Case Studies And Calculators
Healthcare Services at Talisman
Menu
The Client
A group practice of 10 medical practitioners in Florida with a large backlog of medical records files.
The Problems Identified
With help from Talisman Solutions Inc. (TSI) sales team and consultants, this practice identified the key problem areas related to transcript flow as follows:
- Higher Cost The cost needs to be scaled down.
- Slower Turnaround Time The practice needed their transcripts returned sooner
- Severe Backlog Slower turnaround time offered by their transcription vendor at that time had created a backlog of several hundred files waiting to be processed.
Analysis Being Done
TSI met with this practice and the key stakeholders to understand the nature of the problem and causes of the problems. The analysis revealed that the doctors at this practice were using handheld recorders, allowing them to dictate faster and with greater convenience. Yet, the transcription vendor was unable to return these files at the same rate as they were dictated. One of they key contributors to this delay was that the transcription vendor did not provide this practice with an effective tool or mechanism of exchanging audio and transcribed files.
Solutions Implemented
TSI analysis helped clearly identify the problems that this practice was facing, and also understand the causes of the problem. Moreover, the objectives of the practice in surmounting these problems were also clearly delineated.
TSI transitioned the practice to using its web-based transcription management system. Using this system enhanced the technology used by the practice to exchange and manage medical records information. The system, coupled with TSI rapid processes, reduced the turnaround time to nearly a quarter of what it was before. Creating audio files and retrieving transcripts on a daily basis became a convenient task for this practice reducing employee time devoted to maintaining patients medical records to a few minutes. Leveraging its proven HR and technological capabilities, TSI was able to lay out a clear plan for addressing the severe backlog of medical records files. Using a FIFO (first in first out) model TSI processed the pending files for 3 doctors per week. In about 2.5 weeks, audio files that had accumulated over a period of over 16 weeks were processed and ready for use by the practice.
Benefits Achieved
- TSI brought to this group a technological edge for their operations through a HIPAA-compliant, secure medical records management system.
- A faster turnaround of medical records; in 20 hours, which is in alignment with patient care that was delivered to this client.
- A dramatic cost saving of 30% was immediately observed by this group. TSI also processed 3000 medical record updates that were pending, thus elevating a severe gap in the clients records system.
