Little Things Mean A Lot

Thriving As A Mid-Size Medical Transcription Service. By Cindy S. Seabright, RHIT, CMT

When asked to write a short article on what makes TransPro Medical Transcription stand out or thrive in the world of outsourcing of medical transcription, the question has been in the back of my mind every single day. As I was driving in to work today, the light bulb came on and numerous reasons came to mind. Because of how we work and how we do our work is an every day occurrence, it is easy to forget the "little things" that set us apart.

TransPro was begun approximately 14 years ago as a sole proprietorship. Realizing the future needs for medical transcriptionists, a passion for doing medical transcription, as well as wanting to be my own boss, I set out on an endeavor that would take me across the country, meet new people, make new friends and promote the importance of those who transcribe the health records of patients. Even though it has been 14 years, with the ever changing world of medicine as well as technology, each day is a day of learning.

When TransPro first started, computers were being used for medical reports but there was no real "electronic record" and the use of digital dictation was just beginning. It was a world of tapes, sticky paper and running reports around to the facilities. Of course, if you could afford it, digital dictation was there but very costly.

With the use of tapes and the need to deliver reports to local facilities, it was an excellent way to meet the clients, discuss any issues and just plain let the client know who you are and how you will help them in their transcription needs. That personalized service continues today.

As TransPro was emerging locally as a transcription service, there were those normal hurdles to jump – cash flow, upgrading equipment, hiring employees, new accounts – all the things that make a person's knees shake. The question of how fast and how large do we want to be always came into play. The need to go out and market was always there as well, but just not enough time to do it. As a sole proprietor, one does it all. The question of whether to continue the service comes in to play as well, especially when meeting potential clients, it is not easy to always sell what you are doing; and 14 years ago, it was all fairly new.

There were many times when I thought of not continuing, and took a job as a coder in a local facility. So working eight hour days and then doing any transcription that was there, started to take its toll. How long can one continue doing this? While at work coding, the supervisor of the transcription department was asking if I knew of a service they could outsource to. Well of course I did – TransPro! The facility supported TransPro, we hired more staff to accommodate the facility's needs and the growth of TransPro began.

Expansion has been scary at times, but then the challenge of meeting new clients and exploring new avenues in order provide customized service, it what keeps me going in this business; and I that customized service that we do provide keeps TransPro alive as well.

TransPro continued to expand and with the advent of transcriptionists working remotely, we moved transcriptionists home to work. This as well was a new adventure, but in order to compete, it was a necessary move; and has served us well. We could now expand our work force to include transcriptionists from pretty much anywhere. With adding the extra employees, adding new clients, and again, more equipment and technology, it was decided that we needed to incorporate our business. So, in 2005, TransPro became TransPro Medical Transcription, Inc.

Since we were expanding our area of work force, it was also decided we needed to expand our marketing and advertising. Because many of the clients we have had were referrals, this was a new avenue as well. Do we advertise in the local paper? Do we advertise on the radio? Do we advertise on the Internet? With the advent of the Internet and search engines such as Google, it was deemed necessary to get a website and advertise there. We have also put in place an online testing site, which allows us to have potential remote employees apply and test online.

There is still one question that crosses my mind. How big do we want to get? As a medium-sized transcription service, we have not lost that "personal touch" so to speak with our clients. What is stressed is that because these are medical records of patients as well as legal documents, we take the utmost care in the transcription of these documents. Our medical transcriptionists are mentored and instructed to think of these records as their own. If this was your medical record, what or how would you like to see them? Many times, in an effort to put out work, to get more clients, the thought of what the medical record is about gets lost. If the transcriptionist is paid on production, the thought of just putting out the work and not paying attention to discrepancies can be costly. As I tell our medical transcriptionists, the speed will come, accuracy comes first. It does not matter whether there are 20 blanks in the report, if they are unsure, it needs to be flagged. Once it is reviewed, the questions the medical transcriptionist has regarding the report is explained to them and the reason behind it. This type of conscientiousness is a plus for the client as far as risk management and accurate documentation. Did the provider list the incorrect dosage of a medication? Are there discrepancies in which leg was actually hurt? TransPro takes the time to look into these things and alert the client. This only helps the client in maintaining accurate records also, because one just never knows when that record may be selected for legal action. This is one reason why we have been successful as well.

In both the client spectrum and employee spectrum, TransPro utilizes the thought of "I'll scratch your back, if you scratch mine." We do the little things, like resend a job without an extra charge, do a stat job without an extra charge – after all, that is part of our daily job – typing all documents whether stat or not during our daily hours. Making the effort to have open communication with each client, good or bad, or assisting them with questions on how to transcribe a certain term or calculate ratios, lets them know we value them as a customer. They are not a number. The question is whether this gets lost the larger a company grows. Does the customer become a number? No, not at TransPro.

For the employees, trust and patience are a must, especially when you have transcriptionists working offsite. It is easy when the transcriptionist is in the office and one can discuss the reasons why or how to do something, but when the employee is offsite, communicating by e-mail does not always get across what is needed. Again, that is where the phone call comes in. Isn't it nice to talk to a person once in a while? A one-on-one conversation can do a lot in helping the transcriptionist do their job. It is not easy sitting eight hours a day transcribing. TransPro as well pats the employees on the back for a job well-done by giving them a paid day off if the work load is low. This is not taken out of their regular vacation, but just a gesture of how much we appreciate them and the work that they do.

As I could go on and on about the different things we do as a smaller company which helps us to maintain our clients, the main emphasis is for us is working closely with each client, as if they were the only client, taking care of their documentation needs and treating those documents as gold. In today's world, so much is based on the almighty dollar and those little things are pushed aside. TransPro continues to do those things that may not seem like much to us as a company, but make a difference to the client.

For the employees as well, those little things to help them along, mentoring them and teaching them in order that they may expand their knowledge in the medical field and transcription and to do their job better and more efficiently, lets them know that they are appreciated. Encouraging the employees, whether they want to become certified or attend conferences, whatever it takes to help them in their profession, can never be looked down upon or discouraged. It will only benefit the company in the long run.

TransPro does not lose sight on the fact that without the clients and the employees, TransPro would not exist. It should not always be about money. It is about patient care and proper documentation of that care. At TransPro, even as we continue to grow, we will take the utmost care of our clients and their documentation needs; and make sure that the employees as well know that if it was not for them, we would not be here.