6 Dictation Software Programs Physicians Can Use

06-June-2019 Julie Clements Medical Transcription

Medical documentation is very important when it comes to patient care because it includes all healthcare details of the patient such as patient history, test results, diagnoses, procedures, providers and so on. It provides a complete picture of all outcomes and conclusions. Dictation is an easier option for physicians compared to entering all the required details in the electronic health record system. Today, EHR-integrated medical transcription is provided by medical transcription companies that allow physicians to continue with their practice of dictation. Professional transcriptionists will listen to the dictated medical data and enter all the required details into the EHR. Another option for physicians is to use reliable dictation software. Medical document production can be made more efficient and quick with speech recognition software and by outsourcing medical transcription.

6 Dictation Software Programs Physicians Can Use

Manually typing up data into a system amounts to wasting a good amount of time on something that could be automated. Nowadays automated speech recognition (ASR) software platforms are widely used by healthcare entities. The speech recognition software converts spoken words into text format. Automated speech recognition relies on deep learning models including deep neural networks and many of their variants.

This is not only convenient but also speeds up the rate at which text is entered into the system. There are also dictation apps that allow you to speak into your mobile device or computer.

Here are some reliable dictation software physicians can use to dictate their notes:

Dragon Medical One from Nuance: This software is designed for speed, accuracy, and flexibility. It offers personalized vocabularies and templates that can be accessed and shared across a number of devices. A secure, cloud-based speech platform for medical professionals, it allows secure documentation of complete patient care in the EHR. This dictation software is highly versatile and allows the user to set up custom commands. It is also highly, almost 99%, accurate. Moreover, it learns better, the more you talk to it. By identifying your voice to a specific user profile, Dragon analyzes what you say and how you correct it to make it more accurate.
Apple Dictation: By default, Apple Dictation requires the internet to work and for doing an enhanced dictation, you need OS X v10.9 or later for a speech of more than 30 seconds duration. It is a good choice if you own a Mac or iOS device. It is free and easy to use. Apple Dictation is also highly accurate. Disadvantages are that it is only available on Mac and iOS devices; and you cannot use it to dictate into Google Docs.
Gboard: Available for both Android and iOS, it requires an internet connection to function. It has an accuracy of 90.1%. It is powered by Google and allows users to use their voice to enter text as well as search Google for any information you may need. Gboard transcribes everything you dictate in real time, without any time limit. It is the fastest dictation app with a low accuracy, and supports 185+ languages.
Google Docs: Google Docs contains a built-in tool for dictation called Voice Typing, which is available when running Google chrome. Voice Typing offers many voice commands for formatting, editing, and navigating the page as you write. If you work primarily in Google Docs and are looking for a free dictation software, it’s a good option. It supports 119 languages and has an accuracy rate of 94.4%.
ListNote: It is an app that can be used in Android devices. It works on the basis of classic notepad functionality with voice dictation. It offers password protection as well as backup and encryption options. It supports all languages offered in Google’s dictation services.
Express Dictate: Express dictate performs digital audio recording with superb signal processing quality. The software works like a Dictaphone with its Voice Activated Recording feature, which avoids long silences in a recording. It lets you use your PC or Mac to send dictation to your typist by email, Internet or over the computer network.

The most important aspect in selecting a dictation software program is finding the one which suits your language and the purpose of using it. Dictation along with speech recognition ensures that your dictation files are processed into text files automatically. In this setup, transcriptionists provided by medical transcription services can work as editors, proofreading and editing the transcripts prepared by the software and ruling out any error. Another option is outsourcing medical transcription. You can send audio files safely and securely to a medical transcription company and get them transcribed within your required turnaround time. This is a much preferred option because it is much more cost-effective in the long term than in-house transcription. It also frees up the time of your in-house staff for other administrative tasks. Providers can also consider outsourcing transcription in peak times for a short term and thereby reduce backlogs and speed up patient care.

