Medical Transcription Schools and Training Programs

Medical Transcriptionists - Career Information

Medical Transcriptionists are individuals who are responsible for transcribing dictated recordings of medical reports onto computer documents, editing as needed for clarity, proper medical terminology, and grammatical accuracy. The reports typically describe patient conditions and medical procedures and are usually dictated by physicians and other health care professionals onto tape or digital voice files. The computer documents produced by the transcriptionist ultimately become official correspondence such as medical reports, diagnostic imaging studies, operative reports, discharge summaries, autopsy reports, progress notes, and referral letters. The documents are usually relayed back to the physicians or other health care professionals who dictated them. They are then reviewed, marked for correction if necessary, approved, and ultimately signed before becoming part of a patient's permanent file.

Medical transcriptionists need to be able to understand medical lingo and must be able to translate abbreviated or shortened terms into their full form. Ideally, they should also have a good understanding of diagnostic procedures and have knowledge in physiology, anatomy, and pharmacology. The job requires compliance with medical record formatting requirements and also with ethical requirements to ensure patient confidentiality.

Responsibilities

After a patient is examined by a doctor, the doctor uses a voice-recording device to record information about the patient encounter. This device could be a hand-held cassette recorder, a telephone wired into a central server, or some other medium. The report is then accessed by a medical transcriptionist, who listens to the recording on a headset, using a foot pedal to pause the recording when necessary, and types the text into a word processor or computer. In doing so, the transcriptionist makes frequent use of standard medical reference materials in both printed and electronic form to access medical terms, definitions, and names of medications. A large part of a transcriptionist's job is to look up the correct spelling of complex medical terms and medications and to flag obvious dosage or dictation errors. Ever-changing advances in equipment, medical terms, and new medications require the medical transcriptionist to be creative and resourceful.

The text created by the transcriptionist ultimately becomes a formal medical record, which is also considered a legal document. Before this happens, the doctor reviews the document for accuracy, signs it, and returns it to the transcriptionist for filing. At this point, the report eventually becomes a part of the patient's permanent file. The doctor will call for and rely upon the report during the patient's next visit. For this reason, it is very important to have a properly formatted, edited, and reviewed medical transcription document.

Medical transcriptionists who work in clinics or doctor's offices may also need to perform standard office duties such as interfacing with patients, scheduling appointments, and handling the phone and mail. Transcriptionists are also called upon to sometimes perform word-for-word transcriptions of speeches, conversations, meetings, and legal proceedings.

Advanced Technology in Medical Transcription

An increasingly popular method of transcription uses speech recognition technology (SRT), in which the dictated voice patterns are electronically translated into text. Transcriptionists subsequently format this text, edit it for mistakes, and check for consistency and proper medical terminology. Although potentially valuable as a time-saving tool, speech recognition technology is still in the infancy stage, as users must first train the software to recognize and learn their spoken words and phrases. The quality of speech recognition can range from excellent to poor, depending on many factors. Poor speech habits can complicate the process, sometimes to the extent where the time spent by the transcriptionist cancels out the benefits. Regardless of whether this technology is used or not, the role of the transcriptionist remains an important and vital one.

Job Characteristics

Medical transcriptionists usually work in some type of health care setting although some of them work at home as employees of transcription businesses. Some are also self-employed and work independently as contractors. Typical workplaces for transcriptionists include doctor's offices, hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, laboratories, medical libraries, and health care agencies. Most transcriptionists enjoy comfortable surroundings although the occupation may entail some risks from sitting in the same place and position for extended periods of time. Transcriptionists can sometimes suffer from problems with backs, necks, wrists, and eyes as a result of strain. They are also susceptible to carpal tunnel syndrome due to a great deal of repetitive motion and possibly to stress owing to the ongoing demands for accuracy and productivity.

Most medical transcriptionists work a standard 40-hour week. However, those who are self-employed are typically on constant call and often work irregular hours which may include evenings and/or weekends. Transcriptionists who work in doctor's offices often have corollary office duties such as scheduling appointments, answering the telephone, handling the mail, and receiving patients.

