The most important consideration in finding successful employment in the Medical Transcription industry is your skill set. Becoming a Certified Medical Transcriptionist, while not essential, can be very helpful in advancing a career in medical transcription. When people speak of certification in the Medical Transcription field, they are typically referring to certification with the AHDI (Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity) - formerly AAMT (American Association for Medical Transcription). The official designation of the AHDI certification is "CMT" - Certified Medical Transcriptionist.

While the CMT is certainly highly regarded, it has historically not been considered an absolute prerequisite for entry into, or advancement within the field of medical transcription. Many competent medical trancriptionists do not have the CMT (Certified Medical Transcriptionist) designation. However, if your time and resources permit, it is something that should be seriously considered. The AHDI designation seems to be gaining more credibility and traction in the medical transcription industry in recent years.

The Certified Medical Transcriptionist credential is particularly important for those interested in pursuing a management level or supervisory position in the industry.

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Becoming a CMT (certified medical transcriptionist) requires an investment - both in time and money.

Current eligibility requirements include two years of medical transcription experience in an acute care setting - with acute care medical transcription being defined by AHDI as "incorporating medical center dictation to include many dictators including multiple ESL dictators, many formats and report types, and all the major specialties, including and especially surgery dictation of all types, and some minor specialties."

CMT Exam Format

The AHDI Certified Medical Transcriptionist (CMT) exam consists of an objective general medical transcription knowledge section and also a medical transcription performance section. AHDI recommends scheduling approximately 4 hours for the entire exam.

Scheduling the Exam

This exam is administered year-round at nationwide testing centers. Exams can be scheduled by going directly to the website of the Certified Medical Transcriptionist testing administrator - Thomson Prometric. Their website can be found at www.prometric.com/ahdi

For questions about the exam or to speak to a representative you may call 1-800-982-2182, extension 2456. The exam is open to anyone who has the required acute care experience and who feels prepared to take it. Self assessment tools are available from AHDI.

Exam Fee

There is a non-refundable $10 dollar exam application fee. Once the application has been completed and the application fee has been paid, a candidate can expect to receive an Authorization Letter along with detailed instructions in the mail within about two weeks. Please be aware that the test must be taken within 90 days of receiving your Authorization Letter or you must reapply. Certified Medical Transcriptionist exam applications can be found online at the AHDIwebsite (ahdionline.org).

The exam fee for the Certified Medical Transcriptionist exam (CMT) is currently $195 for AHDI members or $275 for non AHDI members. Payment must be made at the time of registration. The same fee applies to retakes.

CMT Exam Retake Policy

AHDI stipulates that a candidate may not take the certified medical transcriptionist (CMT) exam more than twice in any twelve month period. Further, a candidate must wait six months from the date of the unsuccessful exam to reapply to take the exam again. There is no limit to the number of times a candidate may take the exam.

Of course, the best preparation for the certified medical transscription certification exam is a number of years of intensive experience transcribing medical records reports for a hospital or medical transcription service provider.

AHDI also offers a number of self-assessment products that can be purchased in advance of taking the exam. These are essentially simulated tests that allow a prospective candidate to assess whether they are ready to take the actual exam. These practice tests also help prepare a person for the actual exam experience. These products can be purchased on-line at www.ahdionline.org.

An initial medical transcription certification is good for three years. After that, the CMT designation must be renewed. In order to maintain the CMT designation a medical transcriptionist must continue to demonstrate progress in the field of medical transcription by periodically fulfilling approved continuing education requirements.

AHDI offers an overview of the medical transcription certification process on it's web site. Go to www.ahdionline.org.

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