|
Medical Transcription Services In this time of accelerated evolution, like in every other field, the health care industry has also undergone rapid changes. The need to create and maintain medical documents for insurance, legal and documentation purposes has gained utmost importance. The advent of electronic medical records and the increasing pressure on physicians to create legally valid and accurate medical documents has increased the importance and usage of Medical Transcription Services. The rise of the outsourcing industry Medical transcription is the process of converting audio files containing dictations of the doctor or any health care professional, into text documents. The medical transcription industry is not exactly a sunrise industry as it has been around since the 1960’s. The authorization and insurance claims of a hospital or physician depends almost entirely on medical documents and, hence proper and vigilant maintenance of medical records has become a necessity. The documentation of medical records can be a long, tedious and monotonous process, the kind of work that doctors all over the globe have an intense dislike for. This brings us to the other industry that has been garnering lots of interest of late “The outsourcing industry”. Why outsource? The other part of outsourcing is this: it simply says where the work can be done outside better than it can be done inside, we should do it. Alphonso Jackson. (Former Secretary of Housing and urban development The United States). The concept of outsourcing is not a new development either. It has been the most talked about, controversial and much debated industry in recent times. The outsourcing market has grown from being a nascent industry to the most powerful factor in the international market scenario. The process of outsourcing medical transcription work has also gained immense popularity over the years. Outsourcing transcribing work to developing countries like India and China has resulted in a drastic reduction of operational expenditure. A recent study states that outsourcing medical transcription can save up to 40% of transcribing and documenting costs. The upsurge in the outsourcing of medical transcription services The recent increase in the volume of outsourcing, in the medical transcription industry can be attributed to many factors and variables. However it can be scaled down to five major factors: • The reduction of costs: The overall lowering of operational expenditure is a major incentive for the health care sector to outsource medical transcribing work to developing countries. In the cut throat world of business, a penny saved is a penny gained. And a recent research article by the Mckinsey Global Institute states that a U.S firm can stand to gain up to 13 cents for every dollar invested. • Easy availability and management of labor: The abundance of skilled and cheap labor in developing countries makes the process of delegating work and managing the workforce easier and inexpensive. The health care firms can save on the Cost of employee benefits such as health insurance, life insurance and other such benefits and allowances. • An opportunity to focus on core business: The primary concern of a health care provider should obviously be the health of his patients! Outsourcing documentation work gives medical professionals to concentrate on their main business, providing health care. • Scalability: In the health care sector unlike in most fields the volume of work is never constant and dependent on several variables like patient turn out, cancellation or postponement of appointments, referrals to other specialists etc. This makes maintaining, an in house team of transcribers and documenters next to impossible. Outsourcing therefore is a boon for the health care fraternity due to the flexibility and scalability available. • Turn around time: Time plays a major role in the medical field .The timely documentation of health care records is a major need and necessity, for medical insurance claims and reimbursements. The difference in time zones while outsourcing to developing countries such as India ensures a quicker turn around time. The biggest player India is a major player in the outsourcing arena today thanks to its large number of young population and the presence of the world’s largest English literate community. The weak monitory value of the Indian rupee also serves as a major attraction for foreign investors. Today, quite possibly every industry under the sun outsources and allocates a major share of its work to developing countries. The medical transcription field in particular is reliant to a large extent on outsourcing, for completing the onerous and complicated task of creating, maintaining and handling medical and health care records. The inexpensive cost of labor and the availability of a skilled and young workforce have made India the hotspot and nerve center of the Medical Transcription Services outsourcing market.
Related Articles -
Medical transcription services, Medical transcribing solutions, EMR integration services, EMR Implementation, EMR support services,
|
