Physician Dictation Guide:
Page 6

  Dictating Numbers ... Continued

Many Workers' Compensation file numbers are notoriously long without any spaces and often peppered with letters as well. The most humane way to dictate these file numbers is to say them slowly and clearly. For example, a WCB number like "XZBC89772536" should be dictated as: "No spaces. All capital letters. XZBC. That's X-ray, Zulu, Bravo, Charlie, (pause) 897 (pause) 725 (pause) 36."

If you know the "International Alphabet" please make use of it whenever you can in order to minimize errors. If you do not know it, we have included it below for your reference. (Knowing this alphabet comes in handy in lots of other areas of one's life where oral information simply disallows any type of ambiguity.)

  In Closing . . .

Dictation is a skill that can easily be learned and always improved upon. If you make the effort to do it correctly, you will find your dictation is often transcribed easily and without error, meaning you do not have to spend time reviewing what you have already dealt with. You will also gain the admiration of your personal or pool transcriptionist(s), as there is nothing more enjoyable than transcribing the dictation of someone who knows the rules and cares about the person on the receiving end of the headphones.