Of course onsite or local transcription services can decrease the turnaround time, but there is still the problem of availability.  Hard copies of the dictation maybe delivered to the doctor's office, yet the doctor may need to review the files while out at a remote location.

This means valuable time is spent sending a copy either via fax or email to the doctor, it also opens up the chance that confidential data maybe seen or intercepted by someone other then the doctor.

Now thanks to several web based transcription services, the whole dictation cycle just got a whole lot easier.  With web based transcription services doctors are able to have quick and easy access to the transcribed files. Once the transcription is done, the files are  available online via a secure website, a doctor can log on from any computer anywhere and view, print or send the files.

These sites usually offer 24hr a day access. They can also offer same day turnaround, and in some instances, the turnaround can be as quick as two hours.  Doctors have the choice of using a standard telephone line to dial into a secure number and dictate over the phone or they can choose to use a digital audio recording device and upload it to the web site.

What makes it nice is doctors have the choice of a variety of handheld digital recording devices and can even use their PDAs to record and transmit the files.

One such website, ZyDoc, includes a special tracking feature that allows the user to view the status of each audio file, edit the files on line and include e signatures on the documents. Another special feature of ZyDoc, ShareDoc gives doctors the ability to share files with other doctors.

Some of the websites can provide automated distribution of the completed files.  So if more then one doctor or hospital needs to receive copies of the files, they will automatically be distributed to the appropriate people.

All of these sites are HIPAA compliant, along with operating on secure networks. An added bonus is that copies are always available should you need to recover hard copy files that may have been lost.