Medical transcription outsourcing: The changing scenario

The world is changing on a daily basis due to changes occurring at every level – economical, technological, communications and many other areas. Similarly healthcare documentation is also undergoing a transformation due to the move towards adopting an electronic healthcare system. Medical transcription services have been an important part of the healthcare documentation scenario from the very beginning.

Medical transcription services have evolved along with the changing needs of the healthcare sector from the basic typing services to specialist services that meet all the requirements of healthcare professionals and healthcare facilities using a combination of people, processes and technology. With the increasing need to customize services to meet the needs of the healthcare sector and keeping in consideration the need to curb costs, outsourcing medical transcription has been found to be one of the most prudent options.

However with the current developments in the healthcare documentation scenario and considering the proposed move to adopting EMR/ EHR it is important to take stock of the changing role of medical transcription services.

Given below are some of the changes that have occurred in the healthcare documentation and the role of medical transcription in this:

Discrete reportable transcription: Under this method healthcare professionals have the advantage of dictating as per the mode they are used to, while having specialist medical transcription companies expertly and accurately transcribe the audio. After the transcription process is over discrete data elements are parsed into the relevant fields of the EMR/ EHR using XML coding. Under this method the healthcare professional benefits from expert transcription, increased focus on patients and improved productivity.

Structured transcription: Under this method the transcription of the dictation provided by healthcare professionals is transcribed in a standardized and structured manner making it conducive to be interfaced with the EMR/ EHR using HL7 interface and various other means.

Structured dictation: Structured dictation aids in the creation of structured reports by taking the healthcare professional through a structured pattern of dictation. An interactive dictation interface prompts the healthcare professional to dictate certain topic heads following a pattern. Structured dictation can be used to form the basis of structured transcription, discrete reportable transcription etc standardizing the data elements as well as a means to preserving the entire patient story including the narrative.

Speech recognition software: The use of speech recognition software has become very popular especially back end speech recognition software. Medical transcription companies have started providing editing and proofreading services for transcripts created by speech recognition software ensuring accuracy.

It can be concluded that the healthcare documentation scenario is constantly evolving mainly due to the proposed changes and the technological advancements. However the role of medical transcription services in this scenario continues to be vital though the type of services required seems to be changing.

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.

Medical transcription outsourcing: Creating quality patient records

Healthcare services are always poised on a delicate balance, having to meet the growing demand for quality healthcare with that of contradictory demands placed on them by various sectors. The demand to provide quality services has always has been needed to be balanced against profitability and the need to meet statutory demands. One of the other factors that are vital in the delivery of healthcare services is the need to maintain the security of confidential patient information.

Due to the varied demands placed on the healthcare sector a prudent option for healthcare facilities and healthcare professionals is to concentrate on their core competence and outsource other related areas to competent service providers. One such aspect that benefits from being outsourced is medical transcription. Medical transcription is the process of creating patient medical records from the dictation of the patient – healthcare professional encounter. The information from these records is then used for providing patient care, receivables management and risk management.

Outsourcing medical transcription helps in creation of quality patient medical records. Some of the advantages of quality patient medical records are:

Significant improvement in quality of care: The creation of patient medical records using the services of a professional medical transcription company leads to significant improvement in quality of care by ensuring that detailed records are created on time. This ensures that the entire team of healthcare professionals and support staff involved in the care are up to date on the information required.

Better clinical outcomes: Having the details of patient medical record in a narrative form, accurately transcribed by professional medical transcriptionists leads to better decision making regarding care and results in better clinical outcomes.

Secure information: When the responsibility of transcription is outsourced to a professional and technologically savvy medical transcription company, the security of confidential patient information is assured throughout the transcription process. This information is protected at all levels using HIPAA and HITECH compliant measures.

Increased patient satisfaction: With the creation of detailed patient medical records by the medical transcription company using a stringent process and easy to use technology, healthcare professionals are in a better position to interact with patients rather than concentrate on the documentation process. This leads to better communication and care resulting in patient satisfaction.

Improved staff efficiency: The technology used by medical transcription companies ensure that the process of uploading files for transcription, following up on quality of transcription, keeping track of transcription and document delivery requires minimum efforts from healthcare professionals and other support staff, This results in improved staff efficiency.

Better interaction between healthcare professionals: Medical transcription service providers provide detailed records that can be easily shared between healthcare professionals making the interaction between all the healthcare professionals involved in the care process easier.

Paving the way to adoption of new technology: With the rush towards adoption of EMR/ EHR, there has been need to adopt newer technologies. Medical transcription companies aid in this by providing editing services for speech recognition software, discrete reportable transcription and HL7 interface etc towards this end.

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.