Resurgence of House Calls Bridging Care for Vulnerable Adults

03-June-2019 MTS TEAM Medical Transcription

According to recent reports, home-based primary care is making a comeback. The revolutionary Primary Cares Initiative recently announced by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) aims to bring comprehensive care to the patients who are homebound. This is a welcome development for vulnerable older adults with chronic conditions who are unable to visit a physician’s office. Home-based primary care teams comprise specialists from internal medicine, family practice, geriatrics, and more, as well as nurse practitioners, physician assistants, social workers, and practice managers. Medical transcription outsourcing companies in the US are well-equipped to meet the anticipated increase in demand for primary care documentation.

Resurgence of House Calls Bridging Care for Vulnerable Adults

House calls were common half a century ago. The numbers of physicians seeing patients in their homes dwindled over the years, but these interactions are increasing, say recent reports. However, there is immense potential for expanding home-based primary care.

According to a 2015 article in JAMA Internal Medicine, up to 2 million Medicare patients age 65 or older were completely or mostly homebound in 2011. An additional 2 million people have severe chronic conditions and functional problems, which makes it difficult for them to access care outside the home.

The study found that only about 12% of homebound patients receive primary care in their homes. The lead author Katherine Ornstein, PhD, MPH, noted that the number of homebound patients is larger than the nation’s nursing home population (www.news.aamc.org).

Since many of these patients have multiple comorbidities, they often rely on the emergency room when they do not have access to primary care. Emergency department (ED) visits tend turn into lengthy hospital admissions. CDC statistics show that in 2016, up to 12.6 million ED visits resulted in hospital admission.

With the shift to the value-based healthcare system, home-based primary care offers the optimal solution to bring care to the growing population of older adults and those living with chronic diseases. House calls are an excellent way to optimize care for needy patients while significantly reducing treatment costs. The key benefits of hone-based primary care are:

Viable option for homebound and functionally limited patients with complex care needs
Allows providers to teach patients how to manage chronic conditions like diabetes
Supports interdisciplinary care
Patients treated at home recover well, on par with patients admitted to the hospital
Improves patient compliance and satisfaction
Decreases hospitalization rates and saves costs
Integrates behavioral care and social supports into primary care
Promotes rapid response to urgent and acute care needs
Offers palliative care
Supports family members and caregivers

Home-based primary care offers the benefits of personalized care as well as modern technology. Providers who make house calls use cutting-edge technology, including lab tests, EKGs, X-rays, ultrasounds, IVs, and more, to diagnose and treat patients. Consistent comprehensive care can help prevent medical complications, avoid hospitalization, and allow patients to age in place (www.todaysgeriatricmedicine.com).

A recent Pacific Standard report describes how Mount Sinai hospital was among the first to start a house call delivery program in New York City. The program involves community agencies, such as visiting nursing associations as well as a network of nurses, social workers, and others, to predominantly treat persons with functional disabilities and multiple health conditions. It currently covers 1,800 homebound patients in Manhattan over the age of 18 who have difficulty accessing care outside the home. The Mount Sinai Visiting Doctors program is widely acclaimed as an effective option to treat the sickest patients.

In 2012, CMS launched the Independence at Home demonstration project to test the efficacy of house calls. The participating house-call programs saved about $3,070 per patient, and reduced Medicare costs by 30 percent, by cutting unnecessary hospitalizations. House calls also improved care quality and patient satisfaction. Participants in Independence at Home (IAH) included the MedStar House Call Program Boston Medical Center, Christiana Care Health Services, University of Pennsylvania Health System, and Virginia Commonwealth University.

The success of house call medicine depends on many factors. According to Dr. Linda DeCherrie, clinical director of Mount Sinai at Home, identifying the patient’s goals for care is crucial (www.psmag.com). Patients with chronic illness would benefit from a combination of primary care and palliative care. Meeting these goals is important.

Another factor is having good medical staff perform the home visit. Providers need to be educated to deliver home-based primary careas the experience of seeing patients at home is significantly different than in a clinical setting.

Providers of home-based primary care also need to be paid for their services. The success of house call medicine will also depend on attracting a larger workforce and providing the necessary training (www.news.aamc.org). According to a 2016 Health Affairs study, rural regions had only limited accessto home based primary care due to a shortage of trained providers.

