Medical Typist jobs

Purpose and Mission

Medical typists are trained to enter a broad variety of medical information, including patient records, treatments provided, insurance information and medication reports, into pre-existing medical databases. These medical professionals typically work for clinics and hospitals, and may provide general administrative support to the facility as well as data entry and transcription duties.

Reports To

In most cases, a medical typist will report to a mid-level supervisor or administrator at their facility. Medical typists are sometimes assigned to work in specific departments, and most are a part of the general administrative staff of the facility.

Supervisory Responsibilities

Medical transcriptionists do not typically have many supervisory responsibilities. That said, more experienced medical typists will often be responsible for oversight and training of new employees, and may have input into measures for performance evaluation.

Qualifications

There are few formal qualifications to work as medical typist aside from fast, accurate typing skills and knowledge of medical terminology. Many employers prefer candidates with a one-year Diploma in Healthcare Documentation or a two-year associate degree in healthcare administration or a related field. Experience with the Dictaphone or other transcription technologies is also a big plus.

Responsibilities of a Medical Typist / Transcriptionist

The primary responsibilities of medical typists and transcriptionists often include:

• Listening to the recorded dictation of a healthcare professional
• Transcribing the dictation into reports, referral letters, and other documents
• Reviewing and editing drafts prepared by speech recognition software, confirming that the transcription is correct, complete, and is consistent
• Translating medical abbreviations and jargon into the appropriate long form document
• Identifying inconsistencies, errors, and missing information in a report that could compromise patient care or privacy
• Following up with the healthcare provider to ensure the accuracy of the typing or transcription
• Submitting new health records for doctors to approve
• Following patient confidentiality guidelines and legal documentation requirements
• Entering medical reports into electronic health records systems
• Performing a variety of quality improvement audits.

Medical transcriptionists frequently use audio playback equipment and / or software connected to their computer. The equipment may include a headset and foot pedal to control the recording playback speed. These medical professionals also use word-processing and other specialized software, as well as various medical reference materials, on a regular basis.