Sunday, May 2, 2010

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

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