Medical transcription: What makes good services exceptional?

Outsourcing medical transcription can be a mind-boggling exercise. It not only involves extensive analysis of the healthcare facility, but once this is done it also entails careful and detailed examination of the options available. On the face of it this could seem like fairly simple and straightforward exercise.

The process of analyzing the options available becomes complicated due to the following reasons:

· Varying needs of a healthcare facility could comprise of the following:

1. Different specialties requiring different report formats, turnaround time etc
2. Unpredictable inflow of patients, causing medical transcription needs to vary.
3. Weekend and holiday medical transcription requirements
4. Flexible options required for expansion plans
5. Integration with existing systems.
6. Healthcare professionals wanting to retain their current dictation modes.
7. EMR adoption

· A medical transcription service provider needs to be evaluated on the following:

1. Quality/Accuracy: The quality of the transcribed document refers to the percentage of accuracy in the transcribed document viz. a viz. the audio files.

2. Turnaround time: Turnaround time is the duration between uploading dictation to the server and when the final transcribed document is made available to the healthcare facility

3. Price: Pricing refers to the price per line of transcription

4. Security: Security refers to the means by which the medical transcription company protects confidential patient data during transmission and during the transcription process.

However these are just the basic criteria for evaluating a medical transcription company, a healthcare facility needs to look for qualities that make a medical transcription company exceptional.

The qualities that make a good medical transcription service exceptional are as follows:

· Billing method used: Billing methods used by the medical transcription service provider have a direct effect on the bottom line of the healthcare facility. Billing methods vary from charging for a page, a gross line a report or that of a character line. The billing method used by the medical transcription company needs to verifiable, measurable, definable, consistent and fair & honest.

TransDyne uses the 65-character line method of billing, which is approved by  AHDI. Care is taken to explain the billing methodology at the beginning so that there is no ambiguity.

· Quality assessment methods used: The quality of the transcribed document is measured by the percentage of accuracy of information transcribed. Minimum or zero error means that the records of patients reflect the correct information. This is critical for the ability to give quality care. A medical transcription company needs to be assessed by the methods used for achieving accuracy to assess its’ ability to achieve promised accuracy levels

TransDyne offers transcription with accuracy of 99% or above. TransDyne ensures quality by adopting a four level quality check of Medical Transcriptionist, language proofreader, unit in charge and finally by Quality Assurance team which tries to minimize errors before returning the finished reports.

· Training methods used: Training methods used by the medical transcription company has an effect on both the accuracy and the turnaround time.

TransDyne believes that it takes a specialist to take care of special needs. That is why medical transcriptionists here are trained on one or two areas of specialty. This makes them domain experts. This reduces the learning curve and enables them to meet stringent accuracy standards from the very beginning, and they are also able to meet the turnaround time guarantees.

· Technology used: Technology used by the medical transcription company has its impact on ease of use as well as the security of data. Because medical transcription involves the transmission of data, care has to be taken to make that appropriate security measures are in place. Technology can save a lot of time for healthcare professional by including features like flexible modes of dictation, easy upload and download of finished transcripts.

TransDyne ensures security by incorporating security measures like 128-bit data encryption, multi-tiered application architecture, design level security, safeguards, firewall protected networks, sterilized e-mail servers, denial of access procedure and multi modal alerts.

TransDyne’s system has features like Smart Upload, Smart Delivery and allows for flexible modes of dictation. TransDyne also offers a web delivery system, which offers archiving facilities. TransDyne has HL7 interface for easy integration with EMR

· Flexibility in services: Considering that the needs of healthcare facilities can vary due to various factors, it is important that the medical transcription service provider is flexible and adapts itself to suit varying needs.

TransDyne has experience serving all types of healthcare facilities by offering services that are tailor made to suit their unique needs

· Free trial without obligatory sign up: This is very important to assess the services of a medical transcription company before signing up with them.

TransDyne offers the opportunity to have the benefit of their services for a limited period for free. This enables the healthcare facility to understand the advantages of partnering with TransDyne for their Medical Transcription needs.

Medical transcription: The decision making process for outsourcing

There are several reasons to outsource medical transcription; one of the main reasons is to reduce the burden of non-healthcare related work for everybody involved in the running of the healthcare facility.

The decision making process becomes comparatively difficult when the purchase decision involves availing services rather than a tangible physical product. But is the process of evaluation so different?

What are the usual criteria for evaluation for any major purchase and how does it apply while evaluating medical transcription?

· Quality: Quality is perhaps the most important aspect that is evaluated during the purchase process. This becomes very critical while evaluating services as important as medical transcription.

· Quantity: This criterion covers two aspects. The quantity that is required and whether the required quantity can be supplied. Again this aspect is vital to a healthcare facility, as in this case the required quantity cannot be predicted and the medical transcription service provider has to be able to cope with varying needs.

· Right price: Apart from quality and quantity, getting the right price is very important. In case of a healthcare facility looking to outsource medical transcription needs, cost is perhaps the main driver for the outsourcing decision.

· Reliability: In any purchase decision the product/service needs to be reliable. This could mean that the company providing the product/ service should be well established and have the right technology and the right processes in place to provide reliable services.

· Safety: Safety features of the product need to be evaluated before making the final decision. In case of a healthcare facility maintaining safety or security of confidential patient information is mandatory.

· Guarantee: Guarantee for the performance of the product again plays a very important role in the buying decision. In case of a service like medical transcription the guarantee could be both for turnaround time as well the accuracy levels.

· Ease of use: Nobody likes to buy a product that is difficult to use. This applies very much to a healthcare facility looking to outsource medical transcription. Using this service should be made as easy as possible without affecting the security and performance features.

· Robust technology: Technology plays a major role in most products/ services. Technology needs to be robust and consistent to ensure the continuity of services.

· After sales service: This is an oft-ignored factor, which turns out to be a glitch after one has availed of products/services. Continued customer care is a vital factor for smooth transition to outsourced medical transcription.

· Track record: A good track record/reputation of the company with customers who have purchased the products or availed of the services can provide an additional comfort level.

· Well-developed web site: A well developed website could pretty much cover all these factors. When a healthcare facility looks for options to outsource medical transcription, a well-developed web site can cover all these points and also provide additional information regarding the benefits of availing the services from the service provider.

It can be seen that any purchasing decision tends to follow the same procedure, in case of outsourcing services only the evaluation criteria differs. Medical transcription is a critical function for a healthcare facility and it affects both profitability and the core business of providing quality healthcare. Care should be taken to select a company, which fulfils all these criteria.

TransDyne is a leading provider of medical transcription, given below is the analysis that shows that TransDyne more than fulfils all the above criteria:

· Quality: TransDyne offers transcription with an accuracy level of above 99%.

· Quantity: TransDyne has a large pool of qualified and well-trained medical transcriptionists, who can deal with varying volumes of transcription without compromising quality or turnaround time.

· Right price: TransDyne offers medical transcription at reasonable and fair prices using transparent billing method

· Reliability: TransDyne medical transcription service is reliable and consistent. It covers even holiday and weekend requirements.

· Safety: Security of data is ensured at TransDyne by the use of right technology, right process and right infrastructure. TransDyne has educated its’ team on HIPAA regulations to ensure total confidentiality.

· Guarantee: TransDyne offers a guaranteed turnaround time of 24 hours, with an option of 4-12 hours turnaround time for STAT reports. Accuracy levels are guaranteed at 99%

· Ease of use: TransDyne believes that technology should be advanced, but easy to use. That is why it offers flexible modes of dictation, easy upload and web delivery systems that require minimum or no training.

· Robust technology: TransDyne uses robust technology like 128-bit data encryption, multi-tiered application architecture, design level security safeguards, firewall protected networks etc.

· After sales service: TransDyne is available to their customers 24/7 to provide support.

· Track record: TransDyne has an excellent track record of their performance with healthcare facilities of all types. The testimonials of some of these success stories are available at their web site.

· Well-developed web site: TransDyne has a web site, which offers comprehensive information about the company, services and methodology etc.

Medical transcription outsourcing: Helps make the organization structure leaner

Medical transcription is the process of creating records of the patient-healthcare professional encounter. It is a non-profit making but essential part of the healthcare process. It is considered to be one of the cost heads.

The aim of most healthcare facilities is to reduce the cost of medical transcription as much as possible. Outsourcing medical transcription helps reduce costs both directly and indirectly.

How does outsourcing medical transcription reduce direct costs?
Outsourcing medical transcription reduces direct costs by reducing the following cost heads:

· Reduce the cost of medical transcriptionist staff on the rolls: One of the main contributors to the cost of medical transcription in-house is the need to maintain the manpower to execute the work. Outsourcing medical transcription needs can bring down not only the salaries paid to the medical transcriptionist but also bring down other costs like taxes, benefits like insurance, down time when work is slow, overtime payments, the cost of weekend and holiday transcription etc.

· Bring down the cost per line of transcription: Outsourcing medical transcription ensures that the healthcare facility ends up paying very less per line of transcription due to benefits like economies of scale, lower cost of living at the outsourcing company location, and the benefits of best practices adopted by the service provider.

· Reduce the cost of medical transcription equipment: For medical transcription to be executed in-house the healthcare facility has to invest in medical transcription equipment like computers, servers, earphones, foot pedals etc. These expenses are eliminated with the outsourcing option.

How does outsourcing medical transcription reduce indirect costs?
Outsourcing medical transcription reduces indirect costs by reducing the following cost heads:

· Reduce the cost of management resources: Managing medical transcription in-house would involve allocation of management staff for activities like recruitment, training, supervision of medical transcription work. By outsourcing medical transcription, management expenses towards managing medical transcription in-house would be dramatically reduced.

· Reduce the cost of utilities: Utilities like power, water, stationery, consumables etc. add to the cost of medical transcription in-house. Outsourcing medical transcription would eliminate all these costs.

· Reduce the cost of real estate: Executing medical transcription in-house would mean allocating space for this purpose. This cost of real estate would add to the cost of transcription. Outsourcing medical transcription would totally eliminate this cost head.

Outsourcing medical transcription needs would make the organization structure leaner by eliminating the need to maintain a huge staff on the rolls, while at the same time bringing down the cost of transcription dramatically. It allows the healthcare facility to take advantage of opportunity costs which would have been lost by allocating essential resources to in-house transcription like investments in capital equipment, space allocation, management resources etc.

Outsourcing medical transcription to TransDyne helps not only eliminate direct and indirect costs of in-house transcription, it also offers advantages like:

Medical transcription: Outsourcing can reduce the information technology burden of the healthcare facility

The success of any organization lies in being able to concentrate on the core business and outsource all other activities that are not part of the core business. The core business of a healthcare facility is that of providing quality healthcare. All other activities are support functions. They play an important role in achieving the core objective, but may not be part of the core competency of the healthcare facility.

One such activity is medical transcription. Medical transcription is the process of documenting the patient-healthcare professional encounter.

What is the importance of medical transcription in the healthcare process?

Medical transcription plays an important part in the following:

· Patient treatment
· Permanent Patient records
· Referrals to other doctors
· Evidence in case of malpractice suits
· Coding, billing and insurance claims
· Satisfaction of regulatory norms

One can see that medical transcription plays a very important role in major areas of healthcare like quality of care, diagnosis and in the receivables cycle.

What role does Information Technology (IT) play in Medical transcription?
With the evolution of medical transcription from the manual to the virtual world, Information Technology plays a very important role at every stage of medical transcription like:

· Collections of patient-healthcare professional encounter data.
· Transmission of data to the medical transcriptionists
· The transcription process
· Transmission of transcribed files to the healthcare professionals
· Archiving of files for future reference
· Integration with EMR systems

The whole process of medical transcription needs Information technology at every stage to make the process quicker and secure. Executing medical transcription in-house would require that the healthcare facility have massive investment in Information technology to enable all these functions. It would involve investments in servers for uploading dictation, secure file transfer protocols to distribute work to and collect work from medical transcriptionists, distribution network for report distribution and powerful archiving to trace dictations, work-in-progress and finished transcripts.

The simple step of outsourcing medical transcription needs to a technology savvy medical transcription service provider can eliminate the total burden of investment in Information technology towards medical transcription. These valuable resources could then be put to better use.

