Medical transcriptionist vs medical scribe

The differences between medical transcriptionists and medical scribes can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a medical transcriptionist has an average salary of $38,725, which is higher than the $30,045 average annual salary of a medical scribe.

The top three skills for a medical transcriptionist include transcription, dictation and discharge summaries. The most important skills for a medical scribe are patients, medical terminology, and excellent organizational.

Medical transcriptionist vs medical scribe overview

	Medical Transcriptionist	Medical Scribe
Yearly salary	$38,725	$30,045
Hourly rate	$18.62	$14.44
Growth rate	-7%	16%
Number of jobs	78,292	80,035
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 35%	Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Average age	41	37
Years of experience	-	12

What does a medical transcriptionist do?

A Medical Transcriptionist is responsible for accurately transcribing audio records from Physicians and other health workers as part of a patient's medical history or other necessary documentation. Most of the time, a Medical Transcriptionist must sign non-disclosure agreements as the majority of the information relayed are personal and confidential. Furthermore, they must be meticulous in detecting inconsistencies and errors, translating or converting the information gathered into various medical documents, performing edits and revision, and following up any missing detail.

What does a medical scribe do?

As a medical scribe, their main responsibility is to follow a physician's daily work and do charting of patient encounters in real-time by accessing their medical electronic health record (EHR). It is their duty to make sure the patient schedules are followed, generate referral letters for physicians and manage and sort medical documents within the EHR. Medical scribes can be held as data custodians, medical assistants, and nurses to focus on patient in-take and care throughout clinic hours. In addition, they manage patient flow through the clinic and increase productivity to cater to more patients.

Medical transcriptionist vs medical scribe salary

Medical transcriptionists and medical scribes have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Medical Transcriptionist	Medical Scribe
Average salary	$38,725	$30,045
Salary range	Between $31,000 And $47,000	Between $23,000 And $38,000
Highest paying City	Los Angeles, CA	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	Alaska	Massachusetts
Best paying company	White Plains Hospital	Boston Medical Center
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between medical transcriptionist and medical scribe education

There are a few differences between a medical transcriptionist and a medical scribe in terms of educational background:

	Medical Transcriptionist	Medical Scribe
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 35%	Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Most common major	Health Care Administration	Biology
Most common college	-	-

Medical transcriptionist vs medical scribe demographics

Here are the differences between medical transcriptionists' and medical scribes' demographics:

	Medical Transcriptionist	Medical Scribe
Average age	41	37
Gender ratio	Male, 6.3% Female, 93.7%	Male, 28.4% Female, 71.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.8% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 9.0% Asian, 14.5% White, 64.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 24.3% Asian, 9.7% White, 50.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	9%	6%

Differences between medical transcriptionist and medical scribe duties and responsibilities

Medical transcriptionist example responsibilities.

Manage audits using transcribe reports with preoperative and postoperative documentation within the EMR.
Experience in radiology, cardiology, orthopedics, physical therapy, pediatrics, surgery and family practice medical terminology.
Transcribe dictation from various specialty providers at the hospital including orthopedics, urology, podiatry, ophthalmology, and pain management.
Transcribe radiology reports, including MRIs, CTs, nuclear medicine and vascular reports in a high-production, acute care setting.
Maintain medical record integrity by interpreting, editing and transcribing dictation for multiple physicians and nurse practitioners.
Prepare medical documentation from dictation - specializing in the areas of general surgery, orthopedics, plastic/oral surgery

Medical scribe example responsibilities.

Manage sensitive and confidential materials such as patient health records following HIPAA regulations.
Adhere to OSHA guidelines while performing instrument sterilization in addition to managing medical inventory.
Rotate in internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, orthopedic surgery, and burn medicine departments
Transcribe patient orders including laboratory tests results, radiology test findings, medications, allergies.
Utilize PC and LIS to enter and retrieve patient data, includes verifying orders and retrieving results using HIPAA compliance.
Perform Phlebotomy procedures on patients.

Medical transcriptionist vs medical scribe skills

Common medical transcriptionist skills

Transcription, 16%
Dictation, 10%
Discharge Summaries, 8%
Patient Histories, 5%
Medical Reports, 5%
Patient Care, 3%

Common medical scribe skills

Patients, 18%
Medical Terminology, 17%
Excellent Organizational, 10%
Physician Assistants, 8%
Emergency Medicine, 6%
HIPAA, 4%

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Medical Transcriptionist
Medical Transcriptionist vs Medical Scribe

Updated January 8, 2025

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