Commonly used Transcription rules

1	Spacing With Punctuation Marks
		Do Not Type a Space ... before or after a hyphen before or after a slash before or after a dash between a number and percent sign between parentheses and the enclosed material between any word and the punctuation following it. between the number and the colon used to indicate a dilute solution or ratio, e.g. 1:4 on either side of the colon when expressing the time of day before an apostrophe before or after a comma used within numbers before or after an ampersand in abbreviations, e.g., C&S on either side of the colon when expressing ratios e.g. 1:1 after the closing parenthesis if another mark of punctuation follows when using the word “times” as x – e.g., x3 Type One Space... between words after a comma after a semicolon after a period following an initial after the closing parenthesis on each side of the x in an expression of dimension, e.g. 4 x 4 type 2 spaces... after punctuation at the end of a sentence after a colon except when expressing time or a dilution ratio
2	Numbers
		Spell out WHOLE numbers zero through nine, use numerals for 10 and above (this may change in the near future as the AAMT is trying to standardize using numerals only. Use numerals when numbers are directly used with symbols. Use numerals when expressing ages. If it is an approximate age, spell it out. Use numerals to express size and measurements. Use numerals for everything metric. Centimeters, millimeters, liters, etc. Use numerals in all expressions pertaining to drugs - this includes strength, dosage and directions. Z-PAK 2 daily on day 1, then 1 daily on days 2-5. Spell out and hyphenate fractions standing alone. He drank one-half a gallon of apple juice. Use numerals to express mixed fractions. 1 1/2 years. Use commas only if there are 5 or more digits when expressing numbers. e.g. 10,000, 4000. Use numerals when expressing vital statistics including height, weight, blood pressure, pulse and respiration. Substitute a hyphen for the word "to". He is to take 1-2 tablets of Tylenol every 4-6 hours p.r.n. Leave a space between numerals and measurements unless they form a compound modifier. It is 6 cm below the ...... It is 1200 mL....... A 4-cm nevus....... A 2 x 2-mm lesion....... Always use 0 in front of the decimal point if the number is not a whole number. 0.75 mg Use decimal fractions with metric measurements. 1.5 cm Use mixed fractions with English system measurements. 1 1/2 inch Use numerals for: Ages, units of measure, vital statistics, lab values and in other instances where it is important to communicate clearly the number referenced. Examples: 4 inches, 3-year-old. She has three dogs who have eight fleas each. A total of 7 basal cell carcinomas removed from his left arm. (7 for clarity) Do not start a sentence using a number. Spell out the number or recast the sentence. Dictated as: 10 milligrams of Reglan was administered stat. Transcribe as: Reglan 10 mg was administered stat. Exception - It is acceptable to begin a sentence with a date. Example - 2004 is going to be a prosperous year. Plurals - do not use an apostrophe to form plural numbers. 4 x 4s She was in her 20s or twenties (this is acceptable because it is not a definite number). She was born in the 1970s. Series of numbers - Use numerals if at least one is greater than nine or if there is a mixed or decimal fraction. Example - Jeff has 1 job, 1 place of employment and 18 hours a day to do the work. Cranial nerves - Preferred: Roman numerals I-XII Diabetes type 1 and type 2, not Roman numerals I and II - this was recently standardized by the American Diabetes Association. Apgar scores - Use numerals for ratings and spell out numbers relating to minutes. Rationale - to draw attention to the scores. Example: The Apgar scores were 6 and 9 at one and five minutes. Apgar is not an acronym. Time Examples 8:30 a.m. - morning 8:30 p.m. - evening noon, not 12:00 noon midnight, not 12:00 midnight or 12 'o'clock or 12:00 p.m.
3	Measurements
		Spell out all nonmetric measurements. Feet, inches, pounds, ounces, yards, grain, dram, etc. Exceptions: Use tsp for teaspoon Use tbsp for tablespoon Abbreviate all metric measurements. Use F for Fahrenheit IF accompanied by the symbol for degree. 98.6°F Spell out Fahrenheit IF degree is spelled out. 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. Use C for Celsius IF accompanied by the symbol for degree. 36°C Spell out Celsius IF degree is spelled out. 36 degrees Celsius. In tables and technical documents: Use ft or ' for feet Use " for inches Use yd for yard Use pt for pint Use oz for ounce Use fl oz for fluid ounce Abbreviate most unusual units of measure when accompanied by numerals Dictated as Transcribed as: 0.8 centimeters squared 0.8 sq cm 22 millimeters of mercury 22 mmHg 3.0 liters per minute 3.0 L/min 40 millimeters per hour 40 mm/h 8 grams percent 8 gm%
4	Symbols
		Spell out a symbol when used alone (with no number). Use symbols when they are used with numbers Common Symbols Dictated as Transcribed as: Four to five 4-5 Number 3 0 #3-0 Twenty-twenty vision 20/20 BP 120 over 80 120/80 Grade two over six 2/6 A positive A+ Three point five centimeters 3.5 cm Point five centimeters 0.5 cm
5	Capitalization
		Capitalize... Abbreviations when the words they represent are capitalized The first word following a colon if it begins a complete sentence or is part of an outline entry Most abbreviations of English words The first letter of chemical elements The names of the days of the week, months, holidays, historic events and religious festivals The names of specific departments or sections in the institution only when the institution name is included The names of diseases that include proper nouns, eponyms or genus names The trade or brand names of drugs A quote when it is a complete sentence The names of races, peoples, religions and languages. Black, as a race designation would be capitalized, however client preferences may differ. Do Not Capitalize... The spelled out names of the chemical elements The seasons of the year The common names of diseases The names of viruses unless they include a proper noun Generic drug names The common noun following the brand name. Example - Tylenol tablets The names of medical or surgical specialties Designations based on skin color, like "a tall white man."
6	Hyphenation
		These prefixes do not require the use of a connecting hyphen in compound terms: ante intra semi anti micro sub bi mid super co non supra contra over trans
7	Stage, Type, and Fracture Classifications
		Lowercase the words "stage" and "type," and use roman numerals. For subdivisions of stages, follow The AAMT Book of Style rules for cancer classifications, and add on-line capital letters without spaces or hyphens: Examples complex regional pain syndrome stage I stage II-III type I radioulnar synostosis type II open fracture type IIIB Garden II femoral neck fracture Salter VI fracture
8	Grade
		Lowercase the word "grade" and use arabic numerals: Examples: grade 1 chondromalacia patellae grade 2 grade 3-4
9	Level, Phase, and Class
		Lowercase the words "level," "phase," and "class," and use arabic or roman numerals according to the system being referenced: Examples: Radiation Therapy Oncology phase III Haggitt level 4 colorectal adenocarcinoma physical status class 2E
10	Wrist Arthroscopy Portals
		Use arabic numerals. Two numbers should be hyphenated without spaces; add on-line capital letters with no space: Examples: 1-2 portal portal 3-4 6U wrist portal source: http://www.mt911.com

