Outsourcing medical transcription can maximize efficiency and reduce costs associated with running an in-house transcription department. This article lists six reasons why you should consider contracting the services of a medical transcription company.
Doctors are pretty busy, and transcribing notes isn’t high on their to-do list; that’s where medical transcriptionists come in. They get the job done and allow physicians to focus on more important things, like consulting, diagnosing, and treating patients.
However, a medical transcription department can be quite costly to manage. If you run a small healthcare facility, outsourcing transcription can be a smart move, allowing you to cut costs and while your employees focus on important activities. Here are a few advantages of outsourcing transcription:
It’s Cheaper
By outsourcing medical transcription, you’ll avoid some major costs associated with running an in-house department:
· The salaries paid to in-house transcriptionists
· The cost of training new employees
· Special software (plus regular upgrades), transcription equipment, and various office supplies
· Cost of space used for in-house transcription
Less Responsibility For Other Employees
Two other departments will greatly benefit from outsourcing medical transcription. The first of these departments is the IT department. When transcription is in-house, they have to manage on-site equipment, troubleshoot the software and various technologies your own, and keep up with the latest updates in the field in order to keep the system running smoothly. When you outsource medical transcription, you free up your IT team, allowing them to be more productive and focus on more important tasks. Additionally, you free up a lot of space on your server that was once supporting the dictation system.
Human resources is the other department that benefits. Experienced and detail-oriented medical transcriptionists are not easy to find, and the search for potential employees will take up a lot of resources. You always need to have someone on hold, since the workload is heavy; if one of your employees suddenly decides to pursue other interests, you’ll have to replace them as soon as possible.
Timely Deliveries
Companies that offer medical transcription services are constantly monitoring the efficiency of their employees. If you run a small practice and decide to outsource transcription to a freelancer, that freelancer creates his or her own schedule, which usually means they can be called upon to work flexible hours in response to your busiest periods.
Quality Reports
Hiring a reliable company to handle your transcription needs means never doubting the quality of your reports again. These companies often hire skilled medical transcriptionists who can transcribe reports for any specialty. Furthermore, they also have editors who verify the final document in order to make sure that everything is accurate. The same goes for freelance medical transcriptionists – it’s in their interest to deliver quality reports. If not, their clients won’t require their services again.
No More Scheduling Issues
When you run a transcription department in-house, you often deal with scheduling issues. The volume of reports you need transcribed varies tremendously, so there will be moments when your staff will be overwhelmed by the workload. Turnaround time may suffer, and this can negatively affect your budget. Furthermore, if one or more of your employees takes a personal day or gets sick, the others may be required to work overtime in order to get everything done. By outsourcing medical transcription, or even just the overflow, these issues will become a thing of the past. The company you outsource to will make sure that all of your reports will be delivered on time, regardless of the increased volume of work.
Improved Access to Transcribed Reports
Outsourcing medical transcription makes editing and retrieving reports easier than ever. Many transcription companies store reports on a web-based platform, giving you access to the transcribed documents at any time. These platforms are safe (password-protected) and user-friendly, so you don’t have to worry about sensitive patient information ending up in the hands of unauthorized individuals. The platform will facilitate viewing, editing, and printing reports with little effort, so your staff won’t need additional training to use it.
Outsourcing can do your practice a lot of good. Do a little research and find a reliable company to handle your transcription needs. They will provide quality and timely reports, so you’ll have one less thing to worry about. There’s no wonder that medical transcription is one of the 11 jobs most likely to be outsourced in the U.S.
