Medical Transcription Outsourcing
Medical transcription is a service that is associated with healthcare services, by documenting the patient- healthcare professional encounter. This process involves listening to the audio recording of the healthcare professional and transcribing into text format. But this process goes beyond being a simple service of listening to the voice recordings of healthcare professionals and typing them out. Healthcare is a dynamic sector, where things are changing on a daily basis. As medical transcription is closely associated with the healthcare sector, it also needs to be able to cope with all the changes occurring in the healthcare sector.
Outsourcing medical transcription has always been considered a efficient, effective and economic solution for the documentation needs of a healthcare facility. However while availing services from an outside entity it is important for the healthcare facility to not only evaluate the transcription vendor on the basis of criteria like accuracy, turnaround time, security and pricing but also needs to look for a service provider who can provide dynamic services to cope with the developments in the healthcare sector.
What is meant by dynamic services?
It implies a service provider who can cope with the changing needs of the healthcare field. This would mean adding benefits by using innovative technology and processes.
Some of the ways that these transcription vendors have coped with the changing needs of healthcare facilities/ healthcare professionals by providing dynamic services are as follows:
Flexible modes of dictation: Time is a scarce commodity for healthcare professionals, and by allowing them to use flexible and familiar modes of dictation, transcription vendors have helped them cope with this by allowing them to use the limited time available to them
Adding new specialties: Healthcare facilities are constantly adding on new specialties, the language of each specialty is unique. Acknowledging this transcriptionists have been trained to be specialists in one or two specialties enabling them to produce quality transcripts within the required turnaround time
Modes of document delivery: Have provided varied modes of delivering transcripts, ensuring that the healthcare professionals have access to transcripts in a timely and secure manner.
Archiving for tracing transcripts: Healthcare professionals and support staff have to spend a lot of time tracing dictation, work-in-progress and finished transcripts. This problem has been solved by providing convenient archives to enable healthcare professionals and support staff to trace transcripts easily
Varied turnaround time requirements: Varied turnaround time requirements of the healthcare facilities and healthcare professionals have been dealt by having the right mix of a huge pool of manpower who have been trained to be specialists and using the right technology
Adoption of EMR/EHR: Using HL7 interface, has enabled healthcare facilities to save on their existing investments in EMR/EHR
It can be seen that while outsourcing medical transcription it is important to source a provider who can use the right combination of the right team the right processes and the right technology to cope with the dynamic healthcare sector.
