Medical Transcription Career

You’ve probably noticed the medical charts in yellow manila folders lining the walls of your doctor’s office. These charts contain the medical histories of every patient who has received care in that medical facility. Doctors use this information to inform their diagnoses and treatment decisions. Working closely with doctors and nurses, medical transcriptionists make sure patient information is accurate and organized.
Medical transcriptionists play a critical role in health care organizations. In order to insure patients are properly cared for, both during individual visits and as part of long-term care programs, exhaustive records must be kept. These records detail each procedure or treatment the patient has received, X-rays, doctor diagnoses and recommendations, and prior patient medical history. This archived information allows doctors to make sound care decisions on behalf of the patient.
Rather than write all this information down, doctors prefer to dictate patient records using sound recorders, or Dictaphones. It is the medical transcriptionist’s job to transfer the doctor’s oral documents into written ones, which can be filed along with the patient’s prior medical records.
The Importance of Medical Transcriptionists
The medical transcriptionist’s job goes well beyond the performance of basic clerical duties. Transcriptionists are trained in basic medical terminology, treatment procedures, anatomy, and pharmacology. In short, a transcriptionist must develop a working understanding of the language of medical treatments and be able to translate that information into grammatically correct, organized documents.
Because medical records are so vital to the proper diagnosis and treatment of patients, hospitals, clinics, and private practice organizations prefer to hire professionals who have undergone specialized training in transcription. Associate degrees in medical transcription can be completed in two years and basic transcription degree programs can be completed in a year. Many universities also offer online transcription courses and certification programs. Although laws do not require it, graduates of medical transcription programs may want to attain certification from the American Association of Medical Transcription to increase their chances of landing a lucrative position.