Medical transcription outsourcing: Offering effective solutions

Much has been said about healthcare, one often ignored factor about healthcare is that, it is a business in spite of being a life & death/ quality of life improving service. Like any other business the goals of healthcare facilities are straightforward; to be able to provide quality healthcare services while still maintaining a healthy bottom-line. In order to achieve these goals it is important for healthcare facilities to concentrate on their core activities and outsource all other activities that are not part of the core.

Outsourcing non-core activities will have an impact on the following:

·       Improved focus on the core business of providing quality healthcare

·       Reducing allocation of limited resources on non-core activities

The healthcare process is a complex one, drawing inputs from numerous sources to complete the process of providing quality healthcare. One such input that contributes significantly to the healthcare process is the information captured in patient records. Medical transcription is the process of creating patient medical records by transcribing the audio files of the patient-healthcare professional encounter into text format. Patient records are not only vital for providing continued care to patients they also play a vital role in the process of reimbursement.

However medical transcription is a process that requires the right combination of people, processes and technology to be able to be accurate, timely, secure and cost effective. To be able to produce medical transcription that meets all these criteria, the healthcare facility has to dedicate a substantial portion of its resources in terms of investment, manpower, time and other resources to the process of medical transcription.

Outsourcing medical transcription has proven to be an effective solution for the medical transcription needs of healthcare facilities without compromising quality and security standards. In fact outsourcing medical transcription has proven to curb both direct and indirect expenses incurred for in-house medical transcription.

How does outsourcing medical transcription offer effective solutions?

The word effective has been defined as producing or capable of producing an intended result. By this definition outsourced medical transcription services are effective. They meet the criteria used to evaluate medical transcription:

·       Accuracy: Outsourcing medical transcription ensures that patient records are created with maximum accuracy. The medical transcription service provider would ensure accuracy by having a well-trained team of medical transcriptionists working the transcripts and by having an effective quality process to ensure errors are minimized.

·       Turnaround time: Outsourcing medical transcription would ensure timely creation of patient records by using the right technology, the right process and the right team. Meeting turnaround time standards would ensure that the process of providing healthcare is unhindered and also ensure that the process of reimbursement takes place on time.

·       Security: Preserving the confidentiality of patient records is an important consideration for healthcare facilities. By outsourcing medical transcription the onus of providing for the security of patient information during the transcription process is on the service provider. Security of patient information would effectively ensured by the medical transcription service provider by securing processes, technology and the team.

·       Lowering costs: Outsourcing medical transcription ensures that not only is the cost per line of transcription reduced by 40%-50% but also is also restricted to the cost per line of transcription. All indirect and overhead expenses are eliminated

·       Other benefits: Apart from being accurate, timely, secure and cost effective, outsourced medical transcription offers other benefits incurring from the technology used, like:

a)    Retaining familiar modes of dictation

b)    Archives

c)     Flexible modes of document delivery

d)    Remote printing and faxing

e)    HL7 interface etc. 

TransDyne a leader in the outsourced medical transcription industry offers complete       medical transcription solutions. TransDyne offers quality medical transcription at reasonable prices, executed by experienced and qualified medical transcriptionists with a very quick turnaround time executed through secure HIPAA and HITECH compliant channels, with very high levels of accuracy and all this with technology that is advanced but easy to use!             

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

Medical transcription outsourcing: Playing an important role

Patient records are a vital element in the healthcare process. They are essential for not only patient care but play an important role in the commercial, statutory and medico legal aspects. Medical transcription is the process by which patient records are created. Medical transcriptionists are the scribes who faithfully transform the narration of the healthcare professionals into text format, making it available to healthcare professionals and other staff.

