Medical Transcriptionists: Job Description
Transcribe medical reports recorded by physicians and other healthcare practitioners using various electronic devices, covering office visits, emergency room visits, diagnostic imaging studies, operations, chart reviews, and final summaries. Transcribe dictated reports and translate abbreviations into fully understandable form. Edit as necessary and return reports in either printed or electronic form for review and signature, or correction.
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What Tasks Do Medical Transcriptionists Take On?
The day-to-day responsibilities of medical transcriptionists span:
- Return dictated reports in printed or electronic form for physician's review, signature, and corrections and for inclusion in patients' medical records.
- Produce medical reports, correspondence, records, patient-care information, statistics, medical research, and administrative material.
- Identify mistakes in reports and check with doctors to obtain the correct information.
- Review and edit transcribed reports or dictated material for spelling, grammar, clarity, consistency, and proper medical terminology.
- Transcribe dictation for a variety of medical reports, such as patient histories, physical examinations, emergency room visits, operations, chart reviews, consultation, or discharge summaries.
- Distinguish between homonyms and recognize inconsistencies and mistakes in medical terms, referring to dictionaries, drug references, and other sources on anatomy, physiology, and medicine.
- Set up and maintain medical files and databases, including records such as x-ray, lab, and procedure reports, medical histories, diagnostic workups, admission and discharge summaries, and clinical resumes.
- Translate medical jargon and abbreviations into their expanded forms to ensure the accuracy of patient and health care facility records.
Key Skills and Knowledge
Effective medical transcriptionists combine a mix of skills and domain knowledge.
Most Important Skills
The abilities that matter most in this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:
Top Knowledge Areas
Other Medical Transcriptionists Job Titles
This career also goes by job titles like:
- Certified Medical Transcriptionist
- Clinical Medical Transcriptionist
- Clinical Scribe
- Data Transcriber
- Documentation Specialist
- Emergency Medical Scribe
- Medical Assistant Scribe (MA Scribe)
- Medical Language Professional
Employment and Demand
There are about 993,789 medical transcriptionists working in the United States today. This occupation is expected to grow by +0.1% over the projection horizon.
Medical Transcriptionists Pay
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Annual median | $47,251 |
| Hourly median | $22.72 |
| 10th percentile | $30,019 |
| 25th percentile | $38,635 |
| 75th percentile | $55,867 |
| 90th percentile | $64,483 |
Pay can vary substantially based on experience, location, and industry.
Medical Transcriptionists Salary by State
| State | Annual median salary |
|---|---|
| Minnesota | $52,190 |
| Wyoming | $50,510 |
| Wisconsin | $48,820 |
| Maine | $48,520 |
| Connecticut | $46,800 |
| Hawaii | $45,760 |
| South Dakota | $45,580 |
| North Dakota | $44,810 |
| Maryland | $44,760 |
| Mississippi | $43,950 |
| Montana | $43,560 |
| New Jersey | $43,280 |
| Iowa | $43,230 |
| New Hampshire | $43,170 |
| New York | $42,700 |
| Nebraska | $41,540 |
| Tennessee | $40,570 |
| Nevada | $40,000 |
| Oregon | $39,630 |
| California | $39,090 |
| Utah | $38,900 |
| Florida | $38,430 |
| Colorado | $38,340 |
| Indiana | $38,240 |
| Massachusetts | $37,850 |
| Kentucky | $37,600 |
| Washington | $37,120 |
| Virginia | $37,120 |
| District of Columbia | $37,070 |
| Louisiana | $36,920 |
| Delaware | $36,910 |
| Illinois | $36,610 |
| Arizona | $36,360 |
| Michigan | $36,230 |
| Pennsylvania | $36,190 |
| Idaho | $36,000 |
| West Virginia | $35,770 |
| Kansas | $35,270 |
| New Mexico | $34,730 |
| Alaska | $34,000 |
| Rhode Island | $33,510 |
| Alabama | $32,590 |
| Arkansas | $31,710 |
| South Carolina | $31,480 |
| Missouri | $30,060 |
| Ohio | $29,540 |
| Texas | $29,080 |
| Oklahoma | $28,920 |
| Puerto Rico | $28,030 |
| Georgia | $27,750 |
| North Carolina | $27,390 |
Pay by U.S. Region
Compensation for medical transcriptionists differ across the country. These regions lead on median pay:
| Region | Median annual wage | Share of U.S. jobs | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| New England | $42,377 | 3.2% | 0.80 |
| Middle Atlantic | $41,424 | 17.3% | 1.27 |
| Plains States | $39,540 | 6.3% | 1.21 |
| Far Western US | $38,884 | 17.1% | 1.10 |
| Rocky Mountains | $38,358 | 3.5% | 1.02 |
| Great Lakes | $36,885 | 13.3% | 0.94 |
| Southeast | $34,018 | 24.8% | 1.09 |
| Southwest | $30,312 | 14.3% | 1.13 |
Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Medical Transcriptionists
| Metro area | State | Median annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | CA | $57,970 | 150 |
| Portland-South Portland, ME | ME | $56,250 | 60 |
| Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT | CT | $54,290 | 130 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | MN | $53,050 | 200 |
| Rapid City, SD | SD | $52,310 | 60 |
| St. Cloud, MN | MN | $52,190 | 40 |
| Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX | TX | $51,880 | 70 |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | MD | $51,380 | 100 |
Top Industries Employing Medical Transcriptionists
Most medical transcriptionists work in these industries:
| Industry | Employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 25,110 | $43,190 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | 15,990 | $30,840 |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 850 | $43,070 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 620 | $47,230 |
| Educational Services | 240 | $43,320 |
| Finance and Insurance | 80 | $40,470 |
Below are examples of industries where medical transcriptionists work:
Tech Stack
- Medical software: eClinicalWorks EHR software (hot technology)
- Data base user interface and query software: Microsoft Access (hot technology)
- Web platform development software: Microsoft ASP.NET (hot technology)
- Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel (hot technology)
- Office suite software: Microsoft Office software (hot technology)
- Electronic mail software: Microsoft Outlook (hot technology)
- Presentation software: Microsoft PowerPoint (hot technology)
- Operating system software: Microsoft Windows (hot technology)
- Word processing software: Microsoft Word (hot technology)
Work Environment
The work environment for medical transcriptionists reflects the following characteristics:
- Indoors, Environmentally Controlled
- Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams
- Importance of Being Exact or Accurate
- Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team
- Importance of Repeating Same Tasks
How to Become Medical Transcriptionists
Typical medical transcriptionists positions require some college, no degree as the typical entry-level education. This career aligns with Medium Preparation Needed (Job Zone 3), indicating the level of preparation typically expected.
Other Careers to Consider
Similar Occupations
- Court Reporters and Simultaneous Captioners (Primary-Long)
- Cardiologists (Supplemental)
- Emergency Medicine Physicians (Supplemental)
- Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric (Supplemental)
- Pediatric Surgeons (Supplemental)
- Cardiovascular Technologists and Technicians (Supplemental)
- Diagnostic Medical Sonographers (Supplemental)
- Radiologic Technologists and Technicians (Supplemental)
Degree Programs
Students preparing for medical transcriptionists often complete programs in:
Health Professions and Related Programs
1 programs across 1 majors
References
Statistics shown above are sourced from the following authoritative sources:
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
- BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
- O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.
SOC code: 31-9094.00 (Medical Transcriptionists).
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