The new CMS Primary Cares initiative is expected to open up new opportunities expanding home-based primary care. In a press release dated May 9, 2019, Dr. Thomas Cornwell, a practicing home-based primary care physician and Founder and CEO of the Home Centered Care Institute (HCCI), noted that the CMS Primary Cares initiative offers “a real chance of attracting more providers to the field – creating universal access to best practice house call programs, making home-based primary care the national standard for treating medically complex patients who are better cared for in the home.”

As the Primary Cares Initiative increases patient access to advanced primary care services, physicians’ documentation tasks will also increase. Medical transcription outsourcing is a practical option to meet these requirements.

Best Practices When Doing a Dictation in the EMR Setting

30-May-2019 Rajeev Rajagopal Medical Transcription

Emerging trends in the healthcare facilities are Internet of Things, data analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning.The growth will continue to increase,as the latest technology is vital for advancement. Now, many healthcare organizations are leveraging Software as a Service (SaaS) for key applications. The digital or analog record, detailing a medical treatment or clinical test is the physician’s clinical documentation. Recording patient details in the form of medical reports for future referral has now become a part of the technological advancement. Medical transcription companies can provide documented medical reports for physicians.

Best Practices When Doing a Dictation in the EMR Setting

Benefits of the Electronic Medical Record

EMRs provide easier access to accurate clinical data and up-to-date information about patients for more coordinated and efficient care. It has the ability to establish and maintain effective clinical workflows. There will be fewer medical errors, improved patient safety, and stronger support for clinical decision-making.The ability to quickly transfer patient data from one department to another will be easier. Operational costs in transcription services will be low. Also, you are ensured an uncompromised legal document.

Types of Medical Transcription Dictation

Physicians can dictate a medical report in three different ways. This includes telephone dictation, PC-based dictation, and mobile dictation.

When using a telephone to dictate, the telephone’s keypad is used to control the recorder. This is an old technique used by them to dictate medical reports.
In PC-based dictation, physicians dictate clinical data to any standard computer, which provides special dictation microphone and installed software. By integrating this computer to clinical EMR systems, you can save time and maintain accuracy.
Dictation on-the-go is a necessity for many healthcare providers. Physicians then started dictating patient reports through digital portable recording devices and smartphones, which support quality voice recording.

Guide to Physicians When Doing a Dictation

Documentation is the essential ingredient of good medical care. Install good dictation software and use a quality recorder for clear communication. Gather all patient information and organize data before dictating. When dictating in an EMR setting, physicians should follow certain guidelines for quality dictation. Provide patient demographics with more than one patient identifier to get the best service done,e.g. birth date, MRN, or account number. It is mandatory to dictate the date of service for every report. Physically pause the recorder when yawning or coughing while doing a dictation; also avoid eating or chewing gum. When engaging in other conversations, pause the recording when in the middle of a dictation. Avoid extraneous background noise areas while recording. Also avoid crowded places for better voice quality. Clarify words and numbers that may sound the same when dictated. Clarify uncommon abbreviations, use facility approved list. Avoid the risk caused by dangerous abbreviations that can mislead or have more than one definition by expanding them. Include units of measure when necessary and appropriate. When dictating lab tests and vital signs, the numbers should not ambiguously stand alone. Provide feedback and direction to medical transcription outsourcing division or transcription staff to improve data capture and to avoid repeated errors.

In order to maintain efficient workflow status, physicians should quickly complete consults by dictating directly into the EMR or letter templates and by minimizing transcription turnaround time.The main problems that can lower the dictation quality are rapid speech, poor articulation, insufficient volume, background noise, incorrect or insufficient patient information, and erroneous demographics. A high-quality documentation outcome starts with high-quality dictation.

Do Electronic Health Records Pose Risk of Wrong Patient Orders?

