Transcription Errors

From ModernPhysician.com

Doctors' poor handwriting is a well-recognized source of medical errors, but their sometimes sloppy speech habits are a less well-known contributor.

A study based on a sample of 220 dictated medical records totaling 9,726 lines of transcription found 27% of the 96 more-serious flaws were attributed to the speaker, typically a physician, and not the transcriptionist. Twenty of 38 critical flaws (53%) and six of 58 major flaws (10%) were traced to the speaker.

Critical flaws include patient misidentification, medical word misuse and omitted dictation. Major flaws include misspellings and inappropriate blanks. Minor flaws include punctuation, grammar and formatting errors.