Medical Transcription: FAQ

WHAT IS MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTION?

Medical transcription, in a nutshell, is typing reports for doctors or hospitals.  When a doctor, nurse practitioner, or other medical professional sees a patient, they make a recording of the entire visit.  This recording is made via a phone line that becomes digital form and can be played like an MP3 or sometimes on a tape from a handheld recording device.  The recording the doctor makes is called a dictation.

WHAT IS A MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTIONIST?

A medical transcriptionist is an employee of a doctor, hospital, clinic, or transcription service business/corporation who actually sits at the computer, listens to the doctor's dictations, and types reports.  Some transcriptionists work on the internet or on a transcribing machine from their home and others work at the hospital, doctor's office, or clinic.

WHAT TOOLS DOES A MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTIONIST USE?

Transcriptionists who work from home usually use a computer.  Sometimes, if the doctor's dictations aren't digital, they use a transcribing machine.  A foot pedal is used to fast forward, rewind, and stop the dictation in order for the transcriptionist to keep up with the doctor's voice.  You can set the foot pedal to automatically rewind as many seconds as you would like in order to catch up to the speed of your own typing.  Transcriptionists also use headphones or ear buds to listen to the transcription either through their computer or through the transcibing machine.  Personally, I work from home on an internet connection.  Each dictation, or doctor's report, comes through as an MP3 file, and I listen to it and transcribe it on my own computer using the foot pedal to go back and forward in the report.  I then send the finished product on to the medical transcription editors, and from there, it goes back to the hospital where it originated from.  Doctors usually have a system set up where they can see on their computer every single report that has been transcribed for each of their patients.

HOW DO I BECOME A MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTIONIST?

This is the question that I get asked the most by friends, family, and acquaintances who learn what my job is.  In order to become an MT, you have to be trained in medical terminology, including Latin prefixes and suffixes, anatomy, parts of the cells of the body, laboratory terms and values, acronyms, report types, specialty types, etc...  The training is not something a serious MT should take lightly, because the more terminology and information you can retain in your head, the faster you will type through your reports.  It takes up valuable time looking up terms in reference books or on the internet.

Most people take an MT course from a community college.  Others might decide to take an online MT course for their training.  Training usually takes anywhere from 4-12 months, depending on your particular learning style and speed.  Most MT schools provide a referral to a transcription company to work for.  Others just send you out into the world to look for a job on your own.  If you are lucky enough to get a referral, you might start working for a company that has clinics and hospitals as their clients.  I personally work for a company called MedQuist, where my main client is Syracuse University Hospital.  There are other transcriptionists that choose not to work for a transcription company, but market their skills to private practices and clinics.  Some doctors prefer to have a more one-on-one relationship with their transcriptionist.  It just all depends on how particular the doctor is and how he handles his files and dictations.

HOW MUCH DOES A TRANSCRIPTIONIST GET PAID AND HOW?

Most transcriptionists get paid per character or per line of typing.  There are other transcriptionists that might get paid hourly.  Again, it just depends on who you work for.  If you are an independent contractor working for a private practice, you could set your own pay rate.  Most of the big companies, though, set their pay rate based on a 64-character line.  That means that for each keystroke, you get paid.  The average line of words on a page is 64 characters.  I get paid $0.095 per 64-charachter line.  It may not sound like much when you look at it that way, but the faster you type and the more reports you do, the more you will get paid.  So, basically, if your pay is based on production, there is pretty much no limit to the amount you can get paid.  Experienced transcriptionists can make more than $50K per year.  If you type more than 90 words per minute, you will definitely be better off money wise.  The slower you type, if you get paid by production, the less money you will make...  obviously.

There are also different tiers of pay.  If you an unexperienced transcriptionist just starting with a company, you will, of course, make less money than a more experienced transcriptionist who has been doing it for years and has a higher production rate.  The highest tier for a transcriptionist is a Certified Medical Transcriptionist.  This involves taking the AAMT CMT exam which is a 5-hour exam for transcriptionists with 2 or more years of acute care experience.  If you receive your certification, you are considered an expert in the field of transcription and are eligible for higher pay, promotion opportunities, and teaching positions, not to mention the prestige of being able to add CMT at the end of your name.  :)

WHAT IS IT LIKE WORKING FROM HOME?

