Transcriptionist vs medical coder

The differences between transcriptionists and medical coders can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a medical coder has an average salary of $51,563, which is higher than the $44,118 average annual salary of a transcriptionist.

The top three skills for a transcriptionist include transcription, patients and dictation. The most important skills for a medical coder are CPC, medical terminology, and ICD-10-CM.

Transcriptionist vs medical coder overview

	Transcriptionist	Medical Coder
Yearly salary	$44,118	$51,563
Hourly rate	$21.21	$24.79
Growth rate	-7%	11%
Number of jobs	270	51,316
Job satisfaction	5	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 39%	Associate Degree, 37%
Average age	41	45
Years of experience	-	12

What does a transcriptionist do?

A transcriptionist is responsible for listening to audio files and converting them to a written document, following transcribing rules and processes depending on the clients' specifications. Transcriptionists must also have excellent researching skills, especially to understand foreign terminologies and jargon, ensuring the written transcription accuracy. They also review drafts from various speech software to identify inconsistencies and revise speech discrepancies. A transcriptionist must have excellent communication skills, including written and listening mastery and time-management, submitting work on deadlines with the highest efficiency.

What does a medical coder do?

A medical coder's role is to interpret and analyze a patient's medical record and translate particular details according to the universal medical alphanumeric code. Moreover, a medical coder is primarily responsible for ensuring that the translations are accurate, as this will play a vital factor in processing insurance and receiving treatments. Aside from accuracy, it is also crucial for a medical coder to coordinate with other hospital personnel at all times, especially when there inconsistencies in the records.

Transcriptionist vs medical coder salary

Transcriptionists and medical coders have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Transcriptionist	Medical Coder
Average salary	$44,118	$51,563
Salary range	Between $33,000 And $57,000	Between $37,000 And $70,000
Highest paying City	-	Trenton, NJ
Highest paying state	-	Hawaii
Best paying company	-	Meta
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between transcriptionist and medical coder education

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

	Transcriptionist	Medical Coder
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 39%	Associate Degree, 37%
Most common major	Health Care Administration	Health Care Administration
Most common college	-	Stanford University

Transcriptionist vs medical coder demographics

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

	Transcriptionist	Medical Coder
Average age	41	45
Gender ratio	Male, 11.3% Female, 88.7%	Male, 13.2% Female, 86.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.6% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 14.4% White, 65.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%	Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 9.0% White, 60.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between transcriptionist and medical coder duties and responsibilities

Transcriptionist example responsibilities.

Manage two ambulance sets, two ambulances, and specialize high-angle rescue equipment value at $500K+.
Transcribe cardiology, urology, and oncology reports.
Transcribe medical office dictation from outpatient facilities (internal medicine, pediatrics, dermatology, radiology).
Transcribe a variety of medical reports for different physician practices including specialties of psychiatry, neurology, neurosurgery and orthopedics.
Transcribe dictation for MRI scans of the body.
Job description: medical transcription of ultrasound, biopsy, and mammography reports.

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Medical coder example responsibilities.

Manage all EDI relate communication with trading partners and assist to produce all operational documents for all end users.
Manage all aspects of AR including writing letters for medical necessity, claim denials, bundling issues and charge capture.
Manage health records while applying ICD-10 coding to update and process insurance claims for time and accuracy to various insurance companies.
Manage the outsourced transcription company.
Create documentation education classes to general surgery residents, increasing the leveling of reporting which lead to increase revenues.
Adhere to regulations with CPT-4, ICD-9-CM and HCPCS coding with medical terminology and effort meet all audit requirements.

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Transcriptionist vs medical coder skills

Common transcriptionist skills

Transcription, 25%
Patients, 8%
Dictation, 8%
Transcription Services, 6%
Patient Care, 5%
WPM, 4%

Common medical coder skills

CPC, 11%
Medical Terminology, 8%
ICD-10-CM, 7%
AHIMA, 7%
Patients, 7%
Clinical Documentation, 5%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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