Medical Transcription

Medical transcription can be described as the process where one transfers the medical records of patients from the audio format to the written/typed format. This would include the patient's medical history, various tests taken, lab reports, diagnosis, consultations, hospital reports, discharge summary etc. The recorded details are used for future references, legal purposes or archives. Medical transcription has become a vital part of the current health care industry.

Medical transcription arose from the need of recording the medical records of a patient for insurance purposes, as US healthcare is largely dependant on insurance. A person who does medical transcription is called medical transcriptionists, medical language specialists or medical transcriber. In addition to transcribing a medical transcriptionist might be required to format or proofread the document. With enough experience an individual can grow to become a supervisor, editor, trainer or proofreader. Along with experience a person is eligible for various certifications at different levels.

Normally medical transcriptionists are nurses, medical students, interns or lab technicians. Graduates or postgraduates may also be considered with adequate training. People from the sciences background are preferred over others. The basic requirements for a medical transcriptionists would good listening and language skills, good command over the english language, a fair knowledge of the medical terminologies and its functioning. Quality of work in terms of accuracy, speed is essential. One can also work as a faculty in centers where medical transcription is being taught.

Opportunities are vast for those with an experience of around one and half year or more. However freshers are also considered after a written test and are provided with specific training. Medical transcriptionists work was restricted primarily to hospitals or clinics. With medical transcription services being outsourced there is now a lot employment in companies across the country. In addition to this there is a demand for home-based transcriptionists with prior experience in medical transcription. One can work as a freelancer or work from home for an organization.

The US health care industry is estimated to be the second largest industry and the material outsourced is increasing by the day. Hence medical transcription is one of the fastest growing fields and is expected to provide huge opportunities in India in the coming years. This is largely due to the and increased awareness of the importance and privatization of healthcare and the huge base of English proficient people.

• Advantages:

o The primary advantage of medical transcription is that it does not require any major educational qualification. A person can start working with a training provided he/she clears the tests.

o Another benefit is the pay which is greater than the normal data entry transcription, or telecalling jobs.

o Individuals with a science background into medical transcription benefit greatly from the knowledge of various terms and better understanding of their stream.

o As a career medical transcription is interesting and challenging