Medical transcription: How does outsourcing help increase cash flow?

Outsourcing is the process of obtaining certain services through an outside service provider. Usually the services that are outsourced are essential services that form part of the costs. Outsourcing is a good method to cut down costs and sharpen focus on the core business.

Medical transcription is the process of creating medical records of the patient -healthcare professional encounter. Though medical transcription is an essential part of the healthcare process and plays an important role in the receivable cycle, it is not part of the core competence of the healthcare facility. Outsourcing medical transcription to a professional service provider is a cost effective method of record creation in a timely, accurate and secure way.

Apart from the obvious advantages of outsourcing medical transcription, there is the added advantage of increased cash flow.

How does outsourcing of medical transcription services improve cash flow?

• By restricting cost of transcription: Outsourcing medical transcription limits the cost of transcription to the cost per line of transcription. There is no wastage of idle production capacity during slack times and no extra expenses for medical transcription when the patient influx is high. A professional medical transcription service provider would provide a package deal including weekend and holiday transcription requirements.

• By reducing investment in infrastructure: Outsourcing medical transcription eliminates the need for investment in capital investment like computers, furniture, and servers with regard to medical transcription. The healthcare facility can channel these funds for other purposes.

• By reducing expenses in utilities: In-house transcription would incur a large expense in terms of utilities like power, Internet etc. by outsourcing medical transcription the cost of utilities would be dramatically reduced, thus improving the cash flow.

• By shortening the receivables cycle: It is a known fact that the medical record of the patient is the basis for coding and billing and medical transcription is the process of creating these records. Timely medical transcription accelerates the process of reimbursement, thus improving cash flow.

TransDyne is a professionally managed medical transcription service provider that has been providing outsourced medical transcription services for over a decade.  TransDyne provides medical transcription services, which are tailored to suit the specific needs of different healthcare facilities. Apart from increasing the cash flow of a healthcare facility, the advantages of outsourcing medical transcription to TransDyne are:

• Accuracy of above 99%
• Turnaround time of 24 hours with an option of 4-12 hours for STAT reports
• Data transmission through secure channels
• HIPAA compliance by use of secure technology, processes, people and infrastructure.
• No dilution of quality and security by use of subcontractors
• Reasonable and fair pricing ensuring enormous savings.
• Flexible modes of dictation
• Technology that not only enables automatic upload of files, download of files, powerful archiving, easy EMR integration, but also easy to use.
• Remote printing and Fax solutions
• 24/7 customer interaction to solve any issues that may arise
• Free trial for a limited period without any obligatory signup.

To know more about the advantages of outsourcing medical transcription to TransDyne, please click here.

Medical transcription: A case study for outsourcing

Dr.Williams, 37, was based in New Jersey in an upscale neighborhood. He was a general physician and had a well-established practice. He had a small clinic right next to his home, a staff of two, a nurse and a receptionist cum secretary. He also had a part time accountant who took care of filing reimbursement forms, bank work and tax filing.

The nurse, Sarah would help him with initial information collection like patient name, social security number, details of the healthcare plan, demographics and assisted him while examining patients, administering injections, checking blood pressure etc. The receptionist/secretary Jane was in charge of scheduling patients, handling patients when they came in and transcribing the doctors notes once he had finished dictating his notes.  

Dr.Williams found that he was constantly juggling things, and he could never find the information he wanted on time. He could not actually find fault with Jane as she seemed to be overloaded with work. She constantly seemed to be juggling phone calls, people in the reception, typing out files and maintaining the filing system. He was also informed by Robert the accountant that his fund flow was low, as filing for claims seemed to take an inordinate time, owing to the fact that he could never find information on time.

Dr.Williams would observe whenever there was an additional influx of patients he would receive reports as late as seven days including for those patients for whom he had ordered further tests. This would hinder him from making the appropriate treatment plans. He would find himself relying on scribbled notes, his own memory and the inputs provided by his nurse. And one day he was stunned to observe a patient craning her neck to try and read from the computer trying to view what Jane had typed. When he looked at the screen himself, he was flabbergasted to observe it was a file about a well-known patient of his who was having some rather embarrassing health problems.

