Layoffs coming for Mayo's medical transcriptionists
The Mankato Free Press reports that the Mayo Clinic is laying off 42 medical transcriptionists at the beginning of next year. Instead, Mayo will contract with Precyse Solutions, a transcription services business serving health care organizations across the U.S.
Mayo's decision appears to be part of a national trend to outsource transcription services as a way to cut costs. As speech recognition technology becomes more mainstream, the delivery of physician dictation has become automated.
Still, the Bureau of Labor Statistics listed medical transcription as a growth area in 2012, and named Minnesota one of the top states for employment.
For the Record, a trade magazine for medical technologists, confirms the trend toward outsourcing. but says electronic record-keeping presents many opportunities for editing and coding.
