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Apr 30, 2005

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To participate in the Annual MT India Quiz Contest 2005 -
Preliminary Round II, click here:
http://www.mtindia.org/jobs/

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Scenarios and Solutions for the Future of Transcription

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Dear Friends,

Excerpts from AHIMA - AAMT white paper, on the future of MT:

"In the past, new technologies have worked to better enable the
process of medical transcription as an intermediary service in the
creation of healthcare documentation. However, the current emphasis
on adoption of electronic health records and rapid technological
innovation is dramatically changing the methods by which
documentation can be created.

Medical transcription is one of the applied domains in the
management of health information that is facing dramatic
transformation. Forces such as the government's
national health information infrastructure initiative, the
implementation of the electronic health record, technology
innovations, emphasis on lower costs and higher productivity, and
concerns for quality care and patient safety will all have an
impact on changing the practice of medical transcription.
Evaluating these forces and developing strategies to address them
will help the healthcare industry at large and the profession in
particular prepare to meet these future changes.

These recommendations build a framework for actions that AAMT and
AHIMA can pursue with the industry over the next several years.
Progress in these areas will serve to create a future that benefits
the industry, both associations, and medical transcriptionists.

The recommendations are:

1. Define a continuum of core competencies that enable medical
transcriptionists to provide faster and more direct capture and
presentation of information to the healthcare provider and expand
their role in ensuring the quality, completeness, and accuracy of
digitized clinical information.

2. Communicate the extent, impact, and urgency of the required
changes in data capture and document creation methods and
technologies to the industry. Describe these changes to medical
transcriptionists in a way that empowers them to participate rather
than resist.

3. Develop training opportunities that engage medical
transcription and health information management professionals in
leading the change to more streamlined, efficient data capture and
text/document management.

4. Research best practices in data capture and document/text
management. Promulgate that research into easily transferable
strategies that are replicated throughout the industry.

5. Create and promulgate standards in data capture, presentation,
and document/text management that advance patient safety and the
quality of healthcare. Initiate alliances with clinician
associations and others to ensure these standards are transferred
to practice.

6. Advance models for rapid technology adoption that document
return on investment and improved data quality.

This report illustrates a new trajectory for the practice of
medical transcription with a new emphasis on data quality control
and management, no matter which future scenario develops. To make a
successful transition, the transcription and health information
management industries must be proactive in building alliances,
setting technology agendas, creating information standards,
training and retraining, and conducting research."

To read the entire report:
http://library.ahima.org/xpedio/groups/public/documents/ahima/bok1_026774.pdf

Ciao!

Maj (Dr) Amit Chatterjee, SM
Strategist / Founder ~ mailto:amit@...
MT India ~ www.mtindia.org
"The Community of MT Professionals"

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NEWS AND VIEWS :
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1) Comfy way to healthy pay

'Work from home' is the latest offer on the billboard. And it is
provided by Worldtech Medical Technology Services. Isn't it
tempting?

Got a computer and Internet connection at home? Then brush up your
typing and listening skills and be ready to rake in a few fast
bucks. That is what Worldtech is offering. The company is looking
at expanding its staff strength from the existing 400 to at least
2,500, by 2007.

The offer to work from home comes as part of this plan and is an
open invitation to housewives, retired employees and other
unemployed persons to become part of its efforts to offer a clean
copy to its 700-plus client doctors in the US, says its Managing
Director, Ramakrishna Tummala.

Pointing out that the industry is worth 18 billion dollars today
and on the comeback trail, with the demand on a constant rise in
the US, Mr. Ramakrishna says the 'work from home' career
opportunity would be a boon for those who have an inclination to
work hard and earn more.