Outsourcing medical transcription has been found to be not only economical, but also efficient and effective in terms of accuracy, turnaround time, security and technology. In recent past there have been many arguments over the role of the medical transcriptionists/medical transcription service providers in the process of patient record creation. It is important to enumerate the reasons why medical transcription is so important to the healthcare process. Given below are the reasons that highlight the importance of the role played by medical transcription:

• Quantity: Outsourced medical transcription services are essential to the process of record creation because of the sheer volume of records to be created. The number of people seeking healthcare services has dramatically increased due to various reasons like the aging population, lifestyle changes, increased stress levels etc. It is impossible for healthcare professionals or support staff to cope with the huge volumes transcription requirements, while still continuing to provide quality care.
• Preference: Medical transcription has been proven to be the preference of healthcare professionals for creation of patient records. Healthcare professionals are starved for time and like the convenience of being able to dictate notes in the time available to them. Moreover outsourced medical transcription service providers offer the options to healthcare professionals to retain their familiar modes of dictation. Outsourced medical transcription also offers added benefits like different document delivery modes as per the preference of the healthcare professionals.
• Detailed: Medical transcription allows the healthcare professionals to capture maximum information in a patient record. This comes in handy in many circumstances, by allowing the healthcare professional to ponder over the health conditions of the patient and arrive at the correct diagnosis, helps in continued care after a time lag and many other situations where maximum information can aid the treatment process.
• Increasing productivity: By outsourcing medical transcription the healthcare professionals are able to maximize their productive hours by concentrating on what they specialize in- providing quality healthcare.
• Understanding the process: Medical transcription service providers understand the process of healthcare and can tailor their services to suit the needs of healthcare professionals. They are familiar with the requirements of each specialty and are can serve the needs of healthcare facilities and healthcare professionals in the best possible way.
• Aids risk management: Detailed patient records play an important role in case of litigation.  These provide detailed evidence about the process and quality of care provided to the patient.
• Applying context: Medical transcription service provider have teams of trained and experienced medical transcriptionists who can apply context to garbled/confusing audio to create accurate records.
• Maintaining standards: Outsourcing medical transcription helps maintain the standards of patient records. Medical transcription service providers would not only aid in maintaining standards of accuracy, turnaround time and security, they would also ensure reports are created in the formats/ templates required.
• Helping provide hands on care: Outsourced medical transcription services help the healthcare professionals make the most of their limited time resources and help them focus on what they do best – providing hands on quality healthcare to patients. 

Apart from aiding healthcare facilities/healthcare professionals in the process of providing quality healthcare, medical transcription service providers also aid them in the commercial aspects in two ways:

• By reducing cost of transcription dramatically
• By quickening the receivables cycle. 

Considering the vital role played by medical transcription services, it is important to choose the right service provider.

TransDyne offers quality medical transcription at reasonable prices, executed by experienced and qualified medical transcriptionists with a very quick turnaround time executed through secure HIPAA and HITECH compliant channels, with very high levels of accuracy and all this with technology that is advanced but easy to use!         

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

Medical transcription: Steps for easy transition to outsourced services

The role of medical transcription in both the operational and commercial aspects of healthcare is undeniable. Outsourcing medical transcription has been found to be an easy, economical, efficient and effective to the process of medical records creation. However the process of choosing the right medical transcription service provider needs a certain process so that it can result in a fruitful and long-term association.

The steps leading to successful outsourcing of medical transcription are:

·       Defining the purpose of outsourcing medical transcription: This part of the outsourcing process is very important and often overlooked. Overlooking this step in the process of outsourcing can result in:

a)    Unrealistic expectations: Outsourcing medical transcription can help the healthcare facility in many aspects. But focusing only on factors like reduced cost and ignoring quality can result in outsourcing expectations not being met.

b)    Inadequate customization: Healthcare professionals of different specialties may have specific requirements. These may not be included while customizing services if the purpose of outsourcing is not clearly defined

c)     Loss of productivity: Not defining the purpose of outsourcing medical transcription can result in certain tasks being overlooked and resulting in loss of productivity

·       Consulting the people involved in or affected by outsourcing medical transcription: Outsourcing medical transcription affects personnel of several departments of the healthcare facility. It is important to involve all the people in the process of outsourcing to ensure success. It is important to not only consult the healthcare professionals and support staff, but is also vital to include the inputs of the Information technology, administrative, management and finance departments to gain maximum from outsourcing medical transcription

·       Defining the desired outcome from outsourcing medical transcription:

a)    Reducing cost of medical transcription

b)    Accuracy levels

c)     Desired turnaround time

d)    Formals/templates/fonts

e)    Document delivery modes

f)      HIPAA/HITECH compliant transcription

g)    Adoption of EMR/EHR

·       Designating key people for implementation: Transition for outsourced medical transcription services can require some adjustments. To ensure smooth transition it is important to designate key people who can coordinate with the medical transcription service provider staff to ensure seamless transition.

