Is medical writing same as medical coding and transcription?
Difference between medical writing and transcription
| # | Medical Writing | Medical Transcription |
|---|---|---|
| What is | Medical writing involves communicating clinical and scientific data and information to a range of audiences in a wide variety of formats. It is method of written communication of scientific knowledge, customized to the target audience. | Medical transcription is the process of converting voice-recorded reports as dictated by physicians and other healthcare professionals, into text format. A medical transcriptionist performs document typing and formatting functions according to an established criteria or format, transcribing the spoken word of the patient's care information into a written and easily readable form. |
| Who hires | Academic medical centers, associations, foundations, pharmaceutical companies, medical devices, publishers, medical websites, contract research organizations (CROs), hospitals/health care systems and medical advertising/communication agencies, healthcare BPO's / KPO's, software firms, healthcare consulting firms. | Clinics ,hospitals and other healthcare facilities |
| What It requires | Medical writing is a creative profession, the medical writer needs to have attention to detail, ability to write and work across teams and also independently. They should be good communicators and should have aptitude for understanding medicine and to learn more. A medical writer needs to have wide variety of skills to write on various topics and for different target group. | A medical transcriptionist needs to be well-versed with correct spelling of all terms and words and have understanding of correcting medical terminology. |
| Job role | The work of a medical writer includes creation and development of advertising copy for pharmaceuticals and other products, CD-ROMs, Internet content, journal abstracts and articles, medical education materials, monographs, multimedia projects, regulatory documents, physician speeches and presentations, sales training manuals, slide kits, white papers, medical scripts, newsletters, patient education materials, posters, case reports and many more. | A medical transcriptionist is involved in the mechanical task of generating transcribed reports. |
| Eligibility | Post Graduate Degree in Life-Sciences, Pharmacy, Medical Laboratory, Biochemistry, Microbiology, Biotechnology, MD, BDS, MBBS, BHMS, BAMS, Nursing and other allied sciences. Individuals from English and Journalism background having interest in medical writing | Graduates and postgraduates from any discipline preferably from science. |
Difference between medical writing and medical coding
Medical coding involves transforming descriptions of medical diagnoses and procedures into universal medical code numbers. These code numbers are used for variety of purposes like statistical analysis of diseases and therapeutic actions, reimbursements and direct surveillance of epidemic or pandemic outbreaks. Most of the outsourced work involves coding for insurance reimbursements. The diagnoses and procedures are usually taken from a variety of sources within the medical record, such as the transcription of the doctor's notes, laboratory results, radiologic results, and other sources.
This allied health profession is very different form medical writing. Medical writing is more of a creative work involving research, analysis and communication of the obtained information in varied forms as per the audience.
A medical coder requires knowledge of medical terminologies and general understanding of diseases. However, a medical writer needs to have wide variety of skills to write on various topics and for different target group. Medical coding is considered more of a mechanical work when compared to the creativity involved in medical writing