How to Choose a Medical Transcription Service

Medical transcription is an important part of any medical practice. Without it, your workflow and hospital service will stand at a standstill. As a doctor, you need an efficient medical transcription service to reduce the time spent on clinical documentation. Here's how you can choose the best medical transcription service providers.

HIPPA and Security Compliance

The cardinal rule of healthcare is patient confidentiality and adherence to HIPPA rules. Your service providers must be aware of HIPPA rules and comply with them so that you don't break any rules. Besides that, check with them to ensure that they protect their data. You can also inquire to find out the data protection software they use. As a doctor, your patient's data must be safe, as should the transcription service you use. Remember that you can face a serious lawsuit if your patient's data is not secure.

Quality Control

A slight difference from dictated notes, such as dosage, can cause disasters in the medical world. To avoid such incidents, check with your providers on the kind of quality control methods they use. It would help if you looked out for their margin for error, quality control procedure, accuracy, and what the service does when it identifies the error. 

An excellent medical transcriptionist service will provide you with two to three levels of quality assurance. You'll have two to three people to review your clinical documentation. If you want to outsource medical transcription service, ensure you know how many pairs of hands review your documents before they come to you. Pay close attention to how the company handles quality control.

Transcription Skills

As a doctor, you understand professional terminology and jargon. So, your transcriptionist should be a person who is well-versed in the medical field. Before you hire a service provider, ensure you know the kind of qualification their transcriptionist has. Ask the transcription service provider for the skill assessment and how often they upgrade their transcriptionists. The best way to do this is to check their references and review their past work. You will have a better idea of their work.

Company Review

Although the medical field lacks transcriptionists, companies need happy clients with better reviews. If you prod and look around, you should have an accurate idea of the company's review. You may ask to speak to their customers to know their past experiences. Check doctor's forums and read other doctors' opinions about the company. The more you dig and research the company, the more you will understand your relationship with the company.

Turnaround Time

Many medical transcription services have a 24-hour turnaround time, except STAT service, which can be completed quickly. Other providers will prioritize reports for an extra fee. But for regular documentation, the standard time is always 24 hours. If the service provider takes longer, you may need to choose another medical transcription company.

Contracts

If you go with a third-party medical transcription service provider, know what you can expect from the company. Take your time to sit and read the contract line by line and engage with the service providers on items you need help understanding or negotiating. This will help avoid signing a transcription contract blindly.

Take extra caution and ensure you pay only for what you need. Many vendors provide flashy features that you may not need. You will have to think if the bells and whistles are useful to you or not. You don't need extra features for quick and accurate transcription.

If you want the best medical transcription service providers, you can contact Alto, Inc. They will offer you accurate and secure transcriptions within your timeframes.