Professional Transcription And Your Business
By Kate Smalley, Wed Dec 7th

Got stacks of audio tapes that need to be converted to a moreuser-friendly format? Professional transcription services may bethe answer.

Professional transcriptionists can take standard or microcassette tapes and produce a typed version of the text in aformat that’s clear, consistent and correct. They can createtranscripts of taped meetings, training sessions, seminars andconventions, as well as dictated letters, reports andmanuscripts. Once the information is transcribed, you can easilyemail, fax or post it to a Website.

Accuracy Is Essential

Transcribing actually covers a variety of services. It caninclude whatever editing is necessary to make a report or letter“flow”. It can also include the tweaking sentence syntax,adjusting paragraphs, removing redundancies, and repairinggeneral grammatical errors.

For some professions, a high degree of accuracy in transcriptsis crucial. For example, medical transcriptionists mustcarefully listen to dictated recordings made by physicians andother healthcare professionals and accurately transcribe theminto reports, correspondence and other administrative materialsthat eventually become part of patients’ permanent files. Theirability to understand and correctly transcribe patientassessments and treatments reduces the chance of patientsreceiving ineffective or even harmful treatments and ultimatelyensures high quality patient care.

Accuracy in transcripts is equally as important in other fields.In legal matters, it’s essential because all testimony must berendered exactly as it’s spoken. Likewise, police detectivesrequire precise transcripts of statements by suspects andwitnesses. In the corporate arena, letters, meetings andtraining sessions must be properly transcribed for the sake ofeffective education and communication.

Requirements For A Good Transcriptionist

Whether you need medical, legal or general transcribing for yourbusiness, accurate transcribing requires a unique set of skills.But if your staff lacks the expertise or time to transcribematerials in house, an outside company can easily fill the void.

Working with an outside vendor offers a variety of cost-savingbenefits, including:

* No cost of special equipment. * No hourly employee downtime.You pay only for production. * No Social Security, payroll orunemployment taxes. * No medical insurance benefits, paidvacations and sick leave

But before you run out and hire the first transcription companyavailable, make sure it has the skills to meet your needs. Theoutsourcer you choose should be:

* Well-versed in the English language * Knowledgeable of therules of grammar * Familiar with your industry * Easilyaccessible for questions

About the author:Copyright 2004, Kate Smalley Connecticut Secretary FreelanceSecretarial and Transcription Serviceshttp://www.connecticutsecretary.com 203.641.3739kms@connecticutsecretary.com