Medical transcription the industry that renders doctors dictated reports, procedures and notes into an electronic or paper format in order to create files representing the treatment history of patients. Usually health practitioners dictate what they have done after performing procedures on patients. Nature of the work A medical transcriptionist listens to recordings made by doctors and other health care professionals and transcribes them into reports, letters and other administrative material. They usually listen to recordings through headphones, using both hands to type while pausing the recording as necessary with a foot pedal. The recordings will cover a variety of medical areas, including patient histories,

exam reports, consultations, autopsies and discharges. After the information is transcribed, the documents are sent back to the physician or other health professional who dictated them for review, signature and corrections. The transcribed documents are then part of the patient’s permanent record. A medical transcriptionist must know medical terminology relating to anatomy and physiology, diagnostic procedures, pharmacology and treatment assessments.

Earnings: The compensation methods for medical transcriptionists vary depending on the company. Some are paid based on the number of hours they work or on the number of lines they transcribe, while others receive a base pay per hour with incentives for extra production. Employees of transcription services, as well as independent contractors, usually receive production-based pay. Independent contractors earn more than the employed transcriptionists.