"A computer, an Internet connection and a headphone along with the
software we give is all that is required," Mr. Ramakrishna says,
adding that those aspiring to work from home will have to attend a
three-month class at Worldtech, and then undergo an on-the-job
training for a similar period. Stipends are offered during this
period. The scenario could only get better in Andhra Pradesh as the
Government is proposing to introduce medical transcription as a
course. Worldtech is part of the body forming the curriculum for
this course, the company's General Manager, Venkat Nimmagadda,
says. Those interested in finding out more can contact the company
over the phone numbers 23352697/698/700.

http://www.hindu.com/edu/2005/04/25/stories/2005042500400100.htm

2) SPI Technologies to up headcount

SPI Technologies Inc, a leading BPO services providers will hire an
additional 700 medical transcription personnel by the year-end at
its Coimbatore facility to take its total strength across five
locations to 1,700.

SPI's healthcare division had recently acquired KGISTL's medical
transcription business in Coimbatore. Jeff Marwill, VP- operations,
SPI Healthcare Documentation has stated in a press release that SPI
will hire professionals in the areas of medical transcription,
quality assurance and administrative support as the company ramps
up its global operations.

The company had earlier chalked out a $50 million expansion plan
for this year. SPI Technologies aims to further extend its service
lines and production capabilities through organic growth as well as
through selective acquisitions in the United States and Asia.

http://www.business-standard.com/iceworld/storypage_link.php?chklogin=N&autono=1\
87216&lselect=2&leftnm=lmnu9&leftindx=9

3) AAMT's Public Awareness Campaign for National Medical
Transcriptionist Week May 15-21, 2005

Have You Read Your Medical Record?

AAMT announces a new public awareness campaign as part of National
Medical Transcriptionist Week this year, designed to share with the
public the critical role medical transcriptionists play in
documenting their medical records, contributing to patient safety,
protecting health information, and ensuring clear, concise
communication between and among healthcare providers. AAMT is
working with the Star Rosen Group to develop media kits to share
this information locally as well as "telling our stories" to the
media.

http://www.aamt.org/ScriptContent/medicalrecord.cfm

4) Coding on the Front Lines

There is war raging in the healthcare industry-a fight for
reimbursement and compliance-and hospital outpatient departments
are the battlefields. In August 2000, Medicare waged an all-out
offensive against the hospital outpatient payment system. Medicare
demanded that hospitals correct payment errors and comply with
Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) rules and regulations
for medical necessity and use correct reporting procedures.
Hospitals were crippled as they bled red throughout the outpatient
arena. Outdated chargemasters, payment errors, and incorrect
procedure coding gave Medicare all the ammunition it needed to wage
this war. Lack of communication caused great confusion, creating a
disastrous situation and mass casualties with hospital claims.

Someone had to stop the madness, and who better to do it than the
Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) coding experts? Hospitals were
screaming for coding specialists to help wage war on the terror of
lost reimbursement. Enter the coding green berets. Armed with CPT
code books and Medicare Program Memorandums, these coders hit the
outpatient arena with full force. Their mission was clear: to clean
up chargemasters, comply with medical necessity requirements, and
eliminate Correct Coding Initiative errors. These certified coding
specialists were capable of bridging the gap between clinical
charge-data systems and billing to bring them all into the revenue
cycle and change the face of outpatient compliance and
reimbursement. Their battle cry was "Review, Charge, Code, and
Complete." Here is the journey that took the outpatient coding
brigade to "Operation Emergency Department."

http://www.fortherecordmag.com/ftr_enews0405.shtml

5) Picturing peace

An unlikely amateur photography duo of teacher and student, Fr Greg
Sharkey and Alok Tuladhar, have been taking pictures for over 20
years and a selection of their work is on display at A Peaceful
Nepal photo exhibition at the Godavari Alumni Association (GAA) in
Thamel.

Alok is an IT specialist who owns nepmed, a medical transcription
company that is outsourced work from hospitals abroad. Alok was
earlier running Unlimited, one of Nepals realier, now failed, MT
projects. Greg is the moderator of GAA and director of the Jesuit
Research Centre besides being an anthropologist who specialises in
Newari culture and Buddhism.

http://www.nepalitimes.com/issue244/nepali_society.htm
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Thank you for your interest in MT India!

The MTIndia Team
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