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.

EMRs Cutting Doctor-Patient Time

A recent article in American Medical News "Don't let EMRs cut into your doctor-patient time" describes a situation where the interaction between a physician and his patient is diminished and less intimate because he was stuck behind a computer screen trying to document the encounter.

That's what DRT - Discrete Reportable Transcription is all about. Why force a doctor to type his or her own note or search for the right diagnosis on a computer screen. Physicians should be focused on their patients, not their keyboards. DRT allows physicians to dictate their patient visits, leaving more time to improve their patient's health. The transcribed information is delivered directly into the system as discrete data.

The Value of Discrete Data

With Discrete Reportable Transcription (DRT) a dictated note can be inserted into a patient's medical record within a practice wide EMR. The difference between DRT and a standard import feature many EMR provders offer is that a DRT solution inserts discrete data. With the data being discrete, even a dictated and transcribed portion of a patient encounter allows for the same benefits one would receive through other means of documenting such an encounter within the EMR itself. Therefore, it allows for searching or reporting on data within an EMR which has been dictated. For example, discrete data makes it easy if a Practice Manager wants to find out how many patients have a history of smoking or an Orthopaedic practice needs to find out who has been referred to a certain Physical Therapist. DRT isn't just transcription, because the data provided becomes much more valuable than words. Make sure your EMR is DRT enabled.

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.

"Meaningful Use"

Read a feature article George Catuogno wrote in Healthcare Ledger back in June 2009 titled "HITECH Act Promises EMR Funding to Clinicians with Meaningful Use". George eloquently lays the framework as to why Discrete Reportable Transcription (DRT) can play an important role enabling the successful adoption of Electronic Medical Record (EMR) technology.

The article touches on the pitfalls to EMR implementation but also describes how along with human intelligence, discrete data paired with Natural Language Processing (NLP) can address many of the common setbacks. By way of referencing numerous studies and examples, George demonstrates how a DRT enabled EMR accelerates adoption, eases implementation and adds value by enhancing capabilities.

Digital Transcription

Service providers offering digital transcription can help make a medical practice more productive. A doctor can dictate a patient encounter quickly. With the click of a button that digital voice file will be transferred to an electronic system such as the one offered by R+B Sten-Tel, where the doctor’s note will be transcribed by a fully trained and experienced Medical Transcriptionist (MT). The client will receive their finished report over a secure web connection.

Other benefits are that many digital dictation and transcription systems are embedded with additional features such as backend Voice Recognition technology and Discrete Reportable Transcription (DRT). Most also have the ability to interface with hospital systems and EHR technology, delivering reports directly. With digital transcription workflow technology, R+B Sten-Tel is able to provide services to clients from coast-to-coast even while headquartered just outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The impact to clients goes beyond productivity as it also can help improve quality and patient care.

Benefits of DRT

Discrete Reportable Transcription (DRT) is a solution which addresses EMR usability issues. It reduces time spent documenting patient encounters, consults and assessments by supporting narrative dictation with results delivered directly into an EMR/EHR. This affords clinicians more time and intimacy for quality patient care, leaving the clerical work for a trained EMR transcription staff.

DRT allows physicians to use their preferred method of clinical documentation and reduces time spent documenting encounters. It ensures better patient care by allowing a clinician to practice using their natural method of working and increases accuracy with a proven dictation-transcription process by allowing Medical Transcriptionists to be a “second set of eyes.”

R+B Sten-Tel achieves these benefits for clients through their EMR portal, EntriPoint™.

DRT Enabled EHR

There are hundreds of EHR solutions to choose from, all with variations on how one should document a patient visit. An EHR that has adopted DRT (Discrete Reportable Transcription) technology recognizes the need for physicians to continue dictating as a method for data input. This allows them to continue practicing the way they always have. Therefore, a DRT enabled EHR does not change the way in which physicians interact with their patients nor how they document their encounters and provides an added benefit by delivering discrete data directly into the patient's record.

The Great American EHR boondoggle

Modern Healthcare recently published an article, "The Great American EHR boondoggle" written by a Medical Director at Virginia Gay Hospital and Clinics in Vinton, Iowa. The essence of his story was how many EHR solutions on the market today force physicians into losing the intimacy they have maintained with their patients. Click here to read the full article.

The medical transcription community meets this need by offering Discrete Reportable Transcription (DRT), a solution when integrated with an existing EHR can allow a physician to practice just the way they always have. Doctors remain productive and can maintain the level of intimacy in their encounters which patients demand.

R+B Sten-Tel offers DRT technology and EHR integration through EntriPoint. Learn More

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.