Is Medical Transcription Still in Demand? (2024)

Medical transcription has been a popular medical documentation method for decades. It involves trained transcriptionists listening to dictations or audio recordings of clinical encounters and transcribing them into complete notes, including charts, diagnoses, exam findings, prescriptions, summaries, and more.

For clinicians, outsourcing medical transcription has many benefits. Primarily, it allows clinicians to focus on their patients during the visit instead of spending time during the encounter writing notes by hand or in their electronic health record system. Additionally, by outsourcing their documentation to trained medical transcriptionists, clinicians are able to save time while, in some instances, not sacrificing documentation accuracy.

However, as medical documentation becomes increasingly complex and medical records become digitized, the demand for medical transcription is decreasing.

Expensive

One reason medical transcription is decreasing in demand is due to cost. Because many medical transcription companies charge by each transcribed line or word, costs for completed transcriptions continue to increase. As medical documentation continues to get more and more comprehensive, and thus lengthy, transcription is quickly becoming quite expensive.

Inefficient

Another reason medical transcription can be inefficient is that as medical documentation becomes increasingly complex, it can be difficult for medical transcriptionists to keep up with the changes. In some cases, this can lead to inaccurate transcriptions or delays in getting information into the patient's medical record.

Additionally, medical transcription inherently creates a delay between the patient visit and the note actually being completed and entered in the medical record. This can be a problem when medical information needs to be accessed quickly or medical decisions need to be made promptly, as well as just simply adding a barrier between when a clinician can fully sign-off on their documentation and separate from their work.

This issue may soon become less of a problem, however, thanks to advances in artificial intelligence (AI). AI-powered scribes are able to not only transcribe dictations accurately but also keep up with the ever-changing nature of medical documentation. As a result, they are quickly becoming a more popular choice for medical transcription.

Turnaround Time

Transcription turnaround time is another inefficiency that makes medical transcription a less than ideal solution in todays exam rooms. Because medical transcription companies are often based overseas, there can be significant time delays between when a recording or dictation is submitted for transcription, and when the clinician actually receives that final transcription. This delay can be problematic as it increases the chance for documentation errors, and extends the period that encounters are "open" in the EHR.

Additionally, many medical transcription companies offer expedited service at an additional cost, so clinician's must either pay extra for faster turnaround, or risk their queue priority being supplanted by a clinician who does.

Doesn't Save Time

Despite medical transcription being touted as a documentation solution, medical transcription doesn't necessarily save clinicians much time at all. Because most transcriptions still need to be converted into a complete, billable note by the clinician, medical transcription is often seen as a way to reduce dictation or clicks in the EHR during the visit, but doesn't actually reduce the overall workload of the clinician.

Lack of Standardized Training

Unfortunately for clinicians and care organizations, there is no governing body that standardizes medical transcription training practices or curriculum, meaning that the quality of the transcription can vary greatly note to note based on who's transcribing it. Additionally, this lack of training puts clinicians at increased risk of malpractice as HIPAA laws sometimes don't cover documentation solutions based overseas.

Demand Trends

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, medical transcription jobs are expected to decline by 7% by 2031. While this could simply be a reflection of outsourcing trends, it indicates a clear shift in domestic demand. This shift can largely be attributed to documentation complexity and ever-increasing administrative load.

Rather than using a medical transcriptionist that is expensive, inefficient, and doesn't truly offset the burden of documentation, many clinicians are seeking out a more comprehensive solution to their documentation load.

The DeepScribe Difference

DeepScribe's AI scribe is using the power of technology to transform the way clinicians document care while successfully addressing all of the cons that make solutions like medical transcription undesirable.

Affordable

DeepScribe's AI-powered scribe is 1/6th the cost of medical transcription services and traditional medical scribes. Because DeepScribe relies on proprietary AI to generate notes rather than heavy human involvement, we are able to offer a much more affordable documentation solution to providers looking to reduce their clinical load.

Efficient

Thanks to robust integrations with some of the leading EHR platforms, DeepScribe makes the clinical workflow more efficient than medical transcription services and other popular solutions. Rather than adding steps to your workflow like dictation, or forcing you to input transcribed notes into your EHR, DeepScribe automates the entire process and ensures that clinicians are only reviewing and signing off on their notes at the end of the day, rather than having to document in their entirety. After DeepScribe generates the clinical documentation, the note is sent to a highly trained QA team to ensure accuracy. After this quick check, notes sync directly to your EHR and are available to review and sign off on.

Accurate

DeepScribe's AI models are trained on hundreds of thousands of real-life scenarios and are continuously getting better as more and more clinicians adopt the technology. The combination of closely monitored AI, ML, and NLP systems and highly trained QA professionals ensure that DeepScribe delivers consistently accurate clinical documentation. Rather than relying on shoddy offshore transcriptionist training practices, DeepScribe's solution delivers when you need it.

Turnaround Time

Rather than the pay-to-play model that many transcription companies use, DeepScribe is able to process thousands of notes simultaneously. This means that your notes always have priority, and you'll never have to pay a penny more for fast service.

‍

Saves Time

Unlike medical transcription services, DeepScribe doesn't add any extra steps like dictation to your workflow. Instead, DeepScribe removes the need to document during your visit, dictate during (or after) your visit, or document after hours. Clinicians can simply talk to their patient like normal, while DeepScribe ambiently captures the encounter and produces complete medical documentation with very minimal clinician oversight.

Scalable

Unlike transcription services which are limited to the number of transcriptionists who can physically transcribe encounters, the reach of DeepScribe's technology is effectively limitless. Our technology is built to be adopted by entire practices, and is easily scalable across entire care organizations of any size.

To Conclude

Medical transcription services are expensive, inconsistent, inefficient. Due to increasing documentation complexity and overall failure to meet the needs of clinicians, the demand for medical transcription across the United States is declining. Alternatively, DeepScribe offers medical professionals a comprehensive solution to medical documentation that is affordable, efficient, accurate and risk-free. By leveraging the power of AI and machine learning, DeepScribe allows clinicians to focus on providing care, not documenting it.

‍