Artificial intelligence is one of the biggest technological breakthroughs in recent memory. It’s everywhere now, from practical (data processing, robotics, computing, etc) to weird (fortune-telling, beer-making, and… brushing people’s teeth). Unsurprisingly, some medical facilities and practices consider using AI over human-powered medical transcription services. This has led to some people asking if the medical transcription field is dying.
Unfortunately, it’s not that cut and dry. And while AI has wide-scale applications, medical transcription is not one of them. Let’s talk about why.
In this article, you’ll learn how:
- Despite its advancements, AI transcription technology currently achieves only around 86% accuracy, which is insufficient for the high stakes of medical documentation.
- AI solutions cannot fully replace human expertise, essential for interpreting complex medical terminology and maintaining the high standards required in medical records.
- Ditto Transcripts offers customizable, secure, and efficient medical transcription services, ensuring more than 99% accuracy and fast turnaround times, catering to the specific needs of our clients.
What Is Medical Transcription?
Medical transcription is the process of converting audio or video content related to the healthcare field into accurate text. As such, a medical transcriptionist’s job is to be a doctor’s ears and fingers.
Transcriptionists listen to recordings of patient consultations that cover medical history, symptoms, and diagnosis. Furthermore, notes about surgeries, medical evaluations, and all the essential details could also be dictated. Then, with typing skills, good spelling, and a good grasp of medical vocabulary, they convert those voice reports into accurate medical documentation. It is one of the most important jobs in the healthcare field.
That said, a transcriber’s job isn’t just listening and typing—it’s decoding doctors’ dictations fluently so other medical staff can carry them out.
Who Needs Medical Transcription?
Here’s a list of medical professionals that need transcription.
| Who Needs It | Why? |
| Physicians | Doctors across various specialties need transcripts for accurate patient documentation. |
| Hospitals and Clinics | Healthcare facilities require transcribed records for comprehensive patient care. |
| Mental Health Professionals | Therapists and counselors use transcripts to document sessions and treatment plans. |
| Legal Firms | Law firms handling medical cases need transcribed records as evidence. |
| Medical Researchers | Researchers rely on transcripts to document study protocols, data, and findings. |
| Insurance Companies | Insurers may require transcribed medical records for claims processing. |
| Public Health Organizations | Agencies like CDC, WHO use transcripts for disease surveillance and initiatives. |
Is The Medical Transcription Field Dying Because of AI?
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor & Statistics, employment of medical transcriptionists is projected to decrease by 4% from 2022 to 2032.
Many sources claim that the advancement of artificial intelligence, text-to-speech platforms, and automated speech recognition programs are why the medical transcription field is dying. These solutions are often cheaper than hiring human transcribers to do the work.
However, AI transcription is not yet at the point that it can conceivably replace all manual medical transcription services, such as clinical trial transcriptions. The best of them only reach 86% accuracy rates.
While 14% might not look like a big deal, putting it in the context of medicine makes it a lot more significant.
Issues With AI-Powered Medical Transcription
Let’s talk about the problems of AI transcription.
Miscommunication of Medical Terms
Approximately 90% of adverse events due to medication errors involve miscommunication of medical terms. Misinterpreted or incorrect information, like wrong phrases and abbreviations for prescriptions, can lead to wrong diagnoses, inappropriate treatments, or medication errors, all of which can have severe or even fatal outcomes.
Medical abbreviations and terms make it faster for physicians to dictate or note important details for histories and medical procedures. Medical practitioners and employees in the healthcare industry, including those who work in transcription, learn medical terminology to operate as safely and efficiently as possible. This is a continuous process.
On the other hand, AI transcription is only familiar with data sets and recordings on which it is trained. That means its results are susceptible to errors when dealing with unfamiliar data, as it doesn’t have the instinctive ability to recognize potentially incorrect medical terms in the text.
Incorrect Patient Information
Gathering patient information is one of the most important parts of the medical process. It is the foundation of proper patient care. Every line, every box filled out by the patient, must be gathered and encoded precisely. Otherwise, the practice risks medical errors, delayed treatment, adverse drug reactions, legal and ethical issues, and compromising patient care.
So, let me ask you this. Can you really rely on a computer program with an 86% accuracy rate to meet that expectation?
Loss of Trust And Regulatory Issues Due To Transcription Errors
Physicians and nurses put in years to finish med school, gain the requisite knowledge, and increase their professional standing to make it in the medical field. All that can be lost with any error in healthcare, including transcription.
