Background speech recognition technology (SRT) has been touted for the past few years as the "best thing since sliced bread" for the transcription industry, but what is fact and what is fiction?

Recently, the Medical Transcription Industry Association formed a task force, headed by George Catuogno, president of Sten-Tel. When asked why the task force was created, he stated: "Originally the task force was put together to research the validity of certain claims concerning the economic benefits to consumers stemming from purported productivity gains well in excess of 100 percent. From a one-dimensional perspective, you could say these types of gains are possible. When you temper that perspective with an understanding of the impact fast production may have on quality in the presence of technology that inherently introduces some degree of errant translation, then one could argue the cost savings associated with productivity gains are overstated. At the very least, one could argue a new risk factor is introduced that must be managed, and there is likely a cost, if not risk, associated with that. Statements such as 'SRT will cut your transcription costs in half' are misleading, yet exist in the industry. Even if productivity gains of 100 percent are typical with no adverse impact to quality, there are still technology costs, that when added to production costs, do not result in a 50 percent reduction in total costs. The task force was brought together to examine these issues and dispel the misrepresentations. As we began the effort, we quickly realized there was much more than just this issue that needed to be addressed. To educate consumers, we would need collaborative effort by all stakeholders driving at corroborative perspectives."

Given the challenges, the task force quickly became a multi-faceted endeavor and industry experts were invited to the table including medical transcription service organizations, technology vendors, the American Health Information Management Association and the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI).

As the representative from AHDI, I quickly realized this was a huge initiative. As we sorted through what impacts the utilization of SRT, it became resoundingly clear that the human intelligence factor (MTs) will have the greatest impact on its success or failure. We learned that:

1. The difference between transcribing and SRT editing necessitate effective training programs designed to ensure successful transition of MTs to the SRT editing skill, and

2. Productivity gains experienced by an MT performing SRT editing should not be overemphasized at the cost of quality.

So how do MTs prepare for the new roles and what is AHDI doing to help? According to Kim Buchanan, director of credentialing, education and workforce development for AHDI/MTIA, AHDI is developing an SRT/editing course. A task force of both educators and technology vendors who work in the SRT/editing environment will assist to further define the curriculum. The task force will utilize the SRT editor model job description as the backbone for curriculum development. The job description is available on the AHDI Web site. The course will be available first quarter 2009. Schools will be able to utilize this module as part of their educational plan in order to graduate SRT editors. The course will also be available for individual MTs who want to enhance their skill sets. AHDI is also planning to provide credentialing for SRT editors by the end of 2009.

Sherry Doggett is the director of corporate transcription services at the Health Alliance in Cincinnati, and serves on the AHDI board of directors.