27-May-2019 Julie Clements EHR Transcription

Transcribing patient orders is one of the many documentation tasks that medical transcription companies help physicians with. Today, computerized physician order entry (CPOE) allows providers to transmit orders quickly via the electronic health record (EHR). While EHRs are designed to optimize work flow and communications and offer a way to document patient care accurately, wrong-patient orders continue to be a problem. According to a recent report published by Columbia University Irving Medical Center, there are about 600,000 wrong-patient orders every year. A wrong-patient order is when an order meant for one patient is issued for another patient. These “wrong-site, wrong-procedure, wrong-patient errors” (WSPEs) can cause serious harm and even prove fatal. The question is whether EHRs pose a high risk of wrong patient orders.
Do Electronic Health Records Pose Risk of Wrong Patient Orders?
CPOE systems come with several high-end features (searchhealthit.techtarget.com):

Ordering: Clinicians can enter physician orders into a workstation, laptop or secure mobile device instead of completing a paper chart.
Patient-centered decision support: Integratingclinical decision support systems and EHRs will ensure up-to-date patient information and complete medical history, enabling better care decisions.
Patient safety: CPOE allows healthcare providers to perform real-time patient identification, review medication dosage recommendations and screen for potentially adverse drug interaction as well as for patient allergies and treatment conflicts.
Intuitive user interface: The order entry workflow can be easily managed by new or infrequent users.
Regulatory compliance and security: CPOE systems ensure safety of access and information in compliance with state and federal guidelines.
Portability: The software accepts and manages orders from all departments at the point of care through various devices.
Management: Reports generated can be analyzed and evaluated, which helps improvements to be made if needed.
Billing: Documentation and billing is improved.

CPOE can lead to Wrong Patient Orders

Several studies have found that wrong patient orders occur quite often with CPOE. The reason for this, according to an article in The Hospitalist is that “physicians toggle back and forth between screens in the system interface”, making data entry errors and placing wrong-patient orders. This leads CPOE systems to unintentionally cause errors.

According to arecent JAMA study by researchers at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, the risk of wrong-patient orders was similar whether providers were allowed to have just one patient record open or multiple patient records open at the same time. The study covered 3,356 health care providers treating patients in the emergency department, hospital, or outpatient setting. Fifty percent of the participants were allowed to open up to four patient records at a time, while the rest could open only one record at a time.

On tracking the number of wrong-patient order sessions, the researchers found that the error rates of both groups were similar. However, providers in the hospital and emergency department used multiple records and made more errors than clinicians in outpatient settings who usually opened one record at a time. The team concluded that the environment played a role in causing errors. In a busy healthcare environment, clinicians tend to open multiple records as they care for multiple patients simultaneously, which could cause more errors.

Another study identified 644 probable wrong patient orders in a pediatric hospital (www.chpso.org). In most cases, the wrong order was quickly cancelled and replaced with the correct order for the correct patient. The researchers identified the risk factors for wrong patient orders as follows:

Age: infants and newborns were much more likely (2.9 and 3.6 times, respectively) to have wrong-patient orders
Last name: two-letter overlap 4.4 times more likely
Location: patients in nearby rooms 2.8 times more likely
Day of week: Friday 2 times more likely than Monday
Hour of day: midnight to 6 am 1.7 times more likely than 6 pm to midnight
More physicians ordering for the patient: 1.4 times more likely

Mitigation Strategies

Appropriate interventions can help lower the odds of wrong-patient errors.

Automated verification systems (such as bar-coding technology) may help to reduce the chances of misidentifications for patients with similar names. A particular team member must be given the responsibility of matching the bar code on the patient’s identity bracelet to the bar code on the medication or surgery schedule.
Implementing a patient verification alert can decrease the number of order retractions and re-orders due to wrong patient order entry in the emergency department setting.
Using two patient identifiers when entering orders into EHRS, in compliance with the recommendations of the Joint Commission’s national patient safety goal (chpso.org).
Patient ID verification alerts and patient photographs in EHRs
Proper communication among physicians, nurses and others in the care team as well as communicating with patients.
Provider training
Limiting, when feasible, the list of available patient records for each provider

Outsourced medical transcription services can ensure accurate, well-formatted feeds in EHRS. Well-versed in drug names, medical conditions, and transcribing different accents and dialects, experienced medical transcriptionists can correctly document physicians’ verbal orders. It is up to healthcare providers to follow best practices when maintaining orders to promote patient safety.