·       Starting the process of outsourcing: To actually start the process of outsourcing medical transcription it is important to undertake the following steps:

a)    Technology adjustment

b)    Familiarizing healthcare professionals and support staff with uploading dictation and downloading finished transcripts

c)     Establishing open channels of communication with the medical transcription service provider.  

Outsourcing medical transcription is an important decision and following the due process can result in satisfactory outcome for all the parties concerned.

TransDyne is a leading provider of outsourced medical transcription services, having served healthcare facilities of all types. TransDyne understands the needs of the healthcare facilities and healthcare professionals and provides complete solutions to the varied needs of healthcare professionals and healthcare facilities.

TransDyne offers quality medical transcription at reasonable prices, executed by experienced and qualified medical transcriptionists with a very quick turnaround time executed through secure HIPAA and HITECH compliant channels, with very high levels of accuracy and all this with technology that is advanced but easy to use!         

Outsourcing medical transcription to TransDyne offers additional advantages like:

• Volume flexibility
• Medical transcriptionists trained in specialties
• Customized reports/formats/templates
• Facility to integrate with EMR/EHR
• Option to retain flexible modes of dictation
• Remote printing and faxing options 

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

Medical transcription services: Creating patient records

Medical transcription can simplistically be defined as the process of creating patient records, however medical transcription adds value to the healthcare process by providing numerous benefits. The inputs for the medical transcription process come from the audio recordings of the healthcare professionals. Once the patient visit is over, the healthcare professional records the details of the patient-healthcare professional encounter in audio format. Medical transcription is the process of conversion of these audio files into text format.

The patient records created by the medical transcription process have an important role to play in the healthcare process. Patient records have an important role to play in the following:

·       Provide continuity of care

·       Basis for planning patient care

·       Assist in protecting legal interests

·       Form the base for coding and billing

·       Form the basis for education and research

·       Fulfill statutory requirements

What are the details recorded in patient records?

Patient records contain details regarding the following:

·       Medical history

·       Symptoms

·       Examination results

·       Diagnostic tests

·       Treatment methods

·       And a record of all other information collected by healthcare professional/healthcare facilities

Considering the vital role information from patient records play in the healthcare process, it is important to assure medical records are made available for the use of healthcare professionals/ healthcare facilities ensuring maximum quality, security and accessibility. The process of medical transcription requires not only the right skills, the right team, the right technology and the right process, but also substantial investment in terms of capital and time.

The easy fix to ensure that medical records are created within the parameters required is to outsource the process to a professional medical transcription service provider. This not only ensures quality, security and accessibility, it also ensures that cost of transcription is reduced by as much as 40%-50%.

How does outsourcing medical transcription ensure quality?

By outsourcing medical transcription to a professional service provider, quality can be ensured because:

1.     The medical transcription service provider would have the right team: Medical transcription is the core business of the service provider. Hence recruiting the right talent and training them to be experts would be an ongoing process ensuring that the service provider has the team to process any medical transcription requirements as required. The right team would not only ensure accuracy but also ensure that the transcripts are created within the required turnaround time.

2.     The medical transcription service provider would have the right procedure: To ensure that quality patient records are created on time, the medical transcription service provider would have a procedure to ensure that each transcript is checked thoroughly through a stringent quality process. This would ensure that records are accurate and timely.

3.     The medical transcription service provider would have the right technology: The right technology would help in quickening the process of collecting and transmitting the audio files for transcription. It would also help in the process of delivering finished transcripts to the healthcare professionals through various modes.  

How does outsourcing medical transcription ensure security?

The medical transcription service provider would provide for security of confidential patient information by having measures in place to secure people, processes, infrastructure and technology

How does outsourcing medical transcription ensure accessibility?

The medical transcription service provider would ensure accessibility by having the right technology. The technology used by the service provider would not only ensure flexible modes of uploading dictation and offer multiple modes of document delivery, it would also ensure make sure that the technology is easy to use.