With so many things hanging in the balance, it’s no surprise that patients and their loved ones can lose trust in healthcare professionals due to incorrect transcription. This significant loss of trust can have long-term implications for the patient-provider relationship and the institution’s or medical personnel’s reputation.
Furthermore, despite being rich with medical phrases and complicated medical abbreviations, medical records are critical legal documents. Inaccuracies can lead to non-compliance with regulations like HIPAA.
How Ditto’s Medical Transcription Minimizes Errors
Sure, we’re only human, and we make mistakes. However, that is no excuse for compromising patient care due to transcription errors. And that’s certainly no reason to think that the medical transcription field is dying.
That’s why we at Ditto Transcripts have perfected our process to provide hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare facilities with the most accurate transcripts they’ll ever get—and here’s how we do it.
Highly-Trained, US-based Human Transcriptionists
AI transcription is cheap, sure, though only 86% accurate. Do you really want to save a few dollars and gamble on accuracy when your patients’ lives are on the line?
Work with us, and you won’t have to worry. Ditto only hires US-based transcriptionists to provide the highest quality and accuracy in medical transcription. Our experts have a full command of English and commendable experience in the medical field.
Having been exposed to (American) English from day one, our professionals can work with various accents and dialects. They also undergo training and feedback/coaching sessions to stay on top of their game and get the latest changes in the medical field.
Furthermore, our transcriptionists know how to use context to get the right information, using surrounding information to pinpoint which words to use. Better yet, we can ask for clarification or mark ambiguous sections in the transcript for enhanced clarity.
Rigorous Quality Control
Some medical transcription companies might be okay with running an error check in Google Docs once and then hand in the transcript. At Ditto, all transcripts undergo several proofreading and editing processes to ensure our trademark 99% (or even more!) accuracy.
Customizability
Here at Ditto, our clients call the shots. Formatting and style guidelines can be provided to ensure that transcripts are ready to use the moment they land in their inboxes.
You can provide us templates for different medical departments or specialties, and we’ll make sure every transcript you receive for them is tailored to your needs and eliminates most of the common medical transcription errors in one easy process.
Do you need classic, no-nonsense standard formats? We also provide those to ensure that all information is captured and recorded correctly and consistently.
EHR/EMR Integration
What’s the point of having a transcript if you then need to read and manually input the data in your healthcare computer system?
With Ditto, your transcripts can be provided in RTF (rich text format) and easily integrated into EMR/EHR systems through HL7 interfaces with a few clicks.
Our process significantly improves documentation time, ensuring you can focus on what matters most: your patients.
HIPAA and HITECH-compliant Security
We use the most up-to-date security measures to ensure that no line in medical transcription goes where they’re not supposed to. Our protocols include top-of-the-line encryption, redundant firewalls, on-site physical security measures, and non-disclosure agreements.
Even better, we are HIPAA and HITECH-compliant, so you can be sure that all your transcripts are secure and fall under Meaningful Use.
Speed And Accuracy (Without Sacrificing Either)
Yes, accuracy is non-negotiable. That doesn’t mean we get to sit on your transcripts for months to make them usable. Ditto offers STAT file deliveries in four hours or less.
Dr. Steven B, neurosurgeon and Ditto client, says it best:
“Getting in contact with the account manager in the hospital would take hours and sometimes days. I never had a problem getting in contact with Ditto. They understood how time-sensitive and crucial my dictations are.”
Medical Transcription Is Not A Dying Field
Medical transcription errors are mostly borne of procedural issues. So, don’t settle for shoddy transcription service providers or automated solutions that make you want to ask for a refund, even if they’re free. Work with us and experience the following perks:
- More than 99% accuracy on all projects
- Fast turnaround times
- Different affordable rates for different budgets
- Flexibility and customization
- HIPAA and HITECH compliance
- No lock-in periods or contracts—pay as you go
- Multi-channel communication
- Industry-leading customer support
Not convinced? Call us for any questions, or take advantage of our free trial to experience what it’s like working with the best.
Ditto Transcripts is a HIPAA-compliant, Denver, Colorado-based medical transcription company that provides fast, accurate, and affordable transcription services for hospitals, clinics, facilities, and individual practices of all sizes. Call (720) 287-3710 today for a free quote, and ask about our free five-day trial.
