Medical transcription is a service; thereby the usual criteria of evaluation for making a purchase are not sufficient. Usually a purchase decision would involve evaluating criteria like Product/service, price, channels of availability and the promotional offers available along with purchase. Let us evaluate how they apply to availing this service:
· Service: In case of services like medical transcription the dimensions of the service would be defined by:
1. Flexibility of service: The solutions for creating patient records have to be tailor made to suit the need of every healthcare facility, be it a single doctor practice or a huge hospital offering numerous specialties.
2. Security of the service: It is important for the service provider to realize that the security of confidential patient information is an important aspect of these services. Measures should be taken to ensure that processes, people and infrastructure are HIPAA and HITECH compliant.
3. Turnaround time of the service: It is important for the service provider to understand that creation of patient records is a critical service both for providing quality care as well as speeding up the receivables cycle. Speedy and flexible turnaround time options have to be offered.
· Price: Defining the price of services is a really tricky issue and would involve defining the measurement parameters of service. In case of medical transcription the measurement parameters for the service could be defined in terms of
1. Minute
2. Page
3. Report
4. Gross lines
5. Character line
6. Visible black character
The billing methodology used by the vendor needs to be measurable, verifiable, definable, consistent, fair and honest.
· Channels of availability: In case of a service like transcription this would mean sources providing this service like in-house employees, independent contractors, or a professional transcription service provider
· Promotion: Promotional offers that add to these services like free recorders etc. also affect the purchase decision
The above criteria are generally considered adequate for the purchase decision involving a physical product. However while evaluating a service like medical transcription further assessment is needed based on the following criteria:
· Process: The quality of this service also needs to be assessed on the basis of the process used for providing the service. In case of the process for creating patient records it could involve assessing the process on the basis of:
1. Quality process: This is to ensure that the audio files are subject to a stringent quality check process involving a systematic check by more than one set of qualified ears to ensure maximum accuracy
2. Security measures taken to ensure HIPAA and HITECH compliance: Data security needs to be ensured 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.
· People: In any service, and particularly a service as crucial as the process of creating patient records, the quality of the people providing the service play a very important part in the quality of service. Evaluating the people involved in this service can be done by evaluating:
1. Training methods.
2. Whether transcription is done in-house or through other means.
· Physical evidence: There is no better method of assessing a service than by experiencing a sample of the service before signing the contract.
Evaluating medical transcription services on all these criteria would ensure accurate, timely, secure and cost effective services.
Author Resource:
Renee Kelly has written numerous articles on transcription services , which has served as an amazing resource for healthcare facilities and healthcare professionals seeking information regarding medical transcription companies .
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