"Press [2] to dictate....".

Abstract

Why do so few people understand what a medical transcriptionist really does? Because medical transcription, which is frequently performed in a home office or remote location, is an extremely solitary profession which relies on highly-specialized language and interpretive skills. Many doctors still think of MTs as "those ladies in the basement of the hospital who sit there typing all day." But with hospitals farming out the bulk of their dictation to transcription agencies in a desperate attempt to cut back on benefitted employees, a physician's words may be transcribed hundreds or thousands of miles from the patient's bed. Back in medical school--when you were filled with dreams of healing the sick--no one ever told you about the endless hours you would spend dictating patient reports and dealing with mountains of paperwork. The hard truth is that most physicians are drowning in paperwork as third-party insurers continue to demand increased documentation before authorizing payment. The demands for increased documentation are not going to go away. Nor is the pile of charts sitting in front of you. So, even though you're exhausted, you sit down and begin to dictate. How do your words end up in print? They pass through the mind of a language specialist who makes what you said look a lot better than what you really said.