Medical transcription outsourcing: Helps unleash core business potential

Providing quality healthcare and making a profit while doing so are the goals of a healthcare facility. Outsourcing medical transcription can help achieve both the goals.

How does outsourcing medical transcription help in the provision of quality healthcare?

By creating accurate records: The continued quality of healthcare depends on availability of accurate information. Outsourcing of medical transcription ensures that medical records are transcribed by experienced and expert medical transcriptionists ensuring maximum accuracy.

By creating timely records: Timely records are vital for providing quality healthcare, by outsourcing the medical transcription function a healthcare facility can be ensured that transcription would be timely because of a availability of a large pool of qualified personnel at all times. The turnaround time of the finished transcripts are ensured by use of technology which has features that provides the convenience of using flexible modes of dictation, easy upload of audio files, easy download of finished transcripts.


How does medical transcription help in profitability?

By creating records at reasonable price: The cost per line of medical transcription can be cut down dramatically by outsourcing to a professionally managed medical transcription service provider. The healthcare facility can benefit from the economies of scale of the medical transcription company. The billing method used by the medical transcription service provider also has bearing on the cost per line of transcription and this in turn affects profitability.

By cutting down associated costs: Outsourcing of medical transcription would also have enormous cost saving benefits like, managerial expenses, real estate costs, cost of utilities, cost of information technology, capital investment in medical transcription equipment among many other expenses, to the healthcare facility. One of the main benefits of outsourcing medical transcription is that it accelerates the receivables cycle. This ensures that the process of reimbursement is quickened leading to profitability

By creating records through secure channels: Choosing a HIPAA/HITECH compliant medical transcription company for outsourcing medical transcription needs that healthcare facility would be able to protect itself against any litigations arising out of potential data security breaches. This could mean a huge potential saving for the healthcare facility

One can see that choosing a professionally managed medical transcription service provider as a long-term partner for creation of medical records, can have an impact on the bottom line of the healthcare facility. It is vital that the process of selection should include a company, which is able to provide all these benefits.

TransDyne offers quality medical transcription with an accuracy level of above 99% Accuracy levels are achieved by training medical transcriptionist in specific areas of medicine making them domain experts and having a four level quality check to eliminate errors.

TransDyne offers medical transcription at reasonable prices by using a fair and reasonable method, achieving and passing on the benefits of economies of scale, and executing all medical transcription work in-house.

TransDyne offers quick turnaround time for medical transcription work by use of the right technology and well-trained medical transcriptionists.

To avail the advantages of outsourcing medical transcription needs to a professional company like TransDyne, click here.

Medical transcription outsourcing: Process for choosing the right service provider

Outsourcing medical transcription is a critical decision. By outsourcing its medical transcription needs a healthcare facility is essentially adding to the back office support of their facility. A medical transcription service provider is a long-term business associate of the healthcare facility.

The process of picking the right associate needs a well thought out strategy. Breaking it into two stages can help refine the process of selection:

Qualification stage
Proposal stage

Qualification stage is an elimination round where the medical transcription service provider will be judged on the following criteria:

Can the medical transcription service provider prove HIPAA/HITECH compliance?
HIPAA/HITECH compliance is an important criterion to be considered as medical transcription involves transmission of data back and forth through electronic channels. Security measures for ensuring confidentiality of patient information needs to be addressed at 3 levels:

Technology: HIPAA/HITECH compliance in technology can be ensured by transmission of data through encrypted channels, firewall protection etc.

Process: HIPAA/HITECH compliance in process can be ensured by making sure that 100% of the work is carried out in company’s own premises and not through sub-contractors. Further security measures could include surveillance cameras and security at entry and exit points.

People: HIPAA/HITECH compliance among people could be ensured by educating them on the importance of HIPAA/HITECH and having them sign a commitment regarding the same.

Can the medical transcription service provider’s system be made compatible with the healthcare facility’s systems?
Outsourcing of medical transcription needs should not require any further investment in technology by the healthcare facility. Features like HL7 interface to enable interface between various systems could be used as a criterion to evaluate the medical transcription service provider.

Can healthcare professionals retain their current modes of dictation?
Healthcare professionals have limited time and a service provider that lets them retain their current modes of dictation will be one of the qualifying features.

