Medical transcription: A valuable link in the healthcare chain

The healthcare process is complex one depending on inputs from various sources to be effective and economical. Medical transcription has always played an important part in the delivery of healthcare by creating patient records from the audio records of the patient- healthcare professional encounter.

The importance of medical transcription as a link in the process of delivering quality healthcare can be understood by studying in detail, the information captured in patient records. Patient records contain the following:

·       The patient demographic sheet or hospital admission sheet:

This includes details like

1.     Patient's address

2.     Next of kin

3.     Birthplace

4.     Social security number

5.     Occupation

6.     Sex

7.     Marital status

8.     Ethnic origin

9.     Religious preference

10. Admitting diagnosis

11. Financial entries including:

a)              Patient's employer

b)              Job title

c)              Address of company

d)              Insurance company

e)              Contact person for emergency

f)                Type of coverage

g)              Insurance Identification number

h)              Type of payment plan.

·       Consent forms Include:

a)    Patient's consent for treatment

b)    Outline of patient's responsibilities including billing

c)     Assurance that confidentiality will be protected      

·       Medical entries of the patient's healthcare records include:

a)    Physician's notes

b)    Diagnostic tests

c)     Nursing entries

d)    Physician entries

e)    Therapists entries

f)      Ancillary personnel entries

·       Emergency records include:

a)                        Demographic details

b)                        Nursing assessment

c)                        Physician's evaluation

d)                        Treatment

e)                        Conclusions

The role that medical transcription plays in the process of healthcare is vital as medical transcription is the process of creating comprehensive records that include:

1.     Diagnostic test results

2.     Consent

3.     Instructions

The role of medical transcription is that of recording the symptoms, the diagnosis, the treatment process and the progress made by the patient. This helps healthcare professionals in providing quality healthcare and also helps in the process of coding and billing. An easy fix to ensure that medical transcription takes place in a speedy, accurate, cost-effective manner and secure manner is to outsource the process of medical record creation to a professional medical transcription service provider.

Some of the advantages of outsourcing medical transcription are:

·       Increase in productivity: Outsourcing medical transcription has the advantage of increasing productivity of healthcare professionals and other staff in the healthcare facilities by providing services with several time saving benefits like:

1.     Retaining familiar modes of dictation

2.     Automatic uploads and downloads

3.     Providing multiple options for document delivery

4.     Archives to enable tracing transcripts

5.     HL7 interface for EMR adoption

·       Decrease in costs: Outsourcing medical transcription benefits the healthcare facilities by providing enormous savings on costs; both direct and indirect

·       Streamlined process: Outsourcing medical transcription ensures that the process of patient medical record creation occurs on a regular basis, ensuring both accuracy and turnaround time and in formats/templates required by the healthcare facilities/ healthcare professionals.

Healthcare facilities benefit by the administrative expertise, the technological expertise and the best practices of the medical transcription service provider.

TransDyne, a leader in the outsourced medical transcription industry has been providing comprehensive medical transcription services for over a decade. TransDyne 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 outsourced medical transcription services from TransDyne, click here.

Medical transcription outsourcing: Improves resource utilization

In the current scenario the healthcare sector is faced with many challenges, two of the main being maintaining high quality standards for their services and maintaining profitability. The pressures faced by the healthcare sector in achieving these goals are the need to keep up with the new developments in the healthcare sector, threat of litigation, increased expenses, shrinking or static level of reimbursements among other external pressures.

Under such circumstances it makes sense for healthcare facilities to focus on their core business of providing quality healthcare and outsource all those activities that are not part of the core business. Medical transcription plays an important role in the delivery of healthcare services, by creating records of the patient- healthcare professional encounters.  Though medical transcription is vital for the healthcare process it is not part of the core competencies of the healthcare facility.

Outsourcing medical transcription not only ensures creation of patient medical records in an accurate, timely, cost effective and secure manner, but also aids the healthcare facilities to improve resource utilization.

How does outsourcing medical transcription improve resource utilization?

• Outsourcing medical transcription is cost effective: One of the main advantages of outsourcing medical transcription is the enormous cost saving benefits to the healthcare facility. Cost saving are a result of: 

1.     Economies of scale: Medical transcription is the core business of the service provider and therefore the service provider would be able to provide quality service at lower rates having the right team, the right process and the right technology in place.

2.     Expertise: Having served medical transcription needs of varied healthcare facilities/ healthcare professionals, the service provider would have honed their expertise in providing services that are suited to the specific needs of healthcare facilities/ healthcare professionals at reasonable rates. 

