Physician Dictation Guide:
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Please ...

• DO NOT Use old recording tapes if you still use a tape recorder. Make a habit of buying new tapes at least once a year if you use them daily. Discard damaged tapes immediately and only after erasing them. Better yet, get with the flow and go digital. Digital audio files are the preferred format these days for both physicians and transcriptionists. If you need to know more on digital dictation or transcription, please check the Medword article here.
  
• DO NOT Dictate in a noisy area. Extraneous noise can make it difficult to hear dictation accurately.
  
• DO NOT Mumble. Speak clearly without letting your voice fade-out at the end of sentences.
  
• DO NOT Eat, drink or chew gum when speaking. Sialogogues can be used to keep your saliva flowing, if they are small and will not interfere with clear speaking.
  
• DO NOT Make errors and then say "strike that" or something to that effect. Use the "cue and review" feature found on most current dictation equipment to erase your last statement. Erasing your own error also negates any chance of misunderstanding on the part of the transcriptionist as to what was to be "struck" or erased from what you dictated.
  
• DO NOT Try to spell words you don't know how to spell. If the word is unusual, just say it as clearly as possible and the transcriptionist can usually confirm the spelling if required.
  
• DO NOT Say "period" for the end of a sentence. The proper phrase when dictating is "stop" or preferably "full stop."
  
• DO NOT Shuffle papers, open drawers, rearrange your desk, rip paper off examination tables, or make loud sudden noises when dictating.
  
• DO NOT Forget to say "End of Dictation" at the end of your dictation, so the transcriptionist will know there is no more dictation at the end of the tape/digital audio file.
  
• DO NOT Burp, slurp, cough, sneeze, eat, drink, chew gum, clear nasal passages, "pass wind," urinate or defecate while recording dictation. (Yes, all the aforementioned have been done by physicians while dictating, and yes, you can hear it, and yes it is disgusting - not to mention just plain rude.)
  
• DO NOT Dictate while driving. It's dangerous and the sound quality is usually poor.

Over-used & Redundant Words

Part of good dictation style is avoding the use of unnecessary words, redundancies or grammatically-unacceptable phrases when dictating. It is more professional to be as succinct as possible. Avoid "flowery" language, too many superlatives, and over-used words and phrases. Here is just a short list of what you should avoid:

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