up the profession
- General computer proficiency and a passion toward health care and related issues will come handy when opting for transcription as career
- Understanding contextual meaning of the clients’ dictation and being able to come up with accurate and relevant transcripts is important
How to flourish in the field of Medical Transcription
More than mere listening to the clinician’s dictation and typing the same on aesthetically attractive document, prudent transcriptionists are expected to work on the basis of certain fundamental requirements. Taking responsibility of the assignments taken, capability of judging things, deductive thinking ability, and vast knowledge in medical field are essential for producing transcripts of precision and relevance.
ByMegan
Medical Records and Patients’ Rights
Doctors, nurses, or other professionals involved in health care who treat individuals generate a great number of health records pertaining to the patients. Running into a lot of pages, these records form crucial part of malpractice suit at times. Medical records, when maintained properly, consist of vital details that interpret the reason for any medical procedure going wrong. Hence they are considered very important in the legal point of view. Vital medical details such as blood pressure, oxygen level, or heart fluctuations are recorded on a continuous basis so that any change or detrimental effect may be tracked precisely and quickly.
As they contain personal health details, medical records are privy to select people, namely, the patient, doctor, and any authorized representative of the patient. The Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA) ensures that no other third party can access these private information.Accessing or sharing medical records with those not authorized is an offense. Under HIPAA, without prior authorization by the patient, any third parties such as employers or even family members cannot access an individual’s protected medical information. In case such protected information has been disclosed to an unauthorized party, legal action can be taken against the entity responsible for custodianship of the information.
Patients have absolute rights over their health records. When a patient makes a formal request for his or her medical records, the hospital, doctor, or the provider needs to oblige within 30 days of such request. Law allows extending the period by another 30 days in special circumstances. Providers may charge a nominal fee for processing and furnishing the records. This amount will be minimal in case of digital records as opposed to paper records.
HIPAA law demands individuals to sign an authorization that empowers providers to view health records that have been protected. This assists the records department of care providers to dispel confusions or doubts, if any, about missing records. It also allows them to request for additional records, when needed. HIPAA law clearly necessitates complete privacy and confidentiality of an individual’s personal health information.
HIPAA law restricts eligibility of claiming health records in the event of death of an individual. The process has been streamlined for making it easier to family members to access their deceased relative’s health records. The right of requesting for a decedent individual’s health records are with the spouse.In case the decedent is unmarried, the records may be accessed by a sibling or parent. The formal request needs to be made in writing and it must consist of an affidavit called Authorized Certification of Relative. The affidavit has to state the requesting person’s relation to the deceased. A copy of death certificate also needs to be attached.
Health records are meant for the well-being of individuals while strict rules must be followed in order to honor the privacy and confidentiality of the sensitive medical details. Complying with stipulated rules and laws need to be mandatory for the safe-keeping of patients’ personal health records.