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Medical transcription has evolved from simple dictation-to-type processes to innovative, dictation-to-web reporting services. As more healthcare organizations and medical professionals shift toward outsourced transcription services, demand for these types of services is steadily on the rise. The entire process of capturing the dictation and formatting into a report for the doctor or healthcare organization can take time, but working with a reliable medical transcription company can increase the efficiency of this process and reduce turnaround time substantially.

What is Medical Transcription?

Medical transcription is the process of converting voice recorded information into text in the form of a report. Medical transcriptionists are professionals who have been trained to type via dictation, and accurately transcribe all notes and related information into a specific format. Many of today's innovative transcription service providers now use web-based programs to capture data, convert it into text, and make it available in the form of electronic reports and other reporting documents. The entire process has become more efficient and accurate, but still requires the work of certified medical transcriptionists to capture the data.

What Does a Medical Transcription Company Do?

A medical transcription company may hire a team of certified medical transcriptionists to complete various projects, or work with home based medical transcription service providers. Outsourced medical transcription companies offer many advantages and benefits over utilizing in-house support staff such as secretaries and administrative assistants, and most work with a guarantee of HIPAA compliance and high standards of accuracy.

The Process of Medical Transcription

There are three main entities involved with the medical transcription process: the provider (a doctor, physician, or healthcare organization manager who has captured a conversation or speech on an electronic device); the transcriptionist; and the transcription service company. The provider dictates the information directly into a digital recorder, phone, or other electronic device and submits the information to the transcriptionist. Today, this may be in the form of a secure FTP server or other secure communication channel such as a file attachment.

The transcriptionist then transcribes this information into a document and sends it to the quality control center or department for review. If the information meets all quality standards and is accurate, it may be forwarded to another division of the transcription company for final review. When the document meets all standards and is free of errors, it may be converted once more into a document that the provider can review.

This entire process can be smooth and seamless when you are working with a technologically advanced transcription service company, and many now offer a variety of options for providers to submit the necessary information. Dial-in phone services, digital recordings, and even web-based delivery are the key ways to submit the information to the transcriptionist, and the vehicle of transmission must be completed with security in mind.

The total transcription process and delivery time may vary depending on the medical transcription service provider you have chosen to work with, and the volume of work submitted. Still, many transcriptionists work with consistency and can turnaround projects at a relatively steady rate.