Different people will tell you different things about the medical transcription profession. You may often come across contradicting information, making a decision become difficult with too many opinions. Are you becoming increasingly unsure about medical transcription? Let me present to you some facts that will make it easier for you to make up your mind.

The medical transcription profession is a specialized one. The profession provides an easy entry to aspirants in the sense that one doesn’t need to possess a formal qualification or have an experience to become a medical transcriptionist. However, one needs a certain aptitude to join the profession.

One needs to undergo an in-depth training before starting work. Various short-term and long-term medical transcription courses are available today. However, you should make sure that the course you join meets certain criteria.

Learning never stops for the medical transcriptionist. The medical transcriptionist needs to keep updating his/her medical knowledge regularly. Often, this requirement keeps many away from the field. Also, you are required to work on your own, without any supervision.

You must be equipped to handle deadlines and high quality goals in order to make it in the profession. Meeting deadlines every day along with meeting high quality goals is definitely a daunting task. The profession expects an overall accuracy of 98 percent and 100 percent accuracy with respect to critical errors.

Medical records are critical for the smooth functioning of the healthcare and insurance industries; therefore, the profession is an important one. This is the reason it proved to be recession proof.

Even after learning about the eligibility requirements, benefits, and challenges about the medical transcription profession, people find certain questions bothering them. Do you too have a question about the medical transcription career that is bothering you? In today’s post, we bring to you answers to some of the questions you have in your mind.

The role of typing speed in medical transcription career

Many medical transcription aspirants ask me how important typing is for a career in medical transcription. Well, typing is important for the profession and an above average speed helps. However, it is definitely not one of the primary skills of a medical transcriptionist. The transcriptionist’s job is to decipher the voice recordings and turn them into relevant medical records. This requires sound medical knowledge and the skill to analyze and interpret information.

The future of medical transcription

The medical transcription industry is one of the rarest to have emerged unscathed from the recent recession. The US Department of Labor projects that the number of medical transcription opportunities will grow at a rate of 14 percent to 2016 from what it was in 2006. This rate is more than the average rate of growth of other occupations. Thus, there are several opportunities for the interested with a promise that the opportunities will keep increasing.

The money in the medical transcription profession

A medical transcriptionist’s income depends on his/her experience in the field and his/her proficiency. According to the US Department of Labor, the mean hourly wage of a medical transcriptionist is $15.84 and the mean annual wage is $32,960.

The importance of the medical transcription training

People often ask me if the medical transcription training is mandatory. Well, it is definitely mandatory for those who have absolutely no medical knowledge. The training equips one with medical knowledge and transcription skills. Thus, anyone with the right aptitude can become a medical transcriptionist provided he/she undergoes proper training in medical transcription.

If you have more questions and concerns, just ask us.

It is obvious to have concerns before joining a new profession. If you have questions about medical transcription, get them answered to your satisfaction before you even consider becoming a medical transcriptionist.

Someone the other day asked me if a good typing speed was an eligibility requirement for medical transcription. Well, the medical transcription profession has absolutely no eligibility conditions. As per your typing speed is concerned, it is good to have an above-average speed to help with your productivity. However, typing is not a primary skill needed to be a medical transcriptionist. The transcriptionist’s job is to decipher the voice recordings and turn them into relevant medical records. This requires sound medical knowledge and the skill to analyze and interpret information.

Is medical transcription so easy that anyone can do it? If not, why doesn’t it have any prerequisites? The truth is that the profession is a specialized one and definitely not everyone’s cup of tea. It is true that entry into the medical transcription profession is easy. One does not need a formal qualification or an experience to join the profession. However, the profession requires a certain aptitude that only a few possess. A person without the right aptitude cannot handle the profession.

If you are concerned about the future of medical transcription and if there are opportunities for you, let me tell you that the future of this industry is probably brighter than many. Just look at what happened to industries the world over during this recession. The medical transcription industry, however, emerged unscathed from it. The US Department of Labor projects that the number of medical transcription opportunities will grow at a rate of 14 percent to 2016 from what it was in 2006. This rate is more than the average rate of growth of other occupations. So, you get an idea of what the future is like.

Hope this post helps you get an idea of the medical transcription profession. Let us know if you have more questions.

Medical transcription is a profession everybody has an opinion on. This leads to contradicting views. A medical transcription aspirant may find herself lost with so much information around, and some of the information is nothing but misinformation. In today’s post, we will respond to and address a few questions and concerns respectively.

I have a good typing speed. Can I become a medical transcriptionist?
You can become a medical transcriptionist if you have the right aptitude. An above-average typing speed will suffice. Moreover, your typing speed alone cannot make you a good medical transcriptionist. Typing is definitely not one of the primary skills of a medical transcriptionist. However, the transcriptionist’s job is to decipher the voice recordings and turn them into relevant medical records. This requires sound medical knowledge and the skill to analyze and interpret information.

Do I need to undergo the medical transcription training?
Anyone with the right aptitude can become a medical transcriptionist provided he/she undergoes proper training in medical transcription. The training equips one with medical knowledge and transcription skills.

How much money can I make as a medical transcriptionist?
According to the US Department of Labor, the mean hourly wage of a medical transcriptionist is $15.84 and the mean annual wage is $32,960. Your income depends on your proficiency and experience in the field.

What is the future of the medical transcription industry?
The medical transcription industry is one of the rarest to have emerged unscathed from the recent recession. The US Department of Labor projects that the number of medical transcription opportunities will grow at a rate of 14 percent to 2016 from what it was in 2006. This rate is more than the average rate of growth of other occupations. With the increasing and aging population, the industry is likely to see a tremendous growth in opportunities.

Hope this post helps address your concerns. Write in to you if you have more questions about medical transcription.

