Medical transcriptionist work refers to the transcription of the physician's dictation in the form of typewritten notes or reports which are later inserted in the medical file of the patient. These dictations are verbal messages related to procedures, sessions, and examinations of the patient that are recorded by mental health professionals, medical doctors, nurses, surgeons, and medical professionals. Clinics, doctor's offices, and health centers receive these notes or dictations in the form of audio recordings which are used by the medical transcriptionists in their work.
Medical transcriptionists may not necessarily belong to the medical industry, however they commonly have a flair in typing and possess keen interest in the medical field. Apart from medical reports, they also transcribe the doctor's voice recordings into typed materials that are linked with medical care and medicine such as medical correspondences and medical histories. Medical transcriptionists generally receive the dictations or information through the organization's intranet or even through the internet. These dictations are also returned in the same manner.
Medical transcriptionists make use of their experience and basic medical knowledge and accordingly correct the errors (e.g., grammatical errors) in the received recordings while transcribing them. They constantly strive to reach their targets within the given deadlines. They are required to prepare the documents in an accurate manner which are then forwarded to the medical professionals for their signature and acceptance.
Many heath care facilities hire medical transcriptionists for the documentation patient treatment and care. These documents are even used for industry compliance and insurance billing besides, the purpose of updating the patient's medical records.
Medical transcriptionist can be considered as a remunerative, profitable and gratifying 'work at home' vocation. However, it demands initiative and high level of detail oriented skills to accomplish the job.
Requirements of Medical Transcriptionist Work
The requirements of medical transcriptionist work are as follows:
Salary for Medical Transcriptionist Work
As in May 2008, medical transcriptionists received average wages of $15.41 on hourly basis. It is found that medical and diagnostic laboratories paid $17.26 whereas business support services paid $14.52 approximately as an hourly wage to the medical transcriptionists. Medical transcriptionists also enjoy incentive payments for additional work done.
Medical transcriptionists experience variations in compensation provisions as per the regulations of the organization. Some organizations pay as per the number of working hours of the medical transcriptionist while some of them pay based on the number of transcribed lines. Individual contractors and transcription services personnel often receive their payments as per the production based policy.
According to the recent survey, independent contractors always have the risk of service or contract termination, attain less benefits, and face increased expenditure counterparts as compared to the salaried or waged medical transcriptionists.
Working Conditions of Medical Transcriptionist Work
Medical transcriptionists usually work with computer systems in an office setting or at home. They utilize a technical device that plays the recordings or cassettes which contains the physicians' dictations and the patient's heath care information.
They generally keep their hands free by controlling the device with the help of a foot pedal for typing purpose and make use of headphones to listen to the recordings. The environment in the office is silent at all times so as to keep away any disturbances and ensure complete concentration during work. This also helps to avoid making any typing errors in the documents.
Medical transcriptionists typically have less communication with other employees due to the busy and high attention demanding nature of work.
Medical transcriptionist work can be in good prospect in the medical industry due to the increasing requirement for electronic documentation which is considered as an easy means of sharing medical information amongst regulators, providers, and third party paying groups.