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Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA; Pub.L. 104-191, 110 Stat. 1936, enacted August 21, 1996) was enacted by the United States Congress and signed by President Bill Clinton in 1996. It was originally sponsored by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Sen. Nancy Kassebaum (R-Kan.). Title I of HIPAA protects health insurance coverage for workers and their families when they change or lose their jobs. Title II of HIPAA, known as the Administrative Simplification (AS) provisions, requires the establishment of national standards for electronic health care transactions and national identifiers for providers, health insurance plans, and employers.

The Administration Simplification provisions also address the security and privacy of health data. The standards are meant to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the nation's health care system by encouraging the widespread use of electronic data interchange in the U.S. health care system.

Title I of HIPAA regulates the availability and breadth of group health plans and certain individual health insurance policies. It amended the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, the Public Health Service Act, and the Internal Revenue Code.

Title I also limits restrictions that a group health plan can place on benefits for preexisting conditions. Group health plans may refuse to provide benefits relating to preexisting conditions for a period of 12 months after enrollment in the plan or 18 months in the case of late enrollment. However, individuals may reduce this exclusion period if they had group health plan coverage or health insurance prior to enrolling in the plan. Title I allows individuals to reduce the exclusion period by the amount of time that they had "creditable coverage" prior to enrolling in the plan and after any "significant breaks" in coverage. "Creditable coverage" is defined quite broadly and includes nearly all group and individual health plans, Medicare, and Medicaid. A "significant break" in coverage is defined as any 63 day period without any creditable coverage.

Some health care plans are exempted from Title I requirements, such as long-term health plans and limited-scope plans such as dental or vision plans that are offered separately from the general health plan. However, if such benefits are part of the general health plan, then HIPAA still applies to such benefits. For example, if the new plan offers dental benefits, then it must count creditable continuous coverage under the old health plan towards any of its exclusion periods for dental benefits.

