What is Medical Transcription, and Do Coders Need It?

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What is Medical Transcription, and Do Coders Need
It?
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• Theres a good chance that you hear the phrase
  medical transcription fairly often when it
  comes to healthcare documentation integrity, but
  many practice owners and other healthcare
  providers dont even know exactly how medical
  transcriptionists work let alone whether its
  important for their practice or not.
• While healthcare documentation actually comes in
  a few different forms, this is still a major
  aspect of medical billing and coding thats worth
  wrapping your head around.
• So, throughout this article, well be taking a
  closer look at all things medical transcription,
  covering what kind of role it plays in the
  healthcare industry and how relevant it is for
  medical coders to understand.

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Understanding Medical Transcription

• Kicking things off, lets define what medical
  transcription actually is. At its core, this is
  essentially the conversion of any voice-recorded
  medical reports, typically from your doctors,
  into written texts instead.
• Afterward, these transcribed documents can be put
  neatly together as part of a patients medical
  records, making sure theyre not only precise but
  easily accessible, too.

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The Role of Medical Transcriptionists

• Medical transcriptionists sometimes go under a
  couple of different names registered healthcare
  documentation specialist or certified healthcare
  documentation specialist, for instance and
  their primary role is basically to transcribe
  these dictated reports we mentioned earlier.
• Obviously, this is a vital job to have in the
  medical industry as theyre the ones responsible
  for maintaining the overall accuracy and
  completeness of any given medical record. This
  undoubtedly makes them fairly indispensable
  members of your medical staff.

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• Still, given how often speech recognition
  software is used in the medical industry, you
  might wonder why medical professionals dont
  solely rely on this to transcribe medical reports
  and save money?
• Well, while technology has definitely made
  significant strides in this field, nothing beats
  the expertise of a trained medical
  transcriptionist  whether its the nuances of
  medical terminology, the intricacies of accents,
  or just the general ability to decipher context,
  these are all skills where human
  transcriptionists shine the most, a standard that
  cant be replicated by a simple software.

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The Imperative of Precision in Medical Records

• It goes without saying that precision is pretty
  non-negotiable when it comes to the healthcare
  industry whether youre relying on accurate
  patient records for diagnoses, treatment
  planning, or even just providing ongoing care.
• Naturally, any random errors or inaccuracies in
  some of these records can result in fairly severe
  consequences, from misdiagnosis to administering
  completely inappropriate treatment to a patient.

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• So, at this point, a medical transcriptionist
  would come into play so that each detail, from
  diagnoses to medication dosages, is properly
  documented allowing healthcare providers to
  have all the relevant information to make
  accurate decisions about patient care.
• Does Your Coding Team Need Medical Transcription
  Services?
• So, now that weve covered why medical
  transcription is important in healthcare lets
  explore how it works in tandem with the work of
  your medical coding team.

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• Similar to your transcriptionists, medical coders
  are also pivotal players in the healthcare
  industry, ultimately ensuring that your practice
  receives the proper reimbursement for your
  services promptly, too.
• Naturally, your medical coders rely pretty
  heavily on information from medical records, so
  any disparities, incomplete data, or general
  errors can massively complicate their work,
  potentially leading to things like delayed
  payments or other compliance issues.
• So, by generating comprehensive medical
  transcripts for your certified professional
  coder, transcriptionists essentially give them a
  reliable source of information thats crucial for
  their job.

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• Not only does this expedite the overall coding
  procedure, but it also means youre far less
  likely to run into any coding discrepancies,
  which ultimately translates into a more seamless
  billing and reimbursement process for your
  practice.
• Outsourcing Medical Transcription With PMN
• Still, given how high the stakes are when it
  comes to transcribing patient medical records,
  theres incredibly little margin for error here.
  Whats more, it can be fairly expensive to have a
  staff member whose sole job is to transcribe this
  information, so its not always the best approach
  if youre a smaller practice that cant always
  compete with the resources of larger practices.

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• So, to combat this, consider partnering with a
  third-party medical billing and coding company
  such as PMN for not only your medical
  transcription but a whole host of other physician
  services, too!
• From managing your Accounts Receivable days to
  other forms of patient collection services, weve
  been aiding small practices like yours for over
  20 years. Whether its by minimizing the number
  of claim denials you receive or generally helping
  you get paid faster, we can work with you and
  your staff to improve your bottom line.