Outsourcing: Should You Go Overseas Or Stay Right Here?

Outsourcing medical transcription is standard practice now; most medical offices tend not to have onsite transcriptionists as part of their staff, although larger clinic networks might have a transcription division. The real decision now is whether to use a transcription company based here in the United States or one that is overseas. Both have their advantages, but a U.S.-based company offers a few more benefits.

Transcriptionists Who Know U.S. Health Care

One big advantage of using a U.S.-based medical transcription company is that the transcriptionists will be more familiar with how U.S. health care actually works. Anyone can learn it in theory, and you can certainly have overseas transcriptionists who lived in the United States and have first-hand experience with the system. But almost everyone based in the United States will have used the U.S. health care and insurance systems, so you won't have to wait for someone with experience to become available to take on the project. This is crucial for transcription that deals with insurance issues.

The Rare Analog Tape Delivery

Transcription uses a lot of digital recording, meaning the doctor or other person requesting the transcription can send audio files to the transcriptionist. However, not everyone has made the switch to digital, and sometimes, a digital recorder will fail, leaving the doctor to use an analog cassette recorder. In that case, where the cassette will have to be delivered to the transcriptionist, not going overseas will be faster. Plus, as the travel time would be shorter, the cassette tape would be exposed to fewer adverse climate conditions that could cause the tape to melt or warp.

Availability and Turnaround Time

Outsourcing medical transcription overseas became big several years ago. This means that a lot of work already goes to overseas companies, and not as much goes to companies and transcriptionists in the United States. You could get a better turnaround time and find more available transcriptionists by looking in the United States. This is especially helpful if you have a last-minute project that needs to be done quickly. This is not to say that overseas companies can't do this. But if you need transcription done quickly, dealing with a company here may be faster.

Both overseas and U.S.-based companies have excellent transcriptionists, and you can get most jobs done well in either location. But sending your transcription projects to a company here offers more flexibility in certain situations.

For more information, contact a medical transcription company. 

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