Some questions to Consider:
- How much work would you like to save on your end? Compared how much do you want to pay for the transcription?
- What is the final output that you’ll need to achieve the goal of your transcription project?
These are the basic elements of the different products in transcription services.
No matter which transcription company you were looking for, Automated Speech Recognition (ASR) is the least accurate product you can get, with the quickest turnaround, but the lowest price in the industry. This means you will need to review the transcript and most likely make edits once it’s received. It will have some misspellings, additional formatting will be needed, and it will not be consistent throughout the document you receive.
Most higher quality ASRs are typically 80-87% accurate – but audio quality affects this statistic. If you have poor-quality audio and it’s hard to hear, the ASR will likely have much lower accuracy, which you’ll want to consider.
Example Here:
One of my patients sent me this voice mail from our office.
Sooooo…transcription fail or do I need to have a little chat with someone? 😆 pic.twitter.com/6B8JosX0uC
— Dr. Dave Stukus (@AllergyKidsDoc) June 16, 2021
The next level of transcription services is a ‘draft’ product. These can be in several different forms. One form is where the initial transcription is done by ASR and then individual human transcriptionists will review it to catch the elements that may be missing. It will still not be as accurate as transcripts that undergo multiple levels of review, but this option is quicker, more affordable. It will have more accuracy than an ASR-only product. To put it simply, this is ASR with human copyediting.
Most draft products that include human transcribers have an accuracy rate of about 90-95%.
Standard & Verbatim Products
These products typically take 48-72 hours for most providers, but many companies don’t tell you that it will take longer, depending on the length of time.
This product should be the most accurate, timestamped, and all speakers should be identified. Punctuation and use of words should be consistent throughout the entire transcript. Names should all be spelled consistently as well, ie Stacy versus Stacey – the person’s name should be spelled consistently throughout the document. There should be no work for you to do afterward, and should be used immediately upon receipt.
This typically has a higher price point per minute, but ideally, it’s saving you more of your, and your employee’s time, which will most likely add up to savings.