If you are arguing a medical malpractice or severe injury case, you may be tempted to use a medical transcriptionist to turn your recorded depositions into written testimony. After all, these transcriptionists are responsible for creating paper copies of operating room reports, test results, discharge summaries, and even coding and billing services, making them invaluable to a case where any health care elements are concerned.
Here are a few benefits to using a medical transcriptionist to transcribe your case documents:
- Privacy. Many medical transcription service owners (MTSOs) require transcriptionists to sign a confidentiality statements, ensuring that privacy violations carry appropriate penalties. Transcriptionists are required to protect private information both on the clock and off, and are forbidden from discussing protected documents.
- Speed. In the age of electronic health records, hospitals employ medical transcriptionists to update patient records quickly, providing many exam and test results within hours after they have been performed.
- Terminology. Medical transcriptionists are likely to be familiar with medical terminology and abbreviations, avoiding grievous errors in the record (such as confusing epidemiology with episiotomy).
However, there may be drawbacks to using medical transcriptionists, depending on the content and progress of your case. One of the biggest issues is that a transcriptionist cannot swear in an affidavit to the accuracy of a document, so you may have to employ the services of a notary or court reporter for this extra step. Also, in order for a transcript is to be submitted as an exhibit, it must be transcribed in the appropriate legal format—something many medical transcriptionists have never done.
Your Choice of Transcriptionist Can Affect Admission of Your Testimony
At Casamo & Associates, we use only court reporters to transcribe depositions and testimonies, ensuring that your case will proceed smoothly and without preventable interruptions. Use our online schedule form to request our services, and we will call your office to confirm within the hour.