As one of my transcriptionist girlfriends said to me, "if I had a nickle for every time someone told me how LUCKY I am to be able to work from home and how EASY it must be, I'd be a millionaire by now and could quit my job!"  This is so true.  People mistakenly think that working from home is a big piece of cake.  Yes, it's true that working in your pajamas is a big perk.  Being home with your children, being able to set your own hours, and basically being more comfortable in your own home are huge pluses to working from home.  People forget, though, that as work-at-home transcriptionists, we don't have a "boss" looking over our shoulder as we work.  We only have ourselves to answer to when we don't reach our day's production requirement or if we are late to work.  It is difficult to get motivated sometimes when you don't have to get dressed and join the regular rat race to get to work.  It takes a very organized and highly motivated individual to work from home.  It's definitely not for everyone.

It's also difficult for other people in your life to understand that your work-at-home transcription job is a "real" job!  We have deadlines and production requirements just like everyone else.  We have to be at work on time and work our scheduled shift just like other regular joes in their offices.  Sometimes loved ones think that just because you work from home means that you can slack more.  NOT TRUE!  If you are looking for an "easy" job, don't become a transcriptionist.  If you aren't disciplined enough to handle your own home office and responsibilities, don't become a transcriptionist.  It takes skill and hard work, and is misunderstood by so many.  Transcriptionists work behind the scenes, so they are often left out when it comes to giving props to all the medical careers out there that are noble and important to the field of medicine.

WHAT KINDS OF REPORTS DO TRANSCRIPTIONISTS TYPE?

EVERY KIND!  We type regular doctor's visits, emergency room visits, discharge summaries, surgical procedures, operative reports, home care certifications, history and physicals, clinic notes, telephone calls, consultations, etc...  You name it, we type it.  We also type for doctors and clinicians in every field of medicine: cardiology, neurology, ophthalmology, immunology, physical therapy, ENT, gastroenterology, geriatrics, pediatrics, OB/GYN, neurosurgery, rheumatology, thoracic surgery, urology, nephrology, dermatology, dental, emergency medicine, trauma, orthopedics, pulmonology, genetics, etc...  The list goes on and on.  Some transcriptionists will decide to specialize in one or two certain fields of medicine.  For example, radiology transcriptionists will focus primarily on radiologic tests and procedures such as x-rays, fluoroscopies, CT scans, etc...  There are other transcriptionists, like me, who are considered acute care transcriptionists.  I normally type tons of emergency department reports, admissions and discharges, and trauma reports.  I also get a number of operative reports, clinic notes, and consultations.  I really don't specialize in one certain type of medicine, but get the whole gamut of specialities.  This leads to having a broad knowledge of every field of medicine.  Sometimes I think transcriptionists are required to know more than a doctor!

WHAT DO THE ACTUAL DICTATIONS SOUND LIKE?

An actual dictation is just the sound of a doctor's voice talking about that particular patient's visit.  Doctors will usually dictate the report in order, starting with the chief complaint, reason for visit, or indications for procedure.  They will then describe the visit or the procedure in the body of the report.  Some doctors speak FAST.  Some doctors speak ssssssllllloooooowwwwww.  There are many ESL (English as a second language) doctors who have a hard time speaking English and have very thick accents from their native country.  Once you become a transcriptionist and start listening to doctor dictations, you realize that doctors are "people," too.  They make mistakes.  They use incorrect grammar.  They eat, sneeze, cough, chew gum, get interrupted, etc. while they are dictating.  Some doctors dictate their reports as their day at work goes along.  Other doctors will dictate all of their reports at the end of the day or at the end of the week from home, their office, or even a cell phone!  Again, all of this depends on the doctor and their dictation style.  As a transcriptionist, you will find that there are some bad apples in with the good.  ;)

HOW DO I GET STARTED LEARNING HOW TO BE AN MT?

I personally took an internet course from home.  It was a mix between working on textbooks and taking quizzes and tests online.  The school I used to train for medical transcription was CAI Transcription, Inc.  That was more than 7 years ago, so I'm sure the prices have gone up.  I think back then I paid about $800 for the full course, including the transcriber machine.  There are also other very good courses out there on the internet...  way too many for me to list right now.  Many community colleges offer medical transcription courses as well.

WILL YOU TEACH ME HOW TO BE A MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTIONIST?

I'd actually really love to!  I'm planning on starting my own online medical transcription course in the year 2009.  I have a business plan and course of study all lined up.  I will be completing my CMT exam in March 2009.  Hopefully, if all goes right, I will have a website up and running by May 2009.  If you are interested in taking my course, please contact me.  I haven't decided on the exact reference materials or prices yet, but I'd love suggestions and help from all of the prospective transcriptionists out there.  Also, if you know someone who is interested in medical transcription, please show them this FAQ.  Anyone and everyone is welcome to contact me with their questions and comments.  I love my job, and I love teaching others about it as well.  Send me a comment, message, or email, and I will definitely get back to you.