Thursday, January 7, 2010

Cholesterol and Your Heart

Shrimp is full of cholesterol. But the real cholesterol danger lurks in the slyly packaged "cholesterol
free" cookie. You see, shrimp contains very little of the saturated fat that makes that cookie taste so good. And it's the saturated fat in food not the cholesterol that has the greatest effect on your cholesterol level.

No wonder people are confused.

Here's your guide to understanding what it all means, because what is clear is the link between high cholesterol in your blood and heart disease. You'll find out whether you need a cholesterol test and what "good" cholesterol is, along with quick tips for creating a heart healthy diet. What you won't find is a recipe for those cookies.


 

Cholesterol, a white, waxy fat found naturally in your body, is used to build cell walls and make certain. Too much of it, through, can clog your arteries and eventually choke off the supply of blood to the heart, which is the reason high cholesterol is a leading risk factor for heart disease. Other factors that pur you at risk include:

  • High blood pressure
  • Smoking
  • A family history of heart disease
  • Being male
  • Diabetes
  • Obesity


 

WHO SHOULD BE TESTED: Everyone age 20 and older should have their cholesterol measured at least once every 5 years. It is best to have a blood test called a "lipoprotein profile" to find out your cholesterol numbers, according to the National Cholesterol Education Program.


 

BY WHOM: preferably your doctor, who can measure LDL as well as total cholesterol. If you use an outside service:

  • Check to see that the testers are doctors, nurses or medical technicians.
  • Get a written copy of your results to show to our doctor.


     

For more information on your cholesterol testing visit this web page for this free report.


 

This information was shared by me with you from: HEALTH magazine. Address: Health, P.O. Box 36863, Boulder, Colorado 80322.

A Perfect Work from Home Home Opportunity: Start a Transcription Business

A Perfect Work from Home Home Opportunity: Start a Transcription Business

Still looking for a way to earn money online from your own home? Do you enjoy typing and and have been told you're a whiz at it? You may be just the right person to consider learning the transcription business. General transcription services are needed by people who record audios. Podcasts, teleseminars or webinars are a few types of audios that might get transcribed. The documents are typed out by you, the transcriptionist, in a document for people who want to read it. Your transcription business won't require a great deal of investment up front; just your computer, a quiet office, and some easily attainable transcribing equipment.

Deciding on your transcription equipment will take a little bit of research. Take a look online at the computer programs and good quality headsets available. The actual transcription program will have the settings you need to keep the verbal recording under your control. A must-have is a good headset that enables you to clearly understand the words you are trying to type. So, let's take a look at what else you need to know.

Now, ask yourself... do I have a keen sense of hearing, command of the English language, and fast typing skills? If you answered "yes", then you might wonder what other skills you need. You should also be able to work well under tight deadlines, be able to work independently for most of the time, and handle the repetition of typing, which can be a strain on the hands and wrists and the back from sitting for long periods of time. If that sounds like you, and you possess a sharp eye for detail, you are well on your way. With that said, let's look at some ideas to get you started in your home based transcription service.

Training in Transcription: When you get the right training in transcription, you will save yourself a lot of frustration! You don't want to fail because you didn't do your homework, do you? Before you open the doors of your transcription business, spend some of your time browsing through online courses, especially the Transcription Starter Pack.

Complete Business Plan: Your new business, like all successful businesses, will require a well written business plan. Let your business plan reflect your excitement and tell the world who you are. Start with a straight-forward outline of the services you will offer, then your vision, your marketing plan, your financial plan, and your plans for growth. This not only is a good exercise in keeping your focus, but your business plan will be an important tool to track your goals and your progress.

Home Office with Proper Equipment: You'll most certainly want a quiet and comfortable home office with a good computer and some storage for your client information. You'll be using some special transcription software and hardware to play and listen to the recorded material. The computer program will have many settings to help you control the recording. You'll be able to start, stop, go back, and slow down the recorded material so you never get lost or behind in a document. Most importantly, you'll want to use a highly sensitive headset so that the recording is clear and the words are easy to understand. These tools will be priceless to your transcription business.

Marketing Yourself: Some people like to join with national transcription companies so the work comes to them. However, if you are a good networker and like selling yourself, you may want to find your own clients and work directly with them. With podcasts popping up all over the internet - and teleseminars spreading like wildfire, you'll have a huge list of people to contact with your services.

Website For Your Business: Besides your hard work, your new and growing transcription business depends on a great website. Use it to let the outside world know that you are available and ready to work! You will be listing your services and letting clients know how to contact you. If website design is not your forte, please hire someone to develop a professional website for you. The investment is minimal when compared to the client reaction you will get from happy testimonials and other client referrals. Keep in mind that your website is your professional face, so please save your personal or cutesy web stuff for the a personal blog. Your satisfied clients will always be ready and willing to refer other clients your way if you make your website easy for them to use and respond to.

