Function

• Hiring a medical transcription service aids in the smooth and prompt operation of a doctor's office or hospital. Most doctors and nurses do not have time to type out medical reports or correspondence, since their days are typically full of patient visits and consultations. Being able to speak their thoughts, reports and medical opinions in a case into a recording device and passing that on to someone else to type out and translate saves a lot of time. All a medical transcriptionist does is transcribe audio records, leaving doctors and nurses free to see more patients in a given day.
  
  

Education

• Most individuals interested in having a successful career in medical transcription must complete an accredited post-secondary education program in the field. Individuals can typically obtain a medical transcription degree from online degree programs, community colleges and vocational education schools. The recommendation is to obtain an associate's degree or complete a one-year certification program in medical transcription. Course work should likely include legal issues in the medical field, anatomy and medical terminology, to name a few.
  
  

Identification

• There are a few factors that will help you to identify a skilled medical transcription service, whether provided by an individual or company that employs several transcriptionists. First, transcriptionists proficient at their job with quickly recognize errors or inconsistencies in a dictated report and work to obtain the correct information in an effort to guard patient health. Additionally, medical transcriptionists with a clear understanding of medical terminology will make few spelling and translation errors when transcribing a doctor or nurse's assessment.
  
  

Time Frame

• The most skilled medical transcription services have a turnaround time of no more than a few days for transcribed documents. The actual turnaround time depends on who you employ. Smaller medical facilities, such as a private practice, will likely find that hiring a solitary in-house transcriptionist or sending dictated records to a medical transcription service for transcription are the best options. Larger medical facilities, such as hospitals, may consider having an in-house transcription department with several employees the best option, since medical transcription companies typically have more than one client to keep up with.
  
  

Benefits

• A skilled medical transcription service can, in maintaining accurate records, help to keep patients healthy. Using a medical transcriptionist not only saves doctors and nurses time, but helps to assess medical treatments and procedures that may otherwise go unchecked, resulting in a higher quality of patient care.
  
  

Investment

• Medical transcription services typically charge an hourly rate. The median rate ranges from $14 to $16 per hour, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, it is important to consider that companies that provide medical transcription services will charge higher rates to cover overhead expenses for the company as well as transcriptionist pay. Hiring individual transcriptions for your medical practices affords you more control over how much you pay for the work.