He would also find that he had lesser time to spend with his family due to the fact that an inordinate amount of his time was spent looking for information in the patient records and then correcting wrong entries. He would question Jane about it only to be told that she only had so much time to do everything. Sometimes he would find that whole tapes of his recordings had been misplaced and therefore big chunks of information would be missing from Patient records, sometimes entire files would be missing.

He tried to outsource the excess work of transcription to an independent contractor (IC) and soon found that the rates were high and he had to spend a lot of time explaining to the IC what he ‘actually’ wanted. He also was not assured of uninterrupted services during weekends and Holidays. In addition, more time was spent on coordinating the files transcribed by his secretary and those transcribed by the IC.

And when claims were filed for reimbursement, he would find that it was very difficult to bill the patient for the rejected amount of the claim as too much time had passed since the patient’s visit.

One day he got in touch with TransDyne (www.transdyne.com), a full service medical transcription provider. The people at TransDyne heard his office woes and offered to take care of his medical transcription needs. He was not sure but decided to listen to their offer. TransDyne offered him a medical transcription plan with the following benefits:

·       He could retain his current mode of dictation

·    Transcribed files would be returned with a turnaround time of 24 hours. If he required STAT files sooner, they could be returned within 4-12 hours.

·       The files would have a guaranteed accuracy of above 99%

·       All his weekend and holiday transcription work would be covered.

·       He would be provided with the benefits of an online system, which would help him trace his dictations and transcribed documents easily. His dictations would be uploaded automatically and he would have the options of printing finished documents automatically, if required

·       The information would be completely secure

·       The cost per line of transcription would be 10 cents per 65-character line

·       Any specific formats and templates he wanted could be incorporated

·       Medical transcriptionists who were specifically trained in his specialty would transcribe his files

·     TransDyne had the ability to transmit information from the transcribed files into an EMR system if required

·       TransDyne would offer him a free trial period to enjoy their services before deciding to sign with them

·       He could talk to TransDyne’s customers who had benefited from similar services

Dr.Williams checked with a couple of satisfied customers and decided to avail a free trial of TransDyne’s medical transcription services. He was pleasantly surprised at how easy and convenient it was.  In case he or his staff had any queries TransDyne would attend to them immediately. He was thrilled to see that his medical transcription costs had come down by nearly 50%. Information was available on time and was captured accurately. The technology features offered by TransDyne made life easier, by making it easy to locate any information. He was also happy to observe that the entire process was secure. Dr. Williams decided to sign a contract with TransDyne to avail their services

In the next few weeks, Robert informed him that his funds flow had improved and reimbursements were happening faster because they were now able to file claims much sooner than they were doing earlier.

To avail the advantages of outsourced medical transcription services by TransDyne click here. 

Medical transcription: Process for outsourcing

Having seen the strategic advantages of outsourcing medical transcription, a healthcare facility needs to adopt a strategy for outsourcing medical transcription that enables them to avail all the advantages.

The process for outsourcing should include the following:

• Selection of appropriate vendor for medical transcription, based on: 

a)    Long-term experience of the medical transcription service provider: While outsourcing services as vital as medical transcription it pays to be cautious while picking out the provider. History of the provider is providing similar services are vital. This shows that the medical transcription service provider is prepared in every way to deliver the right solution.

b)    Availability of skilled people with the service provider: The quality/ accuracy and the timeliness of the records transcribed are vital for providing quality healthcare and have other uses like the forming the basis of coding & billing and as evidence in case of litigation. The accuracy of the transcripts and the turnaround time are dependent on the skill level of the medical transcriptionists. Therefore it is important that the medical transcription company has a team of expert medical transcriptionists.

c)    Technical infrastructure available with the service provider: The technological capabilities affects the turnaround time, security of data and the ease of use.  Factors like flexible modes of dictation, automatic upload of audio files and download of transcribed records, archiving facilities and HL7 integration are important factors to be analyzed.

d)    Pricing: Pricing in medical transcription can be as easy or as complex as the billing method used by the medical transcription service provider. Often prices are discussed without properly qualifying the billable units or the billing method. This leaves room for manipulation and ambiguities. The billing method needs to be verifiable, measurable, definable, consistent and fair& honest.

e)     Integration capabilities: The systems/technology used by the service provider needs to easily integrate with the systems of the healthcare facilities. This ensures access to information in an easy and workable manner.

