Median hourly medical transcription rates range from $10.25 for one year or less of medical transcribing experience all the way up to $15.98 for 20 or more years of experience according to the PayScale website. While helpful, this information is too general to be of much use since 50% of MTs will make less than those figures, and 50% will make more.

The good news is that medical transcription is much like niche marketing on the Internet. There will be certain medical transcription niches or specialties that pay more, a lot more, than general medical transcription. Think in terms of who has the most money: Any transcription that involves insurance companies at some point in the process will be more lucrative. This includes medical-legal transcription; i.e., personal injury and workers compensation. Also, anyone who has specialized skills such as history taking or the ability to review medical records can command higher hourly pay. This author has made a minimum of $25/hour when taking medical histories and reviewing medical records.

Here is the bad news when it comes to medical transcription rates charged by MT contractors or subcontractors: Many self-employed medical transcriptionists, especially those who are new to the field, are so eager to get work that they sometimes undermine their own skills and value as a medical transcriptionist. They hope to get work by undercutting the rates of other medical language specialists in the area. This is not only a disservice to themselves but also fellow medical transcriptionists and the profession at large. Since the medical transcription field is largely made up of women, many have no concept of how and what to charge so they decide it would be better to charge less. Do not be tempted to do this; find out current rates in your area by calling around and then offer competitive rates but do not charge any less than the going rate for per line medical transcription. 

The downright ugly news is that by and large doctors care only about how little they can get away with paying to get transcription work done rather than the quality of the work itself and what time/effort was put into producing a quality medical report. But one way to look at it is this: Would you want to support a doctor who has so little regard for you and the type of work you do that he would be willing to pay you a fraction of what you are worth? The answer should be a resounding no. There is plenty of business to go around, so find the professionals in the medical field who value you and are willing to pay you the medical transcription rates you rightly deserve.