• Outsourcing medical transcription produces better results: One of the main contributors to quality medical transcription services are the quality of the medical transcriptionists working on the transcription. A professional service provider would have the recruited and trained the right talent. This would ensure that the accuracy levels are high from the very beginning.

• Outsourcing medical transcription produces quicker results: Outsourcing medical transcription ensures not only accuracy but also optimum turnaround time. The service provider would have teams of specialist medical transcriptionists available to transcribe records round the clock ensuring that patient medical records are created without any delays

• Outsourcing medical transcription helps streamline processes: Outsourcing medical transcription ensures that the service provider would have software and tools in place, which will provide added benefits to streamline the process. Functions like uploading audio files, downloading transcripts, tracking patient files, adoption to EMR, varied modes of document delivery, HIPAA/ HITECH compliance during the transcription process would be provided for by the service provider. 

It can be seen that outsourcing medical transcription helps the healthcare facilities improve resource utilization. Healthcare facilities can save on resources like capital, real estate, salaries & taxes, management personnel, Information technology personnel and various other resources by outsourcing medical transcription.

Outsourcing medical transcription to a professional medical transcription service provider not only saves on cost and improves resource utilization, but also quickens the receivables cycle.

TransDyne, a leader in the outsourced medical transcription industry has been providing outsourced medical transcription services for over a decade, helping healthcare facilities and healthcare professionals optimize their resource utilization.. TransDyne 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 outsourced medical transcription services from TransDyne, click here.

Medical transcription outsourcing: What is important accuracy or turnaround time?

While outsourcing medical transcription what is more important accuracy or turnaround time?

To answer this question, it is vital to understand the healthcare process and the role of medical transcription in the healthcare process.

Healthcare is a service that comes with great responsibilities being one of the basic necessities of life - saving lives and improving quality of life. As healthcare is a service that depends on various inputs to ensure quality on a continued basis, healthcare facilities and healthcare professionals are constantly endeavoring to provide better services to their patients by improving facilities, adding new equipment and enhancing skill levels.  The process of healthcare is a continuous one depending on many inputs, one of them being information regarding patients.

Considering the dependence of healthcare facilities and healthcare professionals on the information available in patient records it is very important that patient records are created capturing maximum details. Having detailed records of the patient- healthcare professional encounter helps healthcare professionals and healthcare facilities in the following:

• Saving on time
• Providing background information
• Important details of the patient's past medical history
• Current medications, preventing wrong drug interaction
• Allergies
• In case of a healthcare emergency, the only source of information
• Providing continuity of care during shift changes
• Providing evidence in case of malpractice litigation
• Providing information for referrals to specialists
• Preventing wastage of resources by preserving a record of tests/ X rays etc
• Providing information for billing of services. 

Medical transcription is the process of creating patient records by converting the audio of the patient- healthcare professional encounter into text format. Medical transcription aids in the healthcare process by ensuring that the patient- healthcare professional encounter is captured in its entire entirety by a professional medical transcriptionist trained to be an expert in all the skills required. Outsourcing  medical transcription ensures that the process of creating patient records is a continuous and seamless process.

Considering the role played by outsourced medical transcription services in the healthcare process it is important for patient records to created with maximum accuracy and within a reasonable turnaround time.

What is meant by accuracy?

This means the percentage of accuracy of the completed transcripts vis-à-vis what was dictated. It is important for the information to be captured with maximum accuracy, as the information in the patient records is vital to the healthcare process.

How can the healthcare facility be ensured about outsourced medical transcription services with maximum accuracy?

While outsourcing medical transcription, one of the concerns of healthcare facilities is whether the outsourced medical transcription service provider can deliver accuracy levels as promised. To ensure that the service provider has the capability to deliver quality as promised it is important to evaluate the service provider on the following:

          a) Training methods used

          b) Transcription executed in-house and not through sub contractors

          c) Quality check levels

          d) Availing a free trial

What is 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/ healthcare professional.

How can the healthcare facility be ensured of medical transcription services within reasonable turnaround time?

While outsourcing medical transcription it is important to determine whether the service provider can deliver accurate transcripts within the promised turnaround time, as timely and accurate information is vital to the provision of quality healthcare. There are certain indicators that need to be evaluated to ensure that the service provider can meet turnaround time commitments

          a) Availability of large pool of trained and qualified medical transcriptionists

          b) Use of the right technology

          c) In-house transcription

Evaluating a medical transcription service provider based on all the above criteria will ensure that quality patient records are created on time.

