Battle of the Transcribers
In healthcare, accuracy in your medical chart can be the difference between life and death. From medical reports to patient records, healthcare professionals need to have accurate and up-to-date information to provide the best care possible. Accuracy is paramount in medical transcription, the process of transcribing medical dictations and converting them into written documents that will become part of the patient records.
While AI transcription services have grown in popularity in recent years, there are still many reasons why human transcriptionists are the best choice for healthcare organizations. In this article, we will explore why humans are still more accurate than AI in medical transcription and provide a real-world example of how a transcription error by AI could, and has, led to a bad patient outcome.
Accuracy
One of the main reasons human transcriptionists are preferred in healthcare is that they are more accurate than AI transcription services. While AI has come a long way in recent years, it still needs improvement. For example, AI needs help recognizing accents and differing speech patterns because making errors regarding complex medical terminology, drug names, and abbreviations or acronyms is not acceptable.
On the other hand, human transcriptionists are trained to recognize these patterns and terminology. They can also ask for clarification from the healthcare professional if they are unsure of something. This ensures that the final document is accurate and reflects the information provided by the healthcare professional.
Understanding Context
Human transcriptionists excel in understanding context. Unfortunately, healthcare professionals often use acronyms and abbreviations, which can be difficult for AI to understand or differentiate between. For example, AI may interpret “CHF” as “congestive heart failure,” when in reality, it could mean “chronic heart failure.” This could have severe consequences for the patient’s care.
Human transcriptionists are trained to understand the context in which medical terminology is used. They can also recognize that a healthcare professional’s speech that may indicate a particular condition or treatment because they know that a cardiologist would say a specific thing vs an OBGYN. This contextual understanding is essential for ensuring the final document accurately reflects the healthcare professional’s intent.
Real-World Examples
To illustrate the importance of accuracy and context in medical transcription, let’s consider a real-world example. In 2015, It was discovered that a transcription mistake had deadly consequences for one resident of a Minnesota Golden Living facility. Due to an incorrect warfarin order, the individual went nine days without their dose before being hospitalized and ultimately passed away from respiratory failure as well as a large ischemic stroke believed related to not having received the medication in time. A review of facility procedures uncovered negligence at play behind this fatal blunder.
A patient admitted to the hospital was unknowingly subjected to a deadly dosage of medication; she received an 80-unit dose, despite only needing 8. When the nurse was preparing the medication information for the admission order, the nurse used the discharge summary which contained a transcription error, with the incorrect dosage. The negligent error tragically caused her brain damage, cardiopulmonary arrest, and eventual death – sparking anguish in the family who sought justice through legal action. Following trial proceedings which honed in on what led up to this fatal mistake, a jury eventually awarded $140 million USD as compensation for their wrongful loss.
The Importance of Experience and Training
Finally, it is crucial to consider the importance of experience and training in medical transcription. Ben Walker, the CEO of Ditto Transcripts, has emphasized the importance of using well-trained and highly experienced human transcriptionists in healthcare. He said, “At Ditto, we only use highly experienced and well-trained human transcriptionists who have undergone extensive training in medical terminology and have a deep understanding of the healthcare industry.”
This emphasis on experience and training is crucial in ensuring the final document is accurate and reflects the healthcare professional’s intent. It also highlights the importance of using a reputable medical transcription service that highly values quality and accuracy.
While AI transcription services have made significant advances in recent years, there are still many reasons why human transcriptionists are the best choice for healthcare organizations. Human transcriptionists are more accurate than AI, can understand context, recognize the difference between a cardiologist and an OBGYN, and can indicate a specific condition or treatment because they know these two types of medicine are very different from each other. These skills are critical to ensure patient safety and AI isn’t there yet.
