Medical Transcription Definition
Medical Transcription (MT) is a type of transcription which involves converting audio / voice recordings dictated by health professionals into a word or text format. Medical records these days are generally stored in digital format which makes it possible for physicians to access the information anywhere they have internet. The medical transcriptionist is responsible for typing and formating medical records while ensuring correct spelling, and correcting a dictation error, omission, or medical term when necessary. MT's also are responsible for editing transcriptions, printing and submitting them. All medical transcriptions must comply with medical and legal policies, laws, and procedures under patient confidentiality.

Old Technology Verses New
Some doctors prefer to keep their medical notes and forms hand-written, but the growing trend is to have digital records. Digital voice files are the new standard way for medical professionals to send their verbiage to transcriptioninsts.

Voice Recognition Technology
Speech and voice recognition are new technologies that are used in transcriptining. To utilize such systems, the speaker must "train" the computer to recognize the way they say each word. Each human being has different speech patterns, so a machine could easily fail to understand a particular individuals pronunciation or speech pattern. Speech recognition is a very new technology and is far from perfection. One of the most evolved speech recognition systems used today that the public might come into contact with is the speech recognition system that Fedex uses on its phone lines. The computer can understand what you say and interact with you a little bit. Disneyland has a very sophisticated computer that can actually have a casual conversation with you, and the computer learns social graces from all the people it talks to, much like a human child might learn new phrases and learn what to talk about and when. Its a fascinating subject that will be more and more important over the next thirty years in my estimation. Speech recognition technology can miss many words or misinterpret many words, so a human has to check everything that the computer writes.

Education and Skills
There are various certificate and diploma programs that one can take to learn how to become a medical transcriptionist although those are optional. The main skills that one needs to be proficient at medical transcriptions are: knowledge of medical terminology, spelling, grammar, ability to verify, check, and sort numbers, good computer skills, a good ability to follow instructions, and good typing skills. Being able to think clearly and identify mistakes made by others is what distinguishes the sophisticated transcriptioners from the novices. Accuracy is another determining factor.

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