There’s 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 don’t even know exactly how medical transcriptionists work – let alone whether it’s important for their practice or not.

1. What is Medical
Transcription, and
Do Coders Need It?

2. • There’s 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
don’t even know exactly how medical transcriptionists work – let
alone whether it’s 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 that’s
worth wrapping your head around.
• So, throughout this article, we’ll 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.

3. Understanding Medical
Transcription
• Kicking things off, let’s 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 patient’s medical records, making sure
they’re not only precise but easily accessible, too.

4. 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 they’re
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.

5. • Still, given how often speech recognition software is used in
the medical industry, you might wonder why medical
professionals don’t 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 it’s 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 can’t be
replicated by a simple software.

6. 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 you’re
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.

7. • 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 we’ve covered why medical transcription is important in
healthcare let’s explore how it works in tandem with the work of your
medical coding team.

8. • 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 that’s crucial for their job.

9. • Not only does this expedite the overall coding procedure, but it also
means you’re 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, there’s incredibly little margin for error here.
What’s more, it can be fairly expensive to have a staff member whose
sole job is to transcribe this information, so it’s not always the best
approach if you’re a smaller practice that can’t always compete with
the resources of larger practices.

10. • 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, we’ve been aiding small practices like
yours for over 20 years. Whether it’s 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.