Medical transcription outsourcing: What to look for in the service provider?

While outsourcing medical transcription a healthcare facility has to analyze in detail what they hope to gain from the outsourcing decision and match their requirements with the services offered by the medical transcription service provider. Some of the main criteria for evaluating a potential service provider are:

• Quality: Though cost savings is one of the main driving forces behind outsourcing medical transcription, quality should be the main criteria for assessing the suitability of the service provider. To ensure that the service provider can meet quality standards it is important to assess the capability of the medical transcription service provider to meet quality standards by focusing on the following areas:

1. Promised accuracy levels: The accuracy levels promised by the medical transcription service provider should not be below the accepted industry norm of 98%. Moreover it is also important to ascertain the Quality Guidelines used by the service provider to arrive at the percentage of accuracy
2. Quality processes: The medical transcription service provider should have an effective method/ process in place to ensure that the accuracy levels promised can be achieved. The capability of the service provider to deliver quality is dependent on the recruitment & training policies, the number of quality check levels the transcripts are put through and a policy of not diluting quality by using subcontractors

• Turnaround time: The inputs from the patient records play an important role in supporting the healthcare decision making process and the reimbursement process. It is important to ascertain the capability of the outsourced medical transcription service provider to meet turnaround time commitment by checking on the manpower availability and the technology used.
• Experience, background and references: Medical transcription is a service that requires the right blend of human expertise and technology to meet quality requirements. Therefore while outsourcing medical transcription it is important to ascertain the experience and background of the service provider. Checking on references of their customers is an essential part of evaluating the service provider.
• Contracts: The contract agreement between the healthcare facility and the service provider formalizes the scope of services are defined and the expected quality levels. It is important to ensure that the contract is not one sided and covers all the salient points
• Cost per line and the billing methodology: Cost reduction is one of the main benefits of outsourcing medical transcription; it is important to ascertain that the price quoted by the medical transcription service provider is clearly explained. It is important to understand the method of billing used by the service provider to ensure that there are no hidden costs
• Capacity to integrate with EMR/ EHR: It is important to ascertain whether the medical transcription service provider has HL7 capabilities to integrate with EMR. Adoption of EMR helps improve the healthcare process and is also mandatory by law.
• Modes of dictation: The medical transcription service provider has to be able to configure the existing modes of dictation with their system. This would enable the healthcare professionals to retain their familiar mode of dictation, helping them optimize their time.
• Systems for managing transcription: The process of medical transcription needs to be supported by technology to ensure accessibility and safety. It is important to evaluate the software and tools used by the medical transcription service provider to ensure that the service provider has an efficient and effective system for managing transcription which can be integrated into the existing systems of the healthcare facility. Features like archives, job summaries, electronic signature can ease the working life of healthcare professionals and support staff.
• Document delivery modes: The medical transcription service provider needs to facilitate various options for document delivery depending on the type of document, the urgency of the information required and the preference of the healthcare professional. It is important to assess the modes of document delivery offered by the service provider.
• Templates/ macros etc: The medical transcription service provider needs to be in a position to accommodate the requirements of the healthcare professionals with regard to the template/formats/macros as required by them.
• HIPAA / HITECH compliance: Protecting confidential patient information is a legal and moral obligation. It is important for the outsourced medical transcription service provider to be HIPAA / HITECH compliant.

Assessing a medical transcription service provider based on all these factors would ensure smooth transition to outsourced medical transcription services.

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