Transcription services are in high demand in the US and according to the Department of Labor's statistics, transcriptionist jobs are growing at a higher than average rate. That's good to hear, isn't it? By becoming a transcriptionist, you have found a career that is easily managed from your home office; a career which gives you an opportunity to grow at your own pace. And that seems like a very attractive opportunity indeed! Isn't it time you found out what all this transcription business fuss is about?

Recommended Additional Resource:

To find out exactly what it takes to start a transcription business, step-by-step, sign up to receive your Transcription Starter Pack. You’ll find out how to get clients, set your prices and grow your business.

Friday, December 25, 2009

Getting Typing and Transcription Work

Copyright © 2008 Leva Duell

Do you want to get typing work? Consider transcription.

Transcription can provide you with many hours of typing work. Transcription is simply typing what's dictated.

You don't need to be a medical transcriptionist to provide transcription services. When speaking about transcription, people think about medical transcription.

In addition to medical professionals, a wide range of individuals and organizations outsource transcription services. Your clients may include insurance companies, universities, financial institutions, authors of books, consultants, focus groups and public speakers.

Business transcription does not require any knowledge of medical terminology.

If you are a business transcriptionist, medical transcriptionist, legal transcriptionist, be aware of the growing popularity of digital dictation and transcription. Although the majority of physicians and businesses are still using tapes to record dictation, many are starting to use digital voice recorders.

To provide transcription services, you will need a transcription machine. Transcribers have a headset and foot pedal that allows you to stop and rewind the cassette with your feet while having your hands available for typing.

Traditional audio tape transcription includes standard cassette transcription, micro cassette and mini tape transcription. These are typically referred to as cassette transcription or tape transcription. Until you have a client, you won't know which size cassettes you'll need. Talk to your prospective clients before buying any transcription equipment.

Digital transcription is becoming more popular and can provide you with additional typing work from long-distance clients who are looking for transcriptionists to perform transcription work from home.

Here's how digital dictation and transcription works: Your clients dictate into a handheld digital voice recorder, upload the files from their recorder to their computer with a USB cable, send an email message to a transcriptionist, and attach the digital files.

Digital transcription has many benefits for the transcriptionists. The audio quality is usually much better than tapes. You can move easier and faster to specific places in the dictation and you have more control over the playback speed. You don't have to deal with pick-up and delivery of tapes.

When the medical transcriptionists receive the email, they can open the file and bring it into their computer with specialized software. They can convert the digital file to different formats, but the most popular file format is the "wav" format.

Specialized transcription software and a foot pedal allow the transcriptionist to move through the digital voice file just like you do when transcribing from a tape. After transcribing the files, the transcriptionist emails the finished work back to the client as an attachment.

The foot pedal is connected to your computer through the USB or serial port. A foot pedal that comes with a tape transcriber will not work. You also need an Internet connection, an email account, and a word processing software program such as Microsoft Word that will work with your digital file transcribing system.

Some foot pedals have the ability to convert files recorded on almost every type of digital handheld recorder. This allows you to perform transcription work for many clients, regardless of the type of digital voice recorder they use.

If you are not looking into transcription work, you may miss opportunities to typing work from home on a contract basis.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Signature/Resource Box

Looking for transcription work from home?
Find out what marketing methods have proven to work
for successful secretarial services and transcription services.
Visit http://www.startasecretarialbusiness.com

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Problem Medical Transcription Outsourced?

It is more important than ever to be HIPAA compliant. HIPAA is Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.

HIPAA is an acronym for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. This Act was introduced in 1996, but not fully implemented until 2003. HIPAA was created to insure that people between jobs would still have access to quality health care coverage, since in the past it was difficult or impossible to change insurance carriers without facing lowered coverage or exorbitant premiums.****

HIPAA was also intended to protect private health care information and create a uniform standard for dispersing personal information.****

Some companies and physicians are outsourcing medical transcription. There can problems with the medical records being protected when outsourced to other countries. Some countries do not recognize HIPAA.

Working from home as a Medical Transcriptiionist it is very important to comply with HIPAA. Your records should be very safe and secure. Your computer should have anti-virus and anti-spyware, you should also have double-secure files when you save hard copies for your clients. Your emails should be encrypted, and you need a safe FTP program to transfer your work. You should be the only one to used the computer that you transcribe with and make sure it is password-protected. This computer should only be used for your medical transcription and medical billing work.

Medical Transcription-2 promises that all work related information, records, and documents are maintained within the strictest confidence. D.R. Moore's Word Processing and Medical Transcription-2 agrees that no matter, will be divulged, either directly or indirectly to any third party, and shall continue to be effective after the termination of agreement.

MISSION STATEMENT

Solving your overload crises with professional workmanship at it's best to your specification on time and on budget.