f)      Security measures taken by the medical transcription service provider: Patient data is confidential and needs to be protected at every stage. Because the medical transcription process involves the transmission of data through electronic channels and is exposed to medical transcriptionists during the process of transcription, it is highly vulnerable to misuse. Security measures taken by the medical transcription service provider needs to cover technology, process and people to ensure total confidentiality.

g)    Investment required for availing the services: One of the main reasons for outsourcing medical transcription is to curb capital investment towards non-healthcare related areas in a healthcare facility. While outsourcing medical transcription, the healthcare facility needs to ensure that no further capital investment is required.

h)    Adaptability of service provider to varying demands: The demands of healthcare professionals may vary according to many factors like their specialty, influx of patients and other factors. While choosing a medical transcription service provider it is important to choose one that has experience servicing varied requirements.

i)       Customer service channels: Transition from in-house medical transcription to outsourced medical transcription requires a certain period of handholding to make the process smooth. Even after the transition process is complete, there may be numerous instances where instant turnaround on queries is required. An open channel of communication is essential while outsourcing.

• Verifying testimonials: Success stories of clients who have availed of similar services need to be checked before finalizing the outsourced medical transcription service provider.

• Free trial period: Availing a free trial period will ensure that the service provider is capable of delivering services as per the promised criteria.

• The contact: The actual contract needs to be studied and all the requisite parameters required should be included, in a clear and unambiguous manner. 

TransDyne a leading provider of medical transcription services offers medical transcription services that include all the above criteria. TransDyne:

• Has been providing outsourced medical transcription services for over a decade
• Has a large team of expertly trained medical transcriptionists, ensuring accuracy and turnaround time
• Uses technology that is advanced and easy to use
• Uses the “character method” of billing to ensure fair pricing,
• Has the technological capability to integrate with the healthcare facilities’ systems.
• Is HIPAA compliant with regard to technology, processes, infrastructure and people
• Requires zero investment to avail their services.
• Can adapt their services to the needs of the clients.
• Has open channels of communication available 24/7.
• Has some of the success stories available on their website
• Offers a free trial period without obligatory sign up
• Is ready to work on the contract as per the needs of the client. 

To avail the strategic advantages of outsourced medical transcription by TransDyne, click here.

Types of medical transcription reports

What are the types of reports that need to be transcribed?

A patient-provider interaction typically happens when a patient visits a doctor or healthcare provider for:

• Regular health checks
• Specific health issue
• Emergency care
• Specialist referral
• Procedure
• Surgery/ Diagnostic test 

Once the patient-doctor encounter ends detailed records need to be created of the whole process. This is not only a statutory requirement, but also aids the doctor in the treatment process, checking on the progress of the patient, providing proof in case of litigation and also used further for billing and reimbursement. Medical transcription plays an important part in the process of record creation. 

The types of reports that are created by medical transcriptionists are as follows

Patient History and physical examination report: This contains a brief about the patient name, age, gender, occupation, family health history, habits like smoking etc. and the details of the physical examination.

Consultation report: This contains the details of the findings by the consultant to whom the patient has been referred to for further treatment or diagnosis depending on the symptoms

Operative report: This contains the details of the operation/surgery that a patient has undergone including details of the procedure, duration, the anesthesia given etc. This may also contains some postoperative details.

Radiology report: This contains details of the radiologists’ findings on the X-rays, MRI scan, Ct scan, nuclear medicine, fluoroscopic studies etc along with the reports.

Pathology report: This contains the findings of a pathologist of the tissue sample.

Laboratory report: This contains the laboratory findings on body fluids

Emergency report: This is a summary of the patient’s visit to the emergency room for emergency care.

SOAP note report: This contains

• Subjective: This section contains patient’s current condition like age, gender, and pertinent symptoms etc.
• Objective: This section contains vital signs, findings from physical exams. Lab test results, co morbidity etc.
• Assessment: This contains quick summary of symptoms and diagnosis etc.
• Plan: This contains treatment plans, document goals for the patient with reasonable time lines etc.  

Progress note report: This contains progress of the patient after treatment/ operation/ procedure etc.

Therapy report: This contains details of the therapy given to the patient

Discharge summary: This contains all the details, which are generated when the patient is discharged including the treatment given, the progress of the patient, any reports and findings etc.

In light of the vital information that comes out of each patient encounter with a healthcare facility, medical transcription is an important component in the healthcare delivery cycle.

