Why Professional Transcription Services Are Important

By Maryanne Goff


Professional transcription services come at a premium since it is hard to automate, and cannot be handled by an unskilled transcriptionist without the requisite training, experience and tools. It's the details that count, because a lot of the work calls for a high degree of accuracy. One mistake can prove catastrophic for a whole lot of people.

It might be easier to start with an understanding of the concept, and then move to actual industry requirements and solutions. A basic explanation of the transcription industry is that they convert speech in audio or video formats into text in some digital format. A transcriptionist listens to the recorded or live feed and must accurately type it into text.

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.

There's also a fair bit of training and a learning curve involved. For instance, a medical transcription company needs to have transcriptionists with a sound knowledge about the field of medicine and the terminology. In fact, many transcription firms require candidates to have working experience as a nursing or pharmacy assistant.

Doctors record their diagnosis and everything they want included in a case file, and this audio then has to be transcribed perfectly. A single mistake can prove fatal to the patient, and would lead to a medical malpractice lawsuit. It could easily end the careers of the involved physicians and hospital or clinic administrators.

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.

A law firm will likewise need 100 percent accuracy in its transcriptions. Lawyers take depositions and have hours of recordings that must be transcribed word for word. Again, one mistake could result in a client losing the case in court, and this clerical error on the lawyer's part would be grounds enough for a malpractice claim.

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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