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MT
is a process in which dictation given by doctors regarding various case
histories, clinical & laboratory reports, etc, are accurately and
quickly translated into word/text documents. Dictation is usually
provided through a voice recorder or digital system, and it is being fed
into a computer using a word processing program. Medical
transcriptionists are specialists who interpret, format and transcribe
the dictated reports. In the USA, production costs for medical
transcription are huge, mainly because of high labour cost. However,
these costs get drastically reduced if the same job is done in India,
obviously due to cheap manpower. Earlier, doctors
used to record their dictations on tape recorders. The recorded tapes
were then sent to the office of an MT company, which used to transcribe
the voice data into text documents/reports and these were sent back to
the doctor through courier. But with the latest inventions and
developments in the field of information technology, there are no longer
geographical barriers and access to data/information has become much
improved and faster. One such development being the Internet, doctors
are no longer dependent on tape recorders or couriers. They can record
their dictation through digital recorders in a computer and then
transmit it to the MT company through e-mail. They can also simply
dictate the reports through telephone even while commuting. Another
instrument is C phone, which is a digital receiver-transcriber that
accesses digital dictation from a distant location. They record the
voice on a tape recorder or a computer automatically.
The
medical transcriptionist listens to the dictation with the help of
earphones and programmes/instruments specifically designed for it. He
transcribes the dictation into a Word document, correcting/editing
grammatical mistakes, and uses programmes like a spell-checker, medical
dictionary etc., A firewall protection system is also installed to
provide privacy and confidentiality to the dictated reports. Some
word-processing softwares available are Windows, Coral, etc, providing
simplicity of operation. Certain word expansion programs like
abbreviator are also available which interpret the abbreviations used in
the dictation. Though
the end-users for medical transcription jobs are doctors, hospitals,
diagnostic centres etc, it is difficult for individuals/companies in
India to get these job contracts directly. The usual practice,
therefore, is to get subcontracting work from the companies operating in
the USA. The advancement in the IT sector, improved telecom facilities
and spread of the Internet has led to tremendous potential in the field
of medical transcription. Recent years have seen a mushrooming growth of
several companies providing training and production in this field
throughout the country. These have been established by young IT
professionals, doctors or are subsidiaries of US companies. The US
company does the task of marketing, payment, contract agreement, etc,
with the client, while the actual task of medical transcription is done
by subcontractors and branches in countries like India. The usual mode
of operation is to provide the doctor an instruction card mentioning the
user code and telephone numbers on which he can get access to the
medical transcriptionist. These calls are free for the doctors and
charges are borne by the MT company. Phone lines are connected to
digital dictation systems. So the dictation given by doctors on
telephone is saved automatically in computer. A medical transcriptionist
then converts it into Word text in the form of a report, and sends it
back through telephone lines. MT reports are prepared and sent back within a certain period depending upon the urgency or payment terms settled between the MT company and the doctor/hospital/polyclinic. This period in which the report is prepared and sent back is usually called the turnaround time. This may vary between 3 and 24 hours. Almost all MT providers, in order to ensure accuracy and reliability of reports, use quality checks at various stages. They hire the services of qualified doctors and specialists from different fields for the final editing and checking of the final report before it is sent to the customer. This helps not only in ensuring quality of output but also increases the goodwill of the provider. MT
companies charge remuneration on the basis of characters, pages or the
time duration of the dictation. There are certain associations in the
USA, like the AAMT (American association for Medical Transcriptions),
which provide its members services of professional staff, journals,
discount in products/services and seminars. Another such association is
the AMTG (American Medical Transcription Guild). In India also several
institutes have now come up, which provide training for MT. The courses
usually are at least of four months. Charges for the courses may vary
between Rs 20,000 –30,000. They educate students on various medical
and pathology terms/abbreviations, understanding of the American accent,
and audio/visual techniques. Students are also provided exposure in the
field of anatomy, ENT, surgery, radiology, ophthalmology, etc. Since
most of these training institutes are also production centres for MT,
students get absorbed there itself. A medical transcriptionist can earn
the rupee equivalent of $100 and above per month, in the beginning. The
same gets multiplied several folds with experience. Their US
counterpart, however, might be a earning much higher amount. There are certain websites and journals, mostly US, providing access to various aspects of MT. Doctors, health professionals, medical transcriptionists, etc., from India, the USA, Australia, the U.K., Canada, etc., can get information on the latest development in this field. They can also join health forums and chat on related issues. Recently, several Indian Web sites have also come up, which provide classified information on job opportunities as well as sale/purchase of MT services. These companies, besides listing their features and services provided, also sometimes give online quotations to respective customers. For this, doctors are requested to fill up a form, giving basic information on the nature and volume of a job. Any
individual possessing good command over English language with American
accent/dialect and have sufficient knowledge of medical terminology can
become Medical Transcriptionist. Other essential attributes one should
posses are, that he should be:
With a growing demand for MT in India, the future for firms providing this service is definitely bright. MT business contributes significantly to the total IT exports. There are certain negative aspects also. Firstly, inaccurate and delayed reports can harm the reputation of a doctor/hospital/diagnostic centre and, in turn, will affect the credibility of the MT company. Loss thus incurred due to business lost might far exceed the income generated. Also, since the customer wants a round-the-clock service, the working hours might be long, including night shifts, and can create monotony and fatigue. Besides, continuous exposure to computer monitors can have its own consequences. Despite all this, medical transcription provides vast opportunities of employment to students or even housewives having an academic background in physiology or para-medicine. The essential qualities one should possess for becoming a successful medical transcriptionist are a good command over American English language/accent, understanding of medical terminology and a good listening ability. If
you possess the above qualities and have access to the basic
infrastructure, like telephone lines, a computer server, MT programmes
and hardware, etc, then earning dollars should not be a distant dream. |
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