Important Medical Transcription Practices

Medical transcribing is a fairly new profession. This profession does have its traditions. There are many ways in which to go about this work. Here are 5 medical transcription practices and tips that everyone who enters this profession should know and perfect.

Dictation is something that you should be familiar with. Since most of your job will involve taking dictation from a voice recording, every medical transcriptionist should be familiar with this practice. You will also need to compare dictation notes with the voice records. Another thing that you will be doing on a daily basis is

Proofreading. It is imperative that you are good at grammar and spelling. You will have to correct the grammatical deficiencies of doctors and medical specialists as you prepare your medical documents as it’s your job.

Time Management will take you a long way in this business. Since you have deadlines every day, managing your time well, will be essential.

Performing minor Research from time to time is considered normal for a medical transcriptionist. For instance, to make sure that the proper medical term is being used within context. If you make use of the wrong medical term, it could be a critical error that affects the quality of care of a patient. So brush up on your research skills.

Communication is a key in this profession. As a medical transcriptionist, you need to be very fluent and proficient in oral as well as written communication. Along with proofreading the doctors and medical specialists writing, you will have to craft sentences, maybe even paragraphs of you own. Effective communication will help you correct the bad grammar of those who are dictating to you. You will also need to communicate with clients and that requires good corporate communications knowledge.

So there, you have 5 medical transcription tips. Now it is time for you to learn, practice and eventually perfect them.

I right the above basis my first-hand experience with a transcription company called Acroseas Global Solutions with whom I’ve been working for the past 4 years. Their service speaks for their claims and everything mentioned above results in the output that they deliver timely, efficiently and with top-of-the-line quality.

The Year in Review

It has been an up-and-down year for healthcare informational technology. The biggest story, no doubt, was the impact that national recession had on healthcare investments – way back in January, the picture was bleak. But with the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the industry received a $19 billion shot in the arm from the new Obama Administration. While the money – to be used as incentives for adopting healthcare IT – doesn’t begin to flow in 2011, EHR adoption planning has already begun.

In the second half of the year, the top issue has been healthcare reform. The last sentences on that story have yet to be written, but on Dec. 24, the Senate finally passed its own bill. All that remains is reconciling the Senate and House versions and President Obama’s signature.

Below you’ll find the top issues of the last 12 months, selected by the editors of Healthcare IT News.

Privacy issues dog progess on NHIN

Privacy issues continue to keep the country’s planned nationwide health information network on the slow track, but government and community leaders say it won’t be a problem going forward. Yet things did not go exactly as the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology planned at a demonstration last month, where 19 cooperative organizations were scheduled to use real patient data to show how interoperability works. Instead, they used fictitious patient records to demonstrate greater depth in capabilities for interoperability than the initial trial run held in September.

IT pledge has market on pins and needles

President Barack Obama’s pledge to inject $50 billion into the healthcare field over the next five years to develop and support technology has many in the industry wondering how and where that money might be spent. On Jan. 22, 117 CEOs and business leaders sent a letter to House and Senate leaders supporting federal investment in healthcare information technology, broadband and energy smart grids, saying they “will provide our nation with a near-term stimulus and long-term comparative advantage.”

$19 billion to fuel healthcare IT

The $787 billion economic stimulus package signed by President Barack Obama on Feb. 17 includes $19 billion toward health information technology. While many healthcare IT industry insiders welcomed the spending as providing a needed impetus to pushing the healthcare system into the 21st Century, many also worried about getting IT done right. “I think it’s a terrible idea by the government to invest in healthcare IT – in EMR systems – without investing in standards,” said Marc Probst, CIO at Intermountain Healthcare in Salt Lake City.

HHS introduces new HIT Czar

Just as the April issue of Healthcare IT News was going to press, the Human Department of the Health and Services introduced David Blumenthal, MD, is Obama administration’s new National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. “I am humbled and honored to have the opportunity to serve President Obama and the American people in the effort to harness the power of health information technology,” Blumenthal said.

