Will AI replace Medical Transcriptionists?
Estimated risk score: 88 out of 100
Very high replacement risk
Estimate from published task research, not reviewed by a person · how we estimate
Within about 19 points for 4 in 5 of the jobs we checked (69 to 100).
For the occupation as a whole, from ratings of its 15 O*NET tasks published in 2023 and calibrated to our hand scores. A specialty inside it can sit higher or lower.
O*NET-SOC 31-9094.00 · Healthcare Support
Tasks rated in 2023 as ones AI could do or speed up
Tasks a GPT-4-class model could do, or do in half the time or less: 13 of its 15 rated tasks; the first 6 are shown. In O*NET’s words.
- Take dictation using shorthand, a stenotype machine, or headsets and transcribing machines.
- Decide which information should be included or excluded in reports.
- Distinguish between homonyms and recognize inconsistencies and mistakes in medical terms, referring to dictionaries, drug references, and other sources on anatomy, physiology, and medicine.
- Identify mistakes in reports and check with doctors to obtain the correct information.
- Perform a variety of clerical and office tasks, such as handling incoming and outgoing mail, completing and submitting insurance claims, typing, filing, or operating office machines.
- Perform data entry and data retrieval services, providing data for inclusion in medical records and for transmission to physicians.
Tasks rated in 2023 as not sped up by AI
Tasks such a model was rated as not speeding up or taking over: 1 of its 15 rated tasks. In O*NET’s words.
- Receive and screen telephone calls and visitors.
What the job is
Transcribe medical reports recorded by physicians and other healthcare practitioners using various electronic devices, covering office visits, emergency room visits, diagnostic imaging studies, operations, chart reviews, and final summaries. Transcribe dictated reports and translate abbreviations into fully understandable form. Edit as necessary and return reports in either printed or electronic form for review and signature, or correction.
Also called: Radiology Transcriptionist, Scribe, Clinical Scribe, Provider Scribe, Medical Transcriber, Medical Stenographer, Emergency Medical Scribe, Transcription Specialist.
Source. This site includes information from the O*NET 30.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. (O*NET, CC BY 4.0.) Task ratings: Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin and Rock (2023), “GPTs are GPTs: An Early Look at the Labor Market Impact Potential of Large Language Models”, data used under the MIT licence (licence texts). Our change: we averaged the ratings over this occupation’s tasks and calibrated them to our 0–100 scale. It is not a prediction about any one person and not career advice. Disagree? Write to hello@yourstopwashit.com. How we estimate