What is Medical Transcription and How You Can Do It
Jul 5, 2023
You might wonder, what is the purpose of medical transcription? Is it because doctors have terrible handwriting? Well, they do, but no. The purpose of medical transcription is to ensure that medical records are accurately transcribed.
Medical transcription is an important job with intricate details. And in this article, we will discuss all the details about becoming a medical transcriptionist, job options, salary, and how you can transcribe in a more efficient way.
Understanding Medical Transcription
Medical transcription involves converting dictated recordings by healthcare professionals, such as doctors or nurses, into written documents. These documents serve as patient records and are crucial for maintaining accurate medical histories, diagnoses, treatments, and procedures.
The transcribed reports are used by healthcare professionals for reference, insurance claims, medical research, and legal purposes.
The Role of a Medical Transcriptionist
A medical transcriptionist possesses a strong command of medical terminology, anatomy, pharmacology, and other healthcare-related subjects.
Accuracy, attention to detail, and a strong grasp of grammar and punctuation are essential traits for a successful medical transcriptionist. Additionally, familiarity with transcription software and electronic health record systems is crucial in modern medical transcription practices.
Medical Transcription Jobs
A medical transcriptionist can work in various healthcare settings, including hospitals, clinics, transcription service companies, and even from the comfort of their own home as a remote worker.
The demand for medical transcriptionists remains high due to the ever-increasing volume of medical documentation generated daily. Some common job titles in the field include:
Medical Transcriptionist: These professionals work directly with healthcare providers, transcribing and editing dictated reports and ensuring accuracy and adherence to industry standards.
Editor/Proofreader: This role involves reviewing and correcting transcriptions for accuracy, consistency, and proper formatting, ensuring that the final documents are error-free.
Quality Assurance Specialist: These professionals are responsible for reviewing completed transcriptions, assessing accuracy, and ensuring compliance with industry guidelines and standards.
Medical Language Specialist: This position requires in-depth knowledge of medical terminology, anatomy, and pharmacology. Medical language specialists often assist in training new transcriptionists and ensuring the quality and consistency of transcribed documents.
Medical Transcription Salary
The salary prospects for medical transcriptionists vary depending on several factors, including experience, geographic location, employer, and specialization. However, the profession offers competitive compensation for all levels of medical transcription workers.
According to Salary.com, the average salary of medical transcriptionists as of May 25th, 2023 is $50,799. And the salary range is between $45,249 and $56,624. Salaries can vary greatly, however, it is safe to say that an annual salary between $40,000 and $60,000 is a logical estimation when considering every medical transcription worker of different experience levels.
It's important to note that with experience, certifications, and advanced skills, a medical transcriptionist has the potential to earn higher salaries. Specializing in specific medical fields or working in high-demand areas can also lead to increased earning potential.
Furthermore, remote or freelance medical transcriptionists often have the flexibility to negotiate their rates or choose assignments that offer higher compensation.
How to Become a Medical Transcriptionist
Requirements vary depending on your location, but generally, training is needed to become a medical transcriptionist since knowing medical terminology, aside from transcription skills is needed for this job.
High School Diploma: There isn't a single way to become a medical transcriptionist, you can take a few paths. But first, you need a GED (high school diploma) to become a medical transcriptionist.
In the United States, you might need the RHDS (registered healthcare documentation specialist) certificate to begin your medical transcription journey.
And for experienced medical transcriptionists, the CHDS certificate shows that you are a certified healthcare documentation specialist.
However, not every state requires such certificates, so another type of training can be enough to land a medical transcription job.
AHDI (The Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity) also provides 2 courses for future medical transcriptionists to become certified healthcare documentation specialists.
Online Courses: There are online courses such as the "How to Become a Medical Transcriptionist" course on Udemy which teaches all the skills and knowledge required. For example, this course awards you with a completion certificate which can ease your way into a medical transcription job.
College Programs: There are several college programs about medical transcription in the U.S. if you choose that path. At the end of the program, you will receive a required certificate to become a medical transcriptionist. The duration of these programs varies between 6 months to 18 months long.
On-the-Job Training: Some companies offer medical transcription courses for prospective medical transcriptionists. So, there is a chance that you can learn to be a medical transcriptionist as an intern or a general transcriptionist who receives the training as they work.
Automatic Medical Transcription
Maestra provides state of the art speech recognition technology for transcriptionists who wish to have an advanced approach to their profession.
Maestra's speech recognition software automatically transcribes audio to text with impressive accuracy and speed, allowing transcriptionists to save time manually typing, and instead spend that time correcting the transcript.
The custom dictionary tool helps users specify keywords for the software, which then helps the AI software to accurately transcribe those words when they are detected in the audio. This feature is especially helpful for transcriptions with sensitive terminologies, such as medical transcription.
Head on to Maestra's audio to text converter, upload the audio file, and give it a try! It is incredibly simple to use, and includes a free trial that does not require any payment or account registry.
Summary
Medical transcription is a vital component of the healthcare industry, ensuring accurate documentation and facilitating effective communication among healthcare professionals.
The field offers a range of job opportunities, including medical transcriptionist, editor/proofreader, quality assurance specialist, and medical language specialist.
The salary prospects for medical transcriptionists are competitive and can be influenced by factors such as experience, location, specialization, and work arrangements.
As technology continues to evolve, the demand for skilled medical transcriptionists is expected to remain steady, making it an attractive career choice for those interested in combining healthcare and language proficiency.
Jul 5, 2023
