Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for Medical Transcription, Medical Billing and Medical Scribes

A medical scribe — also known as a Clinical Scribe, ER Scribe, or ED Scribe — is a trained medical information manager who specializes in charting physician-patient encounters in real-time during medical exams, working directly with the provider.  Your main job will be to follow the doctor side by side and work with him to document all the procedures and interactions that the doctor has with the patient. In essence, they are a personal assistant to the doctor. The number one job of a medical scribe is to transcribe all that is happening in the medical records using a WOW or workstation on wheels system.  Read more

The average medical scribe salary is about $12-$17, nationwide, with the average being higher in clinical settings versus hospitals and/or ER departments.  Because this is such a new job-code and skillset, the range really is very dependent on several factors.  Again, the type of facility that you work in, clinical or hospital, and what part of the country you work in continue to play a significant role.  The largest factor will be the amount of experience you have, the relationship you have with your provider, and whether you have been credentialed as a Certified Medical Scribe Specialist.    Locally, we are seeing wages start at $15 per hour and stair-step up to $19 per hour.  The amount made by CMSS increase with the level of your work, type of specialty, EMR, and volume of clinic.  Most physicians find they can increase their patient load by 3-6 patients per day.

A medical scribe actively participates in patient visits, taking real-time notes. They may also assist physicians with various administrative tasks. A scribe could be a person or an AI system. Whereas, a medical transcriptionist transcribes recorded audio of patient encounters into written text. They work from recordings rather than real-time observations.  Medical scribes must understand medical terminology and clinical workflows, and be able to summarize information succinctly. Medical transcriptionists, on the other hand, need to accurately transcribe recordings, which may involve a more narrow focus on linguistic skills rather than clinical understanding.  Read more.

Medical Language Specialists (medical transcriptionists) have recently been designated a new title of Healthcare Documentation Specialists by the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI), a title which more completely encompasses the several roles that involve health information documentation including transcribing audio dictation, editing voice recognition (VR) reports, or other documentation activities in the current expansion of the electronic health record. Healthcare Documentation Specialists are a vital link in the Healthcare industry. They must be well educated in medical language, theory and practical skills as they provide a critical link in the transference of a clinician’s thoughts to the official patient health record. 

Healthcare Documentation Specialist who transcribe medical reports recorded by physicians and other healthcare practitioners using various electronic devices, covering office visits, emergency room visits, diagnostic imaging studies, operations, chart reviews, and final summaries. They transcribe dictated reports and translate abbreviations into fully understandable form. Edit as necessary and return reports in either printed or electronic form for review and signature, or correction. –Medical Transcriptionist

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1)Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
74,8102.0 %$16.66$34,6500.5 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile10%25%50%
(Median)
75%90%
Hourly Wage$10.77$13.29$16.36$19.62$22.71
Annual Wage (2)$22,400$27,650$34,020$40,820$47,250