Seasons change and so will I. It used to be that automobiles were made in Detroit, shoes were made in Italy, then global economy and trade began to change things. Toys were being manufactured in Japan, then clothing was being manufactured in Viet Nam, customer support calls were run thru the Philippines.
I was a medical transcriptionist, back in the day when homebased transcriptionists picked up micro tapes and returned them the next day with a stack of paper reports that she’d type up on a typewriter, the kind where you feed the sheet of paper behind the roller and have an erase strip handy for the minor errors. Heaven help us if the doctor added something at the end of the tape. I became a transcriptionist so that I could work from home any time of the night or day. I needed some experience first, and my job for corporate health system was good enough to stop me from looking at home typing after all. An early electronic medical record called COSTAR that I worked on as a trial that only lasted about 12 years, then my job was outsourced to Pakistan. I found other things to do in the healthcare industry; managing a clinic, marketing and management for one of these outsourcing companies. Now thirty-five years after my first job as a medical transcriptionist I bought out my partners of fifteen years in our international transcription business. I direct traffic. I know the ins and outs and nooks and crannies of this business. I know what the doctors complain about and what the staff has to deal with to make everybody happy. I work for them.
Voice recognition has made an impact on documentation, though it still isn’t reliable and the results can be anywhere from humorous to dangerous. The voice recognition on my handheld device or calling in to a business is convenient sometimes, and frustrating and disastrous other time.
At RSDMT we work hard to eliminate all the problems. We utilize the perfect blend of technology and customized service. We have a staff of real people typing reports, editing and when required, applying them to an electronic medical record. We answer calls or return voice messages. We respond to text messages and emails. Doctors and therapists went to school to treat patients. We went to school to manage medical practices. Technology in the marketplace shouldn’t cause an absence of personalized service. We do our job so that our clients can do theirs.
Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash