![Evolution of Tools Used in Medical Transcription.](images/tools-medical-transcription.webp)
Evolution of Tools Used in Medical Transcription.
Medical documentation becoming a mandatory part of the healthcare industry necessitated the development of medical transcription and slowly it evolved as a sub-industry providing services under the healthcare sector.
The start of the medical transcription service saw physicians dictating notes regarding patient visits and assistants or secretaries making patient visit records out of the notes made by doctors. Then, physicians dictated the notes and this was made as written notes by the assistants. Later on, with the use of dictaphones, the dictations were made and this was listened to and typed out using typewriters. This transcription process slowly evolved, reducing each method's disadvantages and making it as beneficial as possible and less time-consuming. Technological innovations too, helped with these transformations in medical transcription. Dictations became digitized recordings. This saw the shift from analog to digital. This meant that it could be easily uploaded to other places of work and could be done anywhere. Recordings could be stored, retrieved, and re-used as needed. This increased accuracy and saved time.
Voice recognition software provided an additional advantage lessening transcriptionist's burden. Furthermore, electronic health records (EHRs) came into usage making it all the more easy because the transcriptionists were required to work on EHR-customised platforms. This ensured timely documentation with greater accuracy.