Why Physicians Prefer Off Shore Vendors For Medical Transcriptions

A study commissioned by a US based company that provides back office services such as medical transcriptions and medical billing to health care providers in the United States, reveals that doctors are favorably inclined on hiring off-shore vendors now than they were before.

The cost seems to be the main criterion since overseas vendors charge 9¢ to 10¢ for a 65 character line, in comparison the local US based companies charge 15¢ to 16¢ for a 45 character line, this doubles their cost. Many health care providers based in the states of California, New York, Washington, Florida, Texas and Idaho had tie-ups with vendors in India and appeared to be quite satisfied with not just the pricing alone, but with overall services as well.

The company executives on being queried whether the offshore vendors observed HIPAA regulations, most of them were of the view that the compliance was as good as any US based company, and seldom did they come across instances where HIPAA compliance was breached. Many health care providers also said that since they operate on a secure web based transcription platform, where data interchanged was minimal, the patient’s records were secure and confidential and there was no question of HIPAA regulations being breached.

The offshore vendors were assigned a log in ID and a password, which enables them to access dictations or process billing documents. The web based transcription platforms offered the US health care providers an advantage of the zonal time difference which made it possible for documenting the dictation by the in-house staff and offshore vendors round-the-clock. This allowed them to streamline the process of documentation and maintain a zero backlog.

The summary of the findings mentioned that in spite of legislation intended to cut-down outsourcing, it has not made an iota of difference with more and more health care providers in the United States opting to hire offshore companies for medical transcriptions or medical billing. It is more of a do-or-die situation for US based vendors, either they cut down on costs or perish, outsourcing was here to stay.