Medical Transcriptionists
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Overview
Transcribe medical reports recorded by physicians and other healthcare practitioners using various electronic devices, covering office visits, emergency room visits, diagnostic imaging studies, operations, chart reviews, and final summaries. Transcribe dictated reports and translate abbreviations into fully understandable form. Edit as necessary and return reports in either printed or electronic form for review and signature, or correction.
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Titles for this career often contain these words
MedicalTranscriptionistSpecialistCertifiedTranscriberTranscriptionCodingCoderProfessionalLanguageCPCClinicalDataDocumentationAdministrativeTechnicianRecordStenographerEditorProviderScribeRadiologyRegisteredTranscribingMachineOperator
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Responsibilities and activities

Medical transcriptionists typically do the following:

  • Listen to the recorded dictation of a doctor or other healthcare worker
  • Interpret and transcribe the dictation into patient history, exam notes, operative reports, referral letters, discharge summaries, and other documents
  • Review and edit drafts prepared by speech recognition software, making sure that the transcription is correct, complete, and consistent in style
  • Translate medical abbreviations and jargon into the appropriate long form
  • Identify inconsistencies, errors, and missing information within a report that could compromise patient care
  • Follow up with the healthcare provider to ensure that reports are accurate
  • Submit health records for physicians to approve
  • Follow patient confidentiality guidelines and legal documentation requirements
  • Enter medical reports into electronic health records (EHR) systems
  • Perform quality improvement audits

Traditionally, medical transcriptionists used audio playback equipment to listen to an entire dictation in order to produce a transcribed report, and some transcription is still done this way. It has become more common for medical documents to be prepared using speech recognition technology, in which specialized software automatically prepares an initial draft of a report. The transcriptionist then listens to the voice file and reviews the draft for accuracy, identifying any errors and editing the report, when necessary. Transcriptionists use word-processing and other specialized software to prepare the transcripts, as well as medical reference materials when needed.

Medical transcriptionists must be familiar with medical terminology, anatomy and physiology, diagnostic procedures, pharmacology, and treatment assessments. Their ability to understand what the healthcare worker has recorded, correctly transcribe that information, and identify any inaccuracies in the transcript is critical to reducing the chance that patients will get ineffective or even harmful treatments. Medical transcriptionists also may need to be familiar with EHR systems.

Medical transcriptionists who work in doctors’ offices may have other duties, such as answering phones and greeting patients.

Salary
Median salary: $35,270 annually
Half of those employed in this career earn between $27,070 and $45,260.
$35K$0$20K$40K$60K
Context: Median Salary
How do salaries for this career compare to other jobs' salaries?
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Salary growth for medical transcriptionists
Is this job likely to reward you for sticking with it through pay raises and promotions? The higher a job’s “experience quotient,” the more you are likely to get as you stay there.
Experience quotient percentile
Take a minute to look at how much you might expect your salary to increase with each five years' experience, as well as how the numbers working at each age change. Does this seem to be a job for the young or the old, or could it be a career offering steady salary growth for many years?
Salary distribution
$30K$36K$34K$38K$35K$24K$34K$31K$17K$0$20K$40K$60K$80K20-2425-2930-3435-3940-4445-4950-5455-5960-64
Number employed
01K2K3K4K5K20-2425-2930-3435-3940-4445-4950-5455-5960-64
About Medical Transcriptionists
How do benefits for this career compare to other jobs? The availability of health care, especially employer provided health care, and pension plans can add significantly to the value of compensation you receive in a career. These charts compare how this career compares to other careers with regard to health care and pension plans.
Employee has health insurance
Employer is providing health insurance
Employer-provided pension plan is available
Worker concerns
Some jobs are more stressful than others, and some are just plain dangerous. The following list gives the percentages of medical transcriptionists who report hazardous or difficult situations typically occurring at least once a week.
  • Time Pressure (98%)
  • Consequence of Error (31%)
SOURCES:
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Personality and skills
Can you see yourself in the ranks of Medical Transcriptionists? Here are the skills and traits that could lead to success.
Computer skills
Medical transcriptionists must be comfortable using computers and word-processing software, because those tools are an essential part of their jobs. They also may need to know how to operate electronic health records (EHR) systems.
Critical-thinking skills
Medical transcriptionists must assess medical reports and spot any inaccuracies and inconsistencies in finished drafts. They must also think critically when doing research to find the information that they need and to ensure that sources are both accurate and reliable.
Listening skills
Medical transcriptionists must listen carefully to dictation from physicians. They need to hear and interpret the intended meaning of the medical report.
Time-management skills
Because dictation must be done quickly, medical transcriptionists should be comfortable working under short deadlines.
Writing skills
Medical transcriptionists need a good understanding of the English language and grammar.
Injury and Illness
About 7 medical transcriptionists become injured or ill for every 10,000 workers, which reflects fewer events than in 56% of other careers.
All injuries and illnesses
Education pathways to this career
Education attained by medical transcriptionists
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), medical transcriptionists typically hold a postsecondary nondegree award.
Sometimes the typical education identified by the BLS differs a bit from the reality of the how much education current workers actually have. The donut shows the education level held by people currently working as medical transcriptionists as reported in responses to the American Community Survey.
Details: Education and training recommended for medical transcriptionists

Employers prefer to hire transcriptionists who have completed postsecondary education in medical transcription, which is offered by vocational schools, community colleges, and distance-learning programs. Medical transcription programs are typically 1-year certificate programs, although there are also associate’s degree programs.