One needs to focus on a medical transcription company not just for creation of physical records but based on the following criteria:

• Accurate transcription with accuracy of above 99%
• Speedy transcription with turnaround time of 24 hours
• Reasonably priced transcription services
• Secure channels for data transmission throughout the process of transcription  

TransDyne offers quality medical transcription at reasonable prices, done by expert Medical Transcriptionists with a very quick turnaround time and executed through secure HIPAA compliant channels, with very high levels of accuracy and all this with technology that is advanced but easy to use!

TransDyne's medical transcription service is proven and our team has vast experience in:

• Family Practice transcription
• Internal Medicine transcription
• Orthopedics transcription
• Cardiology transcription
• Neurology transcription
• Psychiatry transcription
• Radiology transcription
• Rehab Medicine transcription
• Pediatrics transcription
• Podiatry transcription
• Physical Therapy transcription
• Ophthalmology transcription
• Hematology & Oncology transcription
• ENT transcription
• Plastic Surgery transcription
• ER transcription
• Ob/Gyn transcription
• Nephrology transcription
• Urology transcription
• Gastroenterology transcription
• General Surgery transcription

To know more about TransDyne’s expert medical transcription services, click here.

Medical transcription and Voice Recognition

Is voice recognition the new solution for medical transcription needs? Voice recognition or speech recognition is one of the new developments in the medical transcription field. It has been touted as the solution for a health provider’s documentation needs.

How does it work? The doctor is offered a digital platform by the Voice recognition service provider where the doctor can dial in and dictate his patient notes at the end of the day. The software converts it to typed form, which is made available to the doctor to edit and correct as needed.

Seems simple enough. But is it as simple as that? Apparently not!  Voice recognition needs to be evaluated on all the criteria used while finalizing a healthcare facility’s medical transcription service provider.

Time saved: When medical transcription needs are outsourced one of the main benefits is the time saving factor. Time is a precious commodity for Doctors and they would like to utilize it for providing quality care to their patients. But when voice recognition software is used the doctor has to spend more time on it in the following areas:

1.     Training time: Voice recognition software requires the doctor to personally ‘train’ the software on the speech pattern, accent, standard terms and various nuances of his/her speech pattern so that the software can ‘learn’ it and adapt accordingly. This could involve a huge time commitment from the doctor using it, which he may ill afford to make.

2.     Time for dictation: Voice recognition software requires the doctor to change his style of dictation to include punctuations, grammar, spellings, detailed terminology, paragraph and report start and ending etc., as opposed to the free flow form of dictations that the doctors are used to.

3.     Time for editing: Unlike the traditional method of medical transcription where the records are subject to rigorous proof reading and quality checks, here the doctor needs to spend considerable time editing and correcting before signing off on the reports

.

Accuracy: The accuracy levels of the finished reports is of utmost importance as it affects care of the patients at every level as well as forming the basis for all further documentation needs. The accuracy level from voice recognition software is found to be about 60%-65%. That means correcting and editing the documents have to make up for the remaining 35%-40% accuracy.

Cost: The cost factor for voice recognition software will vary according to the number of users and the size of the organization. It will also have to factor in additional costs required for editing the documents to an acceptable level. One may find that it is costing more per line than was quoted in the beginning.

Learning curve:  When healthcare facilities look for solutions for producing their patients’ medical records they would like to have solutions that are expert and accurate from the very beginning. In the case of voice recognition software there is a definite learning curve that affects the quality of finished reports till the software ‘learns’ to follow a particular doctor’s speech patterns and even then the accuracy levels are only 60%-65%.

Flexibility: When new doctors are added to the practice the voice recognition software has to be trained further to accept the speech nuances of the new joiners. There is no flexibility offered by voice recognition software for this. 

In conclusion we can safely say that voice recognition software will never be able to completely replace manual medical transcription. The important point to be considered here is that medical records are created of human beings, dictated by human beings and therefore needs another human being to transcribe it.  Medical transcriptionists will have an important role to play at least as editors and proofreaders.

Medical transcription requires a certain amount of training, subjective judgment and understanding the context to be accurate and relevant, which will not be possible to achieve completely through software, no matter how expertly created.

For the transcription needs of a healthcare facility one should look for a company that offers commitment on accuracy, turnaround time, reasonable pricing and data security.

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.

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.