Hospitals shun life-saving IT

“Disappointing” and “disturbing” are two words Leah Binder chose to describe the results of a recent survey that revealed only 7 percent of hospitals across the country have adopted CPOE. CPOE, or computerized physician order entry, can reduce adverse events by 88 percent, according to Binder, the CEO of the healthcare watchdog organization The Leapfrog Group.

Obama budget reflects IT promise

President Barack Obama’s expanded fiscal year 2010 budget signals continued commitment to advancing healthcare IT as a way to cut healthcare costs and save lives. Obama’s $3.4 trillion federal budget, released May 8, expanded the outline he presented to Congress at the end of February.

Meaningful use draft approved

The federal health IT policy committee on July 16 approved long-awaited recommendations from its meaningful use workgroup on how providers can qualify to receive incentives through the new stimulus package. Measuring and improving outcomes is a key component.

Reform bill contains IT piece

The Senate Finance Committee health reform package, released Sept. 16, includes measures to advance healthcare IT. The committee’s reform bill has been the most controversial and the last proposal to come out of five Congressional committees that have jurisdiction over healthcare.

50,000 jobs: who will fill them?

The government’s piece of the stimulus package designed to encourage the adoption and use of healthcare information technology is expected to create 50,000 new jobs – maybe more.

Search is on for new CCHIT Chief

Key industry leaders are weighing in on the news that Mark Leavitt, MD, is retiring from his role as chairman of the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology.

How Does Software Aid Electronic Filing of Claims and Improve Collections?

Medical billing providers are using industry standard software that offers clients the advantages of cost, customization, efficiency, accountability and financial reporting. Healthcare providers should examine not only the services of the Medical coding and billing provider but also the quality and features of the medical billing software they use to ensure it is suitable for their practice. Here are a few guidelines on what to look for in the billing software solution.

Features of a Medical coding and billing software

All billing software must have the basic features to submit claims and manage billing electronically. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Efficient software provides flexibility, speed, transparency of data, security, point-of-sale bill tracking, extensive reporting, scheduling of patient visits, scanning, printing, credit card processing, email capabilities, and much more.

Standard features of medical billing software include:

* electronic filing of claims

* editing of previous claims and resubmission

* one platform for charges, adjustments and payments

* sending patient statements

* reporting financial statistics for decision making

* customizable screens for accounting

* user friendly interface

* web-based or wireless access to the system

* data security

* one platform for in-house staff and billing service personnel

* transparent transaction processing

* visible charge balance

* full transaction control

* HIPAA compliance

These features ensure medical providers have access to complete information, the billing service is well organized and accurate, and the entire medical practice works more efficiently.

Medical coding and billing service providers ensure their client’s staff is trained in the software and also take care of maintaining it. They are also responsible for upgrading it when required, and regularly backing up data for data security.

Advantages of using Medical coding and billing software

It makes the medical coding and billing process a lot easier and accurate. The manual process of filing claims is fraught with inaccuracies that cause insurance carriers to reject claims.

Some of the major advantages of medical billing software are:

* Standard electronic forms and codes ensure accuracy of forms, which reduces the chances of the claim being rejected.

* Cash flow increases as the time to payment reduces.

* The software is built on industry standards and ensures HIPAA compliance.

* Time and effort is saved because of easy follow-up of claims through reports and tracking features.

* Better decision making due to extensive reporting of financial statistics.

* Data transparency allows medical providers to oversee the electronic submission of claims.

* Billing providers and medical providers can access the same data and work together to improve collection rates.

A billing provider must use a good quality software solution to give the maximum benefit to its clients. The electronic process of filing claims and managing data through software improves the efficiency and revenue of medical providers.

