medical billing transcription supplier information

Several hundred medical record "transcriptionists" in Los Angeles County, who comprise a cottage industry which sprang up as hospitals began outsourcing medical record keeping a few years ago, are being hit hard by industrywide cost cutting triggered by the federal government's health care reform efforts. Transcriptionists are similar to court reporters in that they transcribe audio records into written reports. Medical facilities are required by law to maintain written records of all surgeries. To comply, surgeons dictate information about each surgery into audiotape recorders. Through special high-tech gadgetry, transcriptionists, many of whom work from home-based offices, can access those audiotapes through their phone lines and download the tapes onto computers. Transcriptionists then play back the audiotapes, convert the tapes into written reports and mail the reports back to the medical facilities.

For this, transcriptionists are typically paid between five and 15 cents per line.

In California, where outsourcing is gaining momentum, at least one-third of the medical transcriptionists currently work as independent contractors out of home offices, with an average transcriptionist making about $30,000 a year by transcribing records on a per-document or per-line basis.

But many transcriptionists have been seeing their incomes reduced by 20 percent or more in recent months.

Pressure to cut costs in this segment of the health care industry is intensifying, confirmed Pam Giamario, chief operating officer of Record Plus Inc. in Manhattan Beach, one of the area's largest medical transcription companies. While many hospitals continue to maintain their own staffs of medical transcriptionists, Record Plus has taken over the task of transcribing medical records for several institutions including Daniel Freeman Marina Hospital in Marina del Rey, Brotman Medical Center in Culver City and South Bay Medical Center in Redondo Beach.

The 80 medical transcriptionists working for Record Plus grudgingly accepted pay reductions of about 16 percent last month. None of those 80 workers is an independent contractor. However, several of Record Plus' transcriptionists telecommute from home offices.

Record Plus officials said the company was forced to pass on its own contract reductions to its transcriptionists, some of whom are single parents.

# posted by Medical Information : 3:56 AM