Medical Transcription vs Medical Billing

Not everyone who works in the medical field provides direct patient care, like doctors and nurses. Other jobs in health care exist in the form of medical transcription and medical billing jobs. Like other jobs in the field, medical transcription and medical billing require a specific skill set for success.

Medical Transcription vs Medical Billing: Basics

As the name implies, medical transcriptionists listen to recordings made by physicians and other health care professionals and document them. This documentation comes in the form of patient discharge summaries, patient history reports, surgical reports or diagnostic imaging studies. Medical transcriptionists have to be well-versed in medical terminology, and employers look for individuals with a postsecondary degree in medical transcription, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Medical billing involves working with patient health insurance claims. Since many hospitals and physicians' offices outsource billing and insurance claims to third parties, medical billers can find a reliable workload. They manage patient records, file insurance claims, prepare insurance forms and send bills to patients. Medical billers need to communicate with both insurance companies and physicians to ensure they properly code medical services. They need to understand medical coding so that insurance claims are processed accurately.

Medical Transcription and Billing Process Similarities

Both medical transcription and medical billing require specific knowledge in the medical field. While transcriptionists and billers do not have to know how to treat patients, they have to possess a specific set of medical knowledge--medical terminology for transcriptionists and coding for billers.
Individuals in both Medical Transcription and Medical Billing can work in traditional health care settings in hospitals or physicians' offices or they can work for third parties or even for themselves from the comfort of home.

Transcriptionist and Biller Differences

Although both medical transcriptionists and medical billers provide services for hospitals and physicians' offices, their purpose is distinctly different. Medical transcriptionists work on the medical, patient-care side of health care, helping develop reports that physicians can assess and learn from.
Medical billing is a part of the business side of health care. Medical billers help hospitals and physicians' offices ensure that their bills are paid, either by the insurance companies or the patients