The Importance Of Transcription In The EHR Age

In preparation for the AHIMA (American Health Information Management Association) Conference next week, my publisher and I have been speaking with several transcription services companies that will be exhibiting at the show. Since Healthcare Technology Online is a new media outlet, these conversations typically begin with us describing the focus and purpose of our website and weekly email newsletters. In more than one instance, a representative from a transcription company questioned our interest in their services. “We’re not a technology company,” they’d say. “I don’t see how our content and offerings would be of interest to your audience.”

This response floored me. While it’s true that most transcription companies offer outsourcing services as opposed to hardware or software technologies, these companies still play a vital role in healthcare IT — particularly as more healthcare facilities migrate to an EHR (electronic health record).

Transcription: The EHR On-Ramp

Some proponents of EHR suggest that template-driven electronic documentation capture is the best approach to realize the benefits of EHRs. However, this approach often forces the process and behavioral changes that have been primary barriers to EHR adoption. Furthermore, relying on a physician to key information into an EHR or select data from a series of drop-down menus while with a patient can lead to human error, inaccuracy, and incomplete information.

Using a “migratory” approach to EHR can help you avoid these potential pitfalls. With this approach, physicians can continue to interact with patients the way they always have and continue to leverage their existing dictation and transcription processes. However, getting voice data into a transcribed format that can be seamlessly integrated with or digested by the healthcare facility’s chosen EHR platform becomes a required capability of the transcription services company. In response to these growing EHR integration needs, most transcription services companies leverage the latest NLP (natural language processing), XML (extensible markup language), and HL7 (health level seven)-compliant technologies. These tools can create templates for data entry that automatically populate an EHR. In other words, data is tagged according to the report’s format and the NLP’s output and uploaded directly into the EHR in the appropriate place. It then becomes simple for the transcriptionist to perform a quality check of the data to ensure it matches physician instructions and the requirements of the EHR. In this way, the transcription provider truly serves as a healthcare facility’s on-ramp to an EHR.

Key Transcription Provider Criteria

Ensuring that the transcription service company you select can deliver data that can easily be fed into your EHR is just one step of the process. Other areas to consider when selecting a transcription services company include:

• guaranteed compliance with HIPAA (The Health Information Accountability & Portability Act) when it comes to handling the protected health information of your patients
• storage in a mission-critical data center that provides 99.99% uptime and security
• a guaranteed transcription accuracy rate of 99%
• multiple levels of quality assurance
• transfer of files through FTP (file transfer protocol) or browser-based secure 256 bit AES (advanced encryption standard) encrypted file transfer protocol
• 24/7 technical support

Again, while not a “technology” in and of itself, medical transcription is a vital part of adopting EHRs and other healthcare information management processes. Transcription companies will provide the industry with the guidance and support necessary to accelerate EHR adoption and help us to embrace the electronic age of clinical documentation.

Top 5 Criteria To Select The Right Medical Billing Company

A medical billing service can improve the efficiency of your billing system, reduce denials, cut down operating costs, boost reimbursements and save valuable time that can be devoted to patient care. These services are better equipped to adapt to continuously changing billing codes and industry requirements.

But can a medical billing service deliver the promised results? Yes, it can. However, to find the right medical billing service for your practice you will need to undertake a comprehensive evaluation, one that transcends the regular performance track record metrics. The following five criteria will enable you to identify real expertise from market hype and find a reliable, long-term medical billing partner:

1. Quality of resources assigned to your account

The best criteria for selecting a medical billing service provider is evaluation of the number of employees assigned to the account, and their expertise. Before hiring a service provider, consider the following aspects:

* Number of employees who will support the account and their credentials.

* Length of experience of the employees.

* Experience in practices specialty. Many agents specialize in collecting a specific type of claim, such as nephrology, chemotherapy, radiology, cardiology, or vision care.

2. Commitment to regulatory compliance

As a medical practitioner, you are directly responsible for complying with legal regulations, whether or not you outsource collections to a medical billing service. For example if a billing service changes codes to increase collections, you will be held responsible for any regulatory incompliance.

To assess how well medical billing service providers’ follow regulations, ask them to give you a list of compliance policies and procedures used by their staff. Also, inquire about the training and methods that providers’ use to inform their staff about current state and federal rules, regulations and guidelines.

3. Dedication to maintain customer service standards

A medical billing service, which interacts directly with your patients, has a significant impact on the reputation of your practice and customer satisfaction. Therefore, the service should meet your customer service standards and project the right image of your practice on patients. A professional medical billing service will always have published customer service guidelines for its staff to follow and will review these guidelines with you before attending to your patients.

4. Performance and Accountability Metrics tracking and reporting

When you outsource billing responsibilities to a medical billing service, you should have comprehensive performance metrics to evaluate their performance. Ask potential providers about their standard performance benchmarks and productivity measures, and whether they regularly review employee performance. Professional medical billing services maintain their accountability by regular updates on performance and progress through monthly overview reports and account receivable reports. Additional reports must be made available to you when using a software-based or web-based billing service. Reports must be clear, easy to read and sort for different types of information. Get sample reports from service providers to determine if they meet your requirements.

5. Use of IT resources and billing software

Ask the medical billing service provider about the medical billing software and other technology resources. Evaluate their security features and ease of use. Additionally, if the service provider owns the medical billing software, ask about the frequency of updates.

Several medical billing services have now moved towards electronic claims submission. In this case, you must assess their technology solutions and automated systems, their security and how often the systems are updated to keep pace with industry changes.

Assess potential medical claims billing service providers on the above-mentioned criteria to identify the right medical billing partner for your practice and reap the rewards.

Outsourcing Medical Transcription Services – Save Money

Outsourcing medical transcription services reduces the workload and can help save money.

From the business point of view, outsourcing medical transcription services is believed to be very cost-effective. There are numerous medical facilities in the US which have recognized the benefits offered by the outsourcing companies and are pleased with their functioning.

Medical transcription is stressful and time consuming. The major disadvantage of employing in-house staff to carry out the transcription work is that it is not economical as the expenditure incurred (employee benefits, salary) is huge. Moreover, it proves impractical in the long run. Doctors, however, find it difficult to manage transcription work and treat patients. Excess work invariably results in stress and this could adversely affect the treatment of patients.

Outsourcing of medical transcription is therefore the most sought after service as it reduces the workload and substantially decreases client expenditure. Outsourcing of work can be either onshore or offshore. The cost of labor in countries like India, Philippines, and China is far less than that in developed countries like the US, UK and Canada.

Professional MT companies employ experienced transcriptionists who are trained in the field. The companies work round the clock and this makes the processing of work faster. The use of the latest technology and software also helps in speedy completion of the work. The work is constantly assessed and regular quality checks are conducted by proofreaders and analysts. This ensures that accuracy and standard of work is consistently maintained.

Outsourcing medical transcription services can help save money anywhere from 40% to 60%. A flexible and client-centric company handles all the aspects of transcription and provides unsolicited customer and technical support. Doctors find sufficient time to attend to their patients and focus on giving adequate treatment which they rightly deserve.

EMR Costs

The price of Electronic Medical Records (EMR) software is quite high, but the benefits of adopting EMR software can save you a lot of money in the long run. If you are a physician running your own private practice, then you should be weighing the pros and cons of adopting an EMR system. Those days are long over when practices had to keep a pile of files to properly archive the information related to the multitude of patients who walked into their medical facilities.

Our dependence on paper is gradually decreasing and tools like EMR software can easily hold all the important medical data in hard disks, which occupy less space compared to the traditional sources. Proper archiving and categorization of data becomes easier if practices decide to replace their old filing methods with modern technology. Automation of data collection and retrieval can dramatically increase the productivity and efficiency of practices.