Once the medical transcription service provider has qualified on these criteria they need to be evaluated on the following, which will form part of the proposal:

What is the cost per line?
Cost savings is one of the main benefits that a healthcare facility hopes to have from the outsourcing decision. The cost per line of needs to be fair and reasonable to the services rendered, without any hidden costs.

What are the billing methods used?
The method of billing used by the service provider has a direct effect on the bottom line of the healthcare facility. The billing method used has to be according to the MTIA guidelines of being verifiable, definable, measurable, consistent, fair and honest.

What is the guaranteed turnaround time?
Timely transcripts add to the quality of healthcare provided. A reasonable turnaround time needs to be specified along with options for STAT reports.

What is the accuracy level promised?
The accuracy of the finished transcript as against the audio file needs to be as close to 100% as possible so that accurate information is documented. The accuracy level specified by the medical transcription service provider is an important criterion for the final decision-making.

Can the medical transcription service provider provide references?
References/ testimonials are the success stories of those who have already availed the services of the service provider. Having testimonials gives an added assurance that the service provider can meet all the challenges.

Is there a free trial period to test the services?
Free trials of the services provide a test run that gives the healthcare facility an idea as what to expect and helps make the right decision.

What is the type of contract used?
The type of contract used by the medical transcription service provider gives an idea about the commitment needed from both the parties and whether the service provider is willing to make changes in the contract if needed.

TransDyne is a professionally managed transcription company, which qualifies on all the criteria like being HIPAA/HITECH compliant in technology, processes and people, having technology that is compatible with that of the healthcare facility and the flexibility for healthcare professionals to retain their current modes of dictation.

TransDyne offers medical transcription at the rate of 10 cents per line, uses a billing method based on a 65-character line, assures a turnaround time of 24 hours with an option of 4-12 hours for STAT reports, assures an accuracy level of above 99%.

TransDyne can provide testimonials of its’ success stories, offers a free trial period for evaluating their services, and a standard business agreement that can be modified as per the healthcare facility’s requirements.

To avail medical transcription services from TransDyne, click here.

Types of medical transcription reports

What are the types of reports that need to be transcribed?

Apatient-provider interaction typically happens when a patient visits a doctor or healthcare provider for:

• Regular health checks
• Specific health issue
• Emergency care
• Specialist referral
• Procedure
• Surgery/ Diagnostic test

Once the patient-doctor encounter ends detailed records need to be created of the whole process. This is not only a statutory requirement, but also aids the doctor in the treatment process, checking on the progress of the patient, providing proof in case of litigation and also used further for billing and reimbursement. Medical transcription plays an important part in the process of record creation.

The types of reports that are created by medical transcriptionists are as follows

Ø Patient History and physical examination report: This contains a brief about the patient name, age, gender, occupation, family health history, habits like smoking etc. and the details of the physical examination

Ø Consultation report: This contains the details of the findings by the consultant to whom the patient has been referred to for further treatment or diagnosis depending on the symptoms

Ø Operative report: This contains the details of the operation/surgery that a patient has undergone including details of the procedure, duration, the anesthesia given etc. This may also contains some postoperative details

Ø Radiology report: This contains details of the radiologists’ findings on the X-rays, MRI scan, Ct scan, nuclear medicine, fluoroscopic studies etc along with the reports

Ø Pathology report: This contains the findings of a pathologist of the tissue sample

Ø Laboratory report: This contains the laboratory findings on body fluids

Ø Emergency report: This is a summary of the patient’s visit to the emergency room for emergency care.
Ø SOAP note report: This contains

q Subjective: This section contains patient’s current condition like age, gender, and pertinent symptoms etc

q Objective: This section contains vital signs, findings from physical exams. Lab test results, co morbidity etc

q Assessment: This contains quick summary of symptoms and diagnosis etc

q Plan: This contains treatment plans, document goals for the patient with reasonable time lines etc.

Ø Progress note report: This contains progress of the patient after treatment/ operation/ procedure if any

Ø Therapy report: This contains details of the therapy given to the patient

Ø Discharge summary: This contains all the details which are generated when the patient is discharged including the treatment given, the progress of the patient, any reports and findings etc.

