A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry

Phase out of MTs - PMT

Posted: May 24, 2011

The electronic documentation is going to be nationwide. Incentives were put in place by the Federal govt to get physicians and hospitals away from paper charts. Eventually the incentives become punishments if you don't switch over. Anyone else heard about this? How can they "phase out" MTs? Does the Federal govt not realize the much needed jobs many of us will lose?

Why do many believe - sm

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that electronic documentation is going to get rid of MTs? EMR means that the records are kept on a computer system and not paper. Yes, there are many EMR programs coming out and being sold to physicians, but hospitals are not going to be punished for using transcriptionists, just if they do not use computer systems for their records. My hospital is using EMR now, but still has transcriptionists. When you come in to the hospital, you read your forms on a computer screen and sign on a sign pad, but they use transcriptionists for their dictation, which are stored in the electronic medical record. It is the software companies that are selling the hospitals EMR programs for point and click and so forth claiming to cut down costs of transcriptionists, but not the government trying to get rid of transcriptionists.

Good explanation. - NM

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x

Couldn't have said it better - nm

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nm

Thank you. All one needs to do is - anon3

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think a little bit and even do a search on EMR-and-government but your post is perfect.

The federal govt has been working on getting streamlined EMRs for decades.

My account does the same thing - sm - ITKMT

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I log into the hospital's system and the dictation is routed to a transcripton queue. It is also in the chart if it is necessary to retrieve it that way. The doctor's dictate, we transcribe the work, it goes directly to the chart and the doctor reviews it for the final okay, though others can access it if they have not done that yet so it is not held up. I can access the chart directly if I need to check a lab value or a vital, or even the doctor being copied on the report for spelling if I cannot figure it out. If all hospitals go with similar systems that would be great. The only downside to this platform is it is designed for the doctor not the transcriptionist, so it can be annoying not being able to control the speed of the dictation. But still plenty for the MT to do.

I work for a doctor's office and do the same thing except - orthogirl

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we download the dictation from an FTP site. The dictation is only available after you type it. Otherwise, the doctor dictates, we type it in their EMR system and have access to the complete chart while typing to use as a reference if need be. There is no work taken away from the transcriptionist and the record is entirely electronic (although every time the patient comes in, the office prints the notes out for the doctor, so it is still wasting a huge amount of paper) but has not taken away from my job at all yet. In fact, have been doing this way for the past 15 years.

sounds like EMR system I did hospital acute care on once. - anon2

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it was wonderful - have all that info such as labs and drugs; doctor names, address, and outside facilities literally at my fingertips if stuck on one - easy to pull up and easy to search so no time lost doing it. Nurse's notes even helped.

Also, I racked up good lines straight typing - the use of EMR in that setting did not replace the transcriptionists in any way, shape, or form.

Laid off - Anon

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I was just a handful of workers laid off due to EMR, and they are going to phase it into more departments of the hospital, everyone still there is sweating. Don't think it won't at least cut back plenty of jobs, it just might take time to happen.

Phasing Out The Need for Transcriptionists - MR

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Well, speaking from experience: I've worked for a 30-year old (small) company that is closing it's door in the next month due to EMR. As with most companies, the accounts went from tapes, to digital, to VR, and now to EHR using point-and-click Dragon, and yes, they are phasing out transcriptionists, including our largest account, a teaching hospital in MA. While the government wants full compliance by 2014, MA is striving for 2012. The doctors aren't happy about it but, unfortunately, that's the reality of it. To think transcription is not going to be affected is crazy. Why does everyone think the workload is dwindling? It's not just because of outsourcing. Every week one of our departments "goes over" to this Dragon EHR system and we lose it, i.e., they no longer need to be transcribed. Yes, this is a 500+ physician inpatient/oupatient unit whose goal by 2012 is no need for transcriptionists. I've heard some doctors are looking for 'scribes' to input the info from their dictation, but it's just data entry and less pay.

On the other hand, I know several MTs recently hired in a MA hospital - Some hiring; some letting go

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It does make a person dizzy with some of the companies hiring more and others laying off. It's obviously a great repositioning.

I believe SomeHiring's observation about a great - repositioning is spot on. This work will

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survive but with fewer people relative to the patient load, even as that load increases.

Are you serious?? What makes you think the Fed Govt cares? - Equality for all - poor.

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:(

I think the time is fast approaching when MOST - people in the US will not be working, and - sm

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only the upper echelon of workers - management and CEOs - will have jobs. I wonder how long it will take before complacency turns to riots & total anarchy.

wow. Glad I don;'t watch that much TV - and glad to be an optimist.

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.

Careful! Too much optimism (and complacency) - can be hazardous to your livelihood!

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LOL! ...Thanks! Needed a good tickle! - :oD

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xox :-x

Time fast approaching - Old Pro

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I think anarchy and riots will be a long time coming simply because Americans have become too complacent and had it far too easy for far too long.

True, but Americans also have a history of finding solutions. - Proud American

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Our ancestors weren't lazy and complacent though. They didn't sit around griping and complaining. They found solutions. Just think of what they accomplished!

Americans don't give up. Sure, our jobs have all pretty much been shipped overseas and people in all sectors of the economy are jobless or have had hours/pay cut. That's bad, really bad. That's not the end of the story though. Americans are creative, resilient, and resourceful. It may take us a few years to recover from the economic disaster that our country is in, but we will, God willing.

Yep! Two-class society, elites and slaves. nm - Researcher

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nm

You can still have narrative dictation with EMR. - see message

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It doesn't mean the death of MT, but it is going to make it more difficult to make it necessary.

Narrative dictation can interface with paperless medical records. It is more rich and detailed that a simple point and click type of charting. But, it's in direct competition with the companies that offer no dictation point and click methods of charting.

I would think the no dictation point and click is designed more for - anon2

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the individual medical office and that works for them, but in the hospital setting, the EMR I worked on allowed for the full dictation of the basic 4, which, to me, can't be done point and click. I just don't see how it could. And hospital charts can't go without the narrative or the charts would pass Joint Commission.

means would not pass JCommision. (left off not) - anon2 NM

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hate it when it does that.

EMR is a good thing. - sm

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EMR is more efficient and allows for easier and quicker access to medical reports, improving accuracy and continuity of care. It definitely changes things for us, and the way MTSOs have handled some of the changes doesn't compensate us as fairly as it should. But there's a lot of ways it helps us, like being able to look up previous reports to cut down on the time we spend researching things. For the most part, it's a good thing, and our work is mostly unaffected.

EMR doesn't affect the need for transcriptionists. The problem is, it requires certain resources a small MTSO can't provide, helping all the big companies swallow the smaller ones, and those big companies are the ones that screw us over. It's not fair to blame EMR for this. If we had labor unions, we'd continue doing the same work (or switch to VR editing) and still be compensated fairly for our work.

Also, don't confuse EMR for VR. The government will never require VR. The only reason the industry is going that way is because MTSOs are paying unfair rates for VR editing and MTs are either too desperate or just aren't familiar with VR rates, so they accept them.

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