Saturday 27 July 2013

The Importance Of Professional Transcription Services

By Maryanne Goff


Professional transcription services are at a premium today, mainly because this is a service that is hard to automate, and needs a skilled transcriptionist equipped with the right tools. The key to it is in the details, since many professions need 100 percent accuracy in transcribed output. One single mistake in the data can be catastrophic for these clients.

Perhaps it might be easier to start with a simple explanation of the process, and then proceed to real-world needs and solutions. At its root, the transcription business consists of converting speech (audio or video) into text stored in a digital format. The transcriptionist is supposed to listen to the audio and type it up accurately.

It's not wrong to think that anyone with half a brain should be able to do this, but speed and accuracy are critical to this field. This is why only professionals can do this job, and even they need the help of hi-tech hardware and software tools to maintain accuracy while providing huge volume transcriptions. As a general rule, a 15-minute audio track must be transcribed within an hour.

Tools aside, the job calls for intensive training and has a fairly high learning curve. Medical transcription providers require their staff to be well-versed in the field of medicine and aware of all the terminology that physicians use. Many will hire pharmacy and nursing assistants and train them to be transcriptionists.

Way it works is that doctors record the case details and other information they want to see in case files, and send over the audio to be transcribed. The job has to be done perfectly, because even a small error or omission can be fatal for patients and would inevitably end up as a medical malpractice claim. Such errors have been known to end the careers of the medical professionals involved.

Another concern is the security provided for the audio files and transcribed data. In the U. S., health care providers are required to handle data in a manner that is HIPAA complaint and protects the security and privacy of patient records. Then there's also the issue of compatibility. The provider has to be able to provide text data in a format that is compatible with the naming protocols and standards required for the Electronic Medical Record (EMR/EHR) system used by the client.

The same high degree of accuracy is required for legal transcriptions. Lawyers record hours of depositions and then need to have it all transcribed word for word. Again, a single error can make the difference between winning and losing a court case. If it happens because of a clerical error, that's again grounds for a malpractice lawsuit against the lawyer.

Aside from transcribing recorded speech, professional transcription services can add value in many ways. For example, many clients need audio in one language to be converted into text in different languages. There's also a huge market for live video feeds that need closed captioning. This is again a job that needs 100 percent accuracy, since there's no time to verify and make corrections. The sum of it is that a professional is sorely needed for most jobs in this field. Trying to get it done on the cheap can prove to be very costly in the end.




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