MISSION VISION


Vision is to provide professional error free workmanship, to the medical community, businesses, and individuals on as needed or on-going basis.

Let us you with your overflow work as needed or ongoing. Medical Transcription-2 is HIPAA compliant.

Putting Clients and their patients first.


This title is very scary "Indian police arrest company boss accused of selling medical records of British patients"

Read more: Here

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Medical Transcripiton A Green Job

Working from home as a Medical Transcripitonist (MT) is helping save the planet. According to a recent survey in the United States 83% of all MTs work from home, this is considered good for the environment.

Decreasing one of the largest source of pollution in the world, driving automobiles, MTs work from home and there is no need to drive to work. Even so now with digital dictation MTs can receive dictation from the physicians in many different ways. There is the 800 number 24/7 call in dictation, the hand held digital recorder that can be uploaded to the physician's computer and email or directly to the MTs computer. With the smart phones one can just dial a computer and dictate right with their smart phone. There are a lot of HIPAA compliant software programs that allows the physician to view what is in progress and what is finished and this can go straight to the Electronic Health Record (EHR).

The old ways are still in progress, some physicians have gotten comfortable with the tape recorder system where the MT goes and pick up the tape and return home to transcribe what was dictated and then return it on paper every three days or so. This still cuts down on driving every day to work. Soon all the physicians will see how efficient and safe the electronic transfers of EHR and will eventually go all digital or electronic.

MTs working from home is not only helping reducing pollution from automobiles, but helping reducing the use of paper with EHR. These programs are secure, efficient and effective fast way to keep up with all of the paperwork that has to be completed with the EHR. The medical community are moving forward to making all medical records EHRs.

As you can see MTs that work from home are becoming more environmentally friendly and help cut down on carbon emissions. Medical Transcription is a Green Job.

We can practice to use energy efficient light, computers, printers, faxes, and phones. Offering many print materials in a downloadable format to help save paper and making "scratch pads" using backside of waste paper for notes to save paper and last but not least when you need to print try printing on both sides of the paper to save another sheet of paper.

Promote green training programs and careers. Allow employees to work from home to cut down on carbon emissions.

Always practice recycling, and use less plastic materials, then we could all be on our way to making a green track of foot prints all over the world.

We have the right prescription for you, Take the worry off your paper work and concentrate on patient work.

Cut down on Carbon Emissions.

Consider Medical Transcription-2 for your transcription work.


Visit http://medicaltranscription-2.com for a GREENER FUTURE

Friday, October 9, 2009

The Future of Medical Transcription

How can we improve our nation's health care?

John A. Halamka M.D. (Chief Information Officer ─ Harvard ─ Affiliated health─Beth - Israel Deaconess Hospital): In our country it is estimated that 144 billion dollars a year is lost because lack of coordination of medical care.

The electronic medial record enables seamless transmission of patient histories, medications and laboratories from doctor to doctor. It's only through Electronic Medical Records ( EMR) that we will receive coordinated care, safe care and cost-effective care.

The American Association Presents Medical Transcription: Ensuring Safe, Quality Cost-Effective Health Care.

Dee Thomas CMT (Owner Thomas Transcription) : I like the fact that we do play a part of the roll of patient's healthcare in the industry.

Some years in high school originally I've thought about being a nurse, but I could not stomach it. But this is a way to make that same contribution but at the same time, well maybe on the backend of that, we make a significant contribution to patient healthcare.

Did the patient have three kimonos or trichomas?

Valli Pillion CMT, FAAMT: When Medical Records (MR), are accurate, both the patients and the doctor are protected.

Dee Thomas: We have physicians who, you know, who didn't get into the profession, because they wanted to dictate in the first place. They get into the profession because they want to take care of patients. So they do this generally and as fast and as quick as they can so they can get back to what they really wanted to do, which is administer patient care.

I'm not always sure if I hear it or I know it from years of experience. But many times we can get the blanks (garbled phrases).

Did the physician say 5,000 or 50,000 units of insulin?

When we catch a problem in the report that's been dictated, we bring that to the attention of the facility or the physician.An example of that would be; we had a report and the physician did actually dictated 50,000 units of insulin. I know it should be 5,000. Anyone with experience in transcribing reports would automatically know it should have been 5,000.

So we would bring that to the attention of the facility, we would make that correction in the report. Now had that report fallen into the hands with someone with less experience, and it may not be caught, and the patient would receive the wrong dosage of medication.

John A. Halamka M.D. : between 0.7 and 7 percent, all hospital patients have a medication error during their stay. MR provides a foundation for the system support that enables us to do drug-drug, drug-allergy and drug – laboratory interactions check so we can provide high quality care.

The American Association for Medical Transcription: Promoting Quality, Certification and Continuing Education for Medical Transcriptionists.