Medical transcription outsourcing: Avail the best services

It is a known fact that finding the right transcription services to help with healthcare documentation needs can help curb costs. However finding the right medical transcription company can be a challenge. One needs to look security of information, quality of services and adequate connectivity. While these are genuine concerns, a deeper investigation of the capabilities of the service provider can help mitigate these concerns and provide access to a larger pool of talent that will ensure seamless services and curb costs of transcription.

There are certain aspects that need to be explored in detail while outsourcing medical transcription by posing pertinent questions:

Am I really saving on costs by outsourcing medical transcription?

Outsourcing to the right medical transcription company can attain cost savings of more than 40% on current costs. Making a detail analysis of current costs and comparing it with the costs quoted by the medical transcription company can ascertain savings on cost. An important aspect to check to ensure fair pricing is to check on the billing method used by the medical transcription company.

         

How can outsourced medical transcription really help me?

Apart from access to the vast resources of the medical transcription company in terms of people and technology, outsourcing medical transcription additionally helps save on time, ensures quality and cost savings

Does my service provider really understand the HIPAA/ HITECH implications?  What are the compliance measures taken by them?

Concerns regarding the security of confidential patient information are cited topmost as an argument against outsourcing. To minimize concerns regarding security it is important that the business associate agreement with the medical transcription company focuses on binding not only the service provider but also the employees of the service provider.

         

Check for:

1. Prevention of medical transcriptionist/s from downloading patient information
2. Restricted internet access
3. Resetting password at frequent intervals
4. Anti-virus
5. Workstation audits

HIPAA and HITECH compliant measures that cover:

• People and processes
• Infrastructure
• Technology

Who actually does the transcription work?

When outsourcing medical transcription work it is important to know who is actually transcribing the patient records. Quality and security of transcripts is dependent on the team working on it. It is important to check whether the medical transcription company is using subcontractors to execute the work. In case the transcription company is using sub contractors it is important to check whether they are bound by the same quality and security processes as the service provider.

The use of subcontractors or home-based medical transcriptionists can have serious implications on the security and quality aspects.         

         

What is the technological capacity of the medical transcription service provider?

Check for:

1.     Capacity and bandwidth for a secure virtual private network

2.     Redundancy arrangements

3.     Connectivity

4.     Power and back up for redundancy and connectivity

5.     Initiative for disaster recovery

6.     Dictation modes

7.     Document delivery modes

8.     HL7 interface

What is their process for ensuring quality?

Accuracy or quality of documents is one of the topmost concerns of healthcare facilities looking to outsource their medical transcription work. To ensure that the medical transcription service provider can provide transcription work of acceptable accuracy, there are certain things that need to be looked at like the training process for medical transcriptionists and the quality check levels

What are the channels available for resolution of issues?

The process of outsourcing requires a certain period of hand holding to ensure that the process of transition is smooth. It is important to have a forum for addressing all concerns/ issues during the outsourcing process. Considering the location of the service provider it is imperative that customer service channels are available around the clock.

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.

Medical transcription outsourcing: Providing benefits of technology

The advent of technology and the Internet era has affected every sector positively including healthcare. The provision and management of healthcare has improved owing to the major advances in technology. Healthcare is not a service that can operate in isolation it needs to be supported by several sectors like pharmaceuticals, healthcare equipment suppliers among others for provision of care and medical transcription, medical billing services etc for administrative purposes.

Medical transcription has been one service that helps in smooth healthcare operations supporting several aspects. As the needs of the healthcare sector have become more complex and sophisticated, medical transcription services have evolved using technology to provide the required support. Medical transcription can be defined as the process of creating patient medical records from the dictation of the healthcare professionals’ narration regarding the patient encounter.

As simplistic as this sounds medical transcription services are not mere typing or data entry services but sophisticated services that enhance the quality of information using the right technology. In fact medical transcription services have becomes specialized services that need specialized focus in terms of expertise, which is why healthcare facilities and healthcare professionals prefer to avail outsourced medical transcription services rather than have an in-house medical transcription department. Outsourcing medical transcription not only helps in terms of access to better technology but also results in enormous savings on cost.

Some of the benefits of technology used by the medical transcription company are:

Better patient communication: The creation of patient medical records using the services of a professional medical transcription company ensures better patient communication by ensuring complete records including the narrative making it easy to understand created within stringent timelines.

Access to resources: Outsourcing medical transcription ensures that healthcare professionals and healthcare facilities have access to the software and tools used by the medical transcription company making it easier to change to changing requirements.

Immediate and complete documentation: Medical transcription companies offer healthcare professionals the choice to use dictation devices of their choice including speech recognition software. Medical transcription companies ensure immediate and complete documentation using the right team and the right technology to ensure secure and quick delivery of transcripts.

Better care management: Medical transcription companies aid in the creation of accurate and timely patient medical records, which can result in better care management ensuring seamless transition in case of long term care involving several teams of healthcare professionals.

Referrals: Medical transcription companies help in creation of complete and comprehensive records and deliver them through various modes. Medical transcription companies even have the provision to delivery transcripts to more than one healthcare professional when authorized making the process of referral to specialists very simple and quick.

Easy administrative usage: The creation of detailed records by medical transcription companies aid in various administrative aspects. Moreover medical transcription companies provide the administrative staff at the healthcare facility with an easy to use interface that enables them to track the transcription work in progress at any given time to enable easy administration.

Public health management: Tracking of trends of diseases and epidemics is made easy with the archival system used by medical transcription companies.

Research: Complete and detailed patient medical records created by medical transcription companies are invaluable in tracking the effects of new treatments/drugs/ procedures for research purposes.

It can be concluded that outsourcing medical transcription provides healthcare professionals and healthcare facilities with access to technology that not only has benefits for regular usage but also enables adoption of EMR/ EHR using HL7 interface. Medical transcription companies also provide discrete reportable transcription, structured transcription, structured dictation and editing& proofreading services for speech recognition software towards this end.

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.

Medical transcription outsourcing: What are the criteria to look for?

The current scenario in today’s healthcare documentation sector calls for healthcare professionals and healthcare facilities to move towards an electronic healthcare system. The key to making this happen is to ensure that healthcare professionals and healthcare facilities have an adequate support system in terms of technology and the right personnel to ensure smooth transition with minimum disruption to normal work flows.

Medical transcription has been supporting healthcare professionals and healthcare facilities in documenting the patient encounter in a manner that is conducive to the operations of healthcare facility and with minimum disruptions to the workflow of healthcare professionals. Medical transcription supports dictation as a means of data collection; this means that the healthcare professionals can dictate using their choice of dictation equipment and have the benefit of patient medical records that include the narrative portion. However with the changing needs of the current scenario it is important to partner with a medical transcription company that only supports current needs but also has the ability to support future requirements.

To ensure a long-term partnership with the medical transcription company it is important to evaluate the medical transcription company on the following criteria:

Price: The requirement for creation of patient medical records is a continuous one. Hence it is important to ensure that the pricing of the services provided helps save on current cost of transcription and does not affect the bottom line adversely. It is important to choose a medical transcription company that can provide quality services at reasonable rates. It is also important to ensure that there are no hidden charges in the pricing method used.

Functionality: There are numerous purposes for creating patient medical records like providing quality care, risk management support, coding & billing for reimbursement etc. It is important to evaluate the ability of the medical transcription company to provide transcription services that meet all these criteria by ensuring the functionality of the services. In this instance functionality of medical transcription services can be defined by accuracy and turnaround time.

Usability of services: Apart from pricing, accuracy and turnaround time one of the factors that have the most impact is the usability of these services. Considering the hectic life of healthcare professionals it is important that the technology used by the medical transcription company should be easy to use while still providing maximum benefits. Apart from features like offering options for modes of dictation and document delivery, the medical transcription company should also facilitate adoption of EMR/ EHR with options like discrete reportable transcription, structured dictation, structured transcription and HL7 interface.

Continuous support: While outsourcing medical transcription it is important to ascertain that the medical transcription company is in a position to provide continuous support not only in terms of volume of transcription, weekend & holiday transcription, but also round the clock customer support, editing services for speech recognition software etc.

Training required for transition: While outsourcing medical transcription it is important to ascertain that the use of these services does not require lengthy training and orientation, considering the hectic life of healthcare professionals and the criticality of services provided by them.

It can be concluded that evaluating the medical transcription company on stringent criteria ensures that both current and future needs of the healthcare facility with regard to transcription are taken care of.

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.

Medical transcription outsourcing: Using discrete reportable transcription

With the rapidly approaching deadlines for the adoption of EMR/ EHR, healthcare professionals and healthcare facilities are constantly looking for ways and means of complying with the mandate with minimum disruption to their work flow. Healthcare professionals intuitively show an inclination towards the dictation- transcription method of documenting the care process as it is convenient and helps retain the narrative portion of the patient encounter.

However the reports created by the medical transcription process though detailed and clear do not comply completely with the meaningful use criteria. Discrete reportable transcription has been introduced as a means to bridge this gap.  Discrete reportable transcription converts transcription into discrete data elements and these are parsed into the relevant areas in the EMR/ EHR using XML.

Discrete reportable transcription has emerged as a solution for the needs of healthcare professionals who can benefit from the experience and expertise of the medical transcription company while achieving the meaningful use criteria. Given below are some of the requirements of meaningful use criteria that can be met with using discrete reportable transcription:

• Quality measures
• Decision support
• Clinical summaries
• Medication lists
• Allergy lists
• Problem lists
• Vital signs tracking
• Demographics
• Smoking status
• Patients list by conditions
• Medication reconciliation
• Patient summary
• Electronic syndromic surveillance data.

It can be concluded that the use of discrete reportable transcription brings healthcare professionals and healthcare facilities closer to the achievement of meaningful use and adoption of EMR/ EHR.

Apart from this Discrete reportable transcription offers all the advantages of conventional medical transcription, which include:

The benefit of accurate transcription: As compared to other methods of documenting the care process, outsourced medical transcription services offer higher accuracy using skilled medical transcriptionists and intense quality processes. This ensures that the data parsed into the EMR/ EHR is accurate.

Transcription within strict timelines: Medical transcription companies ensure that the turnaround time specified by the healthcare professional are adhered to ensuring timely services.

Security throughout the transcription process: HIPAA and HITECH compliance are one of the main concerns of healthcare professionals and healthcare facilities. Medical transcription companies ensure security of data throughout the transcription process by securing technology, processes, people and infrastructure.

Technology support: Medical transcription requires the support of robust technology to be convenient and easy to use. Medical transcription companies ensure this by using software and tools that provide maximum benefits while still remaining easy to use.

Reduction in cost: Using the services of a reliable and professional medical transcription company ensures that the healthcare facility can save substantially on costs.

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.

Medical transcription outsourcing: Providing services that aid all participants

Healthcare is a service that cannot function in isolation. Though each patient encounter has essentially two main participants; the healthcare professional and the patient, there are numerous other participants who play varying roles. While documenting the care process it is important to consider the needs and contribution of all these participants to the commercial, operational and care aspects of the healthcare process to ensure that their specific needs are met with.

Medical transcription is one of the methods of documenting the care process that meets the needs of all the participants.

Who are the participants in the healthcare process and how do medical transcription services meet their needs?

The main participants in the care process are:

Healthcare professionals: Medical transcription companies meet the needs of healthcare professionals from the documenting process by providing services that include:

• Using technology for transcription that provides all benefits while still being easy to use
• Various modes of dictation
• Option to retain the narrative portion of the encounter
• Editing services for speech recognition software
• Options like discrete reportable transcription, structured transcription and structured dictation to enable adoption of EMR/ EHR
• Choices for document delivery.

Support staff at the healthcare facility: The support staff at the healthcare facility accesses patient medical records for various purposes like providing care support to healthcare professionals and administering various medicines, injections etc. Moreover the support staff also needs access to the information in patient medical records for commercial aspects like billing the patients for co-pay, providing post treatment care etc. Medical transcription companies aid the support staff by providing services that include:

• An interface that enables easy tracking of transcription at every stage
• Easy access to archives for referring to older patient medical records
• Providing services that are billed at reasonable cost to ensures enormous savings on cost of transcription.

Coders and billing staff: The process of coding and billing starts once the transcription process is over. Medical transcription companies ensure timely transcription of clear and precise medical transcription that helps in proper coding and billing

Insurance payers: Insurance payers need proper documentation that details the care process to be able to process payments. Medical transcription companies provide detailed documents that detail the diagnostic and care process

Pharmaceutical researchers: The introduction of new drugs/ formulations requires careful tracking to evaluate the efficacy and side effects if any. Medical transcription companies ensure that the patient medical records reflect complete information, which enables the extraction of the required data for this purpose.

Public health officials: Detailed patient medical records are useful for keeping track of epidemics and other public health related issues. Medical transcription companies ensure that this data is easily available by creating and archiving records, which are easily searchable using various criteria.

Risk managers: Risk managers require detailed information regarding the patient encounter, diagnostic and treatment process as a defense against malpractice litigation. Medical transcription companies aid in this by creating accurate and timely patient medical records that includes the narrative.

Health information managers: Medical transcription companies aid health information managers by providing software and tools for medical transcription that not only meet and exceed HIPAA and HITECH regulations and other operational aspects but also in adoption of EMR/ EHR using HL7 interface

Patients and their family: As the most important participant in the healthcare process, patients need access to their personal health records in a form that is easily understandable by them. Medical transcription companies ensure this by creating accurate reports that include the narrative.

It can be concluded that medical transcription services have a large role to play in the healthcare documentation scenario meeting the needs of all the participants.

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 and editing & proofreading services for adoption of EMR/ EHR.

To avail complete medical transcription services from TransDyne, click here