The medical transcriptionist then further refines it into a finished document. Keyboarding and transcription should not be confused. The primary skills necessary for performance of quality medical transcription are extensive medical knowledge and understanding, sound judgment, deductive reasoning, and the ability to detect medical inconsistencies in dictation. For example, a diagnosis inconsistent with the patient s history and symptoms may be mistakenly dictated. The medical transcriptionist questions, seeks clarification, verifies the information, and enters it into the report.
Medical understanding is critical for the professional medical transcriptionist.
The complex terms used in medicine are unlike the language of any other profession. Medical transcription requires a practical knowledge of medical language, anatomy, physiology, disease processes, pharmacology, laboratory medicine, and the internal organization of medical reports. A medical transcriptionist is truly a medical language specialist who must be aware of standards and requirements that apply to the health record, as well as the legal significance of medical transcripts. Thus, the medical transcriptionist, or medical language specialist, must be well versed in the language of medicine. Becoming a CMT may lead to increased pay but requires a commitment to and an investment in one s own professionalism.