Jefferson Howe CMT, MSA Maine Medical Center: the American Association for Medical Transcription helps it's members by advocation certification, a focus on quality, and a focus on continued learning in this professional environment. It's changing now and its changing fast and we have to be up to speed with where things are going.

Dee Thomas CMT: I think all medical transcriptionists (MT) should be certified. I think there should be a benchmark in every profession. I think we're are one of the few profession in the health care industry where certification is not required and would you just want anyone handling your patient records.

Valli Pillion CMT, FAAMT: Medical Transcriptionists face the same problem that healthcare system as a whole faces. Our mission and our goal are only for MTs to be the best they can be, but our healthcare system to be the best that they can be.

The American Association for Medical Transcription:
Working To Bring Medical Transcription into The future.

Jefferson Howe CMT, MSA: Technology is changing and it's changing faster all the time. The American Association for Medical Transcription absolutely has to help the MT evolve with the EMR to learn and understand their position today, so they can play an interoral part in it.

John A. Halamka M.D. : we have found even with the voice recognition we have found that their not accurate enough, without human intervention. So our challenge has been to use the machines, the best of technology as well as the human brain and MT to bring a quality product.

How is the electronic medical record changing health care delivery?

Jefferson Howe CMT, MSA: the EMR, is probably the most exciting change in my career and it has made exciting to me. I think that we have to ask; what will we do when we have so much EMR everywhere?

What does it mean to Home Health Care Aids, Nursing Homes, and other health care facilities or agencies, pharmacies, physical therapist, when they can plug in and see my health care information at that point?

Be it at home or in the medical environment make better judgments based on what they have at hand.

John A. Halamka M.D. : We have to deliver safe effective care in our hospitals without the support of our Electronic Systems. In fact, two years ago we had a network outage. It lasted about a day and a half.

We went from the hospital of 2002 to the hospital of 1972. It took 100 extra staff, just to deliver the good quality care that we were doing with EMR. They are an essential part of the modern hospital of today.

MTs: An Integral Part in the Health Care System.

Dee Thomas: the record, the transcription that we do is the first line of defense of making sure that that patient receives the health care that he needed. That the hospital facility receives payment for the services that were rendered.

And we ultimately, even though we work in the background, you know, we have done all of the documentation necessary to see that that happens.

John A. Halamka M.D. : the next five years will be very exciting. We'll ensure that doctors have all the information that they need, in an accurate and timely way, anywhere of the information they need even on the internet, with the oversight of MTs ensure it's accuracy.

Valli Pillion CMT, FAAMT: Every time that we catch an error within the dictation, the patient and the doctor benefits. Ironically most of the patients don't know we exist. But we know that we are making a difference within the industry.


For more information please contact the American Association for Medical Transcriptionists. http://www.aamt.org.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Medical Transcription Jobs No Exprience Tips

New just graduated, looking for work or a job placement, everyone wants one or two years experience, some want 10 years experience. Where do you start if you just graduated and no experience? There are a few companies that offer on-the-job training. Use "medical transcription internships" as keywords in the browser search engine to find jobs in this categories. Some of them have a requirement of above average grammar skills and typing skills.

You could search for employment from another Medical Transcriptionist (MT) that is willing to sub-contract their work and is in desperate need for overflow help and do not mind helping you. But you will take some of their time up because she will have to proof read your reports.

The next thing to do is call your local hospitals, Dr.'s offices, clinics and ask about an internship program. Sometimes this means working for free to get experience.

Attend your local MT chapter meetings to get insights on working and finding work or a job placement with no experience. This may also help you figure out what kind of MT you want to be. There are several options when being a MT; self-employed, working in a hospital, working in a doctor's office, or a clinic with a group of doctors.

The other options of being a MT is specialization, what area you want to work or just generalized dictations. You could have your own home based business.

Don't give up hope there is plenty of work out there, the trick is how to fine work. While looking for work make sure you keep up with your practice in typing and listening skills. Practice makes perfect.

If you are lucky enough there are jobs out there that is willing to train you. Always keep in mind that pay will be very low until you gain experience.

Whatever you choose make sure that is the way you want to go. Do research online consider visiting Medical transcription sites and read about them and what is required.

Finally there is the medical secretary job, you will need to have basic skills to be hired as a secretary and medical terminology. You will need proper medical reference books, dictation to accuracy and a fair amount of speed will help.

Here is a free magazine that you can sign up and receive the online version or the paper magazine here.

Here are more MT Web sites:
* MedWord.com has information on careers and certification in medical transcription.

* Medical Transcription Dailyy covers pretty much everything on medical transcription; education, resources, etc.

* MTJobs provides MT services to the Department of Veteran Affairs. Uses home based MTs but you must have experience. (you might get lucky and find one that will accept you)

Good luck in all your endeavors.