The price of an EMR system can range from a thousand dollars to ten thousand dollars, and sometimes they cost even more. The sky is the limit for these products and EMR costs increase as the system becomes more feature-rich. If you own a very small medical facility where you are the sole practitioner, then a light version of good EMR software worth five thousand dollars will serve the purpose. Huge facilities can buy complete EMR systems that cost around forty thousand dollars.

How to get the best deal

EMR software offers a number of benefits but practices should perform a cost-benefit analysis before adopting this new technology. This will help them know if the system will serve their purpose. EMR costs can be prohibitive and a huge amount of money is at stake if you choose a system that does not meet the needs of your practice. Therefore, it is important to be completely sure of the product before you make the purchase decision. You devote time to find the product that meets all your requirements and can be scaled in future. There are some points to consider when you conduct the cost – benefit analysis for the EMR system that you intend to purchase.

Analyze what you need to get done:

First of all, practices need to take note of their current and future requirements. They should be able to collect relevant information such as the number of physicians in the medical facility, the staff to physician ratio, the patient capacity of the center and the average number of phone calls help desk attends every workday.

Training:

If you are purchasing a low cost, entry level EMR software, you will have to pay a certain amount of money to train your staff. Most of the expensive EMR software packages come with free training of staff members, so that they can get used to the interface and handle the workload from day one. There might be some initial hiccups while operating the new software. It is therefore important that the EMR vendor agree to offer on-site training to the staff for the first few months.

Implementation:

The software provider will also charge for the implementation expenses involved in installing and configuring the hardware according to customers’ preferences. An increase in working staff members usually means an increase in the implementation costs. So, it can become a substantial amount for a large practice. Once the EMR software is installed, practices also need to digitalize all the information they had in the files to make the system completely functional.

Hardware:

As soon as practices adopt the EMR system, they discover the need to buy a lot of new hardware to provide proper support o their infrastructure. The prices of computers, printers and server stations should also be considered while you do cost and benefit analysis to gain a clearer picture of the EMR costs. If you want to utilize the EMR product to its full potential, then you need hardware that perfectly complements the software. Make sure that you buy the computer hardware after much deliberation so that it does not go obsolete in a few months. Computer hardware with the newest configuration should always be bought from a reputed dealer so that you are assured of support and maintenance whenever anything goes wrong.

Support and maintenance:

After installing the EMR software, practices need to make provision for annual maintenance costs that become necessary for both the newly acquired software and hardware. The power consumption of a medical facility will increase significantly once you have installed a number of computers and other related hardware to run the new system. Practices may also need to rewire the entire electrical architecture so that the system can take the load of the various machines that will need to be connected.

Hiring:

EMR costs can rise drastically if practices don’t hire a networking professional to monitor and maintain the network in their facilities. A networking expert will ensure that the workstations remain connected to each other and seamlessly exchange data. If you want to keep your system up and running at all times, then you will also need to hire a few hardware maintenance experts to keep a watch on the entire system.

Update:

Your work is not finished once the purchasing and installation have been completed, as the EMR software will need to be updated from time to time. This means a certain amount of expenditure has to be made every year. In order to keep your system up-to-date, you will need to sign certain agreements with the vendor so that you can get access to all the updates as they are released.

Replacing your traditional systems with modern technology may costs quite a lot but it is definitely one of the smartest decisions a practice can ever take. The benefits far outweigh the costs incurred in investing in an EMR system.

It may seem that the initial investment or the EMR costs are a bit high, but you will save a lot of time and money that you would have otherwise spent on papers, filing, and storage space. The cost of filing all of your patients’ medical records and billing information can surmount over the years. Even if you have the best file management system in the world, your will still have to spend a fortune every year to keep the paper documents intact.

Look for government assistance to help finance your EMR software. There are various federal grants that could subsidize EMR costs to your health care facility. With all of this information considered, one has to be very patient while looking for the EMR software for your health facility. Consultation with an EMR expert will definitely increase the chances of procuring a system that is cost-effective for you.