MT Grammar, Punctuation & Editing Standards 3

Question 1

A physician dictates 'The patient is a 45 year old female.' How should age be transcribed in a medical report?

Accepted Answer

The patient is a 45-year-old female.

Answer

Ages used as compound modifiers before a noun are hyphenated; '45-year-old' requires all three hyphens.

Question 2

Which of the following is the correct transcription of a blood pressure reading?

Accepted Answer

Blood pressure was 120/80.

Answer

Blood pressure values are transcribed with a forward slash separating systolic from diastolic values (e.g., 120/80).

Question 3

When should brackets [ ] be used in a medical transcription document?

Accepted Answer

To flag words that are unclear or questionable in the dictation

Answer

Brackets are used in medical transcription to flag unclear, inaudible, or questionable words for physician review.

Question 4

Which sentence demonstrates correct use of the dash (em dash) in medical transcription?

Accepted Answer

The biopsy results—pending—will determine the next step.

Answer

Em dashes (—) with no spaces around them are used to set off parenthetical information for strong emphasis in formal medical documents.

Question 5

The dictator says 'pre-operative orders.' Which transcription is correct per current BOS style?

Accepted Answer

preoperative orders

Answer

The prefix 'pre' is generally joined without a hyphen to the root word in standard medical terminology; 'preoperative' is the preferred closed form.

(MT) Certified Medical Transcription Practice Test