TransDyne a leading name in medical transcription believes that technology needs to be advanced so that the service provided is of the best standard, but should be simple to enable ease of use for healthcare professionals.

Some of the features of the software and tools used by TransDyne are as follows:

· Smart upload: TransDyne offers doctors the choice of using modes of dictation they are already comfortable with. Then these files are uploaded to the servers to be made available for transcription. Smart upload enables transfer of dictation files from the healthcare facility’s server to TransDyne’s server by checking for new dictations at pre-fixed intervals.

· Web Delivery: TransDyne’s web delivery system tackles all issues related with tracking dictations, receiving documents and finding old files from the archives.

· Smart Delivery: Smart delivery is an automated program that addresses the automatic downloads, saving files and printing needs of a healthcare facility.

· HL7 integration: TransDyne can configure and send healthcare information as HL7 messages to the client’s EMR with no additional costs.

By using the right technology TransDyne provides medical transcription with benefits like:

Medical transcription: Pick a company that thinks like their customers

What gives TransDyne the edge over others in the field of medical transcription?

TransDyne is the new standard in medical transcription that provides excellent services by using their extensive background in software to develop systems which provide advanced technology with ease of use

Beyond that what sets TransDyne apart is the mindset of the company towards its’ customers. TransDyne has actually put itself into the shoes of their customers i.e. healthcare facilities to anticipate any questions, doubts or issues they may have with the outsourcing decision and addressed them all.

Typically the decision to outsource lies in the hands of the individual/team who looks after the administration of the healthcare facility. They would be responsible for the business end of the healthcare facility including medical transcription and record keeping among their many other responsibilities.

What questions/ doubts / issues would healthcare facility administrator/s have regarding medical transcription?

· How important is medical transcription to the running of the healthcare facility?
Medical transcription is vital for the smooth running of a healthcare facility. The finished transcripts are used for:
1. Patient treatment
2. Permanent Patient records
3. Referrals to other doctors
4. Evidence in case of malpractice suits
5. Coding, billing and insurance claims
6. Satisfaction of regulatory norms.

TransDyne offers Quality Transcription with accuracy of 99% or above by applying four level quality checks

· How much is the cost per line of medical transcription currently?
Depending on whether an in-house employee or an independent contractor is doing the medical transcription work, it could cost anywhere between 18-35 cents per line of transcription.

TransDyne offers prices as low as 10 cents for a 65-character line that is subject to verification from both ends through a transparent billing method.

· Is medical transcription a part of the healthcare facility’s core business?
Medical transcription is not part of the core business but does play an important role in providing quality healthcare and improving the bottom line of the healthcare facility.

TransDyne is a professional company whose core business is medical transcription

· What are the opportunity costs of medical transcription activity in-house?
Apart from the direct costs involved in medical transcription in-house there are numerous opportunity costs  like management resources, space allocated for medical transcription, information technology investment etc.

By outsourcing the medical transcription needs of a healthcare facility to TransDyne one can not only save on cost per line of transcription but also save on opportunity costs like management, human resource development, space management etc.

· Are volume fluctuations in medical transcription due to holidays/staff shortage/weekends being met?
Normally it is difficult to anticipate the fluctuations in the volumes of transcription and staffing fluctuations and thereby it is very difficult to plan medical transcription volumes accordingly.

TransDyne can provide medical transcription according to the volume fluctuations and any holiday/weekend needs due to the availability of a
large pool of trained medical transcriptionists.

· What are the concerns with regard to outsourcing medical transcription?
The concerns for outsourcing are mainly the accuracy, turnaround time, hidden costs and data security.

TransDyne offers medical transcription with an accuracy of above 99%, turnaround time of 24 hours, with a 4-12 hours turnaround time for stat reports, with a fair and simple billing method that has no hidden costs and data transmission through secure channels to ensure HIPAA compliancy.

· Is further investment in technology required to make the transition to outsourcing?
No! There are no investments to be made in technology or software for outsourcing medical transcription to TransDyne

· Is the transition difficult for doctors in terms of dictation methods and equipments?
The transition to outsourced medical transcription can be made simple by using the existing modes of dictation.

TransDyne believes that the doctors’ time is precious that is why they offer flexible modes of dictation. Doctors can dictate using their existing dictation devices, use digital reorders or even use mobile phones to record their dictation into their toll free number.

Will the medical transcription company be available at all times in case of doubts and clarifications?
TransDyne believes in being available to the customer 24/7 so that any doubts/clarifications are sorted out at the earliest.

· What are the advantages of outsourcing medical transcription to TransDyne?

Pricing: TransDyne offers fair and verifiable pricing for the services rendered.

Zero investment: Medical transcription with TransDyne requires no investment.

No opportunity costs lost: TransDyne offers total solutions for the medical transcription process thereby no opportunity costs are lost.

Focus on core business: Once a professional company like TransDyne meets the medical transcription needs, it leaves the administrator of the healthcare facility free to focus on the core business of health care.

Turnaround time: TransDyne guarantees a turnaround time of 24 hours and 4-12 hours for STAT reports, hence the quality of care improves and the receivables cycle is reduced.

Fluctuation in volumes managed: TransDyne is geared to take on the fluctuating volumes of medical transcription needs by having a huge pool of trained transcriptionists available at all times.

Medical transcription: The myths and truths

In recent times there have been many myths and misconceptions regarding medical transcription, giving it a bad press. Given below are a few myths about medical transcription:

· Medical transcription is easy and anybody can be a medical transcriptionist: This is a common myth about medical transcription, given that entry into this profession is relatively easy. No formal qualifications are required except for an aptitude for the English language, good keyboard skills and a keen ear. In spite of the easy entry to qualify as a medical transcriptionist, a person has to go through extensive training in medical terminology, procedures and drugs. This profession also requires a person to constantly educate themselves on the latest developments in the medical field.

Over and above all a medical transcriptionist trained in a particular specialty of medicine adds value to the work done by being a domain specialist increasing accuracy and turnaround time.

· Medical transcription is just a data entry service: Medical transcription is a service, which requires attributes like good listening, applying context when in doubt and an extensive knowledge base to draw from, unlike data entry. Moreover medical transcription goes beyond just a data entry service by having additional benefits like effective report distribution, archiving and adding value to the healthcare facility in terms of reducing staff burden, reducing capital investment in medical transcription, and freeing up resources like utilities and real estate.

· Medical transcription can be replaced with voice recognition software: Voice recognition software is software that automatically converts the dictation of the healthcare professional into a typed text. On the face of this, it sounds like the answer to the medical transcription needs of a healthcare facility.

But this software is not easy to use due to the following reasons:

a. The software has to be “taught” to recognize the voice of the user and terminology used
b. A healthcare professional has to dramatically slow down his usual way of dictation and speak in a structured way, including punctuation etc., resulting in loss of productivity of the healthcare professional.
c. In spite of all these preparations the accuracy of the voice recognition software has been found to be only 60%-80%.

Because of such low accuracy levels the need for medical transcriptionists arises to proof read the reports and edit them to bring them up to the desired level of accuracy.

· Outsourcing medical transcription is time consuming: Outsourcing medical transcription can be made easy and quick by analyzing the specific needs of the healthcare facility and evaluating a prospective service provider by these attributes. A quick way to assess the medical transcription company is through:

a. Methods of quality assessment
b. Billing method used
c. Technology used
d. Measures for ensuring HIPAA compliance
e. Training methods used
f. Assessing if all the work in done in-house or through the use of sub-contractors.
g. Testimonials
h. Free trial

All these information can be accessed through the service provider’s website

· Outsourcing medical transcription affects the turnaround time negatively: Outsourcing medical transcription actually fine tunes the turnaround time and regularizes any overflow needs that arise due to rise in patient visits. Outsourcing also takes care of weekend and holiday transcription needs, thus lessening the turnaround time.

· Outsourcing medical transcription will adversely affect the quality of reports: Outsourcing actually improves the accuracy level of the reports transcribed, when done right. The healthcare facility needs to look a service provider who has a thorough method for attaining accuracy, specialty based training methods and executes all medical transcription work in-house.

· Outsourcing medical transcription has hidden costs that will increase the cost per line: The cost per line of medical transcription is largely determined by the billing method used. Picking a medical transcription service provider that uses a fair and simple method of billing will ensure that there are no hidden costs, and help keep costs down.

· Outsourcing medical transcription is not safe: This is one of the main myths perpetuated due to a few unfortunate incidents in the past. The security measures used by the medical transcription service provider need to be assessed in detail to ensure security breaches are prevented. The service provider needs to be assessed for security on the basis of:

a. Technology
b. Facilities and infrastructure
c. People and processes

· Outsourcing medical transcription would require an entirely new Information Technology (IT) infrastructure: Outsourcing to the right service provider would ensure this does not happen. Care needs to be taken to choose a service provider who understands the special needs of the healthcare professionals and ensures that the technology takes care of all the needs and at the same time is very simple to use. Features like a flexible mode of dictation, easy uploads & downloads and archiving facilities need to be considered in the assessment process.

TransDyne is a medical transcription service provider that busts all these myths and provides quality Medical Transcription at reasonable prices, done by expert Medical Transcriptionists with a very quick turnaround time executed through secure HIPAA compliant channels, with very high levels of accuracy and all this with technology that is advanced but easy to use!

Medical transcription: Role played in healthcare

Medical transcription is a very important part of the healthcare cycle and plays an important role in both the operational and commercial aspects of healthcare.

· Role of medical transcription in the operational aspect of healthcare: When a patient visits a healthcare professional, it could be for various reasons like an emergency, sudden illness, regular visit or continuation of an ongoing treatment plan. These visits need to be documented as part of the patient’s records.

Not only does this information form a permanent part of the patient’s health record, it forms a foundation for future encounters. Factors like demographics, lifestyle of the patient, past medical history, past treatment/procedures availed, past medications, allergies etc., have an effect on the future treatment plan.

In case the patient is availing a new mode of treatment, which is in the experimental stages, this information needs to be captured for record and research purposes. In case of any findings from the tests conducted require further treatment, the record forms the basis of referral to a specialist. Medical transcription enables the healthcare professional to take informed decisions instead of relying on memory or guesswork by creating accurate and timely records.

· Role of medical transcription in the commercial aspect of healthcare: The secondary, but equally important role played by medical transcription is the commercial aspect. Medical transcription forms the basis of claiming payment from the insurance company. The information from the record created by the medical transcription process is used as the basis of coding, billing and insurance claims. Any delays in the medical transcription process could adversely affect the receivables cycle.

Medical records also provide evidence in case of any litigation issues and it is also a statutory requirement to maintain patient records for a certain period of time. Medical transcription plays an important part in record creation by capturing all the information of the patient-healthcare professional encounter.

· Where does medical transcription process begin?
The process of medical transcription begins when the patient enters the healthcare facility for availing treatment. The front office collects details like date of birth, gender, Social security no., employer details and details of the policy name and number etc. The patient meets the healthcare professional for consultation and treatment. This total encounter is dictated into a recording device by the healthcare professional. The audio recordings are then transmitted to the medical transcription service provider for transcription.

· What are the various stages of the medical transcription process?
The audio records are downloaded at the medical transcription service provider’s site and distributed for transcribing among the medical transcriptionists based on their expertise. Once the transcription process is over, the proofreader goes through the record to ensure accuracy and fill any gaps, which are left blank. Then the files are passed on the Unit in charge who goes through the record once more to ensure accuracy. Before finally transmitting to the client the quality assurance team does random checks to ensure total quality and the final corrections are made if required.

· What are the attributes that define quality medical transcription?
The attributes that define the quality of medical transcription are:
a. Accuracy: Needs to be above 99%
b. Turnaround time: Needs to be within 24 hours
c. Price: Needs to be reasonable and fair
d. Security: Has to cover all aspects that is, technology, infrastructure, people and processes.
e. Technology: Needs to be easy to use and provide maximum benefits

It is important to have medical transcription support for both the operational and commercial aspects of healthcare. At the same time one needs to have the right provider to have benefits like accuracy, turnaround time, price, security and the right technology for ease of use.

TransDyne offers Medical Transcription at reasonable prices, done by expert Medical Transcriptionists with a very quick turnaround time executed through secure HIPAA compliant channels, with very high levels of accuracy and all this with technology that is advanced but easy to use!