What’s the Difference Between Medical Coding and Medical Transcription?

If you are looking for a work from home job, then you have likely come across both of these titles.  When it comes to positions for people who want to work remotely, the medical field is one that is appealing.  There are an abundance of tasks related with this industry that can be done from the comfort of your home.  However, all of those require some training, and some level of expertise.  The type of training that you do, however, will depend on the area of the medical field you want to assist.  Some will prefer the job of coder, which others will appreciate the perks of working with medical transcription services.

Medical Coder This is a professional who has a strong understanding of medical terminology.  In some cases, the knowledge is broad, but less in depth.  In other instances, it is very focus, but also much deeper.  It will depend on the facility that hires the coder.  Large practices will often have coders designated for each specialty, while general practice offices will hire just one or two coders to handle all cases.  The person will take the patient notes from each appointment and review the doctor’s input.  It is a much bigger challenge than general data entry, because this information corresponds to various codes recognized by the entire medical field, as well as most insurance programs.  The coder must make the connection and enter the appropriate code.

Medical Transcriptionist Like the coder, this person will have to acquire an understanding of many medical terms, and he or she will refer to doctor’s notes, audio recordings, or may even meet with the doctor’s about certain cases.  The information provided is often scarce or recorded in shorthand, but the transcriptionist must make sense of it all and produce a detailed account of the patient interaction, including proper grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

While both roles are challenging and require an understanding of the medical practice, they each present their own challenges are rewards.  Coding is a very solitary career.  Quotas or deadlines are generally in place to ensure that the work is being done, but it doesn’t often involve anyone looking over your shoulder.  On the other hand, transcription services often require conversations with the doctors.  This can mean understanding a wide variety of accents or simply making sense of poor hand writing.  Yet, both careers can be very rewarding.