Frequently Asked Questions
1. What are the benefits of outsourcing transcription?
Outsourcing transcription has many benefits, the largest being cost savings. Outsourcing transcription services provides lower overhead with reduced payroll and benefits expenses associated with having an in-office employee. Outsourcing also eliminates the challenges associated with in-office turnover such as hiring, training and managing backlogs due to vacation and illness.
Transcription, Etc. does not, in any way, advocate putting transcriptionists out of a job, so we can customize your service to handle any backlog, overflow, vacations or sick leave schedule, coordinating with your current transcriptionists. We also can absorb your current transcriptionist into our transcription team and allow them the benefit of keeping the same workload. Please try our (cost calculator) to calculate what your cost savings could be when outsourcing.
2. How do you charge for transcription and what constitutes a line of transcription?
We charge on a per line basis. We use an industry standard 65-character line where a character is defined as any letter, number, symbol or punctuation in the body of the document, including spaces, tabs and hard returns. Please request a free copy of our (e-mail newsletter) which include information on line-counting methods used in the industry. While our costs are not the lowest in the industry, typical savings for a facility when compared to having an in-house transcription department is 17 to 28%. Prices also vary depending on volume, turnaround time, and various account specifics. Call us today, and we can discuss an exact price to fit your transcription budget.
3. What is the turnaround time?
Turnaround times vary depending on your facility needs and work type requirements. We can accommodate any of the work type required turnaround times of 4, 6, 8, 12, 24, 48, or 72 hours. We can also accommodate shorter turnaround times per your contract negotiations. STAT reports are completed, upon request, within 1 to 2 hours.
4. How do I dictate and what equipment will I need?
We offer state-of-the-art digital dictation options that allow you to dictate without purchasing any additional equipment. We offer a telephone digital dictation system, which can be accessed 24 hours a day 7 days a week, or a digital hand-held voice recorder. The call-in system allows instant dictation delivery so that we can start processing your dictation immediately. We can integrate with most hospital systems to receive dictation as well.
5. Can I use my existing templates and formats for transcribed reports?
We will be happy to incorporate any templates, formats or normal canned phrases you may routinely use in your dictation. When your account is set up, we work with you to ensure your reports are formatted exactly the way you want them. We can accommodate your letterhead into the reports, which will also save you time and money!
6. What are some of your quality assurance standards?
When we set up a new accounts, we use a three step verification process. Once the dictation is received, it is assigned to a specific transcriptionist. The transcriptionist access and transcribes the file. A Quality Assurance (QA) editor reviews the transcription for any questions or corrections needed. Then a transcription manager accesses the transcription once again to verify formatting and approve the final transcript to be delivered to the client. As an additional quality assurance measure, we generally assign a transcriptionist to the same client so that they will become familiar with your dictation style to ensure quality and a quicker turnaround time. We also cross train backup transcriptionists to cover for vacations and illnesses when necessary.
7. Are we required to sign a long-term contract and what types of contracts are available?
We value each client’s business and are confident in our ability to provide you with satisfactory service. Generally, there is no minimum contract length. We do however, request that you give a 30-day notice for termination. For larger volume and hospital contracts, other various negotiations and stipulations may apply. We offer full contracts as well as contracts for vacation coverage or just backlog support. We also offer our (overflow contract program) to practices with in-house transcriptionists. This is a contract that streamlines workflow and coordinate with your staff so that your transcriptionists is always working on the current days work, and maintaining a 24 hour turnaround time!
8. Will we still need transcription services once we implement an Electronic Medical Records (EMR) system?
This is entirely up to you. The idea that electronic medical records can eliminate transcription is not entirely true. Most physicians continue to prefer the freedom of expression to convey the patient’s unique situation, which is available only with the rich narrative text report. An EMR’s point and click system could accommodate very limited and common office notes, but with this method the patient’s unique health story is often lost, thus effecting continuity of care. In fact, many physicians are beginning to realize that they can migrate to the EMR faster with less disruption and/or loss of revenue when they continue to dictate along with implementing the EMR.
9. Is you transcription services compatible with EMRs.
Yes, we can integrate our transcribed reports into most existing EMR systems. In some instances, we can also integrate old archived reports into your EMR system. If transcription is a large part of your practice, we recommend that you inquire about transcription capability and compatibility when selecting your EMR system. Contact us if you would like assistance with selecting an EMR that is best for your practice. Due to the various similarities in technology that the transcription industry has worked with, coupled with the clinical and risk management knowledge, transcriptionists are most equipped to assist physicians with accelerating EMR adoption. In addition, we offer EMR capabilities such as e-prescribing, document viewer, e-faxing, etc., within our transcription technology solution.
10. What speech recognition services do you offer?
We offer front-end and back-end speech recognition services. Front-end speech recognition is when dictation is spoken into the microphone, and is populated onto the screen for the doctor or dictator to edit and correct the misrecognitions themselves. Back-end speech recognition is when the dictation is ran through a speech engine and a background draft is provided, along with the synchronized voice, to an editor for review and correction.
These editors are typically transcriptionists, who can often improve their productivity by listening, reading, and simply correcting the misrecognitions – rather than typing out the entire report word by word. This service can be performed by our transcriptionists, or can be set up to be performed by your transcriptionists. Please contact an account manager at (202) 529-1802 to learn more about this service.
11. How do I sign up for transcription services?
You can click on this (Sign Up Now!) link. Clicking on this link will bring you to our sign-up page which will require you to provide some information about your practice. Our account manager will go over your profile and contact you to set up your account. You may also contact an account manager at (202) 529-1802 to have your account set up at your convenience, or if you have additional questions before signing up. We are also happy to provide you with a (transcription quote).
Accessible Digital Transcriptions Within 24 Hours
You Dictate We'll Do The Rest: Streamlined Workflow