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If you are going to an interview for a medical transcription job or if you are being offered the job, there are some things you need to discuss which are very important to a transcriptionist.

Request samples of the format used by the client. Ask about the word processing program required, type size, paragraph and margins styles. If you will be working for a hospital get a copy of their operative reports, discharge and summary reports, and their H&Ps.

Request a list of the doctors and other healthcare personnel so you will have their correctly spelled names and titles.

Get a list of their approved abbreviations. Don't use any others if they are not on their list. There are a lot of abbreviations in medical transcription and you need to get this right.

Discuss the billing terms, whether weekly or every two weeks. Charging by the line, by the word, or hourly? If they don't have a form for invoicing these charges, you can prepare your own form.

If you will be using tapes, find out if they want them erased and rewound or just rewound. Will you be using a WAV pedal or c-phone instead of tapes? What are their set up procedures for this? Get the detailed requirements for any method of transcribing.

Clarify what the policy is with regards to editing a doctor's dictation. Does he want his grammar corrected? How do they want you to handle the blanks you leave? Sometimes they will have a certain form for flagging dictation.

What is the sign off for the doctor? Some require the dictation date, the doctor's initials, and the transcriptionist's initials. Some just require the date and doctor's initials. Also, some may require the line or word count at the end of the document.

These were some of the details that most jobs don't require but they have to be clarified for a medical transcriptionist. Having all of this made clear in the beginning will prevent any confusion on your first day of typing for them.

The doctor may ask for your own input into the organizing of the work, so don't be shy about putting forth your recommendations.

Ask questions, answer questions and this will help both you and the healthcare provider get a better understanding of what you both require in this position.

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