In light of the vital information that comes out of each patient encounter with a healthcare facility, medical transcription is an important component in the healthcare delivery cycle.

One needs to focus on a medical transcription service provider not just for creation of physical records but based on the following criteria:

• Accuracy of above 99%
• Turnaround time of 24 hours
• Reasonably priced
• Secure channels for data transmission

TransDyne offers quality medical transcription at reasonable prices, done by expert medical transcriptionists with a very quick turnaround time and 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!

TransDyne's medical transcription service is proven and the team has vast experience in:

• Family Practice transcription
• Internal Medicine transcription
• Orthopedics transcription
• Cardiology transcription
• Neurology transcription
• Psychiatry transcription
• Radiology transcription
• Rehab Medicine transcription
• Pediatrics transcription
• Podiatry transcription
• Physical Therapy transcription
• Ophthalmology transcription
• Hematology & Oncology transcription
• ENT transcription
• Plastic Surgery transcription
• ER transcription
• Ob/Gyn transcription
• Nephrology transcription
• Urology transcription
• Gastroenterology transcription
• General Surgery transcription

To avail expert medical transcription services from TransDyne’s. click here.

Reduce management expenses by outsourcing medical transcription.

Management expenses can really add to the cost of transcription!

When the cost of in-house transcription is computed one of the cost components that is often overlooked is the cost of managing the in-house transcription needs. Managing medical transcription in-house would typically involve the following management activities:

Sourcing the right people: This would involve advertising for people and assessing the quality of people before recruiting them as transcriptionists.

Sourcing equipment: This would involve assessing the equipment requirements (including computers, listening devices, foot pedals, printers, stationery etc.) And then acquiring them for the right price

Sourcing technology: The technology required for starting up medical transcription like software for routing, firewalls, encryptions, uploading, downloading and archival features etc need to be assessed and acquired.

Space allocation: There would be certain space needs for carrying out transcription work in-house this needs to be assessed and allocated.

Training the people: People need to be trained on the work requirements and procedures to be followed etc.Once the resources are in place then the next step is execution of the work which involves the following steps:

Collection of dictation: Dictation of records by doctors needs to be collected in a centralized place for further processing.

Allocation of dictation: Dictated audio files need to be allocated to medical transcriptionists so that they commence with their work.

Supervising the medical transcription work: Work once collected and allocated needs to be supervised to make sure that it is being executed according to the required standards.

Assessing quality: Accuracy/quality of transcribed documents needs to be assessed to minimize errors.

Assessing turnaround time: Turnaround time of reports is very important for the treatment of patients, record keeping and managing receivables etc. hence turnaround time schedules have to be maintained.

Ensuring security: Transcription would entail transmission of confidential files of patients back and forth, care has to be taken to make sure that all the channels of transmission are secure and HIPAA compliant.

Collecting all the transcribed files: All the finished files need to be compiled at one central server for transmission back to the concerned doctors for their records and further use.

Obtaining feedback: Feedback on the quality of reports along with any special formats required needs to be collected from the doctors and communicated to the transcriptionists for implementation.

Updating/training medical transcriptionists on latest developments: Medical field has new developments on a daily basis in terms of drugs, treatments etc, medical transcriptionists need to be constantly updated about these developments.

Making arrangements for holiday/emergency medical transcription requirements: Due to unpredictability of patient inflow and staff fluctuations during holidays etc arrangements have to be made so that transcription needs are taken care of during these times.

Maintaining archives: Archiving of medical reports for easy access in case of future reference for various purposes.

Arranging Repairs and maintenance for all equipments to prevent breakdowns: Repairs and maintenance of transcription equipments is a constant process required for the smooth execution of transcription work.

The vast array of management activities required to execute transcription in-house will add to the cost per line of transcription. When the transcription needs are outsourced, effectively all the management costs and activities associated with in-house transcription will be outsourced. Assessing the medical transcription service provider on the basis of quality/accuracy, pricing, turnaround time and data security is important before making the outsourcing decision.

TransDyne is a professionally managed medical transcription service provider that offers quality medical transcription at reasonable prices, done by expert 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 superior outsourced medical transcription services from TransDyne, click here.

Medical transcription- what to look for in a Transcription service provider: Aptitude or attitude?

What is more important, aptitude or attitude? This is a very relevant issue while deciding to outsource medical transcription needs.

What exactly is ‘APTITUDE’ when it comes to judging a Medical Transcription Service Provider?

Some of the attributes that reflect the Aptitude in the medical transcription context are:

. Quality/accuracy meaning the accuracy of the completed transcripts vis-à-vis what was dictated. An aptitude for accurate transcription.

· Turnaround time refers to the time taken to deliver the transcribed reports. An aptitude for maintaining promised deadlines.

. Data Security means having adequate security measures to ensure that confidential data transmitted back and forth is safe and secure. An aptitude for maintaining virtual security.

. Reasonable prices denote prices that are fair and reasonable for the services rendered. An aptitude for fair pricing.

. Technology that is easy to use by health professionals, without requiring extensive training. An aptitude for deploying systems that are user- friendly.

What sort of attitude should be looked at by the healthcare facility when it comes to judging a Medical Transcription Service Provider?

The Attitude of a medical transcription service provider can be judged based on the following characteristics:

Quality guidelines are the standards by which the medical transcription service provider employees perform their duties. Quality Guidelines ensure that the quality of work stays consistent at all levels of the company under all circumstances. An attitude for making quality indispensable.

In house transcription means that the medical transcription service provider that the healthcare facility is outsourcing to, is executing the work in house and not through sub contractors. An attitude for maintaining standard service.

Transparent and simple billing means having a method of billing which is verifiable, definable, measurable, consistent, fair and honest. An attitude of transparency.

Flexibility of dictation methods means offering different options for doctors to dictate their notes. A flexible and client friendly attitude.

Specialty based Medical Transcription, means training Medical Transcriptionists with special focus in one or two specialties of medicine to make them domain experts. An attitude for going beyond the ordinary

Document delivery system that allows for easy uploads and downloads and which will make checking on the status of the reports efficient and convenient. An attitude for making the customer’s work life simpler.

Free trial without any obligatory sign up giving the healthcare facility a chance to review the services of the medical transcription service provider before signing up. A confident attitude.

Testimonials make it possible to find out from others as to how they have benefited from the services of the medical transcription service provider. An honest attitude.

As can be seen it is important to choose a medical transcription service provider with both the right aptitude and attitude.

TransDyne offers medical transcription with an accuracy of above 99% with a turnaround time of 24 hours & 4-12 hours for STAT reports at a reasonable price, through secure channels and makes it easy to upload and access data. i.e. the Right Aptitude!

TransDyne has quality guidelines in place to ensure quality, executes all medical transcription work in house to ensure security & quality, has a transparent and simple billing method, offers flexible modes of dictation and gets transcription done by expert medical transcriptionists to ensure all special needs are taken care of, through a easy document delivery system, offers a free trial and the testimonials of their satisfied customers. I.e. the Right Attitude!

To avail the total TransDyne advantage of medical transcription with great aptitude and the right attitude, click here.

Medical Transcription outsourcing: Can improve the receivables cycle of a healthcare facility.

Timely Medical Transcription could actually accelerate the flow of receivables of a healthcare facility!

At the end of the day it is the goal of every enterprise whether in the healthcare business or otherwise to shorten the flow of payments cycle and receive payments sooner. In the case of a healthcare facility this becomes imperative for survival.

Once the patient has visited, diagnosed and treated or further references/tests ordered, essentially the healthcare part of the visit ends and the business side starts. Records have to be created of the whole process so that it can be further processed for coding and billing and finally for insurance claims.

The receivable cycle begins with the creation of timely and accurate records. This is where the outsourcing of medical transcription can really speed up the process. By handing over the medical transcription process to a service provider who is an expert in the process, more time and resources are freed up, which can be used to concentrate on the core business of healthcare.

Not only does medical transcription play an important role in the receivables cycle, it also plays an important role in other areas such as:

Patient treatment: The information transcribed from the initial patient-healthcare professional encounter forms a foundation for future treatment, This forms the basis of any follow-up healthcare, has references to the drugs prescribed, allergies and other pertinent information.

Statutory requirements: The information regarding a patient needs to be maintained for a period of 5 years.

Evidence in litigation: In case of malpractice suits medical records form a part of the evidence.

Referrals: In case further treatment is needed based on the present diagnosis these records form the basis of referrals to specialists for further treatment.


The medical transcription service provider needs to be assessed on the basis of the following:

Accuracy: This means the percentage of accuracy of the completed transcripts vis-à-vis what was dictated. A minimum of 99% and above would be acceptable.

Turnaround time: Turnaround time refers to the time taken to revert the transcribed report to the healthcare facility. A Turnaround time of not more than 24 hours for normal reports and 4-12 hours for STAT reports would be considered ideal.

Data security: The service provider being outsourced to should be HIPAA/HITECH compliant. The medical transcription service provider has to have adequate security measures to ensure that the confidential data transmitted back and forth is safe and secure.

Pricing: This is one of the main benefits that a healthcare facility hopes to have, from the outsourcing option. Pricing should be fair and reasonable for the services rendered. Pricing method should also be transparent and simple so that both parties can verify the same at any stage of the process

Technology: The technology used by the medical transcription service provider should not only secure but should also be easy to use, without having to require extensive training.

Once a medical transcription service provider has been evaluated on all these characteristics, the healthcare facility can finalize on a company offering all the benefits and rest easy on the first stage of its’ receivables cycle.

TransDyne offers all the above benefits of outsourcing the medical transcription needs. To avail the advantages of outsourcing medical transcription to TransDyne, click here

Medical transcription Outsourcing: Billing method and the bottom line

The method of billing adopted by the medical transcription service provider could have a direct impact on the healthcare facility’s bottom-line

After all any healthcare facility is going for specialist medical transcription services in anticipation of cost saving benefits. It is important to pick a company, which adopts a transparent and simple method of billing.

How complicated could it be? This is an area that is worth studying in detail. According to the principles of MTIA the billing method adopted by a medical transcription service provider should be

Verifiable: The billing method used by a medical transcription service provider should be easy to verify.

Definable: The terms and parameters of the billing method used by the medical transcription service provider should be defined in clear terms.

Measurable: The formulas used by a medical transcription service provider should allow for easy understanding.

Consistent: The method of billing should be consistent for clear understanding and ease of operation. Any changes made in the method of billing should be communicated to the client to avoid inconsistencies

Fair and honest: The billing method used by a medical transcription service provider should be a fair and honest representation of charges for work executed

There are various methods, used for billing, which have been summed up below:

Page: Each page of transcribed material constitutes a billable unit. The problem arises when there is a vast disparity in the content of pages. They could end up paying the same amount for a page consisting of 10 lines, as a page consisting of 45 lines. This would not be indicative of fair payment for services rendered.

Report: The total pages of finished transcription in a report constitute a billable unit. The problem arises when there is a vast disparity in the number of pages in a report. A report could consist of anything between 1 page to 10 pages, which again is not indicative of fair payment for services rendered.

Minute: This means every minute of dictation constitutes a billable unit. This method may seem like a fair one until the healthcare facility considers the different speeds of dictation, the interruptions and distractions faced by doctors during this process. They would be billed for those too!

Gross lines: Simply put, this method consists of visually counting the number of lines. The problem with this method is that it is dependent on the method of formatting used. The amount billed could be more when a Medical Transcriptionist uses tabs and indents excessively.

Character Lines: Character lines are usually defined counting the characters in the finished report and dividing it by a fixed number, say 65. Space and returns are also included. This method is simple, fair and consistent. It has the advantage of being easily verifiable.

TransDyne offers a fair and transparent billing process. TransDyne has adopted the “Character lines” method of billing. This method consists of counting all the characters in a finished report. The total is then divided by 65 to define a Character line. The billing is done on the total number of character lines transcribed.

The process of billing is explained at the very beginning so that what is being paid for is clearly understood. At every stage of the process TransDyne’s team offers further support to explain any clarifications that may be needed. With this billing system in place it ensures that the healthcare facility can rest assured that they are being billed exactly for the services rendered in a fair and verifiable manner.

To avail low-cost medical transcription services from TransDyne, click here