Medical Transcription Services Organizations

The general trend towards outsourcing medical transcription continues, but with a twist. Because of the complexity of the healthcare industry, documentation is growing, not shrinking. The twist involves how these documents will be managed as both speech recognition and the EMR transform the industry and the role of the medical transcriptions.

As provider organizations are faced with growing dictation volumes, a shrinking transcription labor force, and rising costs, many choose to outsource some or all of their transcription work to medical transcription services organizations (MTSOs). Quality, turnaround time (TAT), and cost are still the drivers for engagement in this market segment. While each provider organization ultimately determines the value of each of these variables, the market itself is changing. New technologies are bringing new options to hospitals. The challenge for providers looking to make a decision is that market performance is somewhat volatile. Many MTSOs that performed well last year are down this year, and vice versa.

This year, after interviewing both MTSOs and providers to determine some of the major criteria in evaluating an MTSO’s performance, KLAS has measured five main service ratings: Report Turnaround Time, Report Quality, Provider Account Specifics, Administrative Tools, and Account Management. Account Specifics refers to how closely the MTSO follows guidelines and policies set by the provider. Administrative Tools include methodologies and technology for data exchange as well as platforms for speech recognition and reporting.

The percentage of providers that are having their work performed offshore dropped slightly from the 2007 study, with 38 percent indicating that some or all of their work was performed offshore in 2007 and 35 percent indicating such in 2008.

The trend to outsource medical transcription will continue. Changes are likely to occur in the MTSO offerings providers desire and the transcription services they utilize.

The lines are blurring between speech recognition vendors and traditional transcription service vendors. Both are becoming more vertical and are offering a well-rounded menu of services to better meet customer needs, either through acquisition or partnering. Some vendors are even going beyond that and developing a more comprehensive set of services related to medical documentation and revenue cycle management.

Eventually, the need for transcription will be reduced or eliminated entirely by emerging technology and the electronic medical record (EMR). For the near future, however, transcription is not going anywhere. The good news for healthcare providers is that there are choices.

Vendors included in the 2008 MTSO research are Acusis, CBay, DTS America, Encompass, Focus Infomatics, Heartland, MedQuist, Spheris, SPi, Sten-Tel, Superior Global, Transcend, and TransTech.

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