Medical transcription: Outsourcing the right way!

Outsourcing medical transcription need not be a traumatic and difficult process. The transition to outsourcing can be made easy by the simple process of matching the needs of the healthcare facility to the services provided by the medical transcription service provider.

When it comes to any service there are certain common factors that are absolutely vital. The same criteria can be applied to outsourcing medical transcription services. Normally any service is evaluated based on the following:

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  Quality: In case of medical transcription quality of service is denoted by the accuracy of the transcribed document in comparison to the audio records
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  Speed: The speed of service in case of medical transcription refers to the turnaround time. The turnaround time required can vary according to the type of services provided by the healthcare facility
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  Consistency: Consistency of service with reference to medical transcription refers to the ability of the medical transcription service provider to provide consistent service no matter what the volumes.
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  Convenience: Convenience in medical transcription services refers to the technology used. As time is a sparse commodity for healthcare professionals, the technology used for medical transcription should be easy to use without compromising the utility.
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  Flexibility: Flexibility of services in medical transcription refers to both the volumes as well as the modes of dictation.
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  Safety: Safety in medical transcription services refers to the security of confidential patient data at all stages of transcription. For medical transcription services to provide the requisite security care has to be taken to secure people, processes and technology.
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  Location of service: Location of service has lost all importance in this digital era. Medical transcription services can be availed from any location as long as the services meet all standards of accuracy, turnaround time, reasonable costs and security.
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  Investment: Availing services like medical transcription could mean additional investment in certain equipment. Care has to be taken to choose a service provider who can start the services with minimum investment. 
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  Cost saving: One of the main benefits that a healthcare facility hopes to have from outsourcing medical transcription is that of enormous cost saving. Pricing has to be studied based on the parameters to make sure that there are no hidden costs.

Once a medical transcription service provider has been evaluated on the following criteria the next stage would involve:

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  Check references: This will provide an additional assurance on the capabilities of the medical transcription service provider to deliver the services as promised.
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  Avail free trial: Availing a free trial period for the services will help healthcare facility experience the service firsthand.
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  Check for channels of communication: Any service needs to be backed up by good channels for communication so that any doubts that arise can be clarified instantly.

TransDyne is a medical transcription service provider having vast experience in providing medical transcription services. TransDyne provides medical transcription with an accuracy level of above 99%, a turnaround time of 24 hours and an option for 4-12 hours for STAT reports, at fair and reasonable prices, through secure channels, all these services are provided with technology that is advanced but easy to use.

 TransDyne proudly displays the testimonials of their clients on their website, offers a free trial period for availing their services and has open channels for communication enabling their customers to be in touch with them all the time.

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

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Medical transcription outsourcing: The right solution for healthcare facilities to cope with expansion plans

In today’s world change is the one thing, which is constant. Change has never been more relevant than when it comes to healthcare. A healthcare facility has to cope up with the latest developments in healthcare, all the while stretching their budgets to the limit. The latest equipment, the latest techniques, adding on new specialties to the existing practice, all this can put a strain on limited resources.

As the scope of operations of a healthcare facility keep expanding their back office requirements like medical transcription and medical billing needs also expand accordingly. As this happens the first reaction of the healthcare facility is to add on more staff to cope up with increasing medical transcription needs or alternately outsource the overflow of transcription requirements to independent contractors or to a medical transcription service provider or a combination of all three.

This move provides a solution albeit temporarily. But as time passes there could be serious discrepancies in terms of the following:

Quality of reports: The accuracy level or the quality of the finished transcripts depends totally on the quality of people working on it. Use of varied sources to cope with medical transcription needs can dilute the quality control. This could have an impact on the quality of healthcare.

Turnaround time: Having varied turnaround time would mean that all the data needed to make an informed decision would not be available to the healthcare professional at the right time, which can affect the timeliness of the care imparted.

Cost per line of transcription: Having transcription done by various sources would mean that the cost per line of transcription would increase.

Systems/media used for transcription: The technology used for transcribing would be diverse given the different sources, all these would mean additional costs for integration with the healthcare facility systems.

Serious issues with HIPAA and HITECH compliance: HIPAA/HITECH compliance would be difficult to monitor given the numerous entities involved in the process.

Delays in processing for the accounts receivable cycle: Medical transcription is the first stage of the accounts receivable cycle; delay in medical transcription would mean delays in the rest of the reimbursement process.

