Medical Transcription: How to Ensure Good Quality Recordings

If you are representing a hospital that produces voice/dictation recordings which are outsourced / offshored outside your premises for medical transcription and conversion into typed text, then you must be very wary of the quality of your audio material recordings because it can directly affects the costs.

The main fact to remember is that taking care of your audio quality will greatly enhance the cost affectivity of your outsourcing campaign. How? Let me explain. Did you know that all transcription material that comes in for transcription is first assessed? The time taken and charges for transcription will depend on the quality of the recordings. Obviously with bad recording, transcription takes more time and so more work hours and higher charges of transcription. Some of the factors that affects the time /cost of transcribing that are considered while assessing a transcription /dictation recording include,

• Background noise level
• Clarity of recording
• Speed of speech
• Clarity of voice
• Number of speakers
• Accents of speakers
• Technical language used
• Content
• Collect essential details of the material transcribed
• Get details of all participants/leaders

So how does one go about creating good quality audio recordings for your transcription outsourcing provider? Well, essentially one has to make sure that the recording is done as perfectly as possible by,

• Making a test recording
• Minimize tape "hiss"
• Use digital recording
• Minimize background noise
• Use more microphones if more than two people
• Plan all breaks beforehand
• Avoid speakers from speaking among themselves
• Get all details of the speaker/participant (Gender/ title/ representation etc)
• Note Words/minute

Outsource Strategies International (OSI ) is an Oklahoma based medical transcription company that offers professional outsourced solutions in medical coding, medical billing and medical transcription service for clients globally.