Hire a Company for Medical Transcription Service | DrCatalyst

Medical transcription is an essential aspect of a physician’s practice, which involves processing a physician’s dictations into written documents. And, quality transcription is important not only for the physician and medical practice, but also for the patient, other medical professionals, and the insurance companies that will be reviewing claims.

Lately, the increasing demand for transcription services has resulted in a growing number of transcription agencies. With so many options currently available, it’s easy to get confused and overwhelmed during the process of choosing a medical transcription service provider. So, it is vital to keep a few key factors in mind when choosing a medical transcription company that’s right for you.

What factors should you consider?

So, what should you look for when you’re trying to decide which medical transcription service is a good fit for your practice? Here are some recommendations.

Years of Experience

When choosing among medical transcription service companies, healthcare institutions and medical personnel should take the experience of the particular company into account. Find out how long the companies that your reviewing have been in business. And because these transcription jobs pay relatively well and demand is high among medical institutions for these advanced services, a number of individuals have begun offering freelance medical transcription services. As a result, the transcripts produced by these individuals may be difficult to decipher or, worse yet, entirely wrong. Established medical transcription companies, like DrCatalyst, can offer greater accuracy and improved results at little or no additional cost, making them a wise choice for healthcare institutions.

Online reviews

After figuring out how long the companies has been providing medical transcription service, checking their online reviews would be a good next step. If you see that there are other happy customers, it will illuminate the history of the company and their experience in providing excellent medical transcription services to others. However, if a company has far more negative reviews than positive reviews, then you should move on to the next option.

Turnaround Time

Most transcription services have a standard turnaround time of about 24 hours so that you can respond to your patient’s needs at the earliest. However, some documents can be completed even quicker, and many companies will escalate their turnaround time for an additional fee. But for standard documentation, if a company's turnaround time is much longer than 24 hours, you might want to review other service provider as well. Consistent delays can have significant effects on administrative workflow and patient care.

Certified Transcriptionist

Another important thing to consider is the qualifications of those who will be working on your transcriptions. The best transcribers has a working knowledge of transcription standards, medical terminology, and HIPAA requirements. Their experience will enable them to pick up on the softer aspects of transcription such as dialects, slang, colloquialisms and other cultural nuances, improving the overall quality.

Quality Assurance

At the end of the day, it is the skill of the transcriptionist and proofreader that ensures that your transcripts are both accurate and well presented. Even though you may find that some transcription companies offer extremely cheap transcription services, this may reflect the standard of your final transcript. If in doubt, ask for a five to ten minute sample of their work, most transcription companies will be more than happy to oblige. Through this sample, you'll be able to tell exactly how accurate their services are. Services that are poorly formatted or that are not tailored to medical transcription may need to have their work redone.

Legal Aspects

Ensure that you choose a HIPAA compliant transcription company like DrCatalyst, so that you can be assured that your medical data will be protected. Always ask for references. And don’t just be satisfied with the few clients that select and show you, ask for as many client references as possible. As a result, you will be able to figure out whether the company is experienced or not.

Modern Technology

Technical infrastructure is important to keeping pace with customer demands. As more facilities move towards Electronic Health Record (EHR) software, a medical transcription services company that can provide EHR integration, along with the tools for physicians and staff to navigate the system to be able track activities, is invaluable.

You need to know that that the medical transcription service that you choose, has the technology to interface with your existing systems. Furthermore, your medical transcription service provider should have the knowledge to recommend system updates that will benefit your medical practice. You also need to know that your medical transcription service provider has the capability to create and customize applications to accommodate the needs of your medical practice.

Billing Methodologies

Understanding the multiple billing methodologies that occur within the transcription industry can be a confusing process. When making a billing comparison, be sure that you are comparing apples to apples and request that the counting methodologies be clearly defined, demonstrate-able and verifiable.

Customer Service

Technical support staff should be available 24x7 should any issues arise after hours. When you have an issue, you should be able to work it out right away, not days later. Healthcare facilities have been known to waste valuable time waiting on a resolution to their issues.

Good customer service is a combination of well-trained employees and an efficient system. You should be able to encounter knowledgeable and professional customer service representatives with an efficient system at their disposal to resolve the issues.

Final Thoughts

Outsourcing to a medical transcription service is an excellent way to save money but only if it doesn't end up producing more work for yourself. By looking at these important factors, you'll be able to find a medical transcription service company that produces reliable documents and has the ability to produce them both quickly and at a low cost. At DrCatalyst, we are committed to providing quality, accurate outsourced medical transcription services to meet your increasing documentation demands. Get in touch with our team anytime!

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