Many diseases and infections, especially cancers, require quick diagnoses and treatment to deliver the best possible outcome. If your spouse, child, or parent had a biopsy, could you sit through a long holiday weekend not knowing what you’ll hear days later? Or even wait weeks for the results?
We all know that the sooner you are diagnosed and treated for something like cancer, the better your chances. It’s one of the reasons why the field of pathology relies heavily on medical transcription and dictation: to get the results as quickly as possible.
The Hidden World of Pathology
It’s often the doctor or surgeon that everyone thinks of as saving lives, but they don’t do it alone. The truth is, there are many people that touch a patient’s life in some way from receptionists to nurses. One that is just as important, but often behind the scenes, is the pathologist.
They help providers diagnose and identify treatment for health or medical problems. Real lives depend on the diagnostic accuracy and analysis of every lab test the pathologist conducts. That kind of pressure is not something they should have to shoulder alone, which is why AQuity’s medical transcription team helps provide everything they need.
Hands-Free Work
In order to better help our clients help their patients, we’ve taken tours of pathology labs. We’ve seen first-hand the messy work that goes on when handling specimens and the skill needed to complete the tasks. The nature of their work, and the timeliness required, means pathologists need their hands free.
Any extra time spent writing up notes afterwards would be time added to the patient’s wait, and front-end speech recognition systems are simply not compatible with the complex world of pathology. There are too many templates and various medical terms that do not translate well into completely automated systems. Having a medical transcriptionist who knows exactly where in the template to enter the relayed information and the pathology expertise to use correct terms allows the pathologist to keep their focus on what matters.
It’s the Patient That Matters
At the end of the day, we all share the same goal of helping the patient. So, whether it’s a holiday weekend or any time of day, our team is there for support. AQuity offers expedited implementation so that your patient’s lives don’t get put on hold.
As a patient care advocate, we keep in mind that each transcription, each dictation, is about a real person. We treat it as if it were a family member because it is someone’s family, and many of us know what it’s like to be on the other side of that lab wall waiting to hear the results. From provider to pathologist to transcriptionist, we all impact patient care together and that has an impact on entire families.
Regina Buchwald - VP, Transcription and Medico-Legal Operations
Regina has served as the AQuity Vice President of transcription services since November 2013. Her primary responsibility is to ensure transcription service Key Performance Indicators are maintained at the highest level throughout the organization. Regina began her career as a front-line medical transcriptionist, then joined the company in 2002, where she has held a number of key leadership roles in services and operations. She has more than 25 years’ experience in the healthcare industry.
