Medical Transcription Services
Centralised Digital Dictating System
Medical Transcription Services (MTS, located on the 1st floor, SEB) types outpatient dictation into letters for sending to external customers e.g. GP's and referrers, for internal clinicians and for the medical record.
The Centralised Digital Dictation system ("Emdat") is how the dictation is recorded.
Ozescribe, a third party supplier of transcription services, also types outpatient correspondence for RCH and is the Australian distributor of Emdat.
Please contact Ozescribe on 9038 8565 or at tech@ozescribe.com.au for further technical information or clarification of the instructions below. The nature of this process means it is vital that all dictaters have a current email address - either a ".rch" or another regularly used address - please contact Ozescribe if your address changes so that communication can continue efficiently. If you are leaving RCH or rotating to a different Hospital, please ensure your dictation has been verified as soon as possible after typing so that it can be sent out and that you notify Ozescribe. If you have any questions out of hours, please email Ozescribe at tech@ozescribe.com.au and you will be responded to on the next business day.
Please note that access to the Digital Dictation system is limited to medical staff and any exceptions to this rule must be approved by Kathy Cassin, Manager HIS on x. 6106 or kathy.cassin@rch.org.au
The Team
These are the RCH Medical Transcriptionists who turn your voice into hard copy documents;
Joan Alsford, Anne Bridle, Maree Fitzgerald (Supervisor), Annette Gibbard, Lynne Heller, Honor Parker, Halyna Williams and the Ozescribe staff (all based in Australia).
Dictation instructions
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Pick up the telephone and dial (03) 9345 4444 (internal extension) (if this number is busy, you may be redirected to another number in which case you can dictate as normal but you will have to dictate your own name on commencement.)
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Enter your user ID number - as provided by Ozescribe tech@ozescribe.com.au or 9038 8565
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Enter a document type and press #
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Enter the 7 digit UR number and press #
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Press 2 to record, 4 to pause/stop and 5 to finish the report and start another.
Please note, a full instruction manual will have been provided to you, the "Quick start guide to OzeView", when you commenced dictating.
Full instructions can also be found on your InQuiry page (once you have logged in) under "InTouch telephone instructions".
Please note that the RCH MTS and Ozescribe staff have a difficult job to do. In order to improve efficiency (so that letters get back to you and to our customers quicker) please
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identify yourself
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confirm the patient name
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speak clearly and at a normal speaking pace
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do not eat, yawn or mumble
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speak into the receiver and
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generally make the dictation easy to listen to.
Please try to avoid repetition and keep the dictation succinct, our customers are much more likely to read correspondence that is short and concise compared to rambling.
It is possible to make the correspondence "stat" however please use this minimally as abuse of this function defeats its purpose.
Internal referrals requiring printing
Even though all internal mail is now delivered electronically, if you want to send a referral letter to another doctor located within the hospital in printed format – YOU CAN!
HOW?
1. Dial 4444 as per normal to dictate your file
2. Enter your user ID
3. Enter the patient UR
THEN...
4. ENTER 333 when asked for the DOCUMENT TYPE
If you do this, they will receive a hard copy of the letter as well as an internal electronic copy.
REMEMBER – the above is for an INTERNAL REFERRAL only NOT a regular CC.
The Golden Rules for Dictaters
It is the intent of this service to provide an efficient turnaround time for correspondence. This relies on four processes being completed in a timely manner: Typing is done quickly after dictation, dictating staff verify and update correspondence quickly after typing is complete, correspondence is printed and sent in a minimum number of working days and correspondence is filed in the medical record as soon as possible after it is received.
In order to minimise the length of time between dictation and the correspondence being received or filed in the record, dictating clinicians are asked to comply with the following rules of use:
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Dictate clearly the recipient's (especially referring doctors) name and address. The transcriptionist does not have that information on hand when typing.
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The correspondence should be as succinct as possible. Letters containing phrases such as "As you already know...." only hold up the process.
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As outlined in detail below (RCH Workflow Protocol), once typed, correspondence should be verified as soon as possible. Delays of weeks are not deemed to be acceptable.
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Be prepared with the information required for efficient dictation prior to commencement.
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Help us to help you to give good service to our customers.
Once you have dictated
Once dictated, correspondence is typed on a strict "first in, first out" basis, unless it has been flagged as a "stat". The letter will then be available in OzeView for you to review. You will be able to correct any errors or make alterations immediately and once this is completed, the letter will be available for sending to the recipients, both internally and externally. It is vital that this verification process takes places in a timely manner so that letters can be sent out as soon as possible.
You will be able to review your correspondence from anywhere in the world that has internet access. Unfortunately, Apple Mac's that do not contain a dual operating system will not be able to gain internet access for review. We apologise for this inconvenience.
Internal "cc's" will not be printed any more but will instead be made available to all dictating clinicians via OzeView. This will reduce paper wastage and increase efficiency.
There is no need for a copy to be printed and sent to Health Information Services as this has already been sent from MTS.
By signing off letters in a timely manner this improves the total turnaround time for correspondence being sent to our customers. If correspondence has not been reviewed in a timely manner, the Head of Department is notified and one week later printed and filed in the medical record as "not signed and not posted".
RCH Workflow Protocol
Your transcriptions will be available online for sign off as soon as possible after dictation. The following process will then apply.
1. Letters will be allowed to age in physicians review folder for a maximum of three weeks.
2. Heads of Departments will be notified of any unsigned transcriptions when they reach three weeks old.
3. Letters will be allowed one further week to age.
4. After one month, the letter will be treated as “delinquent and not signed”.
5. Letters not signed will be printed and sent by internal mail to the author, with a copy to your Head of Department. They will also be printed and stamped “not signed and not posted” and placed in the patient medical record only.
These delinquent letters will bear a preliminary watermark and cannot be signed and posted manually. If you want them returned for your signature and to be posted to the associate/s they are addressed to, you will need to contact Ozescribe on tech@ozescribe.com.au or 9038 8565 with the patient name and UR number.
It is the aim of MTS to have all letters transcribed, reviewed, edited and posted within one week of upload.
Links
Note
Please note that in this document, the words "letter" and "correspondence" has been used interchangeably.
