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Medical Transcriptionist Job Description

The basic medical transcriptionist job description involves transcribing medical documents based on physician recordings. These documents then go on to become official hospital medical records.

However, there are different types of medical transcriptionist, so the medical transcriptionist job description will vary from company to company. Here is a quick overview of a medical transcription’s typical job duties.

What Do Medical Transcriptionists Do?

Currently there are over 95,000 medical transcriptionists working in the US, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. While most of them perform similar tasks, a medical transcriptionist job description depends on several factors, including the work environment.

Some medical transcriptionists work in hospitals or physicians’ offices. Others work for independent medical transcription companies. These companies are hired by hospitals to produce transcriptions of their medical recordings. In addition, many medical transcriptionists are self employed. They usually perform medical transcription from a home office, using their personal computer and internet connection to complete their jobs.

With some variations depending on work environment, here are the basic job duties included in the medical transcriptionist job description:

  • Receiving Prerecorded Audio Notes from Physician Procedures
  • Reviewing Audio Recordings for Content
  • Transcribing Recordings to Type-Written Format using Keyboard, Computer, and Audio Control Equipment
  • Submitting Transcribed Documents for Inclusion in Official Hospital Records
  • Reviewing Transcribed Documents for Accuracy
  • Pursuing Continuing Education as Needed

The medical transcriptionist job description you will fill may depend on who you work for, as each employer has different needs.

Recent Changes to the Medical Transcriptionist Job Description

The job description of a medical transcriptionist has evolved due to advances in technology. Today, speech recognition software is available that picks up the spoken voice and automatically transcribes it into document form. Physicians can train the software to pick up their specific speech patterns, and over time it more accurately adapts itself to specific people. This evolution has changed the typical job duties for some medical transcriptions from manual transcription to post-transcription document review and correction. Thus, even with advances in technology and new ways to record speech, medical transcriptionists are still the most reliable way to transcribe patient documents.

Medical Transcriptionist Job Training Requirements

Employers who hire medical transcriptionists tend to look for individuals who have graduated from a formal medical transcription training program and who have achieved medical transcription certification from a noted certification agency. Most medical transcription schools offer preparation courses for certification, and all provide career-oriented training in line with the medical transcriptionist’s job description.

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