Doctors apprehensive on ‘outsourcing’ transcription services One of the reasons why doctors in the United States are reluctant in ‘outsourcing’ transcription services from other countries is because very few people are fluent in spoken or written English language skills in these outsourcing destinations. Medical transcription is a specialized field, where a transcriber needs to be familiar with medical terminology, and should have the ability to understand different vocabularies and accents of doctors, besides knowing the names of prescribed drugs. The other ‘bother’ doctors have is the breach of confidentiality of medical records, which in spite of procedures and regulations of HIPAA followed by them in principle, may not be the case in outsourced destinations, many people are protective about their health information, which they consider to be ‘sensitive’. Doctors also feel that the involvement in setting processes and systems of communications with the outsourced vendor and training non native English speakers living in a different part of the world can be a tasking exercise, and if things took a different direction, the entire effort could go down the drain. Then the thought on quality of services also is a matter of debate, will the outsourced vendor assure me the quality of service my in-house team is providing to the patients. All said and done, in spite of these apprehensions, when doctors realize that they could save 50% to 60% on operational costs by outsourcing it to India or Philippines, the ‘negative’ features of outsourcing become secondary, and of very little concern.

Despite the fact that electronic medical record programs and services are in demand, many have remained skeptical about them. But an article on the American Academy of Family Practice has shown that it may be a feasible option. The piece addresses all queries and hesitations on the efficiency of the service and the systems themselves.

First, the battle is between using the usual paper and file based medical records and using an electronic medical record software method that turns everything digital. Many may wonder, if it isn’t broken why fix it? But with the rising patient numbers, any product that would lessen the health care professionals’ time handling papers and increase patient visits is a good thing.

The promise of technology with an electronic medical record service is the capacity to quickly and easily obtain patient records from virtually anywhere and quickly and accurately make correct diagnosis.

Skepticism involved questions on the software’s accuracy with records, operational costs, and difficulty of use. Some are skeptical about giving their patients’ private history under the care of an electronic medical record company. We list the issues raised here:

- A doctor can still be efficient even without these electronic record keeping products.

- The price may be too high.

- It might not be HIPPA regulated.

- It might be too difficult to understand and would only waste very important time.

- What will become of the physical records if the transition to computerized form happens?

- There are so many electronic record service providers to choose from.

Electronic medical record programs will at first have a high cost to them without doubt. Money is recovered via the increase in patient care, reductions in paperwork and associated costs for equipment, supplies and staffing and in centralizing information and data and health records. Compare it with medical transcription, which costs as high as $25,000 and you’ll notice the difference.

HIPPA compliance concerns are also not a setback, as electronic medical record packages all meet HIPPA standards. As regards ease of operation, while it could take time to learn, it’s really not difficult to master, given a very user-friendly interface. Customer hotlines are even available at all times for all concerns and queries.

Using an electronic medical record service has also been proven to tack on some minutes to each patient consultation and even allows real-time updating. Some opt to store their records for a year first, before turning over to electronic records firms.

Regarding the specific program that the physician should use, it really depends on the purpose. Shopping around and reading articles and reviews about the programs in the market first will allow you to bag the most appropriate suite.