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How to Compare Transcription Pricing Methods

/0 Comments/in /by Tyler Marshall


Pricing methods vary from one recorded statement transcription vendor to the next. Some charge by the completed page, some by the word, and still others charge by the audio minute. This complicates the vendor selection process. The two most common pricing methods we see for insurance transcription, are per-page and per-minute pricing.

We price our verbatim transcripts by the typed, completed page. Over the years many people have asked us how to convert our pricing to a per-minute basis.  Here we would like to share the simple formula we use internally. While not 100% accurate, it acts as a reliable “rule of thumb.”

 

To Convert Transcription Pricing Per-Minute to Per-Page Pricing

Price Per-Minute x 1.335 = Price Per-Page

Example: $2.50 Per-Minute x 1.335 = $3.34 Per-Page

 

To Convert Per-Page Transcription Pricing to Per-Minute Pricing

Price Per-Page x .75 = Price Per-Minute

Example: $3.34 Per-Page x .75 =  $2.50

 

Other Considerations

Keep in mind that these calculations are not exact. We recommend asking vendors for a sample transcript to evaluate other factors such as format, layout, and spacing rules. Page header height and margin standards also play a role in how many words are on a page.

When speaking with recorded statement transcription vendors charging by the audio minute, ask how they charge for sections of blank audio. For those charging by the page, ask how they charge for partially completed pages (e.g. the final page of a transcript contains two sentences. Are you billed the price of a full page or is the pricing reduced by a certain amount?).

Finally, transcript turnaround speed also affects pricing. Most vendors offer multiple turnaround speeds, and the faster the turnaround, typically the higher the price.

 

 

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Transcribe In-House or Outsource? Seven Factors to Consider

/1 Comment/in /by Tyler Marshall

Assessing Your Options

Understanding how other insurers manage recorded statement transcription and the implications of transcribing in-house vs. outsourcing, will help insurers determine their own approach. Until now, insurers and third party administrators (TPAs) have had little insight into how their peers procure recorded statement transcription services. Many insurers use in-house transcription teams, some outsource, while others take a hybrid approach.

 

How Other Insurers Are Answering This Question

Traditionally, insurers maintained internal staff for recorded statement transcription. This began to change a little over 20 years ago when some insurers began outsourcing recorded statement transcription work to various vendors. Since then, the popularity of outsourcing has only increased.

Allegis’ 2014 market research indicates that eighty percent of the top twenty five largest property and casualty (P&C) insurers outsource at least part of their transcription. Sixty five percent outsource all transcription to one or more vendors. Fifteen percent take a “hybrid” approach by utilizing both an in-house team and partially outsourcing. Twenty percent keep all transcription in-house.

 

Every Insurer Has Unique Transcription Needs

Every insurer is unique and what works for one insurer may not be the best option for another. The remainder of this post details seven major areas to take into account when determining your approach to recorded statement transcription.

 

Seven Factors to Consider

1) TRANSCRIPT TURNAROUND RELIABILITY

Outsource: Vendors closely monitor turnaround times based on strict service level agreements. Contracts often stipulate penalties for missed turnarounds. Some vendors may prioritize work from certain clients over others.

In-House: Staff vacations or illnesses can impact reliability. Having transcriptionists on-site can make it easier for management to monitor productivity and ensure on time transcript completion.

 

2) WORKFORCE LOCATION

Outsource: Transcriptionists are typically spread out geographically. This model tends to expand access to workforce talent. Some vendors are 100% US-based, while others use transcriptionists from across the globe, often based in countries such as India or the Philippines.

In-House: Many insurers have on-site teams, but our recent market analysis found a growing number of insurers using remote, employee transcriptionists. As employees they still receive traditional benefits, but work from home. Also, to a lesser extent, we found that some insurers are using independent contractors, while continuing to manage these individuals with internal resources. We should note that we have not seen insurers use remote transcriptionists based outside the U.S.

 

3) WORKFORCE FLEXIBILITY

Outsource: Transcriptionists are only paid for the amount of work produced (e.g. number of minutes or pages transcribed), which incentivizes productivity.

In-House: Sick leave and vacation days can cause fluctuations in production capacity. Workers may be paid the same regardless of how quickly they complete a project.

 

4) WORKFORCE BENEFITS

Outsource: Vendors can typically offer their services for less because many hire independent contractors. This eliminates the need to pay fringe benefits, taxes, health insurance and other related expenses.

