AHDI Casts Vision For The Future of MT Education

The US Department of Labor is predicting the medical transcription industry will grow faster than average through 2016. To move this profession forward, it is imperative that educators, practitioners, and employers come together to address the severe lack of qualified workers of today, while also preparing knowledge workers to meet the demands of tomorrow.

In the summer of 2007, AHIMA released a road map for HIM education, Vision 2016 White Paper: A Blueprint for Quality Education in HIM. An AHDI task force was convened to evaluate this important document and offer an official response.

In concert with AHIMA’s Blueprint, AHDI puts forth the following key priorities.
KEY PRIORITIES FOR MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTION EDUCATION
A. Elevate the medical transcription certificate program to an associate degree by 2016.
B. Inform and retool under-educated medical transcriptionists to meet the needs of the changing workplace.
C. Develop an advanced level degree program for healthcare documentation experts encompassing a more technical role by 2016.
D. Prepare a capable team of educators to facilitate this transition by 2016.
E. Develop a series of relevant apprenticeship programs to better bridge the gap between education and employment.
F. Work with allied health partners to create a meaningful career lattice in healthcare that will attract the next generation workforce and make the best use of our currently scarce resources.