The Shining Future of Medical Transcription

Often when someone is looking into becoming a medical transcriptionist they want to know what the future of medical transcription is going to be. They want to be sure, understandably, that there is a solid future awaiting them in this field.

Their biggest concern usually resolves around Speech (or Voice) Recognition Technology (SRT).

There are two main types of voice recognition: Front-end voice recognition and back-end voice recognition. In both cases the doctors are dictating into a microphone fed into a computer. The “microphone” may be their PDA (personal digital assistant), a telephone, or an actual microphone at a computer station. The computer then turns their spoken words into written words and stores them in an electronic document.

With front-end voice recognition the doctor knows that this is being done and is able to see the report being transcribed by the computer. She can edit and sign the report without it being seen by an MT if she wants to have it processed that way (few do!). Another option is for her to be able look at the report but then have an MT edit it before she signs off on it.

With back-end voice recognition the doctor often does not even know the software is in place. It is invisible to him. He will dictate into a microphone like he always has, never knowing that the computer is turning his spoken words into written ones. These reports are then sent to an MT for editing purposes and then they are returned to the doctor for his signature.

Software in this field is advancing rapidly, but by and large it is still unable to handle the wide variety of doctors’ accents combined with the extensive medical vocabulary they use. In addition, SRT does not correct grammatical errors, nor can it catch dictation errors when, for example, the wrong dosage is dictated for a medication. Most hospitals and large transcription companies that use SRT have simply switched their medical transcriptionists over to being MT editors. This recently happened to me, and I have to say I love editing work! It’s fast, it’s interesting, it’s varied, and there is always at least one good laugh each day. Today I really appreciated the software turning the patient’s name into a medical condition. It was quite humorous!

Many MTs greatly prefer editing work, as it can be far easier physically (especially on the wrists) to listen and correct a report than to listen and type every word spoken.

The great news for the person investigating becoming a medical transcriptionist is that the training remains the same. You still need to learn the basic medical terminology, pharmaceutical terms, and speed techniques, because they will all come into full play should you end up doing editing work rather than straight transcription. The other thing you should know is that it is very, very rare for anyone to ever do 100% editing work. Even the best back-end voice recognition software packages for doctors are only able to accurately transcribe 70% to 80% of the voices in any given system. Some doctors simply move around their text too much and are far too disorganized in their transcription style to even begin to allow SRT to create a semi-decent report!

In summary, the sharp, well-trained, well-equipped medical transcriptionist rarely has a hard time finding a good position. The future of medical transcription is still very bright!