The medical transcription profession has become very popular in recent years, crossing boundaries and becoming popular as an outsourced job. The popularity of the profession has made it difficult for people not to have an opinion on it. And more often than not, the opinions are uninformed and biased. Let’s look at how a lot of people perceive medical transcription.

A common perception is that any Tom, Dick or Harry can become a medical transcriptionist. Well, it is true that there aren’t any educational or experiential prerequisites for the profession, but not everyone can become a medical transcriptionist. One requires a certain aptitude in order to enter the industry.

People also believe that a typist or a secretary can do the transcriptionist’s job. The truth is that an individual undergoes rigorous training and extensive practice in order to join the profession. No typist or secretary can provide the in-depth medical knowledge and analytical reasoning that a transcriptionist brings to work.

There are questions about the profession’s future too. If the projections of the US Department of Labor are anything to go by, the rate of growth of medical transcription opportunities is more than the average growth rate of all other occupations. The increasing and aging population increases the demand for medical records. This triggers the need for medical transcriptionists.

Many have been concerned that the speech-recognition software will take over the medical transcriptionist’s job. However, it has been established that the results of the software are not accurate. Moreover, doctors are required to spend a lot of time with the software, training and using it. This requirement rejects any scope of the software replacing the transcriptionist’s job. Instead, it is being used to aid his/her work.

The medical transcription profession boomed like anything in the last couple of decades. And when it emerged unscathed from the clutches of the recent recession, it became a big deal. But not everyone is sure about the profession. Do you have any concerns? This post responds to some of the common concerns.

Concern: The state of medical transcription opportunities in the future
According to the US Department of Labor, the rate of growth of medical transcription opportunities is more than the average growth rate of all other occupations. The increasing and aging population increases the demand for medical records, which in turn increases the work for medical transcriptionists. If you are planning to join this profession, have no fear – you will get enough work.

Concern: The easy entry into the medical transcription profession
It is true that entry into the medical transcription profession is easy. One does not need a formal qualification or an experience to join the profession. However, not anyone can become a transcriptionist. The profession requires a certain aptitude that only a few possess. A person without the right aptitude cannot handle the profession.

Concern: The threat of the speech-recognition software
The speech-recognition software is not equipped to handle the medical transcriptionist’s work. Doctors are required to spend a lot of time with the software, training and using it. The results delivered by the software are far from being accurate. A transcriptionist is needed to bring sense to the information transcribed by the software. The software is not intelligent enough to replace the transcriptionist. In fact, transcriptionists have started using the software as an aid.

Write to us if you have more concerns.

Inadequate information about something often makes people biased opinions about it. The critics of the medical transcription profession, for example, treat it as an easy-money-from-home job and rule out any prospects in future. This makes the medical transcription-aspirant worried. Let’s look at what his/her apprehensions are.

• Anybody’s game: Critics think that anyone can become a medical transcriptionist. While it is true that one does not need a formal qualification or an experience to join the profession, not everyone can become a medical transcriptionist. The profession requires a certain aptitude that only a few posses. A person without the right aptitude cannot handle the profession.
• No future opportunities: Critics will tell you that there aren’t enough medical transcription opportunities. If the report of the US Department of Labor is anything to go by, the rate of growth of medical transcription opportunities is more than the average growth rate of all other occupations. The demand for medical transcription will remain as long as the world needs medical records. And the increasing and aging population has shown us that the demand is on the rise.
• Glorified typing job: Many think that the medical transcriptionist’s job can be done by a secretary or a typist. An individual undergoes rigorous training and extensive practice in order to join the profession. No typist or secretary can provide the in-depth medical knowledge and analytical reasoning that a transcriptionist brings to work.
• Technology is here: The speech-recognition software has been perceived as a threat to the medical transcriptionist’s job. The truth is that the software has failed to establish itself as a worthy substitute for the medical transcriptionist. Doctors are required to spend a lot of time with the software, training and using it. The results delivered by the software are far from being accurate. A transcriptionist is needed to bring sense to the information transcribed by the software. Thus, instead of being a threat, the software has come to become the transcriptionist’s friend.

My advice to aspirants: understand the pros and cons of the profession, talk to a few medical transcriptionists, gauze your own potential, and then decide if you and the profession suit each other.

Medical transcription-aspirants often find themselves wondering if the industry is right for them. They do not find anyone to answer their questions and address their concerns about the profession. In today’s post, we’ll try to answer some of the frequently-asked questions concerning medical transcription as a profession.

• Question: How much will I earn as a medical transcriptionist?
  Response: Your earnings in the profession depend completely on your experience in the field and your proficiency. The US Department of Labor states that the mean hourly wage of a medical transcriptionist is $15.84 and the mean annual wage is $32,960.
• Question: Are there enough medical transcription jobs?
  Response: The medical transcription profession is one of the few that has come out unaffected from the recession affecting the global economy. The US Department of Labor projects that the number of opportunities in the field will grow at a rate of 14 percent to 2016 from what it was in 2006. This rate is more than the average rate of growth of other occupations. With an ever-increasing and aging population, the demand for medical records continues to increase. Thus, the medical transcriptionist will see more opportunities in the future.
• Question: Can I become a medical transcriptionist without training?
  Response: No. A medical transcriptionist needs to possess a sound medical knowledge to be able to do his/her job. Anyone with the right aptitude can join the profession provided he/she undergoes a proper training in medical transcription.
• Question: Can the speech-recognition software replace medical transcriptionists?
  Response: No. The software requires doctors to spend a considerable amount of time in training and using it, beating the whole purpose of saving their valuable time.  Moreover, the results delivered by the software are not accurate, requiring human intervention to edit them.

We hope we could answer some of your questions. If you have more questions, ask the medical transcription experts.