What Is A Medical Transcriptionist?

Some people may be confused by the term medical transcriptionist. It's a relatively new profession. According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, a medical transcriptionist can be define in this manner:

"Medical Transcriptionists use headsets and transcribing machines to listen to recordings by physicians and other healthcare professionals.  These workers transcribe a variety of medical reports about emergency room visits, diagnostic imaging studies, operations, chat reviews, and final summaries.  To understand and accurately transcribe dictated reports into a format that is clear and comprehensible for the reader, the medical transcriptionist must understand the language of medicine, anatomy and physiology, diagnostic procedures, and treatment.  They also must be able to translate medical jargon and abbreviations into their expanded forms.  After reviewing and editing for grammar and clarity, the medical transcriptionist transcribes the dictated reports and returns them in either printed or electronic form to the dictator for review and signature, or correction.  These reports eventually become a part of the patient's permanent file."

In a nutshell, medical transcriptionists take the records and voice recordings of physicians and other medical professionals and create medical documents for these professionals to improve patient care. Medical transcriptionists are a valuable part of the healthcare process and only the most qualified in the profession will rise to the top.