Tips for Medical Transcriptionists to Improve Their Skills

23-May-2019 MTS TEAM Medical Transcription

Even though technological advances and EHR have changed the way medical transcription is done today, it is critical for medical transcriptionists to work on improving their skills to provide accurate transcripts. Medical transcription companies are often required to deliver accurate transcriptions, often within short time frames. To meet the target requirements, the transcriptionists serving the company should be skilled enough and be capable of generating accurate transcripts. Remember that even minor errors in medical reports can lead to inaccurate diagnoses and possibly serious complications for the patient.

Here are some tips you can consider to provide error-free transcripts.

Choose a calm work environment

Choose a quiet environment to work, so that you can focus on the audio files without any distractions. Try to leave your phone and TV far from you or you will be distracted by the messages you get or by any interesting programs on television. While working from home, choose a pleasant and tidy place.

Master medical specialty terminology

Get familiar with frequently occurring medical terms, as this will also help to differentiate between the abbreviations. Clear knowledge of medical terms will help avoid transcribing the wrong information. Also, you need to be very careful while typing in medication and dosage details.

Improve editing skills

Editing is now the most crucial task for medical transcription. With the introduction of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) and speech recognition technology, in many professional companies, transcriptionists do not have to manually transcribe the recorded notes. Instead they have to edit the transcripts the system provides to ensure accuracy and completeness. Improving your editing skills helps to identify spelling, syntactic, or grammatical mistakes as well as other errors in the transcribed file.

Use quality headset and advanced software

As a medical transcriptionist, you should use the right tools to get the job done. Quality of the equipment and software you use will also impact your work’s accuracy. A good headset will help you better understand the dictations with clearer sound, by blocking out noises in your environment. Install advanced transcription software in your computer that comes with rewind and forward functionalities.

Improve typing speed

To avoid typing errors, practice using the correct fingers for the different keys and type without looking at the keyboard. Know your keyboard well and try to improve your speed, as long as you are sure that it will not compromise your accuracy in the process. Diverse online programs are now available to help you increase your typing speed. Good knowledge of keyboard shortcuts can also help enhance your typing skills.

Listen before transcribing

Even if you are working on a tight schedule, take some time to listen to the file before you start working, as this can improve accuracy. Note down any key points you listen to, which helps to create a brief summary. If any area needs clarification, contact the doctor before you start typing. Having a clear picture of what you have to transcribe helps speed up the process.

Medical specialties rely on medical transcription outsourcing solutions to save precious time for their core activities. Before transcribing, check whether the physician requires verbatim or non-verbatim transcripts. While verbatim transcription will take longer to transcribe, intelligent verbatim transcription cuts out unnecessary words, repeats, pauses, ‘ums’ and the ‘ers’. This will save transcription time.

2019 National Medical Transcriptionist Week, May 19-25

20-May-2019 Rajeev Rajagopal Healthcare News

This is an update to the blog, “National Medical Transcriptionist Week, May 17-23”

Each year, the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI) observes a week in May as National Medical Transcriptionist Week. This year, May 19-25 will be observed as Medical Transcriptionist Week. This week following National Hospital Week from May 12-18, celebrates the role of medical transcriptionists in managing key medical records. Medical transcriptionists or healthcare documentation specialists (HDS) play a key role in supporting clinicians with precise documentation, which helps them provide quality care for patients. Professional medical transcription outsourcing companies also take part in this event to highlight their skilled resources’ important role in assisting doctors in all medical specialties receive accurate patient records. With the introduction of Electronic Health Records (EHRs), though transcriptionists do not have to manually transcribe the recorded notes, they have to edit the documents produced for medical accuracy. They audit and correct medical records to ensure accuracy and completeness.
2019 National Medical Transcriptionist Week, May 19-25
This year’s theme for the week is “Success is a Journey.” This week-long event helps to recognize the contributions made by these healthcare documentation specialists in ensuring complete and error-free patient health records. To promote this campaign in 2019, AHDI recommends organizations / businesses to

