Transcription Service Rates Vary, and in Some, such as Medical Field, Could Cost A Lot
Transcription service covers a lot of work fields ranging from business, law, education, and even healthcare.
The transcription service rates for different fields, obviously, come at different prices.
Every field of work comes with particular sets of vocabulary and key terminology.
Hence, some specific field of works may need transcriptionists with more knowledge and experience in the industry to give a more accurate transcription.
Some fields of work also come with different work ethics as well.
The more specific the transcription service targets, the more it may cost.
Take for example the medical field.
How exactly does the transcription service run in the medical field? The medical field is filled with long shifts and grueling workload.
At times, it becomes impossible for a single medical worker to handle all the workload.
One specific task that consumes medical staff’ time is deciphering dictated audio files into medical reports.
This is when medical transcriptionists come to fill in.
Medical transcriptionists help convert audio files of medical staff into an accurate transcript.
Some medical transcriptionists match the transcription into specific formats depending on the medical staff’ needs.
The transcription will further be processed into documents for the patients’ own record, insurance claims, or other needs.
Accordingly, Business News Daily quoted Dr. Kathleen A. Bishop of Kaplan University upon the benefit of relying on third-party transcriptionists for medical workers.
Bishop said, “Medical transcription services allow the physician to record the patient information at their leisure, which can be sent to a service that can transcribe it while the physician takes his or her time with the patient.”
Bishop further added, “(the physician) has the ability to look the patient in the eye and hold their hand, if need be, instead of looking at a computer screen documenting the visit.”
Medical transcription service is a great cheat key to save time.
The transcription service rates, though, could end up quite costly.
Transcription Services Rates: Knowing What You Pay for Medical Transcription
Medical transcription services rates are based per line transcribed.
A quick google search will tell you that the rates for medical transcription service start from around $0.07 to $0.20 per line.
Accordingly, the average rates for medical transcription service range from $0.12 to $0.14.
Though the transcription service market rates come at a very desirable price at a glance, it could pile up with the amount of workload that needs to be transcribed.
Why do the transcription service rates cost so much?
Medical transcription service is not as easy as it sounds.
The occupation is filled with professionals who not only have keen ears but also has knowledge in the healthcare field.
It takes time for people involved in the service to train in order to give the most accurate transcription.
Moreover, the service consists of complicated steps to ensure the quality and accuracy of the transcriptions.
Another important thing to note is that medical transcription service must keep the confidentiality of the transcribed documents.
The patients’ privacy is protected by law.
Thus, medical transcription agencies and the personnel involved need to abide by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).
By abiding HIPAA, or privacy rules, no leakage of patients’ information will ever happen.
To ensure the patients’ privacy, some transcription agencies even control how the medical worker and transcriptionists exchange data.
These agencies either send the files through a secure network or deliver the files physically through the agency’s staff to avoid digital traces.
Some even go extra miles to ensure safety by running criminal background checks on every employee.
Transcription Service Rates: Can AI-integrated Software Really Cut Your Expenses in Medical Transcription?
To cut medical transcription service costs, some healthcare providers usually think of opting for voice-to-text software.
But, can software usage in medical transcription service really cut the costs?
Some software sure is more affordable.
Though, there are also some cons that come with the software medical transcription service.
There are several medical transcription software on the market that we can choose.
Every software offers a different type of service at different starting prices.
You can opt for a yearly subscription or monthly subscription, depending on your needs.
These subscription options often end up with a more affordable price compared to non-software services.
One of the software choices even offers a yearly subscription plan with only 20$!
However, note that some software may require periodic updates.
While some do not ask for additional fees for the updates, some others do.
Always occasionally check on the software and read the changes that the updates bring.
At times, your subscription plan’s price can change along with software updates.
If you think the quality of the transcription service is no longer promising, changing to other software or opting for human transcription service is an option.
Another plus point of voice-recognition software is its speed in transcribing audio.
Software is, undoubtedly, faster in transcribing audio.
However, the problem with the software remains the same: accuracy.
Though numeral enterprises have tried to integrate AI to its software to improve the software’s accuracy, not one has surpassed the accuracy of human transcriptionists.
Different tone, volume, accent often cause misses in software transcription.
While this issue is still tolerable, or at least fixable in other fields of work, it could cause a major problem in the medical field.
Instead, medical staff will end up spending more time to correct the errors and processing it into medical reports.
This retorts the initial purpose of a medical transcription service: to save time.
Compared to trained, experienced medical transcriptionists, software medical transcriptionist services are usually less accurate.
AI-generated software can’t easily flag any potential errors from misspoken or mumbled words.
Accordingly, several medical transcriptionists have saved patients from encountering potential allergic reactions to medications due to a misdiagnosis.
At the end of the day, deciding on whether to use a human transcriptionist or software really depends on your needs.
Despite being relatively more expensive, human transcriptionists’ accuracy can save you more time.
But, software’s transcription could be as enough and especially favorable when you are looking for a more affordable option.
No matter which types you choose, medical transcription service could definitely help and ease you with work.