Whenever a healthcare professional provides healthcare, it is essential this is documented properly for several purposes. The information belongs to the patient and needs to be stored in a safe, secure and privacy protected manner. For several decades, physicians would dictate into a Dictaphone or recording device the details of care given and these would be then transcribed by the professionals who received special training in medical terminology and typing as well as medical record generation.

Using high speed telephone transmission, people in far off places are able to provide medical transcription service at a reasonable cost. While typing the spoken dictation, one must ensure correct spelling of medical terms, proper grammar and suitable presentation - usually based on the physician style and specialty.

With the advent of digital recording and voice recognition software programs, there is a fundamental shift in this line of work. The mandated HIPPA and other regulatory requirements require strict security and privacy measures to be in place.

Basic training in medical terms and related areas is a pre-requisite to learn medical transcription. Several accredited institutions offer courses in this area.

Registered Medical Transcriptionist

Certified Medical Transcriptionist