Name Change Alert: Medical Transcription is now Clinical Documentation
admin on March 10th, 2011
The Clinical Documentation Industry Association, or the CDIA, has announced the launch of a new industry trade association dedicated to ensuring the accuracy, consistency and security of clinical documentation contained within all patient health records.
Formerly the Medical Transcription Industry Association, MTIA, the new group aims to expand its reach beyond medical transcription, editing, voice, and speech recognition to encompass every touch point in the clinical documentation continuum. The new name, CDIA, reflects this broader mission and scope. The announcement was made by Noel Bambrough, CDIA Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of Documentation Services Group, Inc., at a private press briefing and reception at the HIMSS11 Annual Conference and Exhibition.
The new name is an important change of direction for the industry. The term Medical Transcription, is defined as “the process transcribing, or converting voice-recorded reports as dictated by physicians and/or other healthcare professionals, into text format”.
While many of the larger transcription companies have already moved well beyond that core functionality this is a highly fragmented industry that has already undergone tremendous change. The vast majority of the businesses doing Medical Transcription are small firms, that have been faced with the duel threat of technological change and outsourcing. Those that have survived this far will need to adapt even further if they expect to thrive in the coming years. This newly renamed trade association can and should be a resource for those companies.
“Our association clearly recognized the need for an industry resource dedicated exclusively to the clinical documentation process: from report creation via dictation, speech or medical scribes, to the use of these same reports for coding and billing,” mentions Bambrough. There are many companies and new technologies in place to capture, format, secure, transfer, and store clinical documentation, but no industry association with this focus. CDIA aims to fill this void.
“Complete and accurate clinical documentation is mission critical for healthcare providers,” adds Peter Masanotti, a founding partner of CDIA. “From RAC take-backs to public scorecards and pay-for-performance initiatives, the pressure for physicians to document more clearly, consistently, and completely has never been greater,” confirms Dr. Nick van Terheyden, CDIA Board Member. Information captured without quality assurance measures or best practice processes inevitably results in errors that are perpetuated throughout the rest of the healthcare delivery system. CDIA works with other associations and standards-setting groups to establish best practice processes and guidelines for quality clinical documentation.
Under its new name, the association will continue to promote the value of clinical narrative in capturing information-rich health stories that can be tagged and re-purposed to meet criteria for use and distribution in the EHR. Technology and service companies involved in the clinical documentation process are invited to attend the reception or learn more at: www.cdiaweb.org.
