Hospitals, Doctor's Clinics, and Transcription companies calculate the medical transcription salary in a variety of different ways.  A typical transcription job is a document 1-2 pages in length.  Some companies pay by completed document or by the hour, but hourly jobs are typically in-office jobs where MTs are overseen by an office manager. 

Independent contractors earn more than transcriptionists who work for others, but independent contractors have higher expenses than their corporate counterparts, receive no benefits, and may face higher risk of termination than employed transcriptionists.

The most common medical transcription salary is paid "per line" of transcription.  This can range from $.06 Cents/line to $.12 Cent/line depending on the experience level of the MT, the type of job, and the turn-around time required by the physician.  For example, radiology jobs typically have a 4 hour turn-around requirement, but average turn-around requirements are usually in the 24 to 48 hour range.

The typical medical transcription salary had median earnings per hour of $14.40 in May 2006.  The middle 50% made between $12.17 and $17.06.  The lowest 10% made less than $10.22, and the highest 10% made more than $20.15.

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Entry-level MTs can make anywhere from $12,252 to $14,976 on a part-time basis and up to $20,440 to $40,300 on a full-time basis.  Experienced MT's can earn up to $60,000 - $80,000 annually by securing accounts and having other MTs working under them.  This is above average for home-based businesses.  Sixty percent of MTs have work from home jobs, while 40% are in an office atmosphere.

Employment of MTs is expected to grow 14% from 2006 to 2016.  This growth rate is higher than other average occupations.  An increasing older population will initiate higher demands for MT services.  Higher age groups are receiving proportionately larger numbers of treatments, medical tests, and procedures requiring documentation.  The continuous requirement for electronic documents being shared without difficulty among providers, regulators, 3rd party payers, consumers, and medical information systems, will increase the demand for transcription services. 

Consequently, the medical transcription salary will increase, drawing more workers in the talent pool.  An increased number of Medical Transcriptionist are going to be required to revise patients’ records, revise documents from speech recognition technologies, and recognize differences in medical transcription reports.  (Resource - US Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics)

Medical transcription income is often complemented by employers with thousands of dollars in benefits like paid vacations, medical/dental insurance, 401K retirement plans, as well as annual dividends!  The medical transcription salary has always been above the national average.