Things
to Look for in Audio Typing / Transcription Service
1.
Quality
2.
Turnaround Time
3.
Reputation &
Reference
4.
Contract Terms &
Conditions
5.
Billing Methodology
6.
Electronic Records
and compatibility
7.
Online Audio Typing / Transcription & Document
Management Tools
8.
Hidden Costs
9.
Optional Services
10.
Dictation by
Exception (Templates & Macros)
1. Quality
One
of the most common mistakes you can make while choosing a Audio Typing /
Transcription service is to place a very high emphasis on cost and features and
relegate quality to the background. If you aren't lucky this results in an
inordinate number of corrections and errors. Often you might need to go through
several Audio Typing / Transcription vendors before you find one who meets your
standards. Needless to say this results in a lot of wasted time, effort and
money. Look for the following:
Process: Always ensure you pay attention to the processes the Audio Typing / Transcription vendor follows to achieve quality. Most vendors outline their Audio Typing / Transcription processes on their websites. Others will be glad to explain if you call and ask them about it.
Accuracy: Enquire about the initial percentage of accuracy of the documents the vendor transcribes. Keep in mind that the average rate of accuracy in the Audio Typing / Transcription industry is 98.5%. Your Audio Typing / Transcription vendor should have an idea as to where they stand when compared to this number.
Corrections: A Audio Typing / Transcription vendor should never charge you for corrections and should have a clear process for handling corrections. If the vendor does not seem to have a clear process for handling corrections then something is amiss.
Patient Name errors: These are the most common errors in Audio Typing / Transcription. Ensure that the vendor has a clear process for avoiding and correcting such errors in documents.
Process: Always ensure you pay attention to the processes the Audio Typing / Transcription vendor follows to achieve quality. Most vendors outline their Audio Typing / Transcription processes on their websites. Others will be glad to explain if you call and ask them about it.
Accuracy: Enquire about the initial percentage of accuracy of the documents the vendor transcribes. Keep in mind that the average rate of accuracy in the Audio Typing / Transcription industry is 98.5%. Your Audio Typing / Transcription vendor should have an idea as to where they stand when compared to this number.
Corrections: A Audio Typing / Transcription vendor should never charge you for corrections and should have a clear process for handling corrections. If the vendor does not seem to have a clear process for handling corrections then something is amiss.
Patient Name errors: These are the most common errors in Audio Typing / Transcription. Ensure that the vendor has a clear process for avoiding and correcting such errors in documents.
A 24 hour Turnaround time suffices for the majority of organizations. While several Audio Typing / Transcription organizations offer shorter turnaround times, they usually come at additional cost.
Caveat: A shorter turnaround time is not necessarily always a better thing. It is more important that the documents you get are of high quality and do not need corrections. Pick a turnaround time that works for you instead of the shortest turnaround time at the lowest price.
3. Reputation &
References
No matter how established the Audio Typing / Transcription vendor seems, asking for references never hurts. A five minute call could save you a lot of effort and heartache in the future. When asking for references, instead of specifying your specialty, explain your dictation speed and accent and ask the vendor if they currently service such clients.
Audio Typing / Transcriptionists are trained to understand terminology for every kind of specialty. When in doubt, they also use various look-up tools for terminology. However there is no substitute for experience with different accents and styles when it comes to comprehension.
No matter how established the Audio Typing / Transcription vendor seems, asking for references never hurts. A five minute call could save you a lot of effort and heartache in the future. When asking for references, instead of specifying your specialty, explain your dictation speed and accent and ask the vendor if they currently service such clients.
Audio Typing / Transcriptionists are trained to understand terminology for every kind of specialty. When in doubt, they also use various look-up tools for terminology. However there is no substitute for experience with different accents and styles when it comes to comprehension.
Gone are the days when you had to sign a term contract of 1-2 years for Audio Typing / Transcription services. For obvious reasons this is a very fortunate development. However, there are still some Audio Typing / Transcription companies who offer lower rates in exchange for term contracts. Resist the temptation and look around. You are bound to find a vendor who will offer the same low rates without the burden of a term contract. Avoid locking yourself into an unfortunate future position.
This is perhaps one of the most confusing aspects of outsourcing Audio Typing / Transcription. The reason is quite simple. There are a variety of billing methodologies used by Audio Typing / Transcription firms today, making it very difficult to compare costs across different Audio Typing / Transcription service firms. Some charge by the line while defining a line as a fixed number of characters or keystrokes. A line based method where a line is defined as a fixed number of characters is perhaps the best method considering that such line counts can be verified using simple Microsoft Word statistics.
