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An improved health protection system is regarded as a growth stimulant all over the world. It plays the role of a catalyst for the overall social development, like improving education, productivity of people and generating a congenial environment for further investment. Complementing the countries in this effort is the ever-increasing growth of the medical transcription companies. Today the task before these companies is to make transcription more secure besides providing client focused services. In an ever-changing environment of rising population and changing lifestyles, demand of healthcare organizations with fast changing technologies pose a real challenge to medical transcription companies. How well physicians and hospitals across nations appreciate the services of these companies and what does future hold for this industry are questions generally echoed in the medical transcription circles. Quality concerns The demand for improved levels of quality in medical transcription is always growing. AHDI’s standard code of practices takes care of the quality norms of medical transcription companies to a large extent. But is it sufficient in today’s environment particularly when the medical transcription industry is evolving? How relevant are physician’s requirements and technological changes and how fast the industry is going to absorb these changes? It can overcome these issues successfully only if it is able to deliver the patient documentation accurately and be responsive to the concerns of its clients. Accurate documentation drives revenue cycle management too. That calls for readiness on the part of the industry to structure its transcription services according to technological changes and physician’s requirements – after all, end users are better judges for quality of what they require. Outsourcing practices For the U.S. Medical transcription industry offshoring is not something new. Still, several physicians and hospitals have reservations over offshoring their medical records – a major reason why several American MTSOs dominate this space and sub-contract the transcription assignments to their offshore units. Illustratively in India, nearly 70 per cent of offshoring revenue is generated by the sub-contracting units of these MTSOs. According to reports more than 40 per cent of transcription job is outsourced to U.S. MTSOs and a meager five per cent is shared with low cost destinations like India. Technological impediments Offshore companies particularly the smaller ones are not in a position to acquire new technology on an ongoing basis due to the nature of their contractual status and low workflow levels. Then there are strains due to shortage of trained manpower and the sluggishness in adapting to the frequent changes in technology like speech recognition practices and EHR technology. Cost factor For offshore companies opportunity of outsourcing does not translate into revenues as many of them are dependent on MTSOs for sub-contract work. Healthcare service providers to look for avenues to reduce expenses and consider medical transcription as a cost center. These factors tear into an already thin operating margin of these companies. However there are many companies who operate on their own without being the sub-contracted agents of the American MTSOs. This enables them to focus on the requirements of the end clients and deliver their services with dignity and at higher profitability. Bracing up With proper identification of the changing phases of medical industry coupled with training of transcription professionals with a firm resolve to offer customized services without compromising on quality standards, would certainly help Medical transcription services to brave the challenges thrown on the providers.
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