A medical transcription company serving various medical specialties must stay abreast with all innovations and discoveries pertaining to those specialties. This is necessary from the point of view of providing quick and insightful transcription with a clear idea of what the physician is talking about. Endocrinology is a major medical specialty that deals with the diagnosis of conditions caused by hormonal imbalances as well as other conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, osteoporosis, cholesterol, infertility, metabolic disorders, thyroid diseases,and their treatments. Research and studies are ongoing in this specialty with a view to improve the quality of life of those affected. Endocrinology transcription involves accurate documentation of all clinical records of a patient including endocrine test reports, procedural reports, diagnostic evaluation reports, laboratory reports, consultation notes, discharge summaries and so on. These notes are an important source of information about the patient’s health condition and help provide better treatment. Proper medical documentation is also essential to submit accurate healthcare insurance claims.
Talking about research in endocrinology, a new report published in the BMJ emphasizes the fact that many doctors and patients do not realize that weight loss can successfully reverse type 2 diabetes. Instead, many believe that the disease is “progressive and incurable”. The researchers point out that greater awareness along with better recording and monitoring of remissions could help in reducing the incidence of diabetes and also ensure a huge reduction in healthcare costs.
Type 2 diabetes is a health condition in which the body becomes less effective at using insulin which converts blood sugar or glucose into energy. The main cause of this disease is excess body weight. Type 2 diabetes has increased drastically among people over the years. In 1980, around 108 million people suffered from this disease and in 2014 it increased to 422 million. In the US, an estimated 30.3 million people or approximately 9.4 percent of the population have diabetes including 7.2 million who do not realize it. Diabetes holds a major share when it comes to national billing for taking care of the sick; and the direct and indirect cost of the diagnosed diabetes is estimated to be $245 billion in 2012. In the same year,an average of $13,700 was spent for medical purposes by people who were diagnosed with diabetes, out of which $7,900 was directly attributed to the disease.
The researchers note that the current method of treating type 2 diabetes is by focusing primarily on reducing blood sugar levels and cardiovascular risks with the “use of anti diabetes drugs with only lip service paid to diet and lifestyle advice”. However, intake of anti-diabetes drugs could lead to further health problems and on an average these patients go on to live 6 years less than people who do not have diabetes. While remission of the disease is indeed attainable for many patients, it is very rarely achieved or recorded. In US, a study that followed 120,000 patients over 7 years found that only 0.14 percent of them were recorded as remissions.
Clinicians are reluctant to code patients as being in remission because of a lack of agreed criteria and guidance. But this may not be the only reason. It may be that few patients are actually trying to achieving remission. The researchers urge health authorities all around the world to come up with clear guidance about how to measure type 2 diabetes remission and make sure that it is officially recorded. Proper coding is also important to monitor progress in achieving remission of type 2 diabetes nationally and internationally. It also improves prediction of long-term health outcomes for patients with a known duration of remission. Proper and accurate coding can raise awareness and encourage more people to try hard to reverse the condition by losing weight rather than living with the disease. Reversing type 2 diabetes by reducing weight helps to create a sense of achievement and empowerment in patients. This method of curing type 2 diabetes removes the stigma of being labelled as a diabetic and also lowers premiums for health insurance, travel insurance and mortgages.
New approaches in the healthcare industry are vital to provide better patient care and service. Medical transcriptionists and medical transcription companies play a vital role in ensuring accurate documentation of disease diagnoses, clinical procedures, expert opinions and so on.
Disclaimer: The opinions and conclusions mentioned in this content are not that of MTS, and neither do we advocate the same. The information has been taken from MedicalNewsToday, and MTS is not responsible in any manner for the study or report mentioned in the same.