TransDyne, a leader in the outsourced medical transcription industry offers outsourced medical transcription services using the right team, the right process and the right technology. TransDyne offers quality medical transcription at reasonable prices, executed by experienced and qualified 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 accurate and timely medical transcription services from TransDyne, click here.

Medical Transcription Outsourcing - Combining Expertise and Experience

Outsourcing medical transcription is a vital decision, involving thorough analysis of the needs of the healthcare facilities and what it hopes to gain from outsourcing and then evaluating the medical transcription service provider to ensure that the service provider can provide services as required by the healthcare facility. Medical transcription is a vital ingredient of the healthcare process and outsourcing medical transcription should be done with a lot of caution. One needs to source a service provider who has the right combination of expertise and experience to provide excellent services.

What defines the expertise of the medical transcription service provider?
Expertise refers to the skill or knowledge in a particular field. By this definition it is important to source a service provider whose core business is that of providing outsourced medical transcription services. The expertise of the medical transcription service provider needs to be evaluated on the following criteria:

Team: Quality medical transcription requires the right team to ensure accuracy and turnaround time. The expertise of the medical transcription service provider can be evaluated on the basis of their recruiting and training processes. This would ensure that the service provider has a pool of manpower to draw from as per the transcription requirements

Process: The expertise of the medical transcription service provider can be judged by the processes in place to ensure accuracy, turnaround time and security. A service provider with the right expertise would ensure that none of the criteria for quality medical transcription are compromised by having the correct process in place.

Technology: The expertise of the medical transcription service provider can be evaluated based on the technology used by them to ensure speedy and secure medical transcription services. The technology used by the service provider would ensure maximum benefits with ease of use.

What defines the experience of the medical transcription service provider?
Experience refers to familiarity with a skill or field of knowledge acquired over a period of time by actual practice resulting in superior understanding. By this definition it is important to source a medical transcription service provider who has experience in providing outsourced medical transcription services over a period of time enabling the service provider to understand the specific needs of the customer and provide solutions accordingly. The experience of the medical transcription service provider can be evaluated on the following criteria:

Testimonials: An experienced medical transcription service provider would have experience in providing outsourced medical transcription services to healthcare facilities and healthcare professionals of all types. This would reflect in the testimonials / references provided by customers.

Add on benefits: Medical transcription services have evolved from being just a transcription service to that of being a back office support function for healthcare facilities and healthcare professionals. An experienced service provider would be aware of the needs of healthcare facilities/ healthcare professionals and would provide advanced services including:

a) Flexible modes of dictationb) Archiving
c) Multiple modes of document delivery
d) HL7 interface

While outsourcing medical transcription it is important to choose a medical transcription service provider with both the relevant expertise and experience. This not only ensures accurate, timely and secure medical transcription services, it also ensures major cost saving benefits to healthcare facilities.

TransDyne, a leader in the outsourced medical transcription industry has both the relevant experience and expertise. TransDyne offers 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!

To avail outsourced medical transcription services from TransDyne, click here.

Medical transcription outsourcing: Benefit from the experience of the service provider

Medical transcription is the process of converting audio records of the patient- healthcare professional encounter into text format. As information from patient records is a vital ingredient in the process of delivering quality healthcare, medical transcription has earned its place in the healthcare process. The process of medical transcription along with that of healthcare has undergone major changes, requiring more and more expertise to be efficient and economical.

Outsourcing medical transcription to an experienced and professional service provider has proven to be a good fix for the documentation needs of a healthcare facility. Outsourced medical transcription services can be tailored to the specific requirements of the healthcare facilities/ healthcare professionals specifications by an experienced medical transcription service provider.

What are the benefits of outsourcing to an experienced medical transcription service provider?

• High accuracy levels for all specialties: An experienced medical transcription service provider would be in a position to provide accurate transcription services for all specialties. Having a team of medical transcriptionists trained to be domain experts in one or two specialties enables the service provider to provide services that take into consideration not only the language, terminology, drugs and procedures pertaining to that specialty, but also include other factors like the templates to be used, the type of report format to be used for the specific specialty during the process of transcription etc. while preparing the transcripts.

• Flexible turnaround time according to requirements: The turnaround time requirements could vary based on the specialty or the specific situation. An experienced medical transcription service provider would have the right team, the right process and the right technology in place to ensure that varied turnaround time requirements are met with.

• Low cost services: Lowering the cost per line of transcription is probably one of the main reasons for outsourcing medical transcription. Outsourcing to an experienced medical transcription service provider can help in this aspect too. A medical transcription service provider with extensive experience would be in a position to provide quality services at a reasonable rate, by virtue of best practices and the benefits of economies of scale.

