By Ranjit Dansil
“Medical Trans… what?” asked the recruiter on the other side of the call. It is a question I am so used to being asked that I would feel like missing something otherwise. Every other person that I met a few years back would pause and wonder what the second word meant when they heard Medical Transcription. Well, that was quite a long time, if not eons, back. I believe a lot many people today know what transcription is all about in general and what Medical Transcription is in particular.
For the uninitiated, Medical Transcription in the simplest possible form could be called as healthcare documentation. The Google defines it as “transformation of healthcare-related audiotapes in to text form”. One is required to listen to the audiotapes and type them out exactly word by word based on the dictation. Phew! Sounds kind of easy, doesn’t it? Well, this definition is just the tip of the iceberg. It has a lot more than meets the eye. Let us dive deeper and explore.
The ones who are in this profession, who actually process these audiotapes at the grass root level, are called Medical Transcriptionists. They are at the bottom of the hierarchy, but should ideally be treated as the basement of this process. The audiotapes contain healthcare information of a patient being dictated either by a physician or a support staff. Medical Transcriptionists (MTs) listen to the audiotapes with the help of a headphone and an audio player. They can play back and forth any number of time still they feel that they are able to decipher exactly what is being dictated. Now that we have a basic idea of what is Medical Transcription and what happens at the ground level, let us dive further, dismantle everything related to it, and understand it completely. We then may go ahead and attempt at answering whether it is a boon or bane.
As mentioned in the previous paragraph, the MTs are the ones who are the basement of this process. While they transcribe the documents, they come across many a terms, names, jargons, quotes etc. which they are not familiar with. To get in to this unfamiliar territory and to decipher what exactly is being dictated, they take the help of different sources. They have different dictionaries: Medical Terminologies, Medicine Names, English, specialty-wise dictionaries like Orthopedics, Integumentary, Psychology etc. They also have database of past documents and of course, the internet, to aid them further. They also take the help of their peers or seniors. Despite all these available aides and resources, if they are still not able to decipher those words, then they have the option of passing it on to the next level with a blank and timer placed next to it. “Hmm…So, what’s the big deal here?” You may ask. To answer it, let us drill down even further.
The MT is a trained professional who is well versed with medical terminologies. This individual is trained to be “aware” of all possible medical jargons and is expected to know almost every possible word that the physician may use in the dictation, which may include disease names, investigation procedures, lab tests and values apart from the standard values, medicine names, equipment names, treatment procedures etc. all. Apart from these medical jargons, an MT needs to have better-than-average English language skills and should have a flair to learn newer things on a regular basis. A big secret: Medical Transcription is 90% English and 10% Medical Terminology. Yes, this may be shocking but it is the truth. To accomplish this:
- The MTs are trained rigorously on biology, pathology, medical terminologies, root words, prefixes, suffixes etc.
- They have separate tutors for Medical Language and English Language who meticulously plan the training sessions.
- They are also taught about a style guide, AAMT(American Association for Medical Transcription), which details on sentence formation, punctuations, grammar rules, and everything else that an MT needs.
- They are also exposed to different dictations by different physicians on varied topics. Their documents are compared with the base copies and feedback is provided individually.
- They are advised to read a lot, watch English news, shows and movies etc. to improve English language and listening skills.
All these coaching, handholding, planning, and prodding pay dividend and the MTs become professional healthcare documentation specialists who not only type what they listen to, but they document the information in proper format, refer to different sources to get accurate information, and the most difficult part: they would document the correct sentences even when the dictator may be dictating wrong. The MTs are required to analyze, keep themselves in the physician’s or dictator’s shoes and decipher what exactly is being dictated. They need to visualize each and every aspect of the subject to be able to deliver accurate documents.
The next level of this process is proofreading/editing. These individuals, who go through the entire document word by word against the dictations, are called Proofreaders or Editors. They are ex-MTs who have climbed the ladder with experience and improved skillset. Once again, they apply all those skillsets that the MTs do apart from bringing in their knowledge, which is a step ahead from the MTs. They not only fill up the blanks left by the MTs, but correct and reframe the documents for accuracy. They also keep updating MTs on new subjects and issues that they come across. They basically mentor the MTs to help them reach their potential. Most of the documents go directly to the client after they have been proofread by the Proofreaders/Editors. Now, considering the fact that the accepted accuracy level is close to 100%, nobody would dare to lax. So, without taking any chances, the Proofreaders/Editors pass on the documents to the next level if they have even the slightest of the doubt.
The final level of this process is checking for the blanks and doubts. These individuals are highly trained professionals who are expected to know anything and everything that has to do with Medical Transcription. They are called Quality Analysts. Unlike the last two levels, these professionals do not go through the entire document. They check only the blanks and doubts. They also randomly pick up documents and test them for accuracy so that there is a surprise check on the quality being delivered to the client. They grade the documents and provide feedback to the other levels. They also mentor and nurture the PRs and MTs. In other words, they can be called as Team Leaders. They are responsible for the overall quality of the entire team.
Well, now that we know the entire process of Medical Transcription, let us try to answer whether it is a boon or bane. I am attempting to answer this question based on my personal experience as I have spent a major part of my career in this industry.
I would say it is a boon. To substantiate this answer, I have the following pointers:
- I learnt how to organize the documents.
- I came across topics on varied subjects. (Point to be reminded here is that Medical Transcription is 90% general English and 10% Medical Terminology).
- I learnt how to form error-free sentences, which would comply with the grammar book.
- I developed a hawk’s eye in finding errors. Today, if there is an error anywhere that I glance upon, be it a book, newspaper, hoarding, or even the platforms that I work on as a Technical Writer, there is an immediate alert in my head, which says something is not right.
- I learnt to focus, analyze, and research more. To be accurate all the time, one needs to be doubly sure.
- I have learnt to be patient and persistent.
- I have become a wordsmith, more or less.
- I have worked with various companies in varied capacities. It has taught me to be adaptive to different situations.
- I have learnt to work both as an individual contributor as well as a team player. I have been a team member and later, a Team Leader.
- I have learnt to multitask and prioritize work.
On the flipside, I would also say it is a bane. It is a bane because:
- Not many people are aware of this industry even today! I see many blank faces when I mention Medical Transcription as my base career.
- The biggest drawback is the growth opportunity. One reaches the hierarchy pretty early, and there is hardly any room for growth after a certain point, financially or otherwise. What after a QA? None probably knows the answer.
- Many employers do not consider this experience relevant to their industry structure. Hence, there are higher chances of one finding it too hard to get a break in other industry.
- If one stays too long in this industry, it becomes monotonous and one kind of becomes a misfit outside. As pointed out earlier, since this experience is not found to be relevant to most industries, the individual gets in to a peculiar situation: neither treated a fresher, nor an experienced.
I can probably go on and on, but would rather stop here…
I feel that a wise decision at the right time can turn this from bane to boon. If someone does not stay too long and moves on to a field that requires English language skills, it may prove to be a boon. On the other hand, if one stays longer, this may prove to be a bane. It is up to the individual to make it or break it. Boon or bane can probably be not clearly answered, but I leave it up to you to decide.