Get credentialed, become a mentor and help someone get credentialed
Invest in membership and invite healthcare colleagues to join AHDI
Take advantage of member benefits, continuing education, and networking opportunities
Invite a friend or colleague to their Healthcare Documentation Integrity Virtual Conference (HDIVC) this August
Share their message with healthcare colleagues far and wide

AHDI has announced that this celebration will be newly titled as Healthcare Documentation Integrity Week beginning in 2020.

Healthcare Documentation Specialists – They Are the Unsung Heroes

Medical documentation specialists such as medical transcriptionists, editors, QA specialists and auditors of clinician-created documentation are valuable resources and assets to clinicians as they protect healthcare documents, focusing mainly on patient safety and risk management. Knowledge in healthcare privacy and data security, they follow best documentation practices. A professional medical transcriptionist will also possess certain key skills such as – good knowledge of medical terminology related to the specialty they are trained in, ability to use correct grammar with correct punctuation, better typing and analytical skills, capable of following written instructions, sound listening skills and more.

There is no doubt that a human interface is needed to make new technologies work optimally. Healthcare documentation specialists can ensure quality patient care documentation, by clearly understanding the requirements of HIPAA and HITECH. As editors, they now scrutinize each patient record, monitoring documents for wrong patient/wrong content (demographic mismatches), wrong provider name, wrong dates of service, incorrect work types, medication dosage errors, right/left, male/female inconsistencies, medical contradictions as well as other missing elements and speech recognition errors. Reliable medical transcription services help health systems document a wide range of reports including medical histories, discharge summaries, physical examination reports, operating room reports, diagnostic imaging studies, consultation reports, autopsy reports, referral letters and other documents.

Studies reveal Patient Acceptance of Telehealth Services

16-May-2019 MTS TEAM Healthcare News

In many organizations, telemedicine is providing significant benefits for both patients and providers. Recent studies indicate that convenience and care quality are the main factors driving patient approval for virtual care. Telehealth service documentation requirements are similar to that of face-to-face encounters, and it is expected that the demand for telemedicine transcription services will increase with the growing popularity of virtual care.
Studies reveal Patient Acceptance of Telehealth Services
Patent Perspectives on Virtual Care

According to a recent Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) survey, accessibility and care quality are the key drivers of patient satisfaction with telehealth. The study revealed that 68% of patients rated telehealth visits a nine or ten on a ten-point patient satisfaction scale (www.patientengagementhit.com).

The researchers noted that telemedicine was convenient for pediatric patients and their families as well as older patients for whom traveling was difficult. In other words, virtual care overcomes hurdles to care access. Parents can get their children medical help at a convenient time such as after school or work. Up to 79% of the respondents said that scheduling a telehealth follow-up at a convenient time was easier than for an office visit.

The study also found that patients were impressed with the quality of virtual care. Up to 62% of patients said that telehealth offered the same quality of care as in-person visits. Twenty-one percent reported that the quality of telehealth visits or communication was the same as or superior to traditional office visits.

Patients also reported meaningful connections with their providers even when using video visits. Sixty-six percent of patients said they had strong personal connections with their providers using telehealth.

Telehealth also saves time. In a telehealth visit, up to 95% of the patient’s time is spent face-to-face with the physician. On the other hand, an office visit involves traveling, waiting, and limited patient-provider communication time.

A 2017 survey by American Well also found that patients are satisfied with video visits. When asked whether video, telephone and email could lead to the most accurate diagnosis by a physician, 69% of the respondents chose video. Additionally, patients said that telehealth services resolved their health concerns 85% of the time, compared with 64% of the time in a brick and mortar setting (www.americanwell.com).

Other findings of the American Well telehealth patient satisfaction survey:

Patients prefer telehealth for minor concerns like prescription refills as well as for complex ones involving chronic disease management
Two thirds of consumers are willing to see a doctor over video
Access and time saved are the two factors driving patients’ readiness to see a doctor over video.

