Choosing a Transcription Service
Questions you need to ask before choosing a transcription company.
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| Software and Hardware | MTA | Competitor A | Competitor B |
| Do I have to purchase hardware or software? If so how much? | NO | ||
| Can I review, retrieve and manage transcription from the Internet? | YES | ||
| Are there monthly lease payments or annual maintenance fees? | NO | ||
| Are there set-up charges for each user added to the system? | NO | ||
| Is your software compatible with EMR? | YES | ||
| Is your software HL7 compatible? | YES | ||
| Is your platform HIPAA compliant? | YES | ||
| Do I have to pay you to build templates? | NO | ||
| Is the platform scalable from 1 to 1000 doctors at no additional cost? | YES | ||
| Can I see a detailed demonstration of the platform you use? | YES | ||
| Can I contact current clients? | YES |
Software and Hardware
| Software and Hardware | MTA | Competitor A | Competitor B |
| Do I have to purchase hardware or software? If so how much? | NO | ||
| Can I review, retrieve and manage transcription from the Internet? | YES | ||
| Are there monthly lease payments or annual maintenance fees? | NO | ||
| Are there set-up charges for each user added to the system? | NO | ||
| Is your software compatible with EMR? | YES | ||
| Is your software HL7 compatible? | YES | ||
| Is your platform HIPAA compliant? | YES | ||
| Do I have to pay you to build templates? | NO | ||
| Is the platform scalable from 1 to 1000 doctors at no additional cost? | YES | ||
| Can I see a detailed demonstration of the platform you use? | YES | ||
| Can I contact current clients? | YES |
Back End Accounting
| Back End Accounting | MTA | Competitor A | Competitor B |
| Is pricing transparent and can I audit indvidual docuements for verifcation? | YES | ||
| Are line counts automated and reportable live, on-line? | YES | ||
| Can I generate detailed reports on how much I've paid and for doctor costs? | YES | ||
| Can I generate reports that measure TAT? | YES | ||
| Do you have industry standard pricing and can you prove actual costs? | YES | ||
| Are there detailed account reporting and auditing capabilities? | YES |
Access
| Access | MTA | Competitor A | Competitor B |
| Remote access by physicians, nurses and assistants? | YES | ||
| Remote access by Administrator? | YES | ||
| Remote dictation by phone, recorder or PDA? | YES |
Operations
| Operations | MTA | Competitor A | Competitor B |
| Do you provide automated report delivery by printer and fax? | YES | ||
| Is work flow routing to transcriptionist automated and instant? | YES | ||
| Is there searchable document storage included at no additional charge for the first 2 years? | YES | ||
| Can reports be customized at no charge? | YES | ||
| Can I attach digital images to transcriptions? | YES | ||
| Can documents be electronically signed at no additional cost? | YES | ||
| Can copies of transcriptions automatically delivered to referring doctors by fax or internet? | YES |
Security
| Security | MTA | Competitor A | Competitor B |
| Are HIPAA requirements met at every stage of the system? | YES | ||
| Are there flexible security settings? | YES | ||
| Are there multiple electronic signature options for dictators? | YES | ||
| Is the platform co-located in secure server bunkers with emergency back-up power? | YES | ||
| Are there at least 3 physical layers of security for the servers? | YES |
Support
| Support | MTA | Competitor A | Competitor B |
| Is there free support during business hours? | YES | ||
| Is there 99+% application uptime? | YES | ||
| Is there 24/7 system support available? | YES |
Flexible dictation and use options
| Flexible dictation and use options | MTA | Competitor A | Competitor B |
| Do you support handheld digital recorder, telephone and PDA dictation capture? | YES | ||
| Is EMR interfacing available for HL7, XML, batch and custom system? | YES | ||
| Is your system a proprietary system? | NO | ||
| Are proprietary equipment or "Black Boxes" required for integration? | NO | ||
| Can images be attached to the dictation by radiology clients? | YES | ||
| Can images be available to referring physicians and archived with dictation? | YES | ||
| Can referring physicians be set-up on the system and receive reports on line? | YES | ||
| Is there an auto faxing function? | YES | ||
| Can documents be automatically printed at remote locations? | YES |