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Medical Transcription Career Highlights
What is a Medical Transcriptionist?
What is a medical transcriptionist and what do they do?
Medical transcriptionists listen to dictated recordings made by physicians and other health care professionals and transcribe them into medical reports, correspondence, and other administrative material. They generally listen to recordings on a headset, using a foot pedal to pause the recording when necessary, and key the text into a personal computer or word processor, editing as necessary for grammar and clarity.
The documents they produce include discharge summaries, medical history and physical examination reports, operative reports, consultation reports, autopsy reports, diagnostic imaging studies, progress notes, and referral letters. Medical transcriptionists return transcribed documents to the physicians or other health care professionals who dictated them for review and signature or correction. These documents eventually become part of patients’ permanent files.
Education & Training
Employers prefer to hire transcriptionists who have completed postsecondary training in medical transcription offered by many vocational schools, community colleges, and distance-learning programs.
Completion of a 2-year associate degree or 1-year certificate program—including coursework in anatomy, medical terminology, legal issues relating to health care documentation, and English grammar and punctuation—is highly recommended
Medical Transcription Salary Range
$28,800 - Annual Medical Transcription Degree Salary
$29,300 - Average U.S. Salary
Data Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2005)
Medical Transcription Job Outlook
Employment of medical transcriptionists is projected to grow 14 percent from 2006 to 2016, faster than the average for all occupations. Demand for medical transcription services will be spurred by a growing and aging population. Older age groups receive proportionately greater numbers of medical tests, treatments, and procedures that require documentation.
Medical transcription workers had median annual earnings of $28,490 in 2005 and transcriptionists that worked in general medical and surgical hospitals earned approximately $29,080 annually. Some medical transcription workers are paid based on the number of hours they work or the number of lines they transcribe.