Is Your Business Under Attack by EMRs?

Most medical transcription service organizations (MTSOs) have lost business to a template-based EMR in the recent past. EMR adoption is growing, and the government stimulus package (the HITECH Act) includes significant incentives for adopting EMRs. How does transcription fit into the new era of increasing adoption of EMRs?

A primary problem, of course, is that EMR vendors have been targeting transcription for years. When presenting their solutions and defending the costs of their systems, they have commonly claimed that the facility would save money – partly by eliminating transcription. So, is the sky falling? The answer is a mixed bag. If you hope to earn a living doing transcription in 2013 the way you did it in 2011, you can expect some painful market forces to change your mind. If you are prepared to modernize your business rapidly, there is substantial opportunity.

There are two components to this modernization. Neither of these components are traditional strengths of MTSOs, and that is where a strong technology partner can be critical.

  1. Provide technology that extends your relevance by interfacing with EMRs.
  2. Aggressively communicate your value proposition to customers.

Provide Technology that extends your relevance by interfacing with EMRs

  • ADT Interfaces – Getting automatic patient demographic info into the transcription system is win/win. Facilities benefit from higher accuracy and transcription providers benefit names and data automatically populates templates - saving time and effort.
  • Results Interfaces – When transcribed reports flow directly into the healthcare facility EMR, the facility benefits from time-saving convenience and the transcription provider is more appreciated. Results interfaces make that possible, and facility customers are far less likely to change transcription providers.
  • Clinical Document Architecture (CDA) – A new HL7 standard provides a structured document format that can be common among many systems, including transcription platforms and EMRs. Preparing for CDA is an investment in the future and readiness for wide-scale EMR adoption.

Aggressively communicate your value proposition to customers

This is actually the harder part. While you can easily outsource the technical issues mentioned above, you need to talk to your customers yourself. And, you simply can’t afford for them to be listening to the EMR vendors and not hearing from you. Fortunately, there is help available.

First, a good technology partner is going to have a handle on these issues and be able to organize talking points and other content you can share with your customers. In addition, industry associations including MTIA, AHDI and the Health Story Project can help.

Part of the message centers around reminding your customers of your inherent value (how much MTs do to keep the quality of the report high while saving the doctors time). They also need to be reminded of the economics. Facilities can’t afford for physicians to see one less patient per day in order to accommodate EMR entry. Lastly, any facility that has experienced litigation understands the value of having a patient record that includes the physicians’ observations in a narrative format. These are all messages that need to be reinforced.

The other part is to recognize that the EMR is not your enemy. (EMR does not necessarily equal point-and-click.) Since the stimulus bill compensates healthcare facilities for upgrading to digital technology, cost savings from eliminating transcription should no longer a primary justification for this investment. Your customers should know that eliminating transcription from the process is a liability, not a savings. You can stress that your transcription service can actually support their EMR adoption by providing the same quality, consistent medical reports and minimizing the need for a change in physician behavior.

Where to go from here? Learn, prepare, invest, and take your message to your customers. If you have comments on this page, need ideas about how to approach customers schedule a consultation.