An alternate method of calculating creditable continuous coverage is available to the health plan under Title I. That is, 5 categories of health coverage can be considered separately, including dental and vision coverage. Anything not under those 5 categories must use the general calculation (e.g., the beneficiary may be counted with 18 months of general coverage, but only 6 months of dental coverage, because the beneficiary did not have a general health plan that covered dental until 6 months prior to the application date). Since limited-coverage plans are exempt from HIPAA requirements, the odd case exists in which the applicant to a general group health plan cannot obtain certificates of creditable continuous coverage for independent limited-scope plans such as dental to apply towards exclusion periods of the new plan that does include those coverages.

Hidden exclusion periods are not valid under Title I (e.g., "The accident, to be covered, must have occurred while the beneficiary was covered under this exact same health insurance contract"). Such clauses must not be acted upon by the health plan and also must be re-written so that they comply with HIPAA.

To illustrate, suppose someone enrolls in a group health plan on January 1, 2006. This person had previously been insured from January 1, 2004 until February 1, 2005 and from August 1, 2005 until December 31, 2005. To determine how much coverage can be credited against the exclusion period in the new plan, start at the enrollment date and count backwards until you reach a significant break in coverage. So, the five months of coverage between August 1, 2005 and December 31, 2005 clearly counts against the exclusion period. But the period without insurance between February 1, 2005 and August 1, 2005 is greater than 63 days. Thus, this is a significant break in coverage, and any coverage prior to it cannot be deducted from the exclusion period. So, this person could deduct five months from his or her exclusion period, reducing the exclusion period to seven months. Hence, Title I requires that any preexisting condition begin to be covered on August 1.

Source:http://en.wikipedia.org

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What is Medical Transcription?

Very simply, medical transcription is the transcribing (typing) of doctor's reports from dictated audio files.  Each time a physician or other medical provider sees a patient, a record is kept -- the medical record. 

Insurance companies have now made typed notes mandatory, which means the need for medical transcription has nearly tripled in the last decade.  Add to that the baby boomers who are reaching their senior years, and you have a wonderful career opportunity and a bigger demand than there is supply for the correctly trained personnel to transcribe these records. 

What is even better is that with the invention of the Internet and encrypted e-mail, local transcription services can help doctors' offices and hospitals all around the country, and even around the world.  The best news is that they hire qualified individuals who work from their home to do this work for them. 

What does this mean for the work at home transcriptionist?  Quite a lot.  First, the work at home transcriptionist can forget about early morning traffic, or rush hour traffic on the way home.  They no longer have to put up with corporate America and can usually set their own hours for working.  Babysitters are a thing of the past when mothers are home to greet their children after school.  And tensions are eased when the paychecks are equal to (and many times more than!) the income she used to bring home.

But it's not all peaches and cream!  There are a number of factors that go into making this dream a reality.  Most importantly is the training you receive.  Do you go with the quick course that will have you working in only three months?  Or do you choose the longer course that takes a year to finish? 

From experience we've learned what works and what doesn't.  And what doesn't work is a cheap course such as those found in ads in the back of magazines.  The programs may look glamorous, but essentials are lacking -- essentials that may mean the difference between your success and your failure. 

What makes a medical transcriptionist qualified?

What most people don't realize is that the qualified medical transcriptionist is worth every dime she makes (and more!)   However it's not just the typing speed that decides your success -- it's far more.  Things like working SMARTER instead of HARDER.   Things like being trained in ALL aspects of the transcription business instead of just a few medical specialties.  Things like knowing your computer inside and out and knowing little tips and shortcuts that take the job from an average one to an extremely profitable one. 

Don't get us wrong -- we're not saying you are going to make big money your first year.  Maybe not even your second year.  But if you were to learn transcription and work at home, wouldn't you want to learn it from the very best?  Wouldn't you want your training to come from people who have successfully already DONE what you want to do?  What if those experienced individuals got together and created a program so thorough and so intense that you could cut months off your learning curve?  Wouldn't that be worth looking into?

Well that's exactly what has happened here.  In our FREE e-book (see link above) you'll get in-depth reports and stories from a number of successful transcriptionists around the country -- each one telling you what worked for them and the mistakes they made first starting out. 

What better way to make your decisions than by getting advice from the people who have been there before you?  People who have learned the ropes the hard way.  Now you can benefit from this knowledge! 

For a good example, if you wanted to learn oil painting, would you rather learn from your next door neighbor who dabbles in weekend art, or from a renowned artist who has many years of experience in both painting and the business of selling their painting?  This is how an investment in yourself at the beginning of your career can make the difference between you earning an average or below-average income and one that is well above-average.  The payoff over even just a few years (many times only a few months!) is well worth the difference in cost!  

source:http://www.mtworkathome.com

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