[surferboy]

I use a transcriptionist in my office, and I am exploring ways to give her the ability to transcribe from home. Does anyone have any knowledge in digital transcription? I envision dictating into a digital recorder; then I have to figure out a way to upload the files securely (encrypted?) to the transcriptionist, where she can download the files and listen to them so she can type.

Does anyone know much about hardware and/or software that will help me with this?

[polendo]

I would say to do a podcast and upload them/send them to her. Just find the way to encrypt them or sending them securely.

regards.

[polendo]

By the way check out Garage Band to create a podcast.

[surferboy]

Interesting. If I were to dictate notes on 30 patients- I suppose I could create one long podcast- or thirty separate ones?

[WTyping]

There is *free* transcription software called Express Scribe at http://www.nch.com.au/scribe/ that can be used with hotkeys and PC speakers, but ideally your Secretary (Virtual Assistant - there is an extensive online community of VAs who work from home) should use relatively inexpensive stereo headphones that plug into her computer (purchased from any usual retailer) and a compatible footpedal (preferably purchased from NCH Swift Sound to ensure it is compatible).

The link for the Mac OS X version of Express Scribe is listed at the far right of the page.

I am a Windows PC user but have been using Express Scribe for five years. They continually improve the software and regularly release upgrades, also *free*.

I don't know what digital voice recorder you currently use or intend to use. If it is an Olympus that records in DSS format you should be able to upload the files to your computer and then email them as an attachment to your Secretary at home. DSS format is a compressed format that is generally only 2 or 3 mb for 30 mins of recording.

If you are recording in a larger format such as MP3 then your files will be closer to 30 mb and therefore too large to email. If this is the case, I would recommend using another service, SendThisFile, at http://www.sendthisfile.com which also offers a *free* account, or various levels of inexpensive business plans. And your secretary doesn't need to have an account unless she needs to send large files back to you.

Basically, when you upload a large audio file through SendThisFile, your Secretary will receive an email from them to say there is an audio file waiting for her to download from the link provided in the email. It's extremely user friendly and simple to use. And there's no risk of your audio going to anyone else unless you enter the wrong email address when you upload for sending.

Best of luck with moving your Secretary to 'Working from Home'. Speaking from experience, I know she will really appreciate it

Regards
WTyping
Melbourne, Victoria, AUSTRALIA
W: http://www.wtyping.com.au

[surferboy]

I actually checked out that software - I agree - I think it's great. I don't think it would cost too much to buy the headset and foot pedal, but I would have to price it out.

I have a transcriptionist that we currently pay hourly. I plan to move into a smaller office and just use the amount of space I need to use. I see no reason to create an office for transcription- so I would move our transcriptionist to her home. That said, I know very little about how to handle employees who work from home. If she is hourly, how do I keep her honest?

I realize the industry has a lot of solutions- charge by page, charge by line, charge by report, etc. That said, it would take some work to figure out how to pay her by one of these methods and not end up paying her more than I would have using the hourly method.

I simply guarantee her salary to be equal to last year. Or, I could try to calculate a price per report.

Thanks for the input.

[Hans M Aus]

Thanks for the timely post. This could be exactly what we're looking for. My boss is continuously on the road and wants to dictate on the road and e-mail the file to his secretary for her to transcribe. And the secretary wants the foot pedal.

[bearcatrp]

From what I have read, the new iPod Touch has the ability to record voice. You will have to research this to make sure. I have the 1st generation touch so just going off what I have read. Check out apps for the touch/iPhone to see if someone made an encryption program (I think I saw one). Just a thought.

[Hans M Aus]

My understanding from the previous posts is that the iPod MP3 file format is too big for e-mail. The DS5000 compresses 30 minutes dictation to 2-3 Mb, which is small enough for e-mail.

[Hans M Aus]

Is the DSS format supported on the Mac?

Just discovered this on http://www.nch.com.au/scribe/kb/656.html

"Express Scribe for Mac OS X can be used to load wav, mp3, aiff and dct file formats."

So which format and dictaphone do we use when we need to email the dictation?

[Hans M Aus]

I've been told that Olympus is bringing a MacOSX solution with a new AS 2400 in October.

[zombie punk]

Even if you can't email the files, you can always send them over skype or ichat.

[chinsey]

Hello All,
thought I could chime in my 2 cents... I was on the NCH website looking at Express Scribe as per other posts in this forum and found Express Dictate (not free like Express Scribe but still really cool). And they have links to another site... www.altoedge.com
On that site they carry some cool hardware for transcription and dicrtation. It was the hand held dictation device that I thought was neat. Mostly because Express Dictate can send encrypted dictations and their device is setup to work with it. I dunno if that helps but that's just my take. I'd say it would be easier than pod casting. I guess with that, does anyone here have any experience with altoedge and the hardware working with NCH software? To see what I'm talking about go to that altoedge website and see for yourself what I'm talking about.

[vmarks]

The DSS Player from olympus in version 7 is a universal binary (ppc and intel) and works under leopard.

[Hans M Aus]

Is DSS Player 7 the newest version that has just been released?

[surferboy]

I have found very little on the use of DSS on the mac and use with Express Scribe. Does anyone have any luck with this?