Medical Transcription - The Future

As I meet with prospective clients I am coming across a question which is growing in it's frequency: "Isn't medical transcription going away?" Folks marketing voice recognition and EMR technology have done a good job professing that their solutions are the nail in the coffin for outsourced transcription services.

I tell my prospective clients that it depends on the practice and physicians. Voice Recognition technology has become a tool which helps improve productivity, but it doesn't replace human intelligence. There is still a certain percentage of each document which needs to be edited. A study by the AC Group finds that traditional EHR data-entry is 9 times longer than narrative dictation/transcription. Users come to a crossroad where they need to weigh the balance between the cost of transcription and the loss of productivity.

Even with EMR and Voice Recognition technology there is still a need for human intelligence. Specifically, a practice that needs to remain productive and not lose patient visits due to productivity shortfalls will continue with dictation/transcription. Furthermore, although in it's infancy, Discrete Reportable Transcription - DRT is the answer many are looking for by combining the efficiencies and quality gains of medical transcription with the value of discrete data.

Can Transcription Help EMR Implementation?

The AC Group recently noted a 73% failure rate of EMRs due to usability frustrations. Part of that is the fact that many EMRs do not offer a comprehensive dictation/transcription solution as part of their documentation process. Instead they rely on the physicians to enter the data in themselves. The medical transcription industry has developed technology called Discrete Reportable Transcription (DRT) which enables physicians to document their patient encounters just the way they always have. It provides a choice for documentation. Make sure the EMR you choose is DRT enabled and ensure a successful implementation.

Is Medical Transcription Going Away?

In the age of EHR technology and with almost $20B dedicated as an incentive to physicians who adopt this technology as part of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA), one would think the medical transcription industry doesn’t have much life left. This holds especially true when thinking of a widespread view initiated by the EMR community as part of their value proposition that transcription can simply be replaced with this technology.

However, that view is not held by everyone, including several influential industry leaders who believe that Discrete Reportable Transcription (DRT) can actually help accelerate the adoption process of EMR technology while alleviating some of the pitfalls which in many instances lead to an unsuccessful implementation. Mark Anderson of the AC Group explains in this video clip he did for MTIA.