Time spent coordinating various sources of medical transcription increases: Report distribution and signing of finished transcripts would be delayed due to the various sources of medical transcription work.

Manpower dealing with medical transcription providers would increase: The healthcare facility would have to appoint extra people to coordinate the varied sources of transcription to ensure a smooth workflow.

All these factors can have a serious impact on both the quality of healthcare and the bottom-line of the healthcare facility.


What is the most economical and efficient solution to cope with expanding needs of a healthcare facility?

Outsourcing medical transcription needs to TransDyne would provide a one-stop solution for all the medical transcription needs of a healthcare facility no matter what their expansion plans.

How does TransDyne provide a one-stop solution to the medical transcription needs of a healthcare facility?

TransDyne provides superior solutions for medical transcription needs by having:

Right people: TransDyne has a large team of well-trained medical transcriptionists in place. TransDyne believes that training should be slanted in such a way as to provide maximum expertise in minimum time. That is why medical transcriptionists in TransDyne have been trained in one or two areas of specialty making them domain experts. This means that the team at TransDyne can cope with the varying volumes of transcription without affecting the accuracy or the turnaround time.

Right process: TransDyne has the right processes in place that ensure not only quality and turnaround time but also HIPAA and HITECH compliance. All the transcription work is executed in-house and not through sub contractors, this ensures better control over quality and safety of information. Quality of final transcripts is ensured through a four level check involving medical transcriptionist, proofreader, unit-in-charge and the quality assurance team.

Right technology: TransDyne uses the latest technology to ensure:

1.Easy upload, by allowing the healthcare professionals to retain familiar and flexible modes of dictation

2.Safety during transmission through the use of encryption, firewalls and password protected access.

3.Easy download of file to enable distribution of finished transcripts.

4.A system which ensures ease of tracking dictations, finished transcripts and archiving facilities that can be customized to the healthcare facility’s needs

By having the right people, right processes and right technology in place TransDyne offers:

• Medical transcription at the right price – at least 40% lower than current costs incurred by the healthcare facility.
• Accuracy of above 99%
• Turnaround time of 24 hours with an option of 4-12 hours for STAT reports.
• HIPAA and HITECH compliant medical transcription
• Fair billing methods to ensure that cost per line of transcription is understood clearly.
• Systems that integrate with that of the healthcare facility without any additional investment on their part.

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

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Medical transcription outsourcing & Data security

Is outsourcing of patient records really unsafe?

There have been serious doubts about data security while outsourcing medical transcription. The case of Lubna Baloch from Pakistan who threatened to expose confidential data over the Internet for non-payment for services rendered has been used as an argument against outsourcing.

It is understandable that situations like this are worrisome and very traumatic for all parties concerned. But can this be cited as a case against outsourcing? To answer that question one needs to look at the case in question in great detail. Let us examine the chain of events that led to the event in question:

                              UCSF medical Center outsourced it medical transcription work to

                                                                          

                                       Sausalito’s Transcription Stat who outsourced it to

                                                                          

                                                15 contractors throughout the country

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                    One of the 15 contractors named Sonya Newburn further subcontracted the work to

                                                                          

                                                  Tom Spires who subcontracted to

                                                                          

                                                               Lubna Baloch

It can clearly be seen that the healthcare facility originally outsourcing its’ medical transcription needs had no idea as to who is actually doing their work. Even the medical transcription service provider who was under contract with them had no control over the end transcriber.

The lesson to be learnt from this situation is that while outsourcing the medical transcription needs of a healthcare facility, care should be taken to ensure to choose a medical transcription service provider that does not use sub contractors for executing the work. Due diligence on the working methods of the medical transcription service provider should be carried out; care should be taken at the time of drafting the contract to ensure that the “no sub contractor clause” is included.

TransDyne is one company, which believes it is their privilege to be serving their customers’ needs in the best way possible. So any work outsourced to TransDyne, is executed by their own team of trained medical transcriptionists, than by the use of subcontractors or home transcriptionists.

Apart from ensuring that the data never leaves the premises physically, TransDyne ensures Data security of medical transcription by incorporating security measures like 128-bit data encryption, multi-tiered application architecture, design level security, safeguards, firewall protected networks, sterilized e-mail servers, denial of access procedure and multi modal alerts.