Individuals wishing to become medical transcriptionists should possess the following skills and abilities:

• strong writing ability
• computer skills
• an understanding of medical terminology
• good knowledge of English grammar
• punctuation skills
• good reading comprehension
• proficiency with word processing software
• good listening skills
• ability to follow verbal and written instructions
• record maintenance skills
• normal (or above-normal) hearing acuity

Employment Outlook

According to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics (USDL BLS), employment of medical transcriptionists is projected to grow 14 percent through the year 2016, faster than the average for all occupations. A continuing need for electronic documentation which can be easily shared among providers, third-party payers, consumers, regulators, and health information systems is expected to boost demand for transcription services. A growing and aging population which receives proportionately greater numbers of medical treatments requiring documentation will add to this demand.

A distinctive trend in outsourcing transcription work overseas is not expected to significantly reduce the need for well-trained medical transcriptionists domestically. The ability to transmit confidential health information securely via the Internet has resulted in an influx of transcription work being exported to countries such as India, Pakistan, and the Philippines; however, reports transcribed overseas usually require editing for accuracy by domestic medical transcriptionists in order to meet U.S. quality standards. Consequently, the demand for well-trained domestic transcriptionists is expected to remain strong.

Job opportunities for transcriptionists are expected to grow most rapidly in physicians' offices, especially in large group practices. Job growth is not expected to be quite so dramatic in hospitals, although hospitals will continue to employ a large percentage of medical transcriptionists. In general, transcriptionists who are certified can expect to have the highest chances of employment in the field.

Medical Transcriptionist Schools, Certification, and Licensing

In order to become a medical transcriptionist, an individual should possess at least a high school diploma. Although not always required for those with ample experience in other medical fields, additional postsecondary education in the form of a certificate, diploma or associate degree from a medical transcription training program should be pursued by those aspiring to medical transcriptionist positions. Many relevant programs are available today through vocational schools, community colleges, and distance-learning avenues. The programs consist of a combination of general and specialized coursework along with medical transcription skills and a period of supervised on-the-job experience. Coursework typically includes material related to medical terminology, human anatomy, legal ramifications of health care documentation, and English grammar.

Medical transcription programs do not need to be formally accredited in order to be used as a valid educational credential. However, those wishing to obtain advanced certifications in the field may want to consider pursuing an accredited program. The Approval Committee for Certificate Programs (AACP), established jointly by the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI) and the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), offers a voluntary accreditation which has been granted to many medical transcription programs.

Certification, while not mandatory for workers in this field, can be a valuable credential in terms of ensuring competence and demonstrating proficiency. The Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI) awards two certifications: Registered Medical Transcriptionist (RMT) and Certified Medical Transcriptionist (CMT). The RMT credential is awarded to individuals with the requisite education after they have successfully passed a medical transcription exam. The CMT designation, which also requires educational credentials and a passing score on a certification exam, includes an additional requirement for at least two years experience in the field. RMTs and CMTs must renew their certifications every three years and must accrue continuing education credits within each three-year period in order to do so.

The Medical Transcription Industry Association (MTIA), in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Labor, sponsors a Registered Apprenticeship Program for medical transcriptionists. In order to be eligible for this program, a candidate needs to have graduated from an ACCP approved program and also to have earned the RMT credential. The program offers a structured form of on-the-job learning and related technical instruction.

Resources

• Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI)
• MTDaily.com
• Medical Transcription Industry Association (MTIA)
• Health Professions Institute (HPI)
• American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA)
• HealthLinks
• MedTrans Email Group

Major Employers

Approximately 40% of all medical transcriptionists work in hospitals. About 30% work in offices of physicians. The remaining 30% are either self-employed, work for business support services, or work in other types of health care settings such as medical and diagnostic laboratories, nursing homes, outpatient care centers, clinics, medical libraries, and health care agencies.

Schools for Medical Transcriptionists are listed in the column to the left.

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