New Organization to Create Digitized Transcription Standards

In an initiative to help accelerate the adoption of electronic healthcare records, ICSA Labs and the Medical Transcription Industry Association (MTIA) have formed a consortium to devise common standards and practices for the creation and sharing of digitized transcriptions of physician-dictated patient notes.

These notes, which doctors dictate to provide in-depth detail of their patients’ care and treatment, are a key element of EMRs. However, converting transcriptions into a secure, digitized format for electronic sharing with other doctors, hospitals, and healthcare providers is nearly impossible without a single agreed-upon format for the exchange of this information.

The Medical Transcription Service Consortium (MTSC)—the group formed by ICSA Labs, an independent division of Verizon Business, and MTIA—will develop a common framework for the digitization of transcribed dictated records, including interoperability standards for the seamless and secure exchange of data among healthcare providers.

MTIA estimates that its member companies annually create and electronically archive more than 2.4 billion transcribed medical records, involving more than 70% of all U.S. physicians.

In addition to ICSA Labs and the MTIA, the charter members of the consortium are Verizon and the following medical transcription companies: MD-IT, MedQuist, MxSecure, Sten-Tel, and Webmedx.

George Japak, managing director of ICSA Labs, says, “Interoperability, privacy, and security are challenges that hospitals, physicians, and clinics face when trying to exchange records electronically. The goal of the consortium is to help advance the healthcare industry through the digital exchange of physician-dictated notes in a common format so that information technology becomes an enabler for better patient care and greater efficiency among healthcare providers.”

The MTSC announced that Verizon Business has been selected to develop the new IT platform that will securely carry the digitized transcribed notes of physicians for consortium members. It will be designed and deployed using security best practices, allowing for objective testing and certification for privacy, security, and interoperability.
 
Source: Verizon Business