Further security is ensured by manned security at entry and exit points, surveillance cameras, disallowance of any removable storage devices and limited access of systems and information on a need to know basis. The people working on the transcription have also been educated on the importance of being HIPAA/HITECH compliant. Undertakings have been taken from the personnel to further ensure confidentiality.

Choosing a professional and committed medical transcription service provider like TransDyne would ensure that the healthcare facility would enjoy not only the cost saving benefits of outsourcing and the knowledge that patient data confidentiality is maintained but also the other benefits of outsourcing like:

1.Reducing capital investment with regards to medical transcription

2.Managing fluctuating transcription report volumes and staffing issues for holidays and weekends.

3.Reducing management expenses towards medical transcription

4.Reduce human resources expenses connected to medical transcription

5.Reduce direct labor cost

6.Reduce It expenses

7.Reduce real estate cost pertaining to medical transcription

8.Improve information access
9.Improve turnaround time

10.Shorten the receivables cycle

11.Concentrate on core business

12.Take advantage of a single source solution

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

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Medical transcription- what to look for in a Transcription service provider: Aptitude or attitude?

What is more important, aptitude or attitude? This is a very relevant issue while deciding to outsource medical transcription needs.

What exactly is ‘APTITUDE’ when it comes to judging a Medical Transcription Service Provider?

Some of the attributes that reflect the Aptitude in the medical transcription context are:

. Quality/accuracy meaning the accuracy of the completed transcripts vis-à-vis what was dictated. An aptitude for accurate transcription.

· Turnaround time refers to the time taken to deliver the transcribed reports. An aptitude for maintaining promised deadlines.

. Data Security means having adequate security measures to ensure that confidential data transmitted back and forth is safe and secure. An aptitude for maintaining virtual security.

. Reasonable prices denote prices that are fair and reasonable for the services rendered. An aptitude for fair pricing.

. Technology that is easy to use by health professionals, without requiring extensive training. An aptitude for deploying systems that are user- friendly.

What sort of attitude should be looked at by the healthcare facility when it comes to judging a Medical Transcription Service Provider?

The Attitude of a medical transcription service provider can be judged based on the following characteristics:

Quality guidelines are the standards by which the medical transcription service provider employees perform their duties. Quality Guidelines ensure that the quality of work stays consistent at all levels of the company under all circumstances. An attitude for making quality indispensable.

In house transcription means that the medical transcription service provider that the healthcare facility is outsourcing to, is executing the work in house and not through sub contractors. An attitude for maintaining standard service.

Transparent and simple billing means having a method of billing which is verifiable, definable, measurable, consistent, fair and honest. An attitude of transparency.

Flexibility of dictation methods means offering different options for doctors to dictate their notes. A flexible and client friendly attitude.

Specialty based Medical Transcription, means training Medical Transcriptionists with special focus in one or two specialties of medicine to make them domain experts. An attitude for going beyond the ordinary

Document delivery system that allows for easy uploads and downloads and which will make checking on the status of the reports efficient and convenient. An attitude for making the customer’s work life simpler.

Free trial without any obligatory sign up giving the healthcare facility a chance to review the services of the medical transcription service provider before signing up. A confident attitude.

Testimonials make it possible to find out from others as to how they have benefited from the services of the medical transcription service provider. An honest attitude.

As can be seen it is important to choose a medical transcription service provider with both the right aptitude and attitude.

TransDyne offers medical transcription with an accuracy of above 99% with a turnaround time of 24 hours & 4-12 hours for STAT reports at a reasonable price, through secure channels and makes it easy to upload and access data. i.e. the Right Aptitude!

TransDyne has quality guidelines in place to ensure quality, executes all medical transcription work in house to ensure security & quality, has a transparent and simple billing method, offers flexible modes of dictation and gets transcription done by expert medical transcriptionists to ensure all special needs are taken care of, through a easy document delivery system, offers a free trial and the testimonials of their satisfied customers. I.e. the Right Attitude!

To avail the total TransDyne advantage of medical transcription with great aptitude and the right attitude, click here.

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Medical Transcription outsourcing: Can improve the receivables cycle of a healthcare facility.

Timely Medical Transcription could actually accelerate the flow of receivables of a healthcare facility!

At the end of the day it is the goal of every enterprise whether in the healthcare business or otherwise to shorten the flow of payments cycle and receive payments sooner. In the case of a healthcare facility this becomes imperative for survival.

