To start the medical transcription process, physicians have to dictate their notes into a recording device. The two most popular options today are toll-free phone lines or handheld digital recorders, and nearly all services support both methods.
There aren't significant reasons to choose one over the other. Both are easy to use and allow you to record multiple patients' notes in one session. Both are very portable, thanks to cell phones. Handheld recorders do carry an additional hardware cost, but they often have better sound quality than telephone dictation. Because some services charge different rates depending on the quality of your recordings, better audio quality can help you save in the long run.
Some practices still use audio cassettes to record notes, but their numbers are dwindling – as are the number of services who accept cassette tapes for transcription.
Communicating with the transcription service
There are several methods for sending audio recordings and transcripts to and from a service provider. Whichever you choose, make sure there's an emphasis on security: these communications must be secure and protected to ensure patient confidentiality.
Digital handheld users will need to submit their audio recordings to the provider via the Internet. That can be done through a secure web site via a file transfer protocol (FTP) client, using custom software from the provider, or even through encrypted email. (Note that using standard email is not secure enough to satisfy HIPAA requirements.) Obviously, telephone-based medical transcription takes one less step as dictated notes are recorded directly onto the provider's servers.
Once the notes are transcribed, they are most commonly returned as Microsoft Word files, but can be converted to PDF or other text formats if you prefer. They can then be delivered via any of the methods mentioned above: secure web sites, FTP, custom software, or encrypted email. Delivery via fax is more rare, but you can still find providers who offer fax delivery.
More comprehensive medical transcription services provide more than just a back-and-forth transmission of documents. Instead, they offer an online system that stores both the audio files and transcripts, organizes them by date, doctor, or patient, and tracks their progress as they're being transcribed. These services are more like content management systems than simple transcription – and while they are more expensive, the management benefits they provide can be beneficial to busy practices.
