Critical Medical Records Workforce Shortage Brings Transcription Associations to Capitol Hill

Business Wire, May 15, 2008

WASHINGTON -- Findings from a multi-disciplinary research team from Bentley College in Massachusetts show a dwindling available medical transcription workforce in the booming healthcare documentation market. This looming workforce crisis has brought members from the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI) and the Medical Transcription Industry Association (MTIA) to speak with federal legislators about the important role of documentation specialists in patient safety, continuity of care, and revenue cycle management.

This landmark Advocacy Summit, being held May 14th, 15th and 16th in Washington, DC, is intended to ensure a well-prepared workforce that can tackle future document creation needs as the industry adopts electronic record systems to improve care and reduce medical errors. Preliminary findings from the 2007 transcriptionist survey will be shared with legislators and are available online through www.ahdionline.org or www.mtia.com. The final report will be released at the AHDI annual convention and exhibition in Orlando, Florida, August 6-9, 2008.

"Healthcare enterprises rely on the documentation creation community to provide useable, relevant, and accurate patient care data in a timely manner to enable and direct ongoing clinical decision-making," states Peter Preziosi, PhD, CAE, AHDI/MTIA chief executive officer. "However, with a grave shortage of qualified medical transcriptionists and few in the pipeline to replace this aging workforce, AHDI and MTIA need the help of legislators to mobilize the health information management community, technology vendors, and other stakeholder groups to create technology-enabled strategies that address the pending workforce shortages."

"The medical transcriptionist is the most frequently forgotten part of the healthcare documentation production chain," claims Gary David, PhD, associate professor of sociology at Bentley College and principal author of the medical transcriptionist survey. "Our investigation into the work of medical transcriptionists is meant to fill a major gap in how they are factored into the healthcare delivery chain. Quality healthcare delivery often depends on quality medical records, extending from patient treatment to healthcare providers recouping costs. Thus, if there exists a shortage of medical transcriptionists, a gap in the document production process occurs, thereby creating gaps on a number of levels."

Contact Information

For information about the Medical Transcription Industry Association visit www.mtia.com.

For information about the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity visit www.ahdionline.org.