Programs normally include coursework in anatomy, medical terminology, risk management, legal issues relating to healthcare documentation, and English grammar and punctuation. Many of these programs include supervised on-the-job experience. Some transcriptionists, especially those already familiar with medical terminology from previous experience as a nursing assistant or medical secretary, become proficient through refresher courses and training.

Details: Licensing and certification recommended for medical transcriptionists

Although certification is not required, some medical transcriptionists choose to become certified. The Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity offers the Registered Healthcare Documentation Specialist (RHDS) and the Certified Healthcare Documentation Specialist (CHDS) certifications. Both certifications require passing an exam and periodic retesting or continuing education.

The RHDS certification, formerly known as the Registered Medical Transcriptionist (RMT), is for recent graduates with less than 2 years of experience and who work in a single specialty environment, such as a clinic or a doctor’s office.

The CHDS certification, formerly known as the Certified Medical Transcriptionist (CMT), is for transcriptionists who hold the RHDS designation. In addition, CHDS candidates must have at least 2 years of acute care experience, including experience handling dictation in various medical specialties.

To maintain certification, medical transcriptionists must complete continuing education requirements every 3 years.

Education level of Medical Transcriptionists
Only 26% of medical transcriptionists have a bachelor's degree or higher.
Education attained by medical transcriptionists
None
High School
Some College
Associate's Degree
Bachelor's Degree
Master's Degree
Professional Degree
Doctorate
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Programs recommended by the Department of Education
The Department of Education recommends the following college degree programs as preparation for this career. You can click the program row to learn more about the program and explore a list of schools that offer the program.
Number of degrees awarded in 2018
Education
Education level of awarded degrees
Assoc./Cert.
Bachelor's
Graduate
Gender
Gender of graduates
Men
Women
Race/Origin
Race/origin of graduates
White
Minority
International
Where are the jobs
State-by-state employment numbers
Some careers tend to be centered in specific parts of the country. For example, most jobs in fashion are in New York or California. Let's see if your dream job is easy to find in your dream location! We have a few choices for viewing the data that can help you get a full employment picture.
Select a state to see local area details
Number of Medical Transcriptionists per 1,000 workers (ACS)
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Job density versus job count
Which states hire the most medical transcriptionists? We wonder if that's a fair question since states come in all sizes, so instead let's start with the question of which states have the highest density of people working as medical transcriptionists. You can choose to view the number of jobs per state if you prefer.
Salaries by state
Let's get a feel for where medical transcriptionists earn the highest salaries. There are several choices for which data we consider and how we view that data, and each can lead to different conclusions, so please read on...
Median salary versus state ratio
We use two methods to compare salaries across states:
  • In-state comparisons: the ratio of median (middle) salaries for medical transcriptionists compared to the median salary for all people working in each state, or
  • Median salary: the unaltered median salaries for medical transcriptionists.
We hope the ratio allows perspective about how salaries may compare to the regional cost-of-living.
The darkest shading corresponds to states in which medical transcriptionists earn the highest salary when compared to other jobs in the state. We think this figure might be a better indicator than the actual salary for your buying power as a state resident.
Select a state to see local area details
Location-adjusted median salary for Medical Transcriptionists (ACS)
AKMEWIVTNHWAIDMTNDMNILMINYMAORUTWYSDIAINOHPANJCTRICANVCONEMOKYWVVAMDDEAZNMKSARTNNCSCDCOKLAMSALGAHITXFLPR
Employment
35% of Medical transcriptionists are working part time.
We’ve found that some jobs have a huge number of part-time workers, and typically that is because they are unable to find full-time work or the job itself can’t provide full-time hours. With 35% part-time workers, this occupation has a higher percentage of part-time workers than 88% of careers.
35%0%20%40%60%80%100%
Employer types
This donut shares the break-down of workers by employer type, giving us a picture of what employers most typically hire for this career.
Employers of undefined (ACS)
Private for-profit
Private not-for-profit
Local government
State government
Federal government
Self-employed incorporated
Self-employed not incorporated
Working without pay
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Distribution: Salaries of medical transcriptionists by type of employer
Here are the salary distributions based on employer type.
$31K$30K$37K$26K$46K$0$20,000$40,000$60,000Self-employed not incorporatedFederal governmentPrivate not-for-profitPrivate for-profitAll
Gender
Medical transcriptionists and gender
With 90% women, this occupation has a higher percentage of women than 97% of careers.
Gender of Medical transcriptionists
Men (10%)
Women (90%)
Distribution: salaries by gender
Does gender greatly influence your salary in this career? The closer the bars are, the less discrepancy there is.
$31K$0$100K$200K$300KWomenMen
We only include salary data when the survey error is less than 20%, so you may see only partial information for some categories.
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Context: Women in the workforce
How does this career compare to other careers with regard to the percentage of women in the career.
90%0%20%40%60%80%100%
Race/Origin
Race and origin of Medical transcriptionists
This donut shows the distribution of race and origin among those employed as Medical transcriptionists.
Race/origin of medical transcriptionists
White (86% )
Black (6% )
Asian (4% )
Multiracial (2% )
Other (1% )
Pacific Islander (0% )
Hispanic (0% )
American Indian (0% )
Distribution: salaries by race/origin
Some careers might have a pay disparity based on race or origin, the closer the below bars are the less of a discrepancy is present.
$30K$31K$33K$0$20K$40K$60KAsianWhiteBlack
We only include salary data when the survey error is less than 20%, so you may see only partial information for some categories.