According to a 2018 report from the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, millennials, generation Xers, baby boomers and seniors are embracing virtual care, but vary in how they’re using it. Virtual care was most popular among millennials with 50% using it to fill a prescription, 61% to measure fitness and health improvement goals, 36 percent to monitor health issues, 37 percent to receive medication alerts or reminders, and 34 percent to measure, record or send data about medication.

What Providers Think

The MGH study reported that 70% of clinicians agreed that telehealth facilitated timely follow-up care visits and 50 percent found telehealth an efficient option. However, about 46 percent said that in-office visits promoted “deeper patient-provider connections” than telehealth visits, while one-third noted that traditional office visits led to higher care quality than telehealth.

Healthcare professionals must pay attention to patient needs when using telehealth. In fact, physicians stress that telehealth is not a suitable option for all patients and some need in-person care.

Many innovative organizations are using telemedicine technology to improve the patient and provider experience. A Health Tech article explains how Cleveland Clinic’s telemedicine initiatives are keeping patients out of hospital. Patients who undergo bone marrow transplants usually have to return to the hospital every day for temperature and blood pressure readings. However, this puts them at a high risk of infection. In Cleveland Clinic’s telemedicine program, these patients are provided with a blood pressure cuff, thermometer and activity tracker through which their progress can be tracked even after they return home. Nurses can reach out to those who are not making progress.

The Bottomline Line – Telemedicine is the Future of Healthcare

Both patients and providers can benefit immensely from the comprehensive integration of telehealth into healthcare system. Benefits of telehealth include reduced healthcare costs, fewer hospital readmissions, improved care, and enhanced doctor-patient relationships, especially in remote areas.

As telemedicine services are provided, organizations can find it challenging to capture the documentation accurately and in a timely manner. Medical transcription outsourcing is a practical option to ensure proper documentation of the telehealth visit, patient history, consultative notes, etc.

How to Ensure Better Dictation Quality for Your Medical Reports

13-May-2019 MTS TEAM Medical Transcription

In this era of digitalization and automation, conversion of audio recordings into data files is common in various transcription fields like medical, general, business, legal, academic, insurance, media, etc. Among all these, the demand for medical transcription services has expanded considerably worldwide because of the ever increasing work requirement. Physicians have been dictating their patient data for years, but transcriptionists often find it difficult to understand the dictated material entirely. This is because the quality of dictation is poor with many factors contributing to the sub-standard dictation quality.
How to Ensure Better Dictation Quality for Your Medical Reports

The first thing transcriptionists struggle with is the poor audio quality. This may be due to low volume or other disturbances that occurred while recording the audio. The audio quality may vary on some recording devices while traveling, eating, or dictating in public places.
Poor dictation is not always about accents, background noise, speech patterns or faulty devices. Various habits contribute to poor dictation, such as mumbling or gurgling sounds, which can severely affect quality of the audio.
When more physicians are involved in the care of a patient, dictation quality may become poor especially when all of them speak together.
.Some physicians may not even provide patient demographic information and are very inconsistent regarding the format they use. Such reports could be very confusing for the transcriptionist.
The tendency to multitask also can detract from dictation quality.
Fast dictation and poor articulation are considered the most frequent causes of transcription errors, as an AHDI (Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity) study points out.
Physicians may also misuse medical terms.

The quality of patient care and safety are the primary concerns that arise from poor dictation. Incorrect dosages could be disastrous because treatment decisions are based on information mentioned in the chart. When it comes to difficult dictators, the medical report will be on hold within the transcription team to complete the report. That obviously holds up the patient care and timely physician reimbursement. Medical transcription companies are paid on production basis. If they have to struggle through reports of difficult dictators, it will slow down their overall productivity and thus negatively impact their income potential.

