You May Be Surprised To Know The Skills Required Of A Medical Transcriptionist Include…   

Working as a medical transcriptionist (or medical transcribe) is a valuable addition to any staff and one of the best medical practice solutions to improve efficiency. The necessary coding knowledge helps speed up the processing time for the staff and patients. It’s also a desirable position for anyone interested in a new career that pays well and offers desirable benefits. However, before pursuing such a position, it is important to know what medical transcriptionists do on any given day and the necessary medical transcriptionist skills required to be a successful medical transcribe.

1. Typing Excellence

Unlike other positions where it’s all about words per minute and how fast you can type. Medical transcription is about skill and avoiding mistakes. This is because a single number is off while entering a procedure or other billing item can dramatically impact what a patient or insurance company charges through prior authorization services. These issues can be corrected when caught, but it takes additional time and effort to go back into the computer system. One has to find the client’s records and identify the mistake and what needs to be replaced.

So, while being able to type promptly is essential, typing proficiency and avoiding mistakes are much more critical.

2. Easy to Understand Grammar

When typing information for a patient, you don’t want to toss at them a giant block of text that’s difficult to read. The data needs to be easy to read, with short, to-the-point sentences. Technical and medical information must be free of unnecessary descriptions and must be clear, precise, and to the point. This is a surprisingly tricky medical transcription skill to acquire. Many will push their way of speaking into the text, which can fog the meaning of the text. A quality medical transcriptionist understands how to craft proper sentences that are easy to read and anyone reading can understand.

3. Easy to Train

If you employ a transcriptionist, you need to be able to work with them and train them to follow specific protocols your office has. Perhaps you want the information to be entered into the computer in a particular way or by a set time. Different insurance companies might have different requirements, so the individual must learn how to adjust to what they do during the day. Due to all of this, it is essential to have an employee who knows medical coding and can be molded easily to become a better part of your office. As you’ve likely discovered over the years, working in the medical industry, this is easier said than done.

4. Attention to Detail

The very best medical transcriptionists have a keen eye for detail. They can spot a mistake on a spreadsheet in a matter of moments. They know when something is off and will stop at no end to make the needed corrections. Once they have identified the problem, they can work on the information until it is corrected.

5. Strive for Accuracy

Entering data points only works if the information is accurate. As with everyone else in the office, the medical transcriptionist must strive for accuracy. They need to do whatever they can to be 100% accurate all of the time. This means not simply typing in the codes one time and submitting the information to the billing department. This means double and triple checking their work. Because a single error can turn out to be a costly mistake for all parties involved.

6. Constantly Learning

To become a licensed medical transcriptionist, they will first need to complete the one-year degree program. Transcriptionists can also receive a two-year associate’s degree. The education doesn’t stop there, though. They must then pass a test to become a Certified Medical Transcriptionist or a Registered Medical Transcriptionist.

The education doesn’t stop after they receive their certification. The medical industry is evolving, and new procedures and services are constantly being added. The individual needs to stay on top of this information and learn how to boost their skills on the computer and other programs. Due to this, the very best medical transcriptionists are always looking for ways to improve their skills through additional education.

7. The Ability to Multitask

While there will be times when a medical transcriptionist will need to only read through the procedures and billing items and then enter the information from there, there will be other times when they will need to join in the coding data while listening and not reading. It is an important skill to hear something and then process it into a coding number. This can be a difficult skill to master, especially as there are so many coding numbers they need to remember. And even if they cannot recognize the exact code right off the top of their head, they will be able to write down the service and then, from there, be able to identify the code.

Hire a Professional Medical Transcriptionist Service

Hiring this professional is an important task. Especially if you know what a transcription specialist is. And yet your office likely does not have the time required to properly vet potential employees and put them through testing to make sure they can perform. Because while they might have the educational credentials that indicate they know the coding, it doesn’t prove they can perform the job with minimal errors. At DataMatrix Medical, that’s precisely what you receive. All of your medical entry can be performed off-site, which frees up space within your office and cuts down on your financial overhead. Training is another important aspect of what DataMatrix medical can offer with their outsourced transcription service. We have a team of trained transcriptionists that can be specifically trained for your specific needs, offering you comfort and peace of mind that there will be no gaps in your services. So, if you’d like to learn more about the services provided by DataMatrix Medical,  give us a call to discuss just how DataMatrix Medical can solve your transcript needs.

For more information on the importance of effective and accurate medical transcription, download our free guide, The Power of Intent: Why Words Matter In Medical Transcription.