Medical Transcription

Medical Assistants Doing Transcriptions

Medical assistants may be asked to turn a dictated message into a written document. This often includes daily notes the doctor records about a patient medical exam, discussion, or consultations which must be added to the patient's medical chart in written format for future reference. This process is called medical transcription. 

Transcribing Dictations

To transcribe a document the medical assistant must know how to operate and set up special equipment, such as a tape recorder with the dictation tapes, transcription machine, Dictaphone, headphones and other transcribing tools. Urgent records must be transcribed first. If there are no urgent codes then the medical assistant, now slipping into the role of a medical transcriptionist, must begin with putting the tape with the oldest date to paper first. This is best done in an area free of external noise, and where patient confidentiality is assured. 

Think about it! The healthcare industry is booming and you want to land a better job… but with a large number of other medical assistants applying for the same jobs and competing with you, you HAVE to your part to set yourself apart from the rest, or otherwise you may quickly find yourself left behind.

Medical Transcription Challenges

A great deal of time is spent on playing a sample of the tape to check quality and getting used to the voice's sound, speed, tone, enunciations, and volume which will make the process easier. Important is that the medical record is transcribed accurately, exactly as dictated, from beginning to end.

Novice medical transcriptionists may have trouble with understanding the words, especially medical terms and prescription names. To get a feel for the tape's content and to understand what is say they may have to play a segment of the tape at a time, and repeat it several times over, listening carefully and attentively. As they gain speed and their skills increase they will no longer need to stop the tape as often. 

Tip: If you come across an unfamiliar term leave a blank space in the document. DO NOT GUESS!!!! Continue transcribing and when finished check with a more seasoned co-worker, or the doctor who dictated the tape, for clarification. After the doctor has approved the document, the tape can be erased.