Our medical transcription class is based on the digital transcription method because it is what most doctors’ use! Digital transcription is when you hook up a digital foot pedal to the computer instead of using a micro-cassette tape. Micro-cassette tapes were the method that doctors would use for a long time to record their audio dictations about the patient's exam, test results, etc.

As technology has improved so has the way doctors record their dictations. In the past few years most doctors have chosen to switch over to the digital dictation method. This is not to say that all doctors use this method, there will always be some that refuse to advance with the current technology and will still use the cassette tapes.

Digital transcription allows the MT to work for a doctor, hospital or transcription service company that may be located in another state. The files are transferred securely online.

Many more jobs have opened up with the digital transcription method. This is because you are not restricted to working for local doctors as you would have been with the micro-cassette method.

An MT will listen to the dictations through their computer either through headphones or the computer speakers. Most MTs will choose to listen through headphones because it is a lot clearer to hear as well as a more private way of doing the work.

We do recommend using headphones for both of those reasons; because you want to be able to hear the information that was dictated as well as you will want to keep the patient's information as private as possible; especially with all the new HIPAA laws!

If you are working in a home office, and other people are at home you must use headphones!

MTs must follow all the privacy laws that other healthcare workers have to follow!

Now that the medical transcription field has moved up in the world with the ever-changing technology; it has opened up more work at home job positions for MTs. The micro-cassette method is becoming a thing in the past for most doctors. This is great news for MTs because this means that the more doctors that go with the digital dictation / transcription method the more jobs which will become available.

Because you would not be dealing with the older method of the micro-cassette, you would not have to live within driving distance to do the medical transcription job! You can live hundreds, even thousands of miles away from the doctor, hospital, or transcription company that you would work for.

There are even more benefits to becoming a medical transcriptionist beyond being able to work at home. Once you have worked as an MT for a certain amount of time you can then take the career to the next level!

Doctors love to see MTs that take their career seriously. One of the things that will show the doctor that you are very committed to your career, is increasing your credentials over time. The first  is to take a medical transcription course.  

After you have worked as an MT for about six months we recommend taking the RMT exam to become a Registered Medical Transcriptionist.  You can take the CMT exam after passing the RMT exam and worked for a minimum of two years. When you pass the CMT exam, you will be a Certified Medical Transcriptionist.

We do recommend that every medical transcriptionist take their career further by taking the RMT exam and then the CMT exam.

Many MTs; RMTs; and CMTs have decided to move forward with their career by expanding their transcription skills beyond just working for a doctor by starting a transcription service. Basically in short what this means is that they hire other MTs to transcribe under them. They will get contracts with many doctors and hospitals and then issue the work to the other MTs they have hired to work for them.

When you decide to expand your career to this level, you can take on many clients and divide the workload up between the MTs that are working underneath you. You pay them, a percentage or so many cents per line and you as the owner keep a percentage as well.

Medical Transcription is a very rewarding career to work at home in; however, it does take hard work, self-discipline and self-motivation.

The medical transcriptionist transcribes the dictation of the health-care professional (doctors, physician's assistants, or nurses) regarding the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of patients.

Medical transcriptionist must be very knowledgeable in the medical language, terminology, anatomy and physiology, medications, diagnostic tests, surgical procedures, style & format, HIPAA laws, critical thinking and more.

We hope to see you on our student area and student forum soon!

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