Medical Transcription - The Myths and Truths

In recent times there have been many myths and misconceptions regarding medical transcription, giving it a bad press. Given below are a few myths:

* Medical transcription is easy and anybody can be a transcriptionist: This is a common myth about transcription, given that entry into this profession is relatively easy. No formal qualifications are required except for an aptitude for the English language, good keyboard skills and a keen ear. In spite of the easy entry to qualify as a medical transcriptionist, a person has to go through extensive training in medical terminology, procedures and drugs. This profession also requires a person to constantly educate themselves on the latest developments in the medical field

* Medical transcription is just a data entry service: Transcription is a service, which requires attributes like good listening, applying context when in doubt and an extensive knowledge base to draw from unlike data entry. Moreover transcription goes beyond just a data entry service by having additional benefits like effective report distribution, archiving and adding value to the healthcare facility in terms of reducing staff burden, reducing capital investment in medical transcription, and freeing up resources like utilities and real estate.

* Medical transcription can be replaced with voice recognition software: Voice recognition software is software that automatically converts the dictation of the healthcare professional into a typed text. On the face of this, it sounds like the answer to the transcription needs of a healthcare facility.

But this software is not easy to use due to the following reasons:

1. The software has to be 'taught' to recognize the voice of the user and terminology used
2. A healthcare professional has to dramatically slow down his usual way of dictation and speak in a structured way, including punctuation etc., resulting in loss of productivity of the healthcare professional.
3. In spite of all these preparations the accuracy of the voice recognition software has been found to be only 60%-80%.

Because of such low accuracy levels the need for transcriptionists arises to proof read the reports and edit them to bring them up to the desired level of accuracy.

Outsourcing transcription is time consuming: Outsourcing transcription can be made easy and quick by analyzing the specific needs of the healthcare facility and evaluating a prospective service provider by these attributes. A quick way to assess the service provider is through:

1. Methods of quality assessment
2. Billing method used
3. Technology used
4. Measures for ensuring HIPAA/HITECH compliance
5. Training methods used
6. Assessing if all the work in done in-house or through the use of sub-contractors.
7. Testimonials
8. Free trial

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