The role of medical transcription has changed with the advent of Electronic Health Record (EHR). It is a systematic way of streamlining and optimizing data storage, patient tracking, government regulation and record keeping. According to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), implementation of EHR mandate became compulsory by January 2015.
EHR is an efficient method for retaining the healthcare information of the patients. It is a convenient and organized method to ensure error-free patient data. Communication with the patients can be greatly improved with the use of EHR, allowing easy access to the patient’s medical history. It is easier for doctors to follow up with the patients and track continuing care under their supervision. It allows physicians and other healthcare providers to reach an accurate diagnosis more quickly and thereby improve the overall efficiency of the hospitals and staffs.
Medical Transcription and EHR: A Blended Approach
In spite of the many benefits of EHR, this electronic record keeping system is still a concern for healthcare providers. The major barrier faced by healthcare providers in implementing EHR is the challenge of capturing a comprehensive patient narrative. They find it distracting and an unwelcome intrusion when it comes to communicating effectively with their patients. Many providers complain that they are unable to deliver quality patient care and face overall inefficiency in their office functioning. This process is tedious and time consuming, taking up a large chunk of the consulting time. Sometimes physicians misuse the copy-paste function of the EHR, which results in poor recording of medical data and inefficiency of healthcare units.
To overcome all these flaws, a combined approach including both medical transcription and EHR could help. Physicians can dictate the patient’s data in a recording device and the digital device will capture all the information clearly. These audio files are encrypted and sent to experienced medical transcriptionists who transcribe these audio files into accurate transcripts, which are integrated into the physician’s EHR. The main advantage of this combined approach is that it satisfies the government mandate of implementing EHR and also ensures accurate clinical documentation. It helps physicians to interact more with the patients and focus on providing better quality service.
Work with a Reliable Medical Transcription Company
By hiring a reliable medical transcription service company, healthcare units can improve their efficiency with fast, accurate, efficient and EHR-integrated services. One of the major advantages of such a partnership is the personalized service you can expect. The transcriptionists offer specialty-specific transcription as they are knowledgeable in the terminology particular to specific medical specialties including all abbreviations and jargon. They utilize HL-7 interface to provide EHR-integrated medical transcription that is a great support for healthcare providers.
