Medical Transcription
The field of medicine is constantly evolving at all levels. There have been advances in the methods of diagnosis, the techniques used for testing as well as the drugs and treatment prescribed. One thing that has not changed over time is the need for accurate and timely information by healthcare professionals to provide quality healthcare.
Along with the evolution of healthcare field medical transcription has also evolved a long way from hand written notes to creation of medical records in an electronic form that can be accessed at the click of a button.
Outsourcing medical transcription needs can go a long way in easing the burden of making accurate information available to a healthcare professional on a timely manner.
What role does technology play in medical transcription?
Technology plays an important role in the process of transcription. Technology helps speed up the process at every level.
Dictation: Technology plays a major role in providing healthcare professionals flexible options like digital recorders, mobile phones or any other method with which they are familiar with for recording their dictation, which allows them to make the best use of their time.
Upload of audio files: Upload of audio files, which have been stored in the system, can be done automatically by having a system, which uploads these files at pre-determined intervals automatically.
Transmission of data: Technology plays an important part in making sure that the data remains secure during transmission by use of encryption and firewalls.
Transcription: The actual transcription process also required technology like word documents, formats etc.
Downloading transcribed files at the healthcare facility: Once the files have been transcribed these need to downloaded at the healthcare facility end. These files are then distributed, saved and printed as per requirement.
Archives: Archiving of records and easy access to these records is probably one of the most important use of technology. This makes the process of following up dictated files, finished files and access to archived reports very easy and timely.
Before outsourcing the medical transcription needs the medical transcription service provider also needs to be assessed on various factors like:
Accuracy: This means the percentage of accuracy of the completed transcripts against 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 Company being outsourced to should be HIPAA and HITECH compliant. The 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
Healthcare professionals and healthcare facilties require a Web Delivery System that addresses all problems associated with tracking dictations, receiving documents, and accessing old records. Some of the features required in this system are:
