| Modern day healthcare depends on the input from | | | | - Comprehensive: Patient records need to |
| various sources to be effective and profitable. | | | | encompass all the details of the patient's medical |
| One such aspect that plays a vital role in | | | | history. This aids healthcare professionals in |
| healthcare is health information management. | | | | making the right treatment plan. The service |
| Health information management is the practice of | | | | provider needs to ensure that all the details are |
| maintenance and care of health records. Health | | | | comprehensively captured during the transcription |
| information professional have been described to | | | | process. |
| play a critical role in the delivery of healthcare. | | | | - Consistency: Healthcare is a complex field and it |
| They focus on collection, maintenance and the | | | | is important that the value of the data should be |
| use of quality healthcare data to support the | | | | reliable and standard across various applications. |
| information intensive and information reliant | | | | This is the responsibility of the transcriptionists |
| healthcare system. | | | | who actually transcribe the records. It is important |
| One important aspect of health information | | | | that their training program encompasses all the |
| management is medical transcription, which is the | | | | details of the specialty they are transcribing for. |
| process of documenting the patient-healthcare | | | | - Currency: The patient records should reflect |
| professional encounter. Medical transcription is a | | | | current data. Creating timely records is an |
| specialized process requiring the optimum | | | | important duty of the service provider. |
| combination of people skills, processes and | | | | - Definition: This means that the data should be |
| technology. Outsourcing medical transcription | | | | clearly defined with no room for misunderstanding. |
| ensures that patient records are created in a | | | | This requires the transcription team to have |
| professional manner making the process efficient, | | | | in-depth knowledge of medical terms and |
| effective and economical. Patient records need to | | | | definitions. |
| fit a certain criteria to be useful in the healthcare | | | | - Granularity: This means the attributes and value |
| process. The service provider needs to be | | | | of data should be defined at the correct level of |
| evaluated based on the criteria used to evaluate | | | | detail. |
| data characteristics: | | | | - Precision: The details in the medical record, |
| - Accuracy: Medical records of patients are vital to | | | | documenting the essentials so that no details are |
| the process of healthcare. They provide | | | | missed but unnecessary data is not included. |
| continuity, basis for planning future care, assist in | | | | - Relevancy: The data captured in the medical |
| case of litigation and can be used for education | | | | records should be relevant. |
| and research. Therefore the accuracy of the data | | | | - Timeliness: The medical records need to be |
| captured should be as close to 100% as possible. | | | | created with all the above given attributes within |
| - Accessibility: To provide quality healthcare it is | | | | a reasonable time frame. The optimum |
| important that information is easily accessible. It | | | | turnaround time would aid both quality healthcare |
| not only helps healthcare professionals and | | | | and quicker reimbursements. |
| support staff provide quality care but also | | | | Outsourcing to a professional medical transcription |
| organize their time better. Outsourcing can help in | | | | service provider ensures that medical records are |
| this aspect by providing archiving facilities, which | | | | created with all the attributes. |
| make it easier to trace file. | | | | |