Note: AudioTranscription.Org currently does not offer medical transcription services to new clients. If you are in need of medical transcription services, however, please contact us and we would be happy to recommend a trusted provider.
Medical transcription is one of the most important elements of patient care in the health care environment. But what is medical transcription and what is its purpose? To understand this, it is necessary to examine both the history of transcription and the nature of modern medical practice in today’s large offices, clinics and hospitals.
What is medical transcription?
Known as an allied health profession, medical transcription is the process by which the notes and comments dictated by health care professionals are translated into a text form for easy reference. The resulting transcript is often entered into a computer system for even more portability and convenience. Accuracy and completeness are essential to this process; a mistake in medical transcription can be harmful or even life-threatening if health care professionals act on this incorrect information while treating their patients.
What is medical transcription used for?
Essentially, medical transcription saves time for overworked health care professionals. By dictating their observations and recommendations, they can quickly move on to the next patient while ensuring the best quality care. Another benefit of medical transcription over written notations is the clarity it provides. The poor handwriting of doctors is legendary; by using audio recordings rather than relying on handwritten notes, fewer misunderstandings and mistakes are likely to occur. In machine-readable form, medical transcriptions can also serve as valuable analysis and research tools for hospital administrators who can collect data on procedures and trends for better disease and asset management.
The History of Medical Transcription
Modern transcription methods are based on inventions by Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell that allow the recording of audio materials. In the 1960s the use of dictation machines became widespread, revolutionizing the way companies managed correspondence, kept records and conducted business meetings. Court proceedings could also be effectively managed through these new technologies, allowing more comprehensive transcripts and records to be kept. Medical transcription methods are based directly on these first dictation machines, but hand-held electronic devices are now used to record information that can be transferred in batches to professional companies for transcription and uploading into advanced computer systems that store the data securely. This allows health care professionals and administrators to more effectively manage patient care while saving time throughout the process.
What is medical transcription? It is a time-saving way to produce accurate patient records that can be shared throughout the hospital or clinic at the touch of a screen. By using professional medical transcription companies to manage this information, health care providers can perform more efficiently and create a nurturing, patient-centered environment for the healing process.