Every good businessman regularly considers possibilities of reducing costs and optimizing investments. When creating this document AsterOffice aimed to help healthcare facilities evaluate the options for dealing with medical transcription tasks they have and therefore allocate their resources in a more beneficial way.

1. Medical
transcription:
making
the right choice
Every good businessman
regularly considers In this document:
possibilities of reducing
— Types of medical transcription service providers
costs and optimizing
investments. When creating — Phenomenon of outsourcing
this document AsterOffice — Outsourcing barriers
aimed to help healthcare
facilities evaluate the — Benefits of outsourcing medical
transcription
options for dealing with
medical transcription
tasks they have and
therefore allocate their
resources in a more
beneficial way.

2. What are the options healthcare facilities have when
it comes to medical transcription?
As every organisation, medical centers face numerous non-focus tasks that have to be done
to ensure that the entire process runs smoothly. Information found in patient records plays
crucial role in healthcare. With medical transcription being an integral part of patient records
management, the choice of service provider matters much. Here healthcare facilities could
resort to the help of:
1. In-house staff
Opportunity to choose and test a new team member, his complete dedication
to your needs, unlimited control over all processes, obligations clearly stated
in a labor contract – an in-house medical transcriptionist seems to be a lossless
solution. But it is an expensive treat. Firstly, you have to provide such a person
with working place and equipment; secondly, you’ll have to pay fixed salary even
if you your employee is occupied only 80% of working time; thirdly, when your
employee falls ill you will have to look for urgent help to do the job; and finally,
it is not only the employee who has obligations: you will have to deal
with insurance costs, thick and maternity leaves. So this idea is ok if you have
enough resources and workload to hire a dedicated professional.
2. Independent professional
This solution would probably be the cheapest but also the riskiest one. It’s vital
to understand that these seemingly beneficial deals are fraught with lack
of information security and confidence. Independent professionals – or simply
freelancers – will hardly observe any obligations in case problems occur.
Nothing to say about quality assurance. So if you are ready for that risk,
probably independent contractors could be an option for you.
3. Professional service provider
When you entrust your medical transcription tasks to a professional service
provider you get flexibility and confidence. You pay only for the job that is done,
only when you have job to be done and you get quality results on time, with
information protection guaranteed by your contract. The majority of healthcare
facilities finally arrive to this solution and those who choose the right service
provider gain numerous benefits and become industry leaders due to reason-
able investment, resource allocation and effective workflow management.
It goes without saying that for healthcare centers that do not have a stable amount
of medical transcription tasks, professional providers of medical transcription services
are the optimal way out – beneficial and risk-free. And even large healthcare institutions
with in-house transcriptionists having an escape hatch will help avoid unexpected
complications. And while all the aforementioned solutions encompass organizational
aspect of collaboration, adding geographical factor – outsourcing to regions with lower
manpower costs – creates a solution for real strategy experts. But for many companies
negative stereotypes create an impassable barrier on the way to the numerous benefits.

3. Outsourcing: myths and facts
Have you ever experienced the benefits of outsourcing? Do not hurry to answer.
We all know that every cloud has a silver lining and outsourcing of any tasks,
whether medical transcription or else, has disadvantages as well as benefits. But let’s
have a comprehensive look at the situation.
What do the enemies of outsourcing usually complain of? Low quality?...
Lack of control?... Risks?...
But is it specific to outsourcing only? I’m sure, you can remember a couple of stories
from your own experience or those told by a friend of yours when collaboration with local
service providers turned out to be a complete failure due to partner’s dishonesty, letdowns
or as the result of mere stinginess. We must admit, there is no need to outsource to learn
that business, just like life itself, is full of pitfalls.
Without understanding of the concept of outsourcing people hurry to make up a conclu-
sion that outsourcing is about cost reduction only. And with this belief they try hard
to squeeze out the maximum choosing the cheapest contractor or even a freelancer.
Do you agree, it is funny when they get so surprised at the result
of such collaboration?
To reap real benefits it is important to realize that outsourcing is not a mercenary
impulse but a mature business strategy. Well-weighted outsourcing decision will result
in cost reduction without sacrificing quality and with a bunch of additional benefits.
Turnaround Time 61%
Reduced Costs 29%
Increased Efficiency 13%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Progrès constatés par les entreprises qui externalisent la transcription médicale à des fournisseurs professionnels
Those companies Yes, outsourcing So how to turn
for whom outsourcing is about cutting costs outsourcing from
a risky venture into
is the source of unique but this is not the main
an unalienable factor
competitive advantage reason to outsource. of success?
are not simply luckier Reasonable approach
than others. The secret to outsourcing may The idea is to know
is that from the very be- provide your company the limit for economy
ginning they sought not with a mix of advantages and be able see other
simply cheap workforce that will leave your com- benefits you get when
outsourcing.
but efficient collaborative petitors far behind:
business model.
- Reduced costs - Accelerate
business process
Lower payroll
- expenses - Access talents
- Lower - Improve workflow
infrastructure costs

