Friday 15 July 2016

What To Know About Medical Transcription Reports

By Kathleen Clark


Medical transcription refers to an allied health profession concerned with the process of transcription. The profession is all about converting voice-recorded reports usually dictated by healthcare professionals such as physicians and doctors. Medical transcription reports are usually the result of the transcribing process. These reports are usually in written form and may be hand-written or typed on a computer in the form of a document.

Evidence of keeping medical records goes back to the beginning of writing. There is evidence indicating that people kept health records in ancient caves in the form of writings. The modern version of the profession began in the early twentieth century, following the need for standardizing medical data for research purposes. Stenographers took the place of physicians in taking shorthand notes from dictations given by doctors.

Specialists in this field of work are called transcriptionists. There has been a lot of evolution in the profession as well as equipment used in the job. The field was previously dominated by manual typewriters that were later replaced by electric typewriters. Word processors and computers later replaced electric typewriters. Today, there is large scale adoption of speech recognition also called continuous speech recognition and abbreviated as SR.

Transcriptionists also go by the name medical language specialists, with the abbreviation MLS being used commonly. Medical transcriber is the equipment they use to work. Transcribers can take different forms ranging from computers to typewriters. Qualification courses for becoming a transcriptionist include degree, certificate, and diploma courses. The curricular in most learning institutions is also incorporating distance learning.

Transcriptionists can undertake several tasks simultaneously because they are trained in several skills. They have proficient command of medical terminology and are capable of simultaneously editing, listening to, and typing transcripts. Among the course students train in include editing, record types, health terminology, anatomy, grammar, record formats, health documentation, punctuation, and typing. Transcriptionists often seek certification and registration with a governing body in most countries although it may not be mandatory.

Being successful as a transcriptionist takes certain abilities and skills. These skills come in handy in tackling the many responsibilities and duties that transcriptionists are required to handle. Some of the abilities include above-average memory, grammar, communication, and spelling skills. Besides that, they need to be able to check, sort, verify, and count numbers with accuracy. Ability to precisely follow both written and verbal instructions is mandatory because there are a lot of instructions that need to be followed in the profession.

The dictation may occur at a very high speed requiring one to be able to type very fast. Records made are usually meant for use in the future. Thus, transcriptionists need to be able to maintain records efficiently for future reference. Computer skills and knowledge of how to operate other computing devices is also vital.

The demand to document health records is always growing. That has led to many countries outsourcing people with skills in transcribing records. The value of global transcription services market was 41.4 million in the year 2012. It is expected to grow by 5.6 percent all the way to 2019 from 2013.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment