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Outsourcing Transcription Services vs. Transcription Software: The Top Advantages
In today’s world, businesses and professionals are presented with two distinct approaches: outsourcing transcription services to human professionals or utilizing transcription software. Each method has its merits, but the advantages of outsourcing transcription services shine brightly in many scenarios.
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One primary advantage is the human touch. While transcription software relies on algorithms and predefined patterns, human transcriptionists bring a nuanced understanding of language, context, and diverse accents. This ensures a higher level of accuracy, especially in specialized fields where industry-specific jargon or complex terminology is prevalent.
Another key benefit of outsourcing transcription services is the ability to handle several audio qualities. Human transcriptionists can navigate through challenging audio, such as multiple speakers, background noise, or unclear recordings, adapting to nuances that automated software might struggle to interpret correctly.
Moreover, outsourcing offers flexibility and scalability that software solutions may need help to match. Professional transcription services can accommodate varying workloads, tight deadlines, and specialized requirements. This flexibility ensures that businesses receive accurate and timely transcriptions tailored to their needs.
Confidentiality and data security are uppermost concerns for many businesses. When outsourcing transcription services to reputable providers, clients often benefit from robust security measures, including encryption, secure file transfers, and strict confidentiality agreements. This is a critical advantage, especially for industries dealing with sensitive information, such as legal, medical, or corporate sectors.
Additionally, outsourcing transcription services can enhance productivity. Instead of investing time and resources in training staff to use complex software or diverting attention to transcription tasks, businesses can focus on their core competencies while leaving transcription needs in the hands of skilled professionals.
Cost-effectiveness is another compelling argument in favor of outsourcing. While transcription software may come with initial costs and ongoing maintenance fees, outsourcing services often operate on a pay-as-you-go model. This allows businesses to manage expenses efficiently and avoid upfront investments in technology.
Furthermore, outsourcing transcription services offers a layer of quality control. Reputable providers typically have rigorous quality assurance processes involving multiple reviews and edits by experienced professionals. This ensures a polished and accurate final product that might be harder to achieve consistently with automated transcription.
While transcription software has its place, the advantages of outsourcing transcription services are clear. The human element, flexibility, scalability, enhanced security, productivity gains, cost-effectiveness, and quality control collectively make outsourcing an attractive option for businesses seeking accurate and reliable transcription solutions.
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How Hybrid Dictation Systems for Doctors Give Best of Both Worlds
Summary: Creating hybrid dictation systems for doctors to follow offers the best of both worlds: an easy way to update recurring patient info with a click of the button while allowing physicians to dictate longer, fuller notes when necessary.
Technology can be a double-edged sword. Often, when it improves one area of our lives, it can make another more difficult. Patient record management is a great example. For years, doctors simply dictated all their patient encounter notes and other documentation. That changed when electronic medical records, or EMRs, came along. EMRs are a great way to store and transfer data, but getting that information into the system in the first place isn’t always easy…
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The Birth of Hybrid Dictation Systems for Doctors
The concept of medical dictation caught on very early with medical professionals. In fact, medical transcription dates back to at least 1,600 BC. It proved to be a useful multi-tasking tool, allowing the clinician to focus on the patient while someone else took on the chore of documenting the patient encounter.
EMRs changed the way physicians and clinicians managed documentation. The transition wasn’t so straightforward; for many, it certainly wasn’t smooth. Interfaces were counter-intuitive, tasks became repetitive, and systems seemed designed more for administrators than clinicians. This frustrating mix made documenting patient encounters more difficult and more time-consuming – the exact opposite of what they were intended to do.
This lack of user-friendliness for entering longer notes is part of the reason why doctors started creating hybrid dictation systems for themselves. The idea was to blend traditional dictation with direct EMR editing/updating.
The interesting thing is that some EMR updating is relatively easy. For example, clicking on checkboxes for yes/no answers is fast and straightforward. Where it gets difficult is when longer, fuller notes are necessary. These include in-depth observations, referral notes for specialists, and complex treatment plans. Not all doctors are born typists – hunting and pecking these notes seriously takes away from patient interaction. Even those comfortable with a keyboard notice the same issue of lack of face-to-face time with their patients.
A personalized hybrid dictation system for doctors provides the best of both worlds. He or she can quickly click the boxes directly in the EMR when it’s easy to do so and dictate notes for longer passages. This flexibility makes patient record management much faster, easier, and less stressful.
The Added Bonuses of Hybrid Dictation Systems
Hybrid dictation systems for doctors promote more patient interaction – including in ways you may not have thought of. Speaking your observations and treatment plans:
Reinforces the information for patients, leading to better compliance
Allows the patient to correct you if you have misinterpreted some information or remind you of something you forgot to add
Opens the floor to more discussions when your verbal notes trigger a question in the patient
Means you are less likely to miss important details
So not only do you improve the amount of time you’re spending face-to-face with your patient, the quality of your patient encounter improves, too.
You’ll also see improvements in other areas of your practice:
Less time updating patient records
Less (or no) overtime spent in the evenings and on the weekends with patient documentation
Less burnout that comes with documentation responsibilities
Better work/life balance
Better job fulfillment
Contact iMedat to Find Out How Easy Setting Up Your Hybrid Dictation System Can Be
Every physician and clinician is different, and each requires a different approach to EMR management. iMedat can help you create the hybrid dictation system that works best for you and your workflows. Contact us for a no-obligation introductory meeting, and we will show you how you can integrate dictation back into patient record management your way. Fill out our email form here or call 888-779-5888.
Blog is originally published at: https://imedat.com/hybrid-dictation-systems-doctors/
It is republished with the permission from the author.
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Why Hiring a Reliable Medical Transcription Company Matters
Precision and timeliness are paramount in healthcare documentation. As the demand for accurate medical records continues to soar, healthcare providers increasingly turn to reliable medical transcription companies to streamline their operations. This article explores the top five reasons why entrusting your medical transcription needs to a reputable service can transform your healthcare documentation processes.
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Accuracy and Precision: The Foundation of Healthcare Records
The accuracy of medical records is non-negotiable in the healthcare industry. A reliable medical transcription company brings a team of seasoned professionals who specialize in the nuances of medical terminology. Their expertise ensures that every transcription is accurate and adheres to the highest precision standards, mitigating the risk of errors that could have severe consequences for patient care.
Focus on Core Competencies: Empowering Healthcare Providers
Healthcare providers can redirect their focus toward patient care and core medical activities by outsourcing medical transcription. Administrative tasks, such as transcribing patient notes, can be time-consuming. A reliable transcription service allows healthcare professionals to dedicate more time to what they do best—caring for patients—enhancing overall efficiency in healthcare delivery.
Timely Turnaround: Accelerating Documentation Processes
In the fast-paced world of healthcare, time is of the essence. Reliable medical transcription companies understand the urgency associated with medical records. They commit to swift turnaround times, ensuring that transcriptions are delivered promptly without compromising accuracy. This timely availability of medical records facilitates better decision-making and coordination among healthcare teams.
Compliance and Security: Safeguarding Patient Information
Complying with healthcare regulations and mandates, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), is critical. Reputable transcription services have stringent security measures in place to safeguard patient information. From secure data transfer methods to encryption protocols, these companies prioritize the confidentiality and integrity of medical records.
Cost-Efficiency: A Strategic Approach to Resource Allocation
Outsourcing medical transcription proves to be a cost-effective strategy for healthcare providers. It eliminates the need for in-house transcriptionists, saving on recruitment, training, and ongoing operational costs. Moreover, the pay-as-you-go model of many transcription services allows healthcare providers to scale their transcription needs based on demand, providing a flexible and economical solution.
Hiring a reliable medical transcription company is a strategic move for healthcare providers aiming to optimize their operations. The benefits are manifold, from ensuring the accuracy of medical records to freeing up valuable time for healthcare professionals. By partnering with a reputable transcription service, healthcare providers can confidently navigate the evolving landscape of healthcare documentation, knowing that their transcription needs are in capable and experienced hands.
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The Benefits of Medical Transcription for Physicians and Clinicians
Medical transcription is vital in the healthcare industry, offering numerous advantages for physicians and clinicians. This essential service involves the conversion of voice-recorded medical reports into written documents, ensuring accurate patient records and improving overall healthcare delivery. In this article, we'll explore the significant benefits that medical transcription brings to physicians and clinicians.
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1. Accuracy and Precision
One of the primary advantages of medical transcription is the accuracy it brings to patient records. Physicians and clinicians often dictate their observations, diagnoses, and treatment plans during patient visits or procedures. Transcriptionists are trained to transcribe these spoken words meticulously, reducing the risk of errors that can occur with handwritten notes or illegible handwriting. Accurate records are crucial for patient safety, continuity of care, and legal documentation.
2. Time Efficiency
Physicians and clinicians are typically pressed for time, with busy schedules filled with patient appointments, administrative tasks, and research responsibilities. Medical transcription services can significantly reduce the time spent on documentation. Instead of spending hours manually typing notes, healthcare professionals can focus on patient care and other essential tasks, improving overall productivity.
3. Enhanced Communication
Effective communication is vital in healthcare. Medical transcription ensures that crucial information is documented clearly and comprehensively. When referring patients to specialists or collaborating with other healthcare providers, physicians can rely on accurate transcripts to convey critical details, leading to better-coordinated care and improved patient outcomes.
4. Compliance and Legal Protection
Medical transcription also plays a pivotal role in maintaining compliance with healthcare regulations. Properly documented medical records are essential for billing, insurance claims, and audits. Physicians and clinicians can have peace of mind knowing that their papers comply with relevant laws and standards. In addition, thorough documentation can provide legal protection in malpractice claims or disputes.
5. Streamlined Record Access
With electronic health record (EHR) systems becoming increasingly common, medical transcription services can seamlessly integrate with these systems. Transcribed notes can be quickly uploaded into EHRs, allowing physicians and clinicians to access patient records efficiently. This streamlined access to information improves patient care by providing comprehensive data and health records of a patient's medical history, diagnoses, and treatment plans.
6. Improved Patient Engagement
Patients appreciate the clarity and professionalism that well-maintained medical records offer. When physicians and clinicians can provide detailed, easy-to-understand documentation, it enhances patient engagement and trust. Patients are more likely to follow medical treatment plans and take action for their health when they have confidence in their healthcare providers.
7. Research and Education
Transcribed medical records are invaluable for medical research and education. Researchers can access a wealth of anonymized patient data to advance medical knowledge and develop new treatments. Medical students and residents benefit from well-documented case studies and medical histories to enhance their training and understanding of various conditions.
8. Cost-Efficiency
Outsourcing medical transcription for physicians can be cost-effective for healthcare practices. Rather than hiring in-house transcriptionists or spending excessive time on documentation, physicians and clinicians can pay for transcription services on a per-use or subscription basis. This reduces labor costs and allows healthcare providers to allocate resources more efficiently.
Medical transcription is a valuable resource that significantly benefits physicians and clinicians. It ensures accuracy, saves time, enhances communication, maintains compliance, and improves patient engagement. Additionally, it supports research and education while offering cost-efficiency. In today's fast-paced healthcare environment, medical transcription is a critical tool that empowers healthcare professionals to provide their patients with the highest level of care while managing their workloads effectively.
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Transcription in the Digital Age: Advantages of Online Legal Transcription Services
The legal industry has witnessed significant technological advancements in today's fast-paced digital world, transforming traditional practices into more streamlined and efficient processes. One such transformation has been in the transcription field, where online legal transcription services have emerged as a game-changer. These services leverage cutting-edge technology, cloud-based platforms, and skilled professionals to deliver accurate and timely transcriptions for legal professionals. 
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Top Advantages of Online Legal Transcription Services
Increased Efficiency and Turnaround Times
Online legal transcription services offer unmatched efficiency and rapid turnaround times compared to traditional manual transcription methods. Leveraging automated speech recognition (ASR) and sophisticated transcription software, these services can quickly transcribe lengthy audio or video files into written text. Legal professionals can receive transcripts in hours to expedite case preparation, analysis, and decision-making processes. This accelerated turnaround time empowers attorneys to meet tight deadlines and stay ahead in today's competitive legal landscape.
Cost-effectiveness and Resource Optimization
In-house legal transcription departments can be expensive, requiring dedicated resources, equipment, and skilled personnel. Online legal transcription services offer a cost-effective alternative by eliminating the need for on-premises infrastructure and full-time legal transcriptionists. Law firms and legal departments can opt for flexible pay-as-you-go plans, paying only for the required transcription services. This not only reduces operational costs but also optimizes resource allocation.
Accuracy and Quality Control
Online legal transcription services uphold stringent quality control steps to ensure the reliability and accuracy of their transcripts. Many services employ experienced human transcriptionists who meticulously review and edit the automated transcriptions generated by AI technologies. Combining automatic transcription with human proofreading helps eliminate errors, ensure precise legal terminology, and deliver high-quality transcripts. Accuracy is paramount in the legal field, and these services prioritize delivering transcripts that meet the industry's rigorous standards.
Secure and Confidential Handling of Legal Data
Data security is a top concern for legal professionals, and reputable online transcription services are well aware of this aspect. These services employ robust security measures to safeguard sensitive legal information and maintain client confidentiality. Secure data transmission protocols, encryption technologies, and strict controls are implemented to prevent unauthorized access or data breaches. Additionally, online legal transcription platforms adhere to industry-specific regulations, such as HIPAA compliance, to protect personal and medical information privacy, ensuring that clients can confidently trust the service with their confidential data.
Customized Services to Suit Client Needs
Every legal case is unique, and online legal transcription services understand the importance of tailoring their services to meet specific client requirements. These services often offer customizable options, such as verbatim or summarized transcripts, timecoding, or specialized formatting. Legal professionals can request additional services like redaction of sensitive information, keyword indexing, or language translation to cater to the specific needs of their cases. This flexibility allows legal teams to obtain transcripts that align with their particular workflow and case demands.
In the digital age, online legal transcription services offer undeniable advantages to legal professionals in Malvern, Pennsylvania, and beyond. From expedited turnaround times and cost-effective solutions to the highest accuracy and data security levels, these services provide an efficient and reliable transcription solution for the legal industry. As technology advances, online legal transcription services will play a pivotal role in empowering attorneys to focus on their core responsibilities while benefiting from modern transcription services' time-saving and convenience-enhancing aspects.
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The Top Three Benefits of Outsourcing Insurance Transcription Services
Accurate and timely documentation is crucial for the insurance industry. Insurance companies often deal with many audio and video recordings, such as claim interviews, recorded statements, and policy discussions. Transcribing these recordings into written documents is a time-consuming task that requires precision and attention to detail. Insurance companies outsource insurance transcription services to specialized providers to optimize their operations.
Explore the top three benefits of using transcription services for your insurance business needs.
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Accuracy and Quality Assurance
Outsourcing insurance transcription services to specialized providers ensures high accuracy and quality in transcribed documents. These providers employ trained transcriptionists with expertise in insurance terminology, industry jargon, and specific language nuances. They adhere to strict quality assurance processes, including proofreading and editing, to ensure error-free and reliable transcripts. The attention to detail provided by professional transcriptionists eliminates the risk of misinterpretation or inaccuracies in critical insurance documentation, such as claim records, policy discussions, or medical reports. 
Faster Turnaround Times
Outsourcing insurance transcription services offers insurance companies the advantage of faster turnaround times. Specialized service providers are equipped with dedicated teams of transcriptionists, allowing them to handle large volumes of audio and video recordings efficiently. They understand the importance of the insurance industry of time-sensitive information, such as claims processing or policy updates. By outsourcing transcription tasks, insurance companies can ensure quicker delivery of transcribed documents, accelerating their internal processes and reducing turnaround times for critical operations. 
Cost Savings and Resource Optimization
Outsourcing insurance transcription services offers insurance companies significant cost savings and resource optimization. Maintaining an in-house transcription team requires considerable recruitment, training, equipment, software, and ongoing management investments. Insurance companies can eliminate these expenses by outsourcing transcription tasks and redirecting their resources toward core business functions. Specialized transcription service providers operate on a cost-effective model, leveraging their expertise, infrastructure, and economies of scale to deliver efficient and affordable transcription services. The outsourcing option allows insurance companies to pay only for the transcription services they require, eliminating the need for fixed costs associated with in-house teams. This cost savings and resource optimization give insurance companies a competitive advantage, allowing them to allocate their budget efficiently.
Outsourcing insurance transcription services to specialized providers offers many benefits for insurance companies seeking to optimize their operations, enhance efficiency, and improve customer experiences. The advantages of accuracy, faster turnaround times, cost savings, resource optimization, focus on core competencies, and confidentiality demonstrate the transformative power of outsourcing in the insurance industry. By partnering with specialized service providers, insurance companies can streamline their transcription processes, ensure accurate and reliable documentation, and strategically allocate resources. Embracing the benefits of outsourcing insurance transcription services empowers insurance professionals to focus on core business functions, drive growth, and achieve a competitive edge in the ever-evolving insurance landscape.
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Roles and Responsibilities of a Medical Scribe
Medical scribes are a type of medical assistant who provides support to physicians, nurses, and other medical staff. They can be found in hospitals, clinics, doctor's offices, health systems, and other medical facilities. They play an integral part in the health care team, and as such, they have a role in every aspect of patient care.
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Responsibilities of a Medical Scribe
A medical scribe supports doctors and nurses in hospitals, clinics, and other medical facilities. 
Their responsibilities include:
Recording patient information
Helping patients complete forms that require written answers, such as consent forms and questionnaires
Taking dictation from the doctor
Transcribing dictations into electronic medical records (EMR)
Updating medical records as per the doctor's instructions or requirements
Assisting in clinical research trials and studies by collecting data such as blood pressure readings from patients
Processing laboratory results
Managing communications between doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals
Top Characteristics and Qualities of a Medical Scribe
They must be able to work in a team environment with physicians and nurses.
They must have excellent communication skills, both verbal and written.
They must have strong organizational skills.
Medical scribes are often assigned to physicians who need help with documentation or more time to keep up with the paperwork required by hospitals. They may also work in home health settings or nursing homes, caring for patients who cannot see doctors independently due to illness or disability.
Medical scribe services can also assist with other administrative tasks such as filing paperwork, making copies, and answering phones. In clinics and private practices, scribes may take notes during appointments but are often tasked with other responsibilities such as scheduling appointments, answering emails, updating software systems, etc.
If you require medical scribe services, consider reaching out to iMedat. iMedat is a medical transcription and scribe company that offers its services to professionals in many medical fields, from cardiology to oncology to physical therapy. In addition, iMedat also provides services for other types of professionals, such as lawyers or businesspeople.
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Psychology Transcription Services: How Will You Spend Your Extra Hours?
Overview: Psychology transcription services can be a tremendous time saver, but that’s not the only benefit. Psychologists, counselors, mental health workers, psychiatrists, and other related professions are constantly bogged down in admin tasks. Not only does that take away from their clinical hours actually seeing patients, but being saddled with an overwhelming amount of documentation can be a drain mentally and emotionally. This leads to issues from reduced work/life balance to frustration and burnout.
By outsourcing some or most of your documentation needs to a professional psychology transcription service, you can free up your clinical hours to see more patients and avoid working evenings and weekends updating patient or client records. How will you spend your extra time?
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Too Many Psychologists Spending Too Much Time on Admin Tasks
Does this sound like you? A 2015 Survey of Psychology Health Service Providers by the American Psychology Association (APA) found that the average psychologist spent 7.4 hours with administrative tasks per week. In fact, that represented the second-highest time commitment behind direct patient care (18.4 hours/week). That means if each clinician was able to convert all their administrative hours to clinical hours, they could increase their patient caseload by over 40%.
Now, getting your admin hours down to zero might be a fun thought experiment, but it’s not realistic in the real world. Like most thought experiments, though, the proof of concept is there. Reducing even some of your admin hours so you can see more patients could add thousands of dollars to your bottom line over the course of a year. That’s worth trying for.
How Psychology Transcription Services Give You More Hours in the Day
A penny saved is a penny earned – and the same is true for time. If you can save even a fraction of those 7.4 hours in admin tasks, you’ll earn more time to focus on billable tasks instead. Audio transcription, like all clerical help, can give you a huge boost in productivity.
Psychology transcription services do that in two ways. First, if you are handwriting notes or typing into a laptop or tablet, just the simple act of dictation can save you a lot of time. Recording notes using a digital recorder or even your cellphone is the fastest method of recording notes for most clinicians. Second, trained transcriptionists take those audio files and convert them into clean text while you do other work. When your transcripts are ready – usually within 24 hours – you can download and review them before adding them to the patient/client record. That speeds up the time it takes you to generate reports and other documentation, including:
SOAP notes
Patient encounters, including psychological evaluations*
Referral letters
Mental health evaluations
Progress reports
Clinical interviews
Notes from family or third-party discussions
Any notes, evaluations, or reports you generate every day – including personal notes
These services are available to a wide range of psychologists and other mental health specialists, including:
Clinical or research psychologist
Mental health counselor
Addictions counselor
Marriage and family therapist
Developmental psychologist
School psychologist
Forensic psychologist
Clinical social worker
Psychiatrists (including forensic psychiatrists)
Any mental health professional who maintains records and/or writes reports
Psychology transcription services can streamline your time so you can work more efficiently, take on more clients, and relieve some of the stress of your day.
*Psychologists tend to generate more and longer reports than the average physician or health professional. That means psychology transcription services are particularly effective for psychologists and related professionals.
Other Ways Psychology Transcription Services Can Help
Time savings and the resulting ability to boost your number of billable hours is probably the biggest way psychology transcription services can help. But there are other advantages.
More Face-to-Face with Your Patient or Client. If your nose is buried in your reports as you’re talking with your client or if your eyes are glued to a computer screen, you are probably not getting a lot of face-to-face time with your client. You may not even notice – but they probably do. Psychology and related fields depend on that personal connection. You can improve your rapport and provide your patients with the attention they need by recording notes instead of writing or typing during sessions. You could also record whole sessions (with the patient’s permission) to refer to later.
Higher Job Satisfaction. Time and again, we hear how clinicians from across all medical fields get burned out not by their patients but by the administrative tasks. Of course, medical records are very important and need to be kept up to date. But if clerical help can take some of that off your plate so that you can focus more on your clients, wouldn’t that improve your professional satisfaction?
Better Work/Life Balance. Related to the above, many of the frustrations stem from the fact that clinicians have to spend time in the evening and on weekends to catch up with reports. So, not only are you cutting into clinical hours with admin work, you’re now cutting into personal and family time. Psychology transcription services shift the bulk of that work away from you for a better work/life balance.
Choosing the Right Psychology Transcription Service is Crucial
Of course, not all psychology transcription services are the same. Be careful of companies advertising suspiciously low rates because you could be fixing more grammar errors and filling in more blanks than it’s worth. For example, it’s frustrating to see spelling mistakes or blanks for common psychology terms such as “complementarity” and “perseverate” – not to mention other specialized terms and jargon. Like many services, you get what you pay for.
To complicate matters, the narrative is often more complex for mental health clients. Clinicians need more range to tell the patient’s story, requiring the nuances and breadth of storytelling that only narratives can provide. The longer your reports, the more you need a reliable transcription service to reduce the number of errors.
iMedat can help. With our decades of medical transcription experience including psychology transcription services, you’ll get the full-service you need without the headaches. Plus, we work to your workflows, customizing our services to meet the individual needs of every clinician in your office. Contact iMedat at 888-779-5888 or via our email form. We’ll get you set up and saving hours in no time.
Blog is originally published at: https://imedat.com/psychology-transcription-services-save-time/
It is republished with the permission from the author.
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How Clinical Documentation Can Improve Your Clinic Efficiency
Whether you work in a hospital, urgent care center, or private practice, keeping track of your patients' information is critical to providing them with the best care possible. 
If you want your healthcare practice and clinic to run efficiently, read on to learn how clinical documentation can improve your clinic's flow and how it can provide better care for your patients.
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Clinical Documentation Improvements
Clinical documentation is the process of documenting a patient's visit to a medical facility, including the treatment given and the results of any tests or lab results. Clinical documentation helps doctors and other medical professionals keep track of their patient's health and can help them make informed decisions about what treatments to prescribe.
Hospitals and clinics also use it to determine which patients are eligible for particular insurance coverage or government-funded benefits. It is essential because it ensures that people who need help with their medical bills can get it without worrying about how they'll pay for it.
In addition to helping doctors and patients, clinical documentation improvements aid patient safety by ensuring everyone knows what happened during each visit. It can prevent issues like misdiagnoses or mistakes in treatment plans from happening again!
Documentation also helps you keep track of things like test results and medications prescribed so that if anything goes wrong later on, it's easy to go back and see what went wrong during the initial visit. Moreover, it keeps data up-to-date as possible.
If you're a medical professional, you know that the quality of your clinical documentation is vitally important to the success of your practice. In addition, clinical documentation is an essential tool for communicating with other care team members.
Clinical documentation improvement is essential, but it can be challenging. Contact iMedat to see how working with a medical transcriptionist can improve your clinical documentation needs.
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Media Transcription: The Process of Converting Audio or Video Content
Transcribing media is a process that involves converting audio or video content into written text. This process involves listening to a recording and writing down what was said. Transcriptionists are typically hired to perform this task for accurate output.
Transcriptionists may be asked to transcribe an audio recording of an interview, a speech, academic lessons, dictations from medical professionals, or any media. They may also be asked to transcribe video recordings of interviews or conferences. 
Here are different ways you can use media transcription services:
To turn your audio or video recordings into subtitles
To create transcripts of podcasts and other types of media presentations
To create subtitles for closed captioning purposes
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Benefits of Media Transcription Services
You Can Reach a Wider Audience
When you have accurate transcripts of your audio or video content, you can make it available to more people who may not be able to access it otherwise, for example, people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
You Can Increase Engagement
Viewers who read along with the narration are more likely to engage with your content and share it with others. As a result, it increases brand awareness among potential customers and makes them more likely to buy from you.
You Can Improve SEO Rankings
Get your media content found by search engines like Google and Bing. Suppose your content is searchable with maximum accuracy. In that case, these transcripts can boost the number of backlinks pointing at your website (each link counts as one vote for your site). Audio, video, and media transcription services have become increasingly popular for businesses that want to make their content more accessible to their audience. It can also be helpful for individuals who wish to preserve their audio or video recordings for posterity. Consider iMedat if you're looking for a reliable and experienced transcription company.
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Could Private Investigators Benefit from Outsourcing Transcription?
The short answer is yes: private investigators can benefit from outsourcing transcription in several different ways:
Generates useable text files from audio and video sources
Provides fast turnaround for better client service
Saves time from transcribing in-house
Helps better organize notes
Saves time with your own note-taking
In fact, for most private investigators, outsourcing transcription is one of those “life hacks” that can decrease stress, improve the services you provide your clients, and overall make your job more enjoyable.
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How Private Investigators Benefit from Outsourcing Transcription
You didn’t get into this business to take notes! But documenting your observations and findings in a clean and organized way for your clients is just as important as the investigation itself. That’s why for private investigators, outsourcing transcription gives you the best of both worlds: complete, accurate documentation services while you do what you do best.
Generates useable text files from audio and video sources
It’s common for private investigators to record audio and video during surveillance, not to mention recorded interviews and meetings, and other similar recordings. This is extremely useful as source material, but if the case ever goes to court, mediation, or other legal proceedings, written transcripts of those sources are even more helpful. Outsourcing transcription will provide accurate, professional transcripts suitable for court and all other legal proceedings. It makes you look more professional and gives added value to your clients.
Provides fast turnaround for better client service
Time is often of the essence. Your client may want to start legal proceedings at a moment’s notice. Outsourcing transcription to iMedat means you’ll get your transcripts back fast – usually within 24 hours.
Pro tip: rather than save all your audio and video files until the end of your investigation, submit them as you generate source material. For one thing, this will help you stay organized as you go. But there is another huge benefit: you can use the transcripts yourself during your investigations. Can’t remember what so-and-so said on October 23rd? Search the keywords you remember to jump to that spot in the transcript instantly. Much easier than scanning your notes or looping through audio files!
Saves time from transcribing in-house
Many private investigators believe they’ll be ahead of the game by transcribing audio themselves. However, unless you’re trained in transcription, you’ll likely be much slower than a professional transcriptionist. And, unless you have impeccable spelling and grammar, you may be prone to errors in the transcripts, too.
Besides, did you really get into this profession to type notes? For most private investigators, outsourcing transcription is a huge help, getting much of the clerical work off their plates so that they can focus on the specialized tasks they’re good at rather than the office tasks they’re not.
Helps better organize notes
As mentioned above, presenting your findings in an organized and cohesive way is just as important as digging up the information in the first place. Emailing a bunch of audio files or video surveillance recordings will not be very useful for your clients – at least not by themselves!
Presenting your clients with written documentation, including audio and video transcription, will help you better organize the information. And that means better-organized case files for your clients, improving their chances for a successful outcome. Outsourcing transcription provides private investigators with a better way to organize case files.
Saves time with your own note-taking
Don’t forget your own notes! Writing down your observations and findings is also essential for your clients as a summary or a description of what happened if video or audio is unavailable. But “writing” notes isn’t always possible. Some private investigators report that taking notes during surveillance is difficult or even impossible since you can lose sight of the target too easily. Besides, most people speak much faster than they write.
Recording your notes rather than writing them down solves these problems and can save you time, too. Simply dictate your notes, upload your audio files, and download completed transcripts that you can cut and paste into your reports later. It’s fast and easy to generate notes this way and quick and easy to use in your reports later. You save time at both ends!
Plus, as mentioned above, if you are not 100% confident in your spelling, a professional transcriptionist will help you improve your grammar with highly accurate – and accurately spelled – notes for your reports.
Private Investigators Outsourcing Transcription: Some Final Observations
Private investigators outsourcing transcription streamlines your services – and your day – in many ways:
Less time spent transcribing audio and video files into useable text
Less time spent organizing notes
Less time taking notes when using a recording device for note taking
More time concentrating on what you do best
Better-organized documentation and case files to hand over to your clients
Better work/life balance
Ultimately a more enjoyable experience with less stress and clerical work on your end
Of course, finding the right transcription outsourcing partner is an important step for private investigators – and not all transcription companies adhere to the same level of quality, accuracy, and professionalism.
That’s why you should trust iMedat with your audio transcription. With decades in the transcription business and transcriptionists specializing in related fields such as legal, law enforcement, and medical transcription, you are guaranteed professional results every time.
Contact iMedat – Transcription Services for Private Investigators
For private investigators, outsourcing transcription is the easy way to improve efficiencies. iMedat makes it even easier. Contact iMedat or call us directly right now at 888-779-5888 to find out how we can help make your life easier – and your case files better.
Blog is originally published at: https://imedat.com/could-private-investigators-benefit-from-outsourcing-transcription/
It is republished with the permission from the author.
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How to Use Dictation Services for Doctors to Improve Medical Practices
In this post, How to Use Dictation Services for Doctors to Improve Medical Practices, we explore best practices to help improve your dictation skills, reduce transcription costs, and improve the final patient record:
Follow the Same Format Where Possible
Enunciate
Be Concise
Use Templates
Ensure Your Equipment is in Good Working Condition
Don’t Be Afraid to Say “Hi!”
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Six Tips for Using Dictation Services for Doctors
1. Follow the Same Format Where Possible
General patient encounters often follow the same pattern: greeting, what’s the problem, discussing some tests, patient education, and plans for follow-up. Following this same format in your dictation as well will make transcription faster and easier for everyone and will cut down on your work during the review phase.
2. Enunciate
One transcriptionist reports that some doctors have more blanks than others because they simply cannot understand what the doctor is saying. This can be several reasons, including:
Slurring words or not paying attention while speaking
Speaking away from the microphone or moving around while talking so that the words are garbled
Speaking too quickly
Not being clear with often-confused terms such as “fourteen” and “forty” or “adduction” and “abduction”
Missing information/words
Enunciating words is important to ensure complete and accurate transcriptions. Also, although you don’t have to speak slowly, don’t rush through the words. Spell out words where there may be particular confusion. Make sure you complete your thoughts without jumping around too much.
3. Be Concise
Long, rambling dictation makes for long, rambling patient notes. The fewer words you use, the better – both in terms of time needed for transcription and in terms of what you’ll have to review later.
For example, instead of:
“The patient and I discussed the possibility of further tests down the road should the current course of treatment turn out to be not as effective as we were hoping it would be.”
perhaps:
“We discussed the possibility of further tests pending treatment outcome.”
Also, only record what you want in the transcription. If you get interrupted mid-sentence by the phone or someone coming into the office, stop recording and start again when you return to your dictation.
4. Use Templates
If your dictation service allows templates, your transcriptionist will be able to create macros for common phrases doctors use, such as:
Common paragraphs in referral letters (such as preambles, sign-offs, etc.)
What’s included when you say “physical exam”
Common recommendations told to the patient
Any general observations, rote set of instructions, or other common messages you tend to use
For example, if you use the same phrasing in a typical referral letter, you can save a ton of time if you refer to the template in three words instead of reciting all 20 words every single time.
5. Ensure Your Equipment is in Good Working Condition
Doctors can always improve the quality of their dictation by ensuring their equipment is in good working order. This means ensuring that you have enough battery power, that you have the right settings for the exam room environment, and that you are using quality equipment to deliver crisp recordings. Technology has advanced to the point where this isn’t as much of a concern as it once was. But still, maximizing the clarity of your recordings will go a long way to ensuring you get back accurate transcription with fewer blanks and flags.
6. Don’t Be Afraid to Say “Hi!”
Feel free to talk directly to your transcriptionist, too. These are your notes, of course, but you don’t have to pretend that nobody else is listening. As with any work situation, a few kind words at the beginning and/or end of the dictation will go a long way with the transcriptionist providing those services for you.
Case Study: How Using Dictation Services for Doctors Improved Patient Encounters for One Physician
Dr. Robert J. Flaherty completely changed his approach to dictation by completing his dictation while the patient was in the room. Although you may think it was for the obvious reasons – to save time after the patient encounter and to ensure he was getting the notes down while they were fresh in his head – there was more to it than that. He found that it actually improved the patient encounter, too.
“My dictation has changed from a documentation procedure to a patient education activity,” Dr. Flaherty said. “As a result, I strive to make my chart notes more organized and less filled with jargon since I want the patient to understand what I am dictating.”
He listed nine other ways dictation improves the patient encounter, including reiterating treatment plans to reinforce with the patient and involving the patient in the thought process. Dr. Flaherty also reports that adding the phrase “dictated in the presence of the patient” to the end of each note helps protects him legally if there are any future disputes.
Lastly, he notes: “Perhaps best of all, when I walk out of the exam room after seeing my last patient for the day, my work is done.”
Although Dr. Flaherty wrote this in 2005, these basic approaches to patient interaction and dictation efficiency hold true today. Read his complete article here:  https://www.aafp.org/pubs/fpm/issues/2005/0100/p55.html
Final Thoughts on Dictation Services for Doctors
Dictation services for doctors can be extremely helpful, like any clerical service. They can streamline patient record management, reduce the amount of time a doctor spends on administrative work, and, as outlined above, improve patient encounters.
Of course, choosing the right service matters. iMedat’s medical dictation services provide all of these benefits and more:
Fast, accurate transcriptions usually delivered within 24 hours
Templates for faster dictation AND transcription
Friendly customer service – reach a Quality Assurance Manager during regular office hours, not just a “customer service representative” who can’t help you
The easy way to take the burden of overwhelming patient record documentation off your plate
Contact iMedat and find out how our dictation services for doctors can improve your patient encounters and reduce your workload. You can also call us directly at 888-779-5888
Blog is originally published at: https://imedat.com/how-to-use-dictation-services-for-doctors-to-improve-medical-practices/
It is republished with the permission from the author.
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Responsibilities of Private Investigators
Private Investigators are responsible for conducting investigations for a wide range of clients. For example, individuals or businesses may hire them to help them find missing persons, recover stolen property, or discover the truth about infidelity. Private Investigators may also be tasked with verifying the credibility of potential employees and vendors or conducting surveillance on someone. Private investigators' responsibilities can vary widely depending on their client's needs.
The primary responsibilities of private investigators can be divided into three categories: investigative, legal, and administrative.
Investigative responsibilities include the collection of evidence and information, surveillance (including covert operations), interviewing witnesses, and conducting background checks.
Legal responsibilities include complying with all applicable laws related to the private investigation during an investigation (this includes obtaining proper licenses where required).
Administrative responsibilities include:
Managing client accounts and billing practices.
Developing reports and presentations for clients.
Maintaining records of all investigations conducted by the agency.
Handling any other administrative tasks that may arise.
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How Transcription Services for Private Investigators Help
Transcriptions are a crucial part of the investigative process. Whether you're working with a client or on your own, you need access to accurate transcripts of any audio or video recordings you make.
If you work as a private investigator, transcription services can help you save time and money. Transcription services allow you to spend more time on the investigation than valuable hours doing the transcription yourself. Transcription services for private investigators also help ensure that all information is adequately preserved in case there is a need for legal action. 
If you're looking for a reliable transcription service company, you may consider the services from https://imedat.com. Visit their website for more information about our police and law enforcement investigation transcription services
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The Rise of Transcription Services for Insurance Companies
Overview
For decades, transcription services have been used in several industries, including healthcare, legal, and law enforcement. Insurance companies have used them as well. But for some reason, they have not taken advantage of these professional, clerical services as much as other industries. What’s particularly surprising is that insurance claims often involve all three of these industries: healthcare for medical reports and legal and law enforcement for various reasons, including contested and fraudulent claims. The recent rise of transcription services for insurance companies reflects the fact that more and more firms are realizing there are economic and work environment advantages to be had. These services can help firms:
Save Time
Document Meetings and Interviews
Prepare for Legal Proceedings
Streamline the Claims Process for Better Customer Retention
Improve Work/Life Balance for Better Staff Retention
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Five Ways Transcription Services for Insurance Companies Can Help
Nobody knows the value of specialization like an insurance professional. We see every day the advantages of having knowledgeable experts in any given position – and what can go wrong when an expert isn’t in charge. Doesn’t it also make sense to adopt this expert-led philosophy in the insurance industry?
The rise of transcription services for insurance companies proves that more and more firms are realizing the benefits of clerical support in their offices. Professional transcription services for insurance companies help improve office workflows in at least five different ways.
1. Save Time
Two little words, but a deceptively huge concept. The insurance companies that thrive most are those that get rid of the waste. And there is no more precious commodity than time. Saving your insurance experts time leads to better customer service and lower rates of burnout, allows them to focus on the things they do best, and saves the company money in the long run. In an industry where the bottom line is the bottom line, that’s perhaps the biggest takeaway.
The following four points fall under this central umbrella idea. But to encapsulate: giving your team clerical support in the form of professional insurance transcription frees them up to focus more on client service and less on the tedious parts of their day, such as report writing.
2. Document Meetings and Interviews
Using transcription services for insurance companies to document meetings and interviews is probably the most obvious use. Any recorded encounters, including statements, doctors’ notes, telephone calls, legal proceedings, and police interviews, are much more useful in written form. That’s because written transcripts are much easier to file, find, and search by keyword, allowing you to key in on certain sections of the text much faster than going back to the original audio. Plus, complete and verbatim transcripts can contain and convey information that simple meeting/interview notes cannot.
These benefits also make decision support easier and more effective, not to mention QA and auditing tasks within offices and/or company-wide.
3. Prepare for Legal Proceedings
Written documentation is especially important during legal proceedings. Audio and video sources can be used in certain situations. Still, generally, legal teams prefer to have full transcripts of recorded events that they can quickly skim and pull out important points. Pre-trial and mediation hearings, in particular, rely on written documents more than the original source audio and video.
It’s these situations where accuracy and completeness really count. The better prepared the legal team is with their documentation, the more likely they will be to get a favorable result, whether negotiating a settlement, entering mediation or arbitration, or going to trial.
4. Streamline the Claims Process for Better Customer Retention
As we’ve written about before, iMedat’s insurance transcription services can speed up claims processing. That’s because it helps solve a huge bottleneck in the process: report writing. Adjusters can spend 25 hours per week writing reports. This task is tedious for most (which we expand on below) and reduces office efficiencies. For one thing, submitting reports takes longer, which slows down the claims process. That, in turn, can have a negative effect on customer retention. It’s also important to point out that time taken writing reports is time not spent catering to clients and investigating claims.
There is an easy fix for this: dictation. Most people find it faster and easier to speak their notes than to write them. Using any digital recorder or even a recording app on their phones, team members, including adjusters, can record their notes or dictate a letter, upload it to iMedat’s secure servers, and then download the completed transcript, usually within 24 hours. Then, they just review and rework as necessary, cutting report-writing to a fraction of the time it took before.
The result: faster service for clients, faster claims processing, and ultimately better customer service, all of which lead to better customer retention.
But there’s another important retention factor that is worth underlining…
5. Improve Work/Life Balance for Better Staff Retention
Staff retention is top of mind for all businesses these days. Not only is it harder to hire qualified staff, but those who you do employ are also more likely than ever to leave the company for new opportunities. It pays to provide staff with a great work environment, which in part includes providing opportunities for good work/life balance. One thing employers can do is provide more clerical support to team members so that they can focus on the parts of the job they enjoy.
Report writing, as mentioned above, is again the perfect example. Adjusters can take notes using a recorder when doing assessments. Claims processors can record interviews and their own notes, then craft reports from the completed transcripts much faster and easier than writing from scratch. And anything that makes an employee’s job faster and easier will, by default, improve job satisfaction and, in turn, retention.
iMedat’s transcription services for insurance companies make it easy with fast audio uploads and 24-hour turnaround times in most situations. As many companies are finding during the rise of insurance transcription services, you’ll wonder how you ever did without the extra help…
Not All Transcription Services for Insurance Companies Are Alike
As you might expect, not all transcription services for insurance companies are alike. Accuracy, completeness, speed, and customer service – are all important considerations. iMedat has you covered.
iMedat’s professional insurance transcriptionists are all well-versed in both medical and legal terms. That means fewer errors and blanks for you to fill in later. It also means you get another set of eyes on your report. We routinely flag possible errors such as medication mispronunciations so that your team can go back and adjust reports as necessary.
Most importantly, we make it easy to work with us. Call us right now (888-779-5888) to find out how responsive we can be – we’re available when you need us. Plus, all of our transcriptionists are 100% living and working in the U.S., so you know your sensitive data is not being sent overseas.
Contact iMedat right now for a free consultation. Let us show you how we can make life easier for your team, streamline your office workflows, and improve your customer retention and satisfaction.
Blog is originally published at: https://imedat.com/transcription-services-insurance-companies/
It is republished with the permission from the author.
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How to Be More Efficient with Medical Documentation
Efficient medical documentation. All doctor’s offices, clinics, and hospitals strive for it. But it doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Complex patient care environments mean documentation must work within a dynamic system. Further, what would be an efficient medical documentation system in one office may not be an effective solution at all in another.
There are some common themes, though, that can help direct you when you’re developing an efficient medical documentation system for your office environment:
Team approaches help relieve the documentation burden on clinicians
Mono-tasking beats multi-tasking
Note timeliness is an important consideration
Physician burnout causes a cascade effect
Finding solutions that recognize and address these factors will help offices, clinics, and health networks create more efficient medical documentation systems. Medical dictation is one tool that can address all four areas to improve office efficiencies and, ultimately, patient care.
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The Communication Bottleneck: Efficient Medical Documentation a Perennial Problem
Searching for the most efficient medical documentation system is nothing new. From the beginning of medical transcription, physicians and clinicians wanted to find the best approach for documenting patient encounters. The goal of medical documentation is simple: to provide clear and concise notes about the patient’s medical history to make it easy for the physician and other health professionals to access and understand in the future.
However, technology (as it often does) created a schism. There are many reasons why EMR systems cause disruptions. Perhaps the biggest misstep was the expectation that physicians could take over all medical documentation based on the assumption that electronic medical records (EMRs) were “easier” to manage.
Of course, that assumption turned out to be false. Eliminating medical documentation services such as medical transcription was a broken promise that led to clinicians spending more time managing patient records.
Dr. Atul Gawande wrote about the mounting frustration physicians are feeling in a New Yorker article, Why Doctors Hate Their Computers. He told of one primary care physician, Dr. Susan Sadoughi, who noticed she was spending much more time with patient records when the office switched to a new system. Initially, she was optimistic; she understood how the technology could help streamline patient care. But the system she was forced to use seemed the opposite of efficient medical documentation. The software created a “massive monster of incomprehensibility,” in her words.
“Most days, I will have done only around 30 to 60 percent of my notes by the end of the day,” she said about the new system.
Dr. Gawande commented, “The rest (of her patient encounter documentation) came after hours. Spending the extra time didn’t anger her. The pointlessness of it did.”
It is a fascinating article about efficient medical documentation – or lack thereof – and the “insidious ways that the software changed how people work together.”
Going from “Pointless” to “Efficient” Medical Documentation
Dr. Gawande and Dr. Sadoughi are not alone in their frustrations. They make a very good point: it’s not that technology is inherently a roadblock to good medical documentation. There are obvious advantages to EMRs. It’s the implementation – and in particular, the expectations around a physician’s time and skills – that is the problem.
In other words, inefficiency is not a technology problem. It is a human workflow problem.
There are four ways doctor’s offices, clinics, hospitals, and health networks can improve human workflows right now:
Team documentation
Mono-tasking over multi-tasking
Improving note timeliness
Reducing physician burnout
1. Team Documentation
This should be obvious: the more people working on a particular task, the faster it gets done. Equally obvious should be: that the person most suited to a task should be the primary person doing that task.
However, EMR systems have steered medical documentation in a different direction. Often, physicians are solely responsible for documenting patient encounters. We must go back to a team approach for more efficient medical documentation.
“Physicians who use a scribe or team documentation generally are more productive (and get home earlier), and the increase in productivity outweighs the extra staffing costs,” according to Dr. Jay Winner.
Physicians and clinicians who use the medical transcription or virtual medical scribes are much more efficient. That’s because this team approach to documentation means that they can focus on what they do best – seeing patients – while trained documentation professionals take care of documenting the patient encounter. As Dr. Winner points out, that increased productivity often means seeing more patients for more billable hours, offsetting documentation costs by a wide margin.
Note that this doesn’t necessarily mean that the physician has to give up documentation altogether. Clinicians can use a hybrid system if they prefer, filling in the EMR with the information they are comfortable doing and using dictation for more nuanced notes.
2. Mono-tasking Beats Multi-tasking
We’ve probably all learned by now that multi-tasking is a mythical skill. Yet every day, clinicians have been put in situations where competing priorities fight for attention. Documenting patient encounters is one of them. Concentrating on filling out the EMR means clinicians must remove their focus from patients. Often, it can feel like the clinician is working for the EMR, not the other way around. If there was a way to eliminate multi-tasking, physicians could spend more time talking with their patients.
Medical dictation services and virtual medical scribes help do just that. It is much faster to take a quick dictation note while the patient is in the room than to hunt-and-peck notes. You could argue that dictation is still multi-tasking, but the difference is that attention is drawn away for seconds at a time and requires much less concentration. Therefore, it is easier to switch between tasks and keep more attention on the patient.
For those who write notes by hand and fill the EMR later, dictation is still faster. The average physician types at 30 words per minute, compared to dictation at 120-150 wpm. That means the clinician finishes notes four or five times faster, leading to more efficient medical documentation.
3. Note Timeliness is Important
Many clinicians have stipulations to submit patient notes within 24 or 48 hours of the patient encounter. In these cases, timeliness is built in. However, this can add stress and contribute to physician burnout (see below) – especially considering many physicians spend more time than ever with patient records.
But there is another reason why timeliness is important: accuracy. Simply put, “Prompt documentation reduces the risk of you forgetting key details.”
If a clinician is sidetracked for any reason, such as a family emergency or a power outage, vital details might never make it to the patient record. Dictating notes during the patient encounter reduces this risk for more timely notes and more efficient medical documentation.
Using any team documentation approach, including virtual scribes and medical transcriptionists, speeds up documentation time.
4. More Help Lowers Physician Burnout
We’ve talked about the negative impact of clinician burnout before. That’s because it has such an impact on our healthcare system. One study identified four key elements to the doctor-patient relationship: trust, knowledge, regard, and loyalty. It also found that physician burnout profoundly affects all four elements, reducing patient care – not to mention physician satisfaction and well-being.
The study identified documentation burden as one of the causes. “The amount of paperwork and documentation that is often required also enhances physician burnout, making it harder for the physician to demonstrate empathy and caring,” the study’s authors wrote.
Clearly, establishing an efficient medical documentation system that takes much of that burden off the physician and clinician will reduce physician burnout, increase physician well-being, and improve patient care.
Contact iMedat for Efficient Medical Documentation Solutions
iMedat’s team of medical transcriptionists and virtual medical scribes can help you develop efficient medical documentation solutions. Contact us to learn how we can help:
Reduce documentation burden
Streamline medical documentation
Improve speed and accuracy
Increase clinician productivity so they can see more patients for higher billables
Call us directly at 888-779-5888 or fill out our email form, and let’s create a more efficient medical documentation system for you right now.
Blog is originally published at: https://imedat.com/how-to-be-more-efficient-with-medical-documentation/
It is republished with the permission from the author.
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What is the Use of Dictation Services in Health Care?
Dictation Services Overview Dictation services offer physicians and other healthcare providers at least four inter-related benefits:
Higher revenues
Increased patient satisfaction
Increased physician satisfaction
Improved patient record quality
However, many offices, clinics, and hospitals do not see past the costs of dictation services, particularly the cost of transcription.
As with clerical support staff, dictation services free up the health care provider so that he or she can focus on what they are trained to do: treat patients. That’s why it is helpful see this service as an investment in the clinician’s time rather than look at dictation services as a clerical “cost.” Dictation services make clinicians more productive, which in turn increases patient capacity and billings. The additional revenue generated by freeing up a clinician’s time easily outstrips any costs associated with dictation services.
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How Dictation Services Increase Revenues Through Improved Office Efficiencies
What is the physician’s job?
It’s a fairly simple question with a seemingly simple answer: to see and treat patients. However, if you follow a clinician around for a day, it quickly becomes obvious that there is more to it than that – including a number of speed bumps in patient care.
The most obvious is for those clinicians who manage their own electronic medical records (EMRs). If you were able to watch those patient/physician interactions, you’d see that the doctor spends much of the time – often most of the time – staring at the computer, filling in check boxes, and typing in notes. Likely there will be little eye contact.
But if you were to watch a physician who dictates notes rather than types into a computer, you’d see more eye contact, a richer interaction, and better communication. You might even notice the clinician picking up on things the patient is saying more often than the clinician who is staring at a screen. The physician who dictates notes is much more engaged with the patient and much less distracted with documenting the encounter. Not only that, patient encounters are shorter – especially when you factor in the amount of time physicians and clinicians spend updating EMRs after the patient leaves.
Of course, documenting patient encounters is vitally important. But there are different ways of doing it. It is incumbent on physicians and clinicians to decide what method is best for them – and their patients – to ensure the best possible patient care.
Dictation services provide at least four major and related benefits to the physician, to the patient, and to the organization’s bottom line:
Higher revenues through more patients and billings
Improved patient satisfaction through more engaged interactions
Improved clinician satisfaction through reduced workload
Improved patient record quality
1. The Largest Impact of Dictation Services: Higher Revenues
Perhaps the most profound benefit of dictation services is that they lead to more patient billings, and therefore increased revenues for the office, clinic, and hospital. There are upfront costs including most notably transcription costs. These costs are more of an investment though – an investment in the physician’s time – and are recouped many times over in the form of more patients and their associated billings.
2. Improved Patient Satisfaction
Dictation services can help clinicians provide a higher standard of patient care. Not only is this a goal in itself, but that also helps improve patient satisfaction. And, as outlined above, dictating notes instead of hunting and pecking on a computer keyboard means that patients feel more engaged. Increased patient satisfaction is also connected to higher billings – net margins of those providing “superior” patient experiences that are 50 percent higher than those providing “average” experiences.
3. Improved Clinician Satisfaction
For most clinicians, clerical work including updating EMRs is a chore. Many feel burned out and indeed many clinicians are retiring or leaving their practices due to overwhelming workloads. Dictation services help take away much of that workload and the stress that goes along with it.
Dictation services can also directly help you recoup all reimbursements owing to you. Often, clinicians are not trained properly on the systems and/or do not fully appreciate how important mission-critical things such as structured data are to patient care – and your bottom line. Professional documentation experts including dictation service companies provide fuller, more accurate patient record notes for better billing practices.
4. Improved Patient Record Quality
To build on the point above, dictation services improve the overall quality of the patient record, which of course has many benefits. “Clinical documentation improvement” or CDI emphasizes accurate, high-quality documentation because it increases communication, leads to more accurate data at the patient and macro levels, and improves patient care. It also helps ensure proper reimbursement so that the office, clinic, or hospital receives maximum compensation, boosting your bottom line again.
The Risks of Voice Recognition Software vs. Real, Trained Medical Transcriptionists
Many offices, clinics, and hospitals try to cut corners by using voice recognition software instead of trained medical transcriptionists. However, the risks are so great that many find it’s not worth additional clinician work, potential lawsuits, and lack of oversight.
For example, one study found that in a random survey of medical records, the error rate was 7.4%. That translates to an exponentially lower accuracy rate than the 98% benchmark trained medical transcriptionists uphold. Not only does this mean the clinician spends more time than necessary correcting these errors, voice recognition has increased patient risk. “The use of voice or speech recognition technology (SRT) for health care documentation has put patients at risk for injury and death,” opens a Joint Commission safety bulletin.
On the other hand, contracting dictation services to trained medical transcriptionists actually decreases patient risk in one key way. Medical transcriptionists provide another set of professional eyes on your documentation. Often, they catch possible dosage errors, medication errors, and other errors in the dictation that may have slipped by unnoticed. That’s a key benefit that voice recognition software most certainly cannot do.
Find Out How iMedat’s Dictation Services Can Help You
Medical documentation can be a complex task – no two organizations do it in exactly the same way. Even clinicians within the same office have different preferences. That’s why a “one size fits all” approach to dictation services does not work.
iMedat on the other hand can tailor a suite of dictation services to meet your needs, right down to personal clinician preferences. Our trained medical transcriptionists can handle as much or as little of the documentation process as you need. All completed transcripts will be tagged and ready for review before adding the notes seamlessly to each patient’s EMR. We provide a smooth, seamless dictation service that you and your clinicians can rely upon. Plus, with fast turnaround and outstanding customer service, it’s easy to see why clients across the United States turn to iMedat as their dictation services provider.
Find out how our dictation services can help you. Contact us through our email form or call us right now at: 888-779-5888
Blog is originally published at: https://imedat.com/what-is-the-use-of-dictation-services-in-health-care/
It is republished with permission from the author.
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What and How EMR Integration Works
EMR integration links a medical practice's software to a patient's electronic health record (EHR). This way, the medical procedure can access and share patient data with other healthcare team members.
EMR integration can be accomplished through various means. Some practices use cloud-based hosting solutions. Others use on-premises servers or host their software in the cloud using commercial services. Regardless of where your EHR is hosted, you'll need to configure it so that it can communicate with your practice's electronic medical records system (EMR).
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How Does EMR Work?
EMRs are widely used by doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals to store their notes about patient visits and treatment plans. The information stored in an EMR includes but is not limited to: 
Demographics, such as name, address, and contact information.
Health history, including chronic conditions, allergies, and previous surgeries or procedures.
Medications are taken regularly by the patient.
Lab results include blood pressure, cholesterol levels, ultrasound records, etc.
Patient medical records created during a visit with a doctor or other health professional can be accessed through the EMR system at any time by any authorized user within the facility who needs access to them for treatment purposes. Doctors usually review these notes before starting treatment with a patient. Hence, they know what has already been tried, what medications they're taking, and their history regarding illnesses or injuries they may have experienced.
When an EMR integration occurs, both systems can work together to ensure that patient data is always accurate and up-to-date.
Integrating your EMR with your PMS can help improve communications between clinicians and pharmacists, leading to more efficient medication use, increased patient safety, fewer medication errors, and better patient outcomes. In addition, it makes patient medication and treatment efficient.
If you're looking for a company for EMR integration consultation, you can explore the services from iMedat, LLC. They have the expertise and experience to integrate your current EMR system seamlessly. Visit their website at https://imedat.com to learn more about their services.
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