How to Ensure Better Quality Dictation

Physicians need to be trained or given certain instructions before dictating a medical record. They should collect their thoughts before they start dictation or learn how to use the pause feature available in the devices instead of saying ‘Um’, ‘Let me think’, etc. Transcriptionists also need clear voice quality for digits that are easily confused (e.g. 15 and 50). Here are some other best dictation practices to follow:

Physicians must familiarize themselves with the recording equipment they plan to use and do some practice sessions.
Ensure that the background is quiet so that they are not distracted or disturbed during the dictation.
Before starting to dictate, make sure that all papers and reports are at hand.
Speak clearly and at an even pace. It is important that doctors do not eat or chew gum when dictating.
The physician should identify himself/herself at the beginning of their dictation. Also mention the type of report and the date to be mentioned in the report.
Spell out full details such as addresses, full name, file numbers, reference numbers, subject matter and patient record number.
When dictating, ensure that words spoken do not get cut off.
Spell unusual diseases, drugs with complex names, and procedures not normally performed in the physician’s daily work or specialty.
Mention all punctuation clearly.
Ensure that the dictation equipment is serviced regularly.

Doctors need to be held accountable for the quality of the dictation they provide, just as they are for all other facets of the patient’s care. Medical transcriptionists are not expecting physicians to speak in slow motion, spell every word, or exaggerate enunciations. However,because of patient safety concerns, they wish the dictation should be in a clear and concise manner. Depending on the organization, incentives and penalties may also be tools to improve dictation practices.

National Nurses Week 2019 Observed from May 6 – 12

09-May-2019 Julie Clements Medical Transcription

“Constant attention by a good nurse may be just as important as a major operation by a surgeon.”
Dag Hammarskjold, a Swedish Economist and Diplomat

National Nurses Week is celebrated annually from May 6 through May 12, the birthday of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing. Nurses play a key role in healthcare.According to the American Nursing Association, there are more than 4 million registered nurses in the U.S. Their responsibilities range from assessing patients’ needs and diagnosing illnesses to engaging in health promotion strategies to maximize optimal health outcomes.Physicians refer to nursing reports to effectively monitor and treat patients’ conditions. Accuracy in these reports is ensured with the support of professional medical transcription services.
National Nurses Week 2019 Observed from May 6 - 12
It was in 1993 that the American Nursing Association permanently designed such a national week to honor the nursing profession. While May 8 is considered as National Student Nurses Day and National School Nurse Day, May 12^th is observed as International Nurses Day each year. Hospitals can use this opportunity to extend a special thanks to nurses, for their dedication and the quality care they provide patients. The theme for National Nurses Week in 2019 is “4 Million Reasons to Celebrate“. This theme reflects the number of nurses nationally. This week long celebration aims at raising awareness about the value of nursing as well as educating the public about the role nursing plays in meeting their healthcare needs.

A 2018 survey conducted by Gallup found that 84% of those surveyed rated the honesty and ethical standards of nurses as “very high” or “high” – above that of doctors, pharmacists and teachers.

Hospitals can applaud their team of nurses, nursing assistants, CNAs, and new nursing grads, by

Presenting them gifts including tech items, apparel, lapel pins, lunch bags, and more
Conducting contests and letting them win great prizes
Offering special treats

The American Nurses Association (ANA) also supplies free toolkits to celebrate National Nurses Week in hospitals, practices, and other organizations, which includes large banners for display purposes, thank you card templates, recognition certificates, online digital ads, letterheads and more.

Nurses have to make sure that the reports they submit are accurate. HIPAA-compliant nursing transcription services are available to transcribe all types of nursing reports, including history and physical reports, clinic notes, office notes, and operative reports among others.

Significance of Virtual Care Doctors in Better Health Care [infographic]

06-May-2019 Rajeev Rajagopal Infographics

Many doctors are now providing their valuable services virtually online to a broader audience and patients, who can access their doctor through emails, video conferencing or even telephonic conversation. When it comes to documentation, recordings of such care provided can be transcribed into accurate patient records with the help of quality medical transcription services.

Read the infographic below
Significance of Virtual Care Doctors in Better Health Care

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Significance of Virtual Care Doctors in Better Health Care [infographic]

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