OPPORTUNITIES WITH A+ NETWORK

The 21st century begins with exciting new opportunities for AAI and its customers. Our new venture into the transcription services market began fall of 2000 with the formation of A+  Network. 

In our view, the major goal of the HIM professional staff is to deliver quality medical documentation, promptly, and cost effectively.  For many, the traditional in-house transcription department model is believed the best way to achieve these objectives.  However, problems arise when the in-house transcription staff can't keep pace with turn around time expectations (i.e. service levels) due to sickness, turnover, vacation etc.  At best, staffing and scheduling requirements are extremely complex and any change in the expected manpower (or womanpower) available results in reduced service levels and unhappy medical professionals.   There are also dramatic geographic differences in the availability of quality medical transcriptionists willing to work on-site. The use of an outside service has always been an option to solve this problem but most services lack systems expertise and only deliver printed documents.  The benefits of TAź document management for electronic signature, faxing, viewing, batch printing, remote printing to the floors are lost when this outside service solution is implemented and the value received for the line fees paid is not cost effective.   This "dual system" i.e. part paper based and part automated, is a very unsatisfactory alternative for physicians and staff expecting TAź on-line viewing and signing for all patient reports.

Now, with A+ Network, our experienced transcriptionists are a true extension of your department. Documents created by your staff using the TAź Document Creation System and documents created by A+Network transcriptionists are seamlessly processed in the same way.  All documents, no matter where they are created, can be signed, viewed, faxed, and printed the same way. Both service created and in-house created transcription reports have the same physical appearance.  In this environment, HIM departments can work with a single vendor for both in-house system solutions and seamless outsourced services.  This combination allows service levels and costs to be managed concurrently and increases the value received for the outside service costs you incur.  When A+Network is your total solution provider, our business benefits from helping you optimize the mix of in-house and outsourced transcription.  In turn, the hospital achieves its goals to deliver cost effective, quality medical documentation with a high service level. As JoAnn Snoble, Transcription Coordinator, Firelands Community Hospital, Sandusky, Ohio explains:  “We have been using A+Network since November 2000, at which time our backlog of discharge summaries was reduced within a couple of weeks.  I'm also very pleased with the quality of the transcribed reports.  The staff at A+Network has been very helpful in solving minor problems quickly, and it's been a pleasure doing business with A+Network.”

Recent analysis of several of our accounts indicates that their in-house transcription line costs, based upon their productivity, is comparable to what A+Network charges per line to its volume customers. This fact is driving the market to consider increasing the amount of outside service transcription.  When you spread our service costs across all your in-house volume, the increase in your cost per line is minimally affected.  Our conclusion, the use of a combination of in-house and outsourced transcription resources delivers the most cost-effective solution while maintaining established service levels. 

We are genuinely excited about the A+Network service offering.  We can deliver a more cost-effective solution than your current outside service because of our systems and services integration and encourage you to comparison shop.  If you have been reluctant to use a service, not wishing to reduce your document automation, now is the time to move forward and maintain all TAź functionality.  We are convinced that providing systems and services from a single source is the preferred choice for hospitals in the new millenium.