• Security of confidential patient information: Protecting confidential patient information is not only the moral obligation of the healthcare facility it is also mandated by law. An experienced medical transcription service provider would be aware of the significance of maintaining HIPAA/ HITECH compliance and would have the right measures in place to ensure total security.

• Technology with maximum benefits: An experienced medical transcription service provider would realize that a complete medical transcription solution would require use of technology that provides numerous time saving, effort saving and money saving benefits to the healthcare facilities, healthcare professionals and the support staff.  

An experienced service provider would have the right blend of technology and human expertise to provide services with maximum benefits that are easy to use.

TransDyne, a leader in the outsourced medical transcription industry has over a decade of experience in serving the needs of healthcare professionals and healthcare facilities. TransDyne has used its extensive experience and background in information technology to develop software and tools for medical transcription that ensure maximum benefits and security. TransDyne not only provides complete medical transcription services, but also anticipates the needs of healthcare facilities and provides solutions accordingly.

TransDyne offers quality medical transcription at reasonable prices, executed by experienced and qualified 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 complete medical transcription services from TransDyne, click here.

Medical transcription outsourcing: Providing support services

The process of healthcare is complex and ever changing. Not only does healthcare involve constant improvement and innovation it also involves considerable investment to stay up to date. In a situation where healthcare facilities are faced with the challenge of constant improvement and innovation while dealing with limited resources and delayed reimbursements, outsourcing medical transcription can provide considerable support.

How does outsourcing medical transcription provide support to healthcare facilities and healthcare professionals?

Outsourcing medical transcription has considerable benefits, some of which are obvious and some of which are additional benefits, which are not so obvious. Medical transcription services support the process of healthcare in numerous ways, some of which have been described below:

• By creating accurate records: Outsourcing medical transcription ensures that the patient records are created by expert medical transcriptionists who are trained to be specialists. This ensures that comprehensive information is captured with the highest accuracy. Accurate medical records are useful in the following 

a)              Helps healthcare professionals provide quality healthcare based on the           information in the patient records rather than rely on memory/ guesswork/ repeated inputs from patients.

b)              Helps the coding and billing department to correctly code the information and bill for it ensuring that the reimbursement process starts smoothly.

c)              Provides the narrative of the treatment process as evidence  in case of litigation

                   

• By creating timely records: Healthcare professionals require information that is not only accurate but also timely to be able to respond to the treatment needs of the patients. Outsourcing medical transcription ensures that patient records are created on time and transmitted instantaneously to healthcare facilities. Medical transcription service providers are able to meet turnaround time requirements using the right team, processes and the right technology.

• By providing technology that is easy to use: Healthcare professionals have numerous demands on their limited time. Outsourcing medical transcription helps healthcare professionals optimize their limited time by providing technology with the following benefits: 

          a)       Flexible modes of dictation

          b)       Automatic upload of audio files at regular intervals

          c)       Flexible modes of document delivery

          d)       Archives. 

• By ensuring HIPAA/HITECH compliance: Outsourcing medical transcription ensures that the security of the confidential patient information is ensured through the medical transcription process. This benefits the healthcare facilities/ healthcare professionals in two ways. It ensures the continued confidence of the patients in the healthcare facility and protects the healthcare facility from litigation.

• By providing HL7 interface: Outsourcing medical transcription can help the healthcare facilities protect their existing investment in EMR/EHR system by having a HL7 interface.  

Outsourced medical transcription services play a vital support role in both the operational and commercial aspects of providing healthcare. However while outsourcing medical transcription it is important to pick a service provider who has the capacity to not only service the current needs of the healthcare facility, but also have the capacity to service any future needs that may arise.

TransDyne, leader in the outsourced medical transcription industry provides services with the following benefits:

Ø  TransDyne offers medical transcription with an accuracy of above 99%

Ø  TransDyne assures a turnaround time of 24 hours with an option of 4-12 hours for STAT reports.

Ø  TransDyne ensures security of data by securing technology, processes and people.

Ø  TransDyne offers a reasonable and fair price by charging 10 cents per line, which is calculated by using the character line pricing method.

Ø  TransDyne maintains a large, well-trained team of medical transcriptionists, which enables them to cope with varying volumes

Ø  TransDyne offers medical transcription services by using the latest technology that is advanced and easy to use.

Ø  TransDyne uses the character line billing method that is verifiable, definable, measurable, consistent and fair & honest

Ø  TransDyne has the testimonials of their success stories available for viewing on their website.

To know more details on how TransDyne can ease the medical transcription process, click here