While outsourcing medical transcription healthcare facilities have to ensure that the medical transcription service providers are carefully evaluated on the criteria of being accurate, timely, secure, cost effective and flexible to ensure seamless services.

TransDyne offers quality medical transcription at reasonable prices, executed by experienced and qualified medical transcriptionists with a very quick turnaround time executed through secure HIPAA and HITECH compliant channels, with very high levels of accuracy and all this with technology that is advanced but easy to use!         

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

Medical transcription outsourcing: Leads to flexibility

In today’s situation healthcare facilities have to maintain a delicate balance between providing quality healthcare and still maintaining profits. The demands made on the limited resources available to a healthcare facility are numerous. In such a situation it is important for healthcare facilities to have maximum flexibility so that they can adapt themselves quickly to the changing demands placed on them.  Outsourcing medical transcription can help healthcare facilities remain flexible!

How does outsourcing medical transcription help the healthcare facilities remain flexible?

Though medical transcription is an important contributor to the healthcare process it is not part of the core competencies of the healthcare facilities. The key to maintaining flexibility is to concentrate on the core competencies and outsource all the other activities.

Outsourcing medical transcription helps the healthcare facility remain flexible by the following means:

• By offering a price structure based on fee for services rendered: Outsourced medical transcription service providers normally quote prices that are based on the services used by the healthcare facilities, that is based on variables like number of lines, number of reports, number of pages etc., instead of a flat rate. This ensures that healthcare facilities incur expenses limited to the usage of services.

• By helping transform fixed costs to variable costs: By outsourcing medical transcription the healthcare facility can convert the fixed cost incurred for in-house transcription to variable costs. Fixed costs like real estate, salaries etc can be avoided.

• Enabling increased flexibility in resource management: Outsourcing medical transcription frees up several valuable resources. The healthcare facility is then in a position to utilize these resources for other purposes.

• Helping reduce response time to outside changes: In a changing atmosphere it is important for healthcare facilities to be able to respond to changes in a speedy manner. Outsourcing medical transcription ensures that valuable resources are free for the healthcare facilities to use while responding to outside changes.

• Increase focus on core activities: Outsourcing medical transcription ensures that the healthcare facilities can focus on their core activity of providing quality care rather than on other associated activities like medical transcription.

• Freeing up key employees: Outsourcing medical transcription not only benefits the healthcare professionals but also key employees of the healthcare facility like the support staff, the management staff and the information technology staff to focus on the core business of the healthcare facility. 

• Increasing speed: Outsourcing medical transcription ensures that the patient medical records are available to the healthcare professionals and support staff on time. This ensures that the speed of service is also more efficient.

• By helping avoid bottlenecks to quicker reimbursements: Outsourcing medical transcription not only reduces direct and indirect costs but also removes bottlenecks that hinder the cash flow. Medical transcription is the first step in the receivables cycle; timely medical transcription ensures that the process of reimbursement can start on time. 

However the process of outsourcing medical transcription needs to be approached with caution. Apart from evaluating the medical transcription service provider on the basis of criteria like accuracy, turnaround time and technology used, healthcare facilities need to evaluate the medical transcription service provider on the following additional points:

1. Billing methodology
2. Ability to deliver quality by checking on training methods and levels of quality checks used.
3. HIPAA/HITECH compliance
4. Experience of the medical transcription service provider by checking on references
5. Actual capability of the medical transcription service provider by availing a free trial
6. Availability of open channels of communication. 

Once the medical transcription service provider has been evaluated on all these criteria the healthcare facility can enjoy immaculate services, which lets them enjoy the benefit of being flexible in an ever-changing competitive environment.

TransDyne a leader in the outsourced medical transcription industry offers complete       medical transcription solutions. TransDyne offers quality medical transcription at reasonable prices, executed by experienced and qualified medical transcriptionists with a very quick turnaround time executed through secure HIPAA and HITECH compliant channels, with very high levels of accuracy and all this with technology that is advanced but easy to use!             