In-House: Many insurers with in-house teams hire transcriptionists as full-time employees, which necessitates paying for benefits.

 

5) WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT

Outsource: Venders often have substantial experience in regularly hiring and maintaining a large workforce.

In-House: Taking on hiring and turnover costs can be more than many insurers anticipate.

 

6) QUALITY

Outsource: This varies from vendor to vendor and the greatest factor affecting quality tends to be workforce location. For example, US-based transcriptionists tend to produce higher quality transcripts than transcriptionists based in the Philippines. The rigorousness of a vendor’s quality control process also plays a large role in quality outcomes.

In-House: This can be a challenging issue for those overseeing in-house teams. Benchmarking your team, especially smaller teams, can be difficult and hiring quality control staff can be cost prohibitive. Although, for in-house, on-site teams, having a supervisor physically present and reviewing work can promote higher quality work.

 

7) SECURITY

Outsource: This depends on how a vendor receives audio files and returns completed transcripts. Unsecured email is notoriously risky. Secured online order management, secured TLS email, or Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) can be very safe.

In-House: If an in-house, on-site team uses secured emails, this can be a very secure setup. Teams that neglect to secure their email communications (e.g. TLS encryption) and/or work offsite without implementing security software, VPN connections, and other important security measures can expose the company to significant security risks.

How to Consistently Provide Quality Transcription

/0 Comments/in /by Tyler Marshall

Quality Transcription Matters

By now you have probably noticed that most transcription vendors advertise transcript accuracy of 98% or greater. The 98% threshold is an industry standard and we thought it would be worthwhile to share how vendors consistently deliver on this promise.  Having a thorough, reliable process in place is foundational to maintaining consistent, high quality transcription.

Specific to Allegis, we know that insurance subrogation and SIU teams need to be able to confidently rely on the transcripts they utilize. A single mistake – a mistake in transcribing the facts of loss, for example – could make the difference between winning and losing in arbitration. Accuracy matters.

Performing transcript QA requires experience, a reliable process, and an overarching strategy to pull all the pieces together. It begins by hiring experienced transcriptionists, maintaining a strong QA team, and then tying it all together with solid customer service.

 

Quality Transcription Begins with Quality Transcriptionists

Highly experienced and well-trained transcriptionists with relevant industry knowledge are the starting point of a successful transcription quality control system. Vendors spend a significant amount of time recruiting qualified transcriptionists and providing extensive initial and ongoing training.

Customers frequently ask about automatic audio transcription or voice recognition software and it is worth mentioning here. This technology is rapidly improving and some transcription vendors are beginning to use the technology. Unfortunately, this approach still requires human editors, which typically means listening to the audio again and, based on Allegis’ tests so far, the benefits do not yet outweigh the costs. For now, human transcriptionists are still the best route to quality transcription.

 

Quality Assurance Team

Most reputable vendors maintain a Quality Assurance Team. The most common approach is to select and review a statistically significant sample size of completed transcripts. Having two humans listen to each and every audio file – first the transcriptionist, then the QA employee – is not necessary. This model means that the QA team selects the right amount of transcripts (a statistically significant sample) to catch any transcriptionist who might be producing subpar transcripts.

Utilizing this approach, the QA team is then able to quickly and cost-effectively focus on areas needing extra quality assurance.  The team can then place any transcriptionist in question under close supervision, who are then re-trained until they once again consistently produce quality transcripts. This process is an important application of statistics, enabling vendors to provide affordable transcription services. Having two humans listen to every audio file is neither cost effective, nor is it necessary.

 

Customer Service is Key

Customer service is a crucial — and often overlooked — part of transcript QA.  Transcription is currently a human-based business. Quality transcription is so important, yet errors – albeit minor –do occur. This makes having an effective customer service team a necessity, not a convenience. If an error makes it through a company’s QA safeguards, a vendor should provide an easy route for customers to request corrections. This is where customer service really proves valuable. Being able to have errors quickly resolved is an important final step to the QA process.

 

Quality is Intentional

98% accuracy is a high standard, but by hiring experienced transcriptions, maintaining a strong QA team, and delivering excellent customer service, these standards are achievable every day. Highly accurate recorded statement transcripts are crucial to the subrogation and SIU professional. Verbatim, insurance transcription vendors have the responsibility to deliver high quality transcripts every time.