A number of Audio Typing / Transcription vendors also charge you based on the number of physical lines in a document and some vendors charge by the number of words in a document.
If an Audio Typing / Transcription vendor charges by the number of physical lines in a document, it is recommended you avoid such a service. While verifiable, the cost with such a service is almost always much more than what other Audio Typing / Transcription firms would charge, and is not apparent until you receive your first few bills. The higher cost is because of blank lines and lines with a word or two, which are also charged at the full rate. Additionally because of the font sizes used and formatting changes, the cost of a document becomes very variable.
Most organizations at some point would like to (and should) make the transition to electronic records because of the vast number of benefits a good electronic records system offers. While many are considering such a shift, there are few that have already made it.
If you have not yet implemented an electronic records system, plan ahead. You do not want to be stuck with hundreds of thousands of documents that will need conversion a few years down the line.
Ensure that the documents delivered to you are in an electronic format. MS Word and RTF format documents are the most popular and hence possibly will have the best support in Electronic Records systems. Some vendors also support additional services like making the documents compatible with your electronic records system or uploading documents directly into your electronic records system.
One of the best developments in Audio Typing / Transcription in the last few years is the advent of online Audio Typing / Transcription and associated document management systems. These online document management systems come with a variety of features that simplify your day to day tasks by providing you features to search and pull up your documents in a fraction of the time it took earlier. Ensure that your Audio Typing / Transcription provider supports provide such a system. Request for a demo account and take it for a test drive.
8
Hidden Costs
Hidden costs are just that - hidden. Here are a few common ones you can check for:
Line Definitions: Be sure to find out what exactly constitutes a line as defined by the Audio Typing / Transcription service provider. A line should be defined as 50 to 65 characters or keystrokes (including spaces). This is the industry norm for a line definition. Avoid physical line based billing methodologies. Even blank lines and lines with a single word will be charged.
Minimum volume contracts: Avoid Audio Typing / Transcription contracts that specify a minimum number of billable lines per month. If you don't use the Audio Typing / Transcription service in a given billing cycle, you will still end up paying for services you didn't use.
Additional charges for corrections: Most reputable Audio Typing / Transcription service firms offer corrections free of charge. Ensure that there are no charges for these.
Hidden costs are just that - hidden. Here are a few common ones you can check for:
Line Definitions: Be sure to find out what exactly constitutes a line as defined by the Audio Typing / Transcription service provider. A line should be defined as 50 to 65 characters or keystrokes (including spaces). This is the industry norm for a line definition. Avoid physical line based billing methodologies. Even blank lines and lines with a single word will be charged.
Minimum volume contracts: Avoid Audio Typing / Transcription contracts that specify a minimum number of billable lines per month. If you don't use the Audio Typing / Transcription service in a given billing cycle, you will still end up paying for services you didn't use.
Additional charges for corrections: Most reputable Audio Typing / Transcription service firms offer corrections free of charge. Ensure that there are no charges for these.
Some optional services you might need, and your Audio Typing / Transcription service should support:
Setup & Delivery customizations: If you are a multiple location organization or would like to provide physicians and dictating personnel direct access to the online system, your Audio Typing / Transcription service should be able to customize your services, to accommodate these requirements.
EMR specific customizations: Your Audio Typing / Transcription service should support document and delivery customizations in the event you require this.
Automated Faxes to Recipients: Documents are faxed to recipients marked at the time of dictation, immediately upon completion of Audio Typing / Transcription. This requirement depends on the habits of your physicians and the urgency of your daily reports. Some organizations might never need this feature.
10. Dictation by
Exception (Templates & Macros)
Dictation by exception is a process in which documents are based on templates and modifications are made in the appropriate areas to complete a document. These templates already contain all the 'normals' and the person dictating just needs to dictate exceptions and changes to the template to create a report.
Dictation by exception is a process in which documents are based on templates and modifications are made in the appropriate areas to complete a document. These templates already contain all the 'normals' and the person dictating just needs to dictate exceptions and changes to the template to create a report.
The Audio Typing / Transcription service you choose should be able to provide this feature, in the event you do need it.
We hope you found this article useful.
Thank
you for reading.
Have a wonderful day!