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

Medical transcription outsourcing: Points to be considered during outsourcing

Outsourcing medical transcription is a prudent business decision and helps the healthcare facility focus totally on their core business while providing the right support. However the outsourcing decision is not one to be taken lightly and needs a thorough analysis of what the healthcare facility hopes to gain from the outsourcing decision. To make sure that everybody in the healthcare facility is comfortable with the outsourcing decision it is important for the healthcare facility to ask itself some questions: 

a)    Is medical transcription part of the core business of the healthcare facility?

Medical transcription is not part of the core business of a healthcare facility though it does play an important role in the operational and commercial aspects of a healthcare facility. Medical transcription is a specialized skill requiring a combination of the right team, the right technology and process to be able to meet the criteria of being accurate, timely, secure and cost effective.

b)    How much is medical transcription costing currently?

Having medical transcription in-house could be costing the healthcare facility more than what they originally would have estimated. While calculating cost of in-house medical transcription factors like these should be taken into consideration:

·       Overheads

·       Allocation of management & administration staff for managing medical transcription in house

·       Wastage of resources during slack times

·       Overtime pay during excess inflow of work

·       Extra pay for weekend and holiday transcription  

c)     What are the other resources being used for in house medical transcription?

In-house medical transcription could also involve usage of resources like secretaries, Information Technology staff, capital equipment etc. for medical transcription.

d)    What are the accuracy levels and turnaround time of transcripts?

In-house medical transcription could result in varied levels of accuracy due to the varying volumes of transcription. The accuracy levels could be high when volumes are low and low when volumes are high.  The turnaround time could also similarly vary depending on the volume of transcription. The turnaround time being shorter during slack periods and vice versa during periods with high volumes.

  

e)    Is it important to retain medical transcription in-house?

There are certain factors like concerns for security of the data that could be a hurdle to the outsourcing decision. Choosing a service provider with measures in place to secure people, processes and technology can eliminate security concerns and remove any hurdles to the outsourcing process.

f)      What are the alternate options available?

Healthcare facilities have the option of outsourcing their overflow transcription needs to a combination of independent contractors or medical transcription service providers. This could however result in the healthcare facility having to put in more efforts to coordinate medical transcription from various resources. The easy fix to ensure that transcripts are created in a timely, accurate, secure and cost effective manner is to outsource medical transcription on a turnkey basis to a professional medical transcription service provider

g)    What is the cost of outsourcing medical transcription?

Outsourcing medical transcription ensures that the cost of transcription is restricted to the cost per line of transcription. Initially the healthcare facility may have to have a minimum outlay towards finalizing the service provider and adapting to the technology used by the service provider.

h)    What are pitfalls of outsourcing medical transcription?

The common pitfalls while outsourcing a function as vital as medical transcription is the fear of poor quality and security concerns. Another major concern is that the price quoted by the service provider may have hidden costs. Both these concerns can be overcome by choosing a service provider who has the right team in place to meet quality concerns,  has adequate measures in place to ensure total security and uses a billing method that is measurable, verifiable, definable, consistent and fair& honest.

i)      What is the value addition in outsourcing medical transcription?

Outsourcing medical transcription provides the healthcare facility with many value added services like technology that offers multiple benefits like different modes of document delivery, archives making it easy to trace transcripts in different stages, specialty medical transcription etc.

j)      What about the transition to outsourced medical transcription services?

Transition from in-house transcription to outsourced services can be eased when the medical transcription service provider has open channels for customer service. This would enable the service provider to solve minor issues as and when they crop up.

k)    What about existing investments in EMR?

Existing investments is EMR/EHR can be protected if the medical transcription service provider has the capability for HL7 interface enabling data to be transmitted to the EMR/EHR system.

l)      What are the options available to capture dictation?

This is a main concern for time starved healthcare professionals, this concern can be overcome by choosing a service provider who allows the healthcare professionals to retain their familiar modes for capturing dictation.

The process of outsourcing medical transcription can become easier by choosing a medical transcription service provider who alleviates these fears/doubts that may rise during the outsourcing process.

TransDyne a leader in the outsourced medical transcription industry offers complete       medical transcription solutions. TransDyne offers quality medical transcription at reasonable prices, executed by experienced and qualified medical transcriptionists with a very quick turnaround time executed through secure HIPAA and HITECH compliant channels, with very high levels of accuracy and all this with technology that is advanced but easy to use!             

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