Information Provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook
Medical Transcriptionists
Employers prefer medical transcriptionists who have completed a postsecondary training program at a vocational school or community college. Many medical transcriptionists telecommute from home-based offices as employees or subcontractors for hospitals and transcription services or as self-employed, independent contractors. About 4 out of 10 worked in hospitals and another 3 out of 10 worked in offices of physicians.
On average, Medical Transcriptionists earn $ 14.4 per hour.
Job Opportunities for Health Care Careers are
expected to:
Increase faster than average.
Medical Transcription/Transcriptionist
Compensation, Benefits, and Job Analysis Specialists
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.
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 programincluding coursework in anatomy, medical terminology, legal issues relating to health care documentation, and English grammar and punctuationis highly recommended, but not always required. Many of these programs include supervised on-the-job experience.
Medical transcriptionists held about 98,000 jobs in 20006. About 41 percent worked in hospitals and another 29 percent worked in offices of physicians. Others worked for business support services; medical and diagnostic laboratories; outpatient care centers; and offices of physical, occupational, and speech therapists, and audiologists.
