Outsourcing medical transcription has many benefits the most obvious being that of saving on transcription costs. While analyzing transcription costs healthcare facilities tend to overlook many important cost heads hence the comparison between the price per line given by the outsourcing company and the current cost per line is not accurate.
What should be included while calculating cost on medical transcription in-house?
Direct costs
Direct transcriptionist staff salaries: This comprises the salary paid to in-house transcriptionists.
Cost of training: The cost of training new transcriptionists to enable them to execute work as per the healthcare facility’s requirements.
Supplies used for transcription: The stationery cost and the cost of other supplies used for transcription would have an impact on the cost per line.
Cost of overflow work that is outsourced: Sometimes when the in-house transcriptionists are not able to keep up with excess workflow the work needs to be outsourced and this adds to the cost.
Indirect Costs
Depreciation of transcription equipment: Over time the transcription equipment would have some wear and tear, this depreciation cost will have to be added to the cost of transcription
Apportioning salaries of management and administrative staff: The salaries of managerial and administrative staff contributing to the transcription process will have to be apportioned and added accordingly.
Benefits given to employees other than the salary: Benefits given to transcription staff like health insurance, dental care etc will have to be added in the category of indirect costs.
Taxes: Having transcription staff on rolls would mean taxes would have to be paid.
Cost of space used for in-house transcription: Apportionment of cost of real estate would have to be made according to the space utilization.
Cost of employee turnover: This would include fees paid to consultants, signing bonuses, cost of training new employees and the cost of advertising for new employees.
Cost of technology: The cost of technology used for medical transcription and the cost of integrating this with the hospital’s system needs to be added.
Apart from the direct and indirect costs of medical transcription in-house the other factors that need to considered are:
- No of days taken for transcription
- Quality of reports
- Physician satisfaction
- HIPAA and HITECH compliance
- Report generation and distribution
- Easy availability of qualified staff for transcription
Given below is a table of typical expenses of transcription in-house:
Item Cost in US $ per annum
Salary 30000
Benefits 8000
Real estate 2000
Furniture 1000
Computer 2000
Management 5000
Consumables 1000
Utilities 500
Miscellaneous 500
Total cost 50000
Given below is the productivity of a medical transcriptionist
Production
Number of lines per 8 hour day 1250
Work hours per year 1920
Lines per year 300000
Downtime in % 10
Actual lines produced in a year 270000
Cost per line 18.5
After calculating the costs of all these factors one can arrive at the cost per line of transcription.
TransDyne offers medical transcription at the rate of 10 cents per 65-character line. This shows a clear saving in the cost per line of transcription. The 65-character line is calculated according to the billing method principles as per the MTIA guidelines. The method of billing used is verifiable, definable, measurable, consistent and fair & honest.
Not only that outsourcing the medical transcription needs of a healthcare facility to TransDyne has benefits like:
- Accuracy of 99% and above
- 24 hours turnaround time, with an option of 4-12 hours turnaround time for STAT reports.
- Software that enables smart upload by allowing flexible modes of dictation and features like smart delivery and web delivery for ease of use.
- Ensures HIPAA and HITECH compliance by using the right technology and having safety measures in place for security of people and infrastructure.
TransDyne ensures that the healthcare facility’s variable needs are met without affecting the cost per line, by having a large pool of well-trained medical transcriptionists available at all times.
TransDyne ensures that the quality standards are constantly maintained by having quality guidelines in place.
TransDyne ensures HIPAA and HITECH compliance by always executing the medical transcription work in-house rather than through subcontractors.
To avail TransDyne’s superior medical transcription services, click here.
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