Medical Transcription Software
There are a lot of different types of software that medical transcriptionists can choose from today. A lot of this software is actually free to download and use. With this in mind, here are some of the more popular programs that you can choose from.
Express Scribe (a.k.a. ES)
This software can be downloaded for free from NCH.com. It is the software program that is most widely used by transcriptionists today because it will turn your computer into a digital transcription unit. Some of its features include:
- Variable speed playback
- Speech recognition
- Foot pedal operation (these will simply connect to your USB port)
- File management
- “Hot keys” to control playback for those who don’t have a foot pedal
InqScribe (a.k.a. IS)
InqScribe is another free audio transcription software program. You can download it from Inqscribe.com. The nice thing about this software is that you will be able to easily insert time codes. Also, if you need to use U.K. spellings, this software is ideal for that as well.
Text Expander Software (a.k.a. Abbreviation Expanders)
This software can save you as much as 60% of your typing time, which can equate to hours of time saved daily. The reason for this is that you will oftentimes find yourself typing the same words and sentences repeatedly. These can be added to your software expander and thus save you time. Of course, you can also add those words that you frequently mistype so that these typos are automatically corrected, thus saving you even more time.
In Conclusion
Keep in mind that these are the basic programs that you will need in order to work in the medical transcription field. Other things like hardware (i.e. a foot pedal, headphones, etc.) will also be very beneficial to you. However, when you are first getting started in this field you may not want to invest in a lot right away. After all, you will need to make some money in order to be able to spend some money. Once you do begin to make money though, you really should look into some more advanced items that will make this job a lot easier for you to do.