4. Overcoming the barriers
As a matter of fact, the barriers companies Patients keep demanding lower prices, com-
face, when it comes to outsourcing are mere- petitors keep trying to win your clientele,
ly physiological. Definitely it is difficult to ac- more and more resources are required to stay
cept that sending important tasks to another the course. In such environment switching to
company, another country you will not lose a new business model is a must for every pru-
control; that paying considerably less than dent business. And there is no crime in out-
local vendors charge you will still get ser- sourcing some processes for a company that
vices of good quality; that sending your files creates enough jobs, observes the laws and
to some distant place will not affect your in- pays the taxes. Is there really anything evil
formation security and that exporting jobs to in trying to develop the business, provide
another country you do not push your coun- patients with better price-quality ratio and
trymen below the poverty line. However it is trying to succeed on the market instead of
true. becoming bankrupt and making all the
employees jobless?
Let’s evaluate the situation with our eyes open.
The volume of outsourced jobs grows signifi- As for lack of control and security in out-
cantly year after year – companies all over the sourcing, this problem is now in times past.
world outsource tasks to gain competitive Information technologies of today leave no
advantage, to provide better service for their place for such doubts. Professional outsourc-
clients, to get resources for development ing vendors provide their partners with com-
in focus directions. Call centers, IT services, plete control over the outsourced operations,
accounting, legal processes, medical tran- detailed real-time reporting and monitor-
scription – outsourcing of these jobs increases ing functionality. Multilevel data protection
by 40% annually. Impressive number, isn’t it? systems and encoding of security-sensitive
elements eliminates the risk of data loss
or disclosure. You will definitely get these
guarantees from partnership with a profes-
sional provider of medical transcription ser-
vices, with dedicated IT team and informa-
tion security systems maintained at top-level
performance.

5. Getting the most out of medical transcription outsourcing
For those businessmen who consider outsourcing to be a method of cost-reduction only,
price is the decisive factor. Choice of a service provider with the lowest prices often ends
up with broken expectations and aversion to the concept of outsourcing itself. However
ability to see other opportunities for business process optimization allows to achieve
many strategic benefits:
- Right vendor with right team, right technologies, right process
Cut expenses will save you about 40%-50% of your current costs without
compromising quality
- Entrusting your medical transcription to a vendor for whom
Accelerating
it is the core activity ensures stable quality and turnaround time
workflow
what will inevitable facilitate your internal processes and planning
Reduce - Having a professional and experienced in-house transcriptionist
payroll is quite expensive and imposes many obligations on the employer.
costs Outsourcing is a chance to avoid this pitfall
Cut - In-house specialists require serious investments in space, furniture,
infrastructure equipment and training. Avoiding these costs is a great benefit
costs for many companies
- Professional medical transcription companies hire qualified
Access talents specialists and ensure their knowledge base is regularly updated.
It means you will have your tasks done by professionals
- Reducing your costs you will get extra funds for core investments,
Win
improved turnaround time will speed up processes, reliable
competition
partnership will contribute to overall service quality
Increase - Reducing your costs you will be able to provide your patients
customer with more attractive pricing models, optimization of business
satisfaction processes will free resources for improvements in client servicing
So, now think again – have you ever experienced the benefits of reasonable
outsourcing? Probably now you know what to expect and it is the right time
to switch to a mature business model.
AsterOffice will be happy to provide you with any additional information
and answer your questions.