Friday, May 18, 2012

Medical transcription outsourcing: The changing scenario

The world is changing on a daily basis due to changes occurring at every level – economical, technological, communications and many other areas. Similarly healthcare documentation is also undergoing a transformation due to the move towards adopting an electronic healthcare system. Medical transcription services have been an important part of the healthcare documentation scenario from the very beginning.

Medical transcription services have evolved along with the changing needs of the healthcare sector from the basic typing services to specialist services that meet all the requirements of healthcare professionals and healthcare facilities using a combination of people, processes and technology. With the increasing need to customize services to meet the needs of the healthcare sector and keeping in consideration the need to curb costs, outsourcing medical transcription has been found to be one of the most prudent options.

However with the current developments in the healthcare documentation scenario and considering the proposed move to adopting EMR/ EHR it is important to take stock of the changing role of medical transcription services.

Given below are some of the changes that have occurred in the healthcare documentation and the role of medical transcription in this:

Discrete reportable transcription: Under this method healthcare professionals have the advantage of dictating as per the mode they are used to, while having specialist medical transcription companies expertly and accurately transcribe the audio. After the transcription process is over discrete data elements are parsed into the relevant fields of the EMR/ EHR using XML coding. Under this method the healthcare professional benefits from expert transcription, increased focus on patients and improved productivity.

Structured transcription: Under this method the transcription of the dictation provided by healthcare professionals is transcribed in a standardized and structured manner making it conducive to be interfaced with the EMR/ EHR using HL7 interface and various other means.

Structured dictation: Structured dictation aids in the creation of structured reports by taking the healthcare professional through a structured pattern of dictation. An interactive dictation interface prompts the healthcare professional to dictate certain topic heads following a pattern. Structured dictation can be used to form the basis of structured transcription, discrete reportable transcription etc standardizing the data elements as well as a means to preserving the entire patient story including the narrative.

Speech recognition software: The use of speech recognition software has become very popular especially back end speech recognition software. Medical transcription companies have started providing editing and proofreading services for transcripts created by speech recognition software ensuring accuracy.

It can be concluded that the healthcare documentation scenario is constantly evolving mainly due to the proposed changes and the technological advancements. However the role of medical transcription services in this scenario continues to be vital though the type of services required seems to be changing.

TransDyne, a leader in the outsourced medical transcription industry has used their extensive background in information technology and their experience in serving the needs of the healthcare sector to provide affordable and integrated medical transcription solutions.

Among the software and tools offered by TransDyne for transcription, the smart delivery system has a large role to play in easing the path to EMR/EHR adoption The Smart Delivery system, which has features like User defined folder paths to enable easy imports to EMR systems is the suggested mode of document delivery where pre-defined file saving would help import documents to EMR systems.  Apart from this TransDyne also offers discounted rates for those healthcare facilities that provide demographic data entered in the EMR rather than through other modes.

Along with medical transcription services involving multiple level quality checks to ensure accuracy, the use of the right technology for ease of use, turnaround time and security, at reasonable rates, TransDyne also provides discrete reportable transcription for adoption of EMR/ EHR.

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

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