Once the patient has visited, diagnosed and treated or further references/tests ordered, essentially the healthcare part of the visit ends and the business side starts. Records have to be created of the whole process so that it can be further processed for coding and billing and finally for insurance claims.

The receivable cycle begins with the creation of timely and accurate records. This is where the outsourcing of medical transcription can really speed up the process. By handing over the medical transcription process to a service provider who is an expert in the process, more time and resources are freed up, which can be used to concentrate on the core business of healthcare.

Not only does medical transcription play an important role in the receivables cycle, it also plays an important role in other areas such as:

Patient treatment: The information transcribed from the initial patient-healthcare professional encounter forms a foundation for future treatment, This forms the basis of any follow-up healthcare, has references to the drugs prescribed, allergies and other pertinent information.

Statutory requirements: The information regarding a patient needs to be maintained for a period of 5 years.

Evidence in litigation: In case of malpractice suits medical records form a part of the evidence.

Referrals: In case further treatment is needed based on the present diagnosis these records form the basis of referrals to specialists for further treatment.


The medical transcription service provider needs to be assessed on the basis of the following:

Accuracy: This means the percentage of accuracy of the completed transcripts vis-à-vis 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 service provider being outsourced to should be HIPAA/HITECH compliant. The medical transcription 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

Technology: The technology used by the medical transcription service provider should not only secure but should also be easy to use, without having to require extensive training.

Once a medical transcription service provider has been evaluated on all these characteristics, the healthcare facility can finalize on a company offering all the benefits and rest easy on the first stage of its’ receivables cycle.

TransDyne offers all the above benefits of outsourcing the medical transcription needs. To avail the advantages of outsourcing medical transcription to TransDyne, click here

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Medical transcription outsourcing: Who actually does the work?

Knowing who actually does the outsourced medical transcription work is very important because of the very sensitive and critical nature of the work. Making sure that the company chosen for outsourcing, executes the medical transcription work themselves, and not through subcontractors or home transcriptionists is very important. This has benefits like:

· Better control
Having to deal with one entity that does the work makes it easier to control all the processes. Otherwise it could result in dilution of control

· Data security
Data Security is one of the most important factors to be considered before engaging the services of an outsourced transcription vendor. Getting work done through a series of subcontractors and home-based transcriptionists would mean that patient data is exposed to various networks and computers.

The more number of people and networks handling this information the higher is the security risk.

When outsourcing to a zero-subcontracting company like TransDyne, the data is handled professionally. TransDyne employs the best data security practices like high –end encryption, firewalls and foolproof access control measures

· Consistent Quality of work
When a company engages subcontractors, it has no control over who does the work and how. With a service provider like TransDyne there is more consistency in the quality of work as it is done by the same team of people who handle the same set of providers on a regular basis

· Personalized services
Any personalized needs of the healthcare facility like formats etc can be easily changed/added whenever required and the smallest preferences of each individual dictator are taken care of.

· Better understanding of special needs
When subcontractors work on dictations, they treat the work as a commodity, as a job that needs to be finished with the least amount of resources.

With a company like TransDyne any special needs of the healthcare facility are taken care of as TransDyne has complete control over the entire transcription process and their people are trained to take care of each client’s special needs.

· Better rates
By eliminating the need for the sub-contractor a company like TransDyne will be in a position to offer much better rates for superior service.

· Better customer service
One to one communication means less scope for misunderstanding and this translates into better customer service.

· Zero legal hassles
Due to the sensitivity of the data involved, it is important to keep it secure. Data access to more people can result in legal hassles due to misuse. Getting work done by a zero subcontracting company like TransDyne would mean zero legal hassles.

· Better turnaround time
When home transcriptionists or sub contractors are involved there are a lot of delays due to various factors like power outage, poor connectivity etc. These delays are avoided when the medical transcription service provider does the transcription in-house and turnaround time commitments are met with.

At TransDyne it is believed that it is their privilege to be serving their customers’ needs in the best way possible. So any work outsourced to TransDyne, is executed by their own team of trained medical transcriptionists, than by the use of subcontractors or home transcriptionists.

The healthcare facility benefits by virtue of TransDyne’s vast experience, their training methods, best practices, and the comfort of absolute confidentiality & data security.

To avail medical transcription services form TransDyne, click here

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