The process of converting medical records that are present in audio format into text format swiftly and accurately is known as Transcription. The professionals involved in this process are called transcribers or transcriptionists while the converted text files are known as transcripts.
Medical Transcription exclusively deals with medical records dictated by physicians and other medical professionals. It normally includes various patient-centric records such as physical and history, office and clinical notes, consultation notes and operation reports, evaluations and diagnoses, letters, radiology and lab reports, and discharge summaries.
The process of medical transcription necessitates collecting dictation from clients through any of their preferred mode, namely, digital recorder, tape, voice mail, mobile devices, or toll free phone. By making use of foot pedal that offers control on start and stop, and with the help of a word processing application, the conversion process of audio to text format is performed.
As with any transcription procedure, medical transcription also requires good language skills, especially listening capability and understanding the concepts. Moreover, medical transcriptionists must have basic skills related to handling computer systems and sound knowledge of medical terminology.
It becomes necessary to use many dictionaries pertaining to medications, medical definitions, medical phrases and terms by specialty, lab and surgical abbreviations and terms. Journals, specialized word lists, and computer networks offer great help in understanding contemporary information regarding medical industry and the terminology. Transcription process can be rendered efficient by using a special medical spellchecker and any comprehensive abbreviation system like Smartype or Instant Text.
Transcriptionists, when employed in a hospital or an office, are paid on hourly basis. Transcriptionists in USA start their career with a compensation of USD 8 to 12 per hour, to advance ahead to as much as USD 12 to 20 per hour after they gain an experience of two years.
With medical-legal compliance demanding more and more digitization of medical records and related information, the medical transcription profession is sure to fare well in future!
