Healthcare documentation is related to the healthcare industry where accuracy is of utmost significance and even minor mistakes can lead to fatal results. Although medical care should be provided quickly, if decisions are made based upon faulty information, the results could be grave with wrong analyses and medications or treatments. The use of information technology in the healthcare industry has benefited both healthcare providers and patients as doctors can document the patient encounters efficiently in real time optimizing the process of documentation thereby leading to better quality patient care.
Medical transcriptionists or healthcare documentation specialists have a challenging job at hand as they listen to an audio file and type simultaneously. The kind of job they do and the pace, at which they do it, makes it really tough to ensure that there are no errors in the transcribed report. So, in order to make the healthcare documentation report flawless before sending it to the client, a proofreader has to proofread the document meticulously and ensure that the report maintains high accuracy levels.
By following stringent proofreading process as a part of quality analysis, many errors can be rectified at the healthcare documentation companies itself before sending the final report to the physician or healthcare provider. Proper proofreading can rectify multiple errors related to spellings, grammar, appropriate word usage, etc.
In the haste to transcribe more reports, healthcare documentation specialists may end up with reports that have some common mistakes and these can be effectively corrected with the help of a seasoned proofreader and editor. Some of the common mistakes in transcription reports that can be rectified with proofreading are:
- Typographical errors
- Grammatical errors
- Punctuation errors
- Wrong usage of word – English words or Medical terms
- Homonyms
- Omission of dictated words
Proofreading can be flawless with a few best practices in place. By using a spellchecker for both English language and medicine language, proofreaders can ensure that the words are correctly spelt and have been used appropriately. By asking the transcriptionist to leave blank space instead of filling up some content for words that are not clear, the proofreader can easily fill the spaces with the right content because the context can be understood better.
The role of a proofreader in the medical transcription industry is immense because the company success depends on the accuracy levels of the transcribed documents.