The boom in the health care industry has created
many new jobs, including a demand for medical transcriptionists. Think
the person who transcribes the records isn't that important? Consider
this scenario. A person goes to his family doctor for a nagging cough.
The doctor finds something suspicious and the person is referred on to
a series of specialists before finding himself in the hospital facing
surgery.
The family physician at the beginning of this process
knows that the patient is allergic to penicillin, but that fact may very
well never come to light until the patient has been given a lethal dose
of the drug - but for the work of the medical records that have accompanied
this patient throughout his travels to the various doctors. Each doctor
along the way gathered new information and that was all conveyed to the
next doctor by way of the medical notes - which were all transcribed by
a trained professional.
The time these doctors, nurses, lab technicians
and other health care providers spend at their jobs is typically spent
helping their patients. The days when a country doctor could make rounds
and remember the ailments and particulars of all his cases are long gone.
Several decades ago, someone came up with the idea of recording thoughts,
treatments and all other relevant information from a patient's visit with
his physician, then having that verbal information typed up - neatly,
so that everyone could later read and understand. That brought about the
need for these professionals that today carry a huge load for the health
care industry.
