Joseph Deepesh

Medical transcriptionists understand that the medical record is a legal document, and handling such sensitive information requires the utmost of professional ethics and confidentiality. Because of the confidential relationship between the physician and the patient, each medical record must remain absolutely confidential. As a working MT you should never relay patient information to outside parties. It is very important to take the security of the patient record seriously. This means that even if you are transcribing your best friend's reports, the fact that you do so should never be discussed. Most facilities and MTSOs (medical transcription service owners) require the transcriptionist to sign a confidentiality statement upon hiring, and violation of this is cause for termination and possibly legal recourse. Make it a practice to transcribe your reports, proof and edit them, and then forget about them. Most confidentiality has been broken because transcriptionists talk to their...

MTIA (the professional organization for transcription service owners) did a survey of their members November 2006. A total of 31 companies responded with the following statistics: Number of new transcription positions projected for the next 12 months: 31 respondents projected 1333 new positions Do you expect volumes to increase over the next 2 years? Yes 29 respondents 94% No 2 respondents 6%Do you expect staffing needs for medical transcriptionists to increase over the next 2 years? Yes 28 respondents 90% No 3 respondents 10%Number of current open transcription positions: 31 respondents have a total of 442 open positions The Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistic's Occupational Outlook Handbook: http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos271.htm DOL states: "Employment of medical transcriptionists is projected to grow faster than average for all occupations through 2014. Demand for medical transcription services will be spurred by a growing and aging population. Older age groups...