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Physician office equipment upgrade... advice please - J

Posted: Jan 28, 2011

I just picked up a private account which is still using microcassettes and the quality is awful. They are agreeable to update to digital equipment but I have no experience with any specifics on it since I do all my other accounts online. I was hoping I could get some advice on what equipment to look (brands, etc..). Would like to find something where he can save the file onto a SD card. Finally, input on the "software" that is used with any of these systems.

Thanks,

Here's what I do... - CrankyOldBroadOnTheBeach

[ In Reply To ..]
I pretty much forced my local account to go digital when my last remaining tape machine died, and I didn't want to spend the money to replace it.

The doctor has a little Olympus digital recorder that works pretty much like his tape machine did, as far as the buttons he has to push. The recorder plus right into a USB port so the digital audio files can be transferred to any other device. I think his machine cost somewhere in the vicinity of 50 bucks.

Since I have always done pickup and delivery for that account (the office is only a mile or so away, and I enjoy interacting with the doctor and the staff), I just go in there and plug his machine into the computer, copy over the files to a folder on the desktop and then erase them from the dictating machine. Then I plug the thumb drive that I carry with me into the machine and copy over the files from the desktop folder to the thumb drive. I always leave the files in the folder on his desktop until I have transcribed them, which means the first thing I do is actually erase the old files from the folder. (For the sake of redundancy, they are stored on my home hard drive after they are transcribed, so there's always a copy somewhere in case we need to go back.)

All you need at your end is a foot pedal that will play audio files. I have a WAV player, which came with its own software, but there is a free program out there somewhere that will also play audio files using a foot pedal. It might be called Express Scribe, but don't quote me on that; I could be wrong.

If you currently have a USB foot pedal that you're using for your online accounts, it will probably work for the local account, unless it's some kind of proprietary system. If you have to buy a pedal, I highly recommend the WAV pedal. It costs a bit, but it does the trick.

So, best case scenario, all you will need is to download the free audio player, use your current foot pedal, and have the doctor buy a digital recorder--but make sure the recorder he (she?) buys connects to a USB port, so you can transfer the audio files.

Worst case scenario, you might have to buy a foot pedal--but if you're an independent contractor and have a business license to be that, you can write off all your equipment.

Pretty much any brand of digital recorder should do the job. One of my previous docs had a Sony, I think it was.

At times when I am out of town, or can't get out of the house for whatever reason to go pick up the dictation, the office manager has been taught how to "drain" the machine, and upload the audio files to a secure file site, which I then go into and download. I upload the finished documents to the same site, and she downloads and prints them. If you don't feel like making the commute to your account's office, you could probably work out something like that too.

It's really pretty easy, once you get it all going. Best of luck, and congratulations on nailing down a local account!

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