Medical Transcriptionists
Transcribe medical reports recorded by physicians and other healthcare practitioners using various electronic devices, covering office visits, emergency room visits, diagnostic imaging studies, operations, chart reviews, and final summaries. Transcribe dictated reports and translate abbreviations into fully understandable form. Edit as necessary and return reports in either printed or electronic form for review and signature, or correction.
Also known as: Certified Medical Transcriptionist, Clinical Medical Transcriptionist, Clinical Scribe, Data Transcriber, Documentation Specialist, Emergency Medical Scribe, Medical Assistant Scribe (MA Scribe), Medical Language Professional, ...
Annual Salary
Median annual wage (May 2024)
Job Outlook
Projected growth, 2024–2034 (Declining)
What You'd Do
- Transcribe dictation for a variety of medical reports, such as patient histories, physical examinations, emergency room visits, operations, chart reviews, consultation, or discharge summaries.
- Review and edit transcribed reports or dictated material for spelling, grammar, clarity, consistency, and proper medical terminology.
- Distinguish between homonyms and recognize inconsistencies and mistakes in medical terms, referring to dictionaries, drug references, and other sources on anatomy, physiology, and medicine.
- Return dictated reports in printed or electronic form for physician's review, signature, and corrections and for inclusion in patients' medical records.
- Translate medical jargon and abbreviations into their expanded forms to ensure the accuracy of patient and health care facility records.
- Identify mistakes in reports and check with doctors to obtain the correct information.
- Perform data entry and data retrieval services, providing data for inclusion in medical records and for transmission to physicians.
- Produce medical reports, correspondence, records, patient-care information, statistics, medical research, and administrative material.
- Set up and maintain medical files and databases, including records such as x-ray, lab, and procedure reports, medical histories, diagnostic workups, admission and discharge summaries, and clinical resumes.
- Perform a variety of clerical and office tasks, such as handling incoming and outgoing mail, completing and submitting insurance claims, typing, filing, or operating office machines.
- Decide which information should be included or excluded in reports.
- Receive and screen telephone calls and visitors.
- Take dictation using shorthand, a stenotype machine, or headsets and transcribing machines.
- Answer inquiries concerning the progress of medical cases, within the limits of confidentiality laws.
- Receive patients, schedule appointments, and maintain patient records.
Top Skills
Importance scale: 1 (low) – 5 (high)
Knowledge Areas
Importance scale: 1 (low) – 5 (high)
Education Level Distribution
Percentage of workers in this occupation by education level
Technology & Tools
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In-Demand Technologies
Other Tools
Work Styles
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Key Abilities
Cognitive, physical, and sensory abilities important for this role
Importance scale: 1 (low) – 5 (high)
Work Activities
General types of job behaviors occurring on this job
Importance scale: 1 (low) – 5 (high)
Work Environment
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Related Careers
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Salary data: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024. Outlook data: BLS Employment Projections, 2024–2034.
This page includes information from the O*NET 30.2 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license.