Medical Transcriptionist Job Description

Job Duties

What are a medical transcriptionist’s job duties? Generally speaking, they turn audio recordings into official written medical records. For either transcribing and editing, you’ll need to develop the following skills:

• Listening to doctors’ audio notes
• Interpreting medical language
• Accurately typing and documenting notes in an approved format
• Examining text files generated by speech-recognition technology
• Interpreting medical language
• Identifying and correcting common tech-transcribed mistakes
• Accurately documenting notes in an approved format

Work Environment

Most medical transcriptionists and medical transcription editors work from home, setting their own hours and getting paid by what they produce. This means the atmosphere is often relaxed, the hours are flexible, and the dress code is casual—unless you’re the type of person who hangs around the house in a suit. Pro tip: Set up a quiet, distraction-free workspace where you can concentrate and crank out clean documents. (Note that some medical transcription editors do work on-site at hospitals or clinics, in a more professional, controlled atmosphere.)

Pay Scale

How much does a medical transcriptionist make? Their median annual income is $37,550, but your yearly earnings depend on how much work you produce. The more motivated you are, and the more time you can devote to transcribing, the more money you’ll make.*

Industry Demand

1.9 million healthcare jobs are added every year, and this trend is expected to continue into the next decade. Medical transcriptionists have around 9,600 new job openings every year in all different types of healthcare settings.**