According to industry standards, an hour of audio takes between 3-6 hours to transcribe. This is highly dependent upon quality of dictation and transcriptionist expertise.
To enable us to perform at our best please take a moment to read the following guidelines.
- Recorders should be set to SP (Standard Play). The LP (Long Play) setting produces poor quality audio, resulting in more costly transcription.
- “Clipping words off” reduces typing flow and results in sections of transcripts being marked for your attention. To avoid this, press record then pause for one full second before speaking. Likewise, when recording is complete, cease speaking then wait for one full second before turning your recorder off. If your recorder has “Automatic Voice Activation” it is best to turn this feature off, as it may also contribute to clipping.
- Ensure proper recorder/mike placement. When held too closely to the mouth, breath sounds may obscure the dictation. Moving your mouth away from the recorder whilst dictating (e.g. when reaching for files on a desk) will also adversely affect the volume and quality of your dictation.
- Record only while speaking. Lengthy silences may not result in ink on paper but time spent listening to large sections of speechless audio must still be charged for.
- Try to dictate in a noise free environment. Background sounds compete with and may completely block out your dictation, e.g. rustling papers, squeaking chairs, doors opening and closing, telephones ringing, eating/drinking, and dictating whilst driving.
- Smaller sized, closed rooms are preferable to large halls, open spaces, etc., as these often introduce echo, adversely affecting clarity of dictation.
- Multiple microphones are required for group meetings/discussions. Moderators will need to instruct participants to speak one at a time whenever possible. If identification is to be included in transcripts, participants are required to state their name prior to speaking.
- To avoid the need for post transcript corrections always spell out “in-house” terms as well as names, including common names that may be spelled more than one way (e.g. Jeff/Geoff, John/Jon, Darryl/Daryl, Matthew/Mathew, Jane/Jayne, Tanya/Tania, Linda/Lynda, Sonia/Sonya, Jillian/Gillian, etc).
- Clear, audible dictation gives the Medipro team the very best chance of providing you with fast, accurate transcription.