Medical Transcriptionist Curriculum Details

• Transcribe and interpret dictation into diagnostic test results, operative reports, referral letters, and other documents
• Review and edit drafts prepared by speech recognition software, ensuring that the transcription is correct, complete, and has a consistent style
• Translate medical abbreviations and jargon into the appropriate long form
• Identify inconsistencies, errors, and missing information within a report that could compromise patient care
• Follow up with the healthcare provider to ensure the accuracy of the reports
• Submit health records for physicians to approve
• Follow patient confidentiality guidelines and legal documentation requirements
• Enter medical reports into electronic health records systems
• Perform quality improvement audits

Objectives:

• Understand how to use your Student Portal.
• Access the Penn Foster Community and use it to find answers.
• Connect with Penn Foster on various social media sites.

Objectives:

• Describe reimbursement systems and the role health information management technicians play in reimbursement.
• Describe how technology is used in health information management.
• Discuss different professional organizations and certifications for health information management technicians.
• Explain the different roles, opportunities, and settings for health information management technicians.

Objectives:

• Describe civil and criminal law, sources of law, and the steps of litigation.
• Distinguish among liability, negligence, and malpractice and explain how they relate to medical assistants.
• Explain defenses against medical malpractice and against criminal charges.
• Identify the various ethical issues that health-care professionals face.
• Explain the uses and content of medical records.
• Describe the legal significance of confidentiality obligations.
• Explain the core concepts of HIPAA’s final Privacy Rule.
• Summarize the role of peer review in confidentiality issues.
• Describe confidentiality and security issues related to electronic medical records.

Objectives:

• Describe the history of health care reimbursement
• Describe fee-for-service reimbursement methodologies
• Define episode-of-care reimbursement methodologies
• Outline the Medicare acute care prospective payment system
• Describe the Medicare skilled-nursing facility prospective payment system
• Discuss the different outpatient prospective payment systems
• Describe the electronic data interchange process
• Name the latest changes in health care reimbursement
• Explain the management of fee schedules, charge masters, and coding
• Describe the internal audit process
• Outline characteristics of a coding compliance program
• Discuss your role as a health information professional in health care reimbursement
• Define prepaid health plans
• Identify characteristics of retrospective and prospective payment systems
• Describe commercial insurance plans
• Outline the history of Blue Cross/Blue Shield plans
• Discuss the different government-sponsored health care programs
• Explain how managed care works

Objectives:

• Understand and explain the components of communication, both verbal and nonverbal.
• Develop effective listening and observation skills.
• Recognize prejudice in interpersonal relations.
• Describe personal traits essential for successful interpersonal relations.
• Understand important aspects of good human relations.
• Professionally answer and place telephone calls within an office.
• Handle incoming and outgoing mail and email.
• Analyze where your time is spent and identify common time wasters.
• Calculate discounts and series discounts.
• Calculate cash discounts and shipping charges.
• Change decimals and fractions to percentages and vice versa.
• Use a calculator to solve or check math problems.

Objectives:

• Explain how root words (and their combining forms), prefixes, and suffixes function in medical terms.
• Define many of the most common roots, prefixes, and suffixes.
• Determine the meaning of a given medical term by analyzing its parts.
• Identify the anatomical position and directional terms, as well as the three planes, four quadrants, and nine regions of the body.
• Describe the body sciences of nutrition and homeostasis.
• List types of pathogens, outline the chain of infection, and suggest methods to break the chain of infection.
• Analyze the concept of immunity and differentiate between natural and acquired immunity.
• Describe the organization and formation of the human body from cells to body systems.
• Explain the anatomy and function of the integumentary system and musculoskeletal system.
• List diseases of the integumentary and musculoskeletal systems.
• Identify tests and procedures to diagnose and treat diseases of the integumentary and musculoskeletal systems.
• Use combining forms to build and analyze terms related to cellular anatomy, the integumentary system, and the musculoskeletal system.
• Explain the anatomy and function of the cardiovascular, respiratory, and digestive systems.
• List diseases of the cardiovascular, respiratory, and digestive systems.
• Identify tests and procedures to diagnose and treat diseases of the cardiovascular, respiratory, and digestive systems.
• Use combining forms to build and analyze terms related to the cardiovascular, respiratory, and digestive systems.