Industry

Based on the anticipated grow and job demand, the overall outlook for the medical transcription industry is extremely positive. In fact, according to U.S. Department of Labor statistics:

Medical transcription job opportunities will be good.
Employers prefer medical transcriptionists who have completed a postsecondary training program at a vocational school or community college.
Many medical transcriptionists telecommute from home-based offices as employees or subcontractors for hospitals and transcription services or as self-employed, independent contractors.
About 4 out of 10 worked in hospitals and another 3 out of 10 worked in offices of physicians.

Now and in the future ... medical transcriptionists use their talents in a variety of healthcare settings, including doctors' offices, public and private hospitals, teaching hospitals, medical schools, medical transcription businesses, clinics, laboratories, pathology and radiology departments, insurance companies, medical libraries, government medical facilities, rehabilitation centers, legal offices, research centers, veterinary medical facilities, and associations representing the healthcare industry.

Medical transcriptionists work with physicians and surgeons in multiple specialties. They work with pharmacists, therapists, technicians, nurses, dietitians, social workers, psychologists, and other medical personnel. All of these healthcare providers rely on information that is received, documented, and disseminated by the medical transcriptionist.

Qualified medical transcriptionists who wish to expand their professional responsibilities may become quality assurance specialists, editors, supervisors, managers, department heads, or owners of medical transcription businesses.

Experienced medical transcriptionists may become teachers, working in schools and colleges to educate future medical transcription professionals.

As demands for qualified professionals increase, medical transcriptionists need to be well versed in:

Medical language, including: Greek and Latin suffixes, prefixes, and roots
Biological science, including anatomy and physiology of all body systems, and various disease processes
Medical science
Medical and surgical procedures, including thousands of instruments, supplies, appliances, and prosthetic devices
Pharmacology
Laboratory values, correlating laboratory tests results with a patient's symptoms and treatment
Diagnostic imaging procedures, including x-ray, ultrasound, MRI, CT, PET, and SPECT scans
Use of medical reference materials and research techniques

All healthcare providers rely to some extent on the skills of the medical transcriptionist to provide written documentation of health care. The reports produced by medical transcriptionists are the repository of information concerning medical practice. These reports function as legal documentation and fulfill requirements for insurance reimbursement. They also serve as reference for scientific research.

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