Medical transcriptionists are a crucial part of the healthcare system because they provide the accurate patient records needed to ensure quality patient care. These records contain information on what you’re being treated for, any medications you may be taking, what tests have been performed, and more.
Every time you visit the doctor, your healthcare provider has to add information to your patient record. They do this by dictating their notes. These dictated notes are then given to a medical transcriptionist (who may work on site, but who most often works for a large medical transcription company) who types up the medical report from the dictated notes. This typed report gets added to your patient medical record so that next time you’re at the doctor’s, they’ll know what you’re being treated for.
Accurate patient medical records are crucial to quality healthcare, and in order to provide accurate records medical transcriptionists have to be familiar with medical terminology, anatomy, and more. They also have to be able to understand a variety of accents (a growing number of healthcare workers speak English as their second language), provide accurate reports regardless of unclear dictation, and type quickly (check your skills with our typing test!). These skills take training, and if you’re considering a medical transcription job, make sure you choose the best training.
While some transcription is performed on site for hospitals or doctors’ offices, most medical transcription is contracted out to specialty companies (called MTSOs, or medical transcription service organizations). Most MTSOs hire their medical transcriptionists to work remotely, providing lots of opportunities to work from home.