Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Medical transcription outsourcing: Providing mission critical support

The mission or goal of any healthcare facility or healthcare professional is to deliver quality healthcare while still managing to keep their facility in good financial health. Though there could be numerous other goals like building up loyalty among patients, establishing a good reputation, advance in research etc the underlying mission of every healthcare facility is defined by their ability to deliver quality care. Obviously the main inputs required for this are the qualification, skill and experience of healthcare professionals, the support of staff at the healthcare facility, the right implements & equipments and the right kind of drugs & medicines etc.

However these mission critical inputs can be defined as the internal contributors to the core healthcare process.  Other than the core healthcare ingredients, the healthcare process is supported by other associated services, which are critical to the mission of providing quality healthcare while still maintaining profitability. One such service that provides mission critical support is medical transcription.

Medical transcription is the process of creating patient medical records from the dictation of healthcare professionals regarding the patient encounter. Highlighting the vital role patient medical records play in the smooth running of healthcare facilities can sum up what makes medical transcription services a mission critical support for the healthcare process.

Some of the key areas that patient medical records play a critical role in are:

  • Provision of care: The information in patient medical records is a valuable input for making the right decision regarding the treatment process. Moreover the information in patient medical records also forms the basis for tests, referrals etc
  • Managing risk: Apart from supporting the care process another critical factor supported by information from patient medical records is that of risk management. In an increasingly litigious environment detailed patient medical records documenting the entire care process and provide evidence in case of malpractice litigation has become critical
  • Managing receivables: The creation of patient medical records forms the foundation for coding and billing thus playing a vital role in the reimbursement process.
  • Meeting statutory requirements: The creation of patient medical records is not only required for managing the care process, payables and risk but maintaining patient records is also mandated by law.
It can be seen that maintaining detailed records of patient interactions is an important and mission critical aspect of running a healthcare facility successfully.

However the factors that make medical transcription services mission critical are:

Easy to use: One of the main factors that make medical transcription, especially when outsourced, mission critical is that they are easy to use. Given the hectic and time starved nature of the healthcare professionals and the support staff taking part in the healthcare process, this factor is very important. Using the services of a professional medical transcription company to document the care process ensures that healthcare professionals have easy access to all aspects; these include dictation modes, delivery modes, specific formats/ templates, turnaround time options etc.

Flexible: Another aspect that makes medical transcription services mission critical is the flexibility of services. Medical transcription companies provide services that are flexible to all aspects; some of which include volumes, turnaround time requirements, specialties, dictation modes, document delivery modes and even holiday & weekend transcription requirements

Meets the needs of all stakeholders: Outsourced medical transcription services meet the needs of all stakeholders in the healthcare process. By allowing healthcare professionals to concentrate totally on the care process rather than the documentation process, medical transcription services help healthcare professionals maximize their productivity and provide patients with the benefit of complete healthcare professional focus on them. Apart from this by creating accurate records along with narrative portion, medical transcription companies ensure patient safety and improved care.

Uses technology to meet current and future needs: Apart from ensuring HIPAA and HITECH compliance throughout the medical transcription process using the right blend of technology and processes, medical transcription companies also use technology to provide benefits that encompass current and future needs.  Keeping in mind the impending deadline for adopting EMR/ EHR and achieving meaningful use, medical transcription companies have provided options like structured dictation, structured transcription, discrete reportable transcription, editing and proofreading services for speech recognition software and HL7 interface to enable this.

It can be concluded that medical transcription services are a mission critical component for the smooth running of healthcare facilities.

TransDyne, a leader in the outsourced medical transcription industry has used their extensive background in information technology and their experience in serving the needs of the healthcare sector to provide affordable and integrated medical transcription solutions.

Among the software and tools offered by TransDyne for transcription, the smart delivery system has a large role to play in easing the path to EMR/EHR adoption The Smart Delivery system, which has features like User defined folder paths to enable easy imports to EMR systems is the suggested mode of document delivery where pre-defined file saving would help import documents to EMR systems.  Apart from this TransDyne also offers discounted rates for those healthcare facilities that provide demographic data entered in the EMR rather than through other modes.

Along with medical transcription services involving multiple level quality checks to ensure accuracy, the use of the right technology for ease of use, turnaround time and security, at reasonable rates, TransDyne also provides discrete reportable transcription for adoption of EMR/ EHR  

To avail complete medical transcription services from TransDyne, click here.

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