MT India Digest - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MTID

*We learn from history that we do not learn from history.*

============================================
Published by:
MT India www.MTIndia.org

Moderated by:
Amit Chatterjee, SM amit@...

..................................................
Oct 26, 2002 Digest #089
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Thanks and regards,

Amit C.
www.mtindia.org

.....IN THIS DIGEST.....

=============NEW===============

-=Cbay & Others!=-

~Sanal Kumar
"not prompt in providing business as well as payments"

~Paras Parekh
"there is no sort of sum to be deposited (like the one AMA
Transam scam!!)"

-=Distance Education for MT=-

~Kishore
"Alagappa university in Tamil Nadu is offering the above one course
post graduate diploma'

~Susan Thomas
"online course of medical transcription from Career Step, LLC, USA"

===========CONTINUING============

-=Future of MT=-

~Sudip Bohidar
"in Hyderabad, most of the companies require MTs"

~David. Raj Minz
"Believe me there is no other place like Healthscribe in this
business in India."

~Shane Rebello
"I am a trained MT but with no practical work experience as the
company closed"

~Roushan Ali
"Which cities have better prospects for MT business"

-=HIPAA =-

~Derrick Smith
"I have heard that it is a violation to use medical transcription
services outside the USA."

========== BILLBOARD =============

-=Conman?=-

~Kishore Ganguly

=============NEW===============

From: oyster infocom <oysterinfocom@...>
Subject: CBay's deliverables and credibility

Dear Amit & MTIDers,

We are engaged in MT business at Bangalore. Recently I approached
CBay systems for job. They offered me 50000 lines per day. They
told that they charging 12 lakhs for consultation charge.

I would like to know about Cbay. Are they prompt in providing
business as well as payments. One of my friends told me that they
are not prompt in both cases. So I thought it better to enquire
before signing up.

I request an early reply for my above query.

Thanking you,

Sanal Kumar
Comment? mailto:MTID@yahoogroups.com

++++ new post - same topic ++++

From: <paras_parekh@...>
Subject: Info about a company in Florida

Hi Amit and all!

I am a member of MTIndia and into MT industry since 3 years. I am
based at Rajkot, Gujarat, India.

Currently, I have started home based work as an IC. I wanted some
help in confirming the credibility of a US company.

Company Details: The backsuite corporation, 6515 Grazing lane,
Odessa, FL 33556. Tel. (813) 926-9588. Their website claims they
are into transcription business since 14 years.

They did answer to my query regarding work from home and sent me
three audios as test files. Upon submission of the transcribed
versions, I heard from them that I have been selected by them to
work as an IC.

Furthermore, their email stated that initially they would be giving
me say 100 lpd, 5 days a week and work would increase gradually
depending on the quality of my work. Regarding payment, they would
be grading my files in 3 grades--- A, B, and C and I would be
receiving payment according to the grade, viz 90paise, 70 paise,
and 50 paise per 65 character line.

What baffles me is that if this is a company based in the USA, how
can they offer me a check from their Tampa, FL office in Indian
rates? Also, their website does not list anything in connection to
Indian operations like indian office, etc.

Of course, there is no sort of sum to be deposited (like the one
AMA Transam!!) and hence there apparently does not seem any risk
involved.

Kindly let me know what is your opinion in this regard.

I have to email them now if I am in accordance with their terms and
then they would in turn email me additional details that would
include their grading procedure, etc.

Thanks,

Paras
Comment? mailto:MTID@yahoogroups.com

++++ new post - different topic ++++

From: Kishore <cpkishore@...>
Subject: Medcial Transcription through distance education

Dear Amit,

It is well know that MTIndia is doing good services for MTs in
India.

I am graduate and diploma in pharmacy and do medical transcription
through distance education.

The Alagappa university in Tamil Nadu is offering the above one
course post graduate diploma through distance eduation.

My question if I do the above course the same university it is
recognised and also if I do through distance education the industry
will accept it or not.

Your early reply is highly appreciated.

Thanks.

Kishore
Comment? mailto:MTID@yahoogroups.com

++++ new post - same topic ++++

From: Susan Thomas <susyohannan@...>
Subject: Job for medical transcription

Dear MTIDers,

I have done my online course of medical transcription from Career
Step, LLC, USA under Utah post secondary education act.

Please help me in finding out a job in Medical Transcription.

Thanks,

Susan Thomas
Comment? mailto:MTID@yahoogroups.com

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

[MODERATOR COMMENT]

Dear MTIDers,

Sanal: The only way to check credibility of a company is to ask
for past references. Almost all CBay production partners are on
this list, I request them to come forward to give you the true
picture. Also, why don't you talk to some vendor's in Bangalore
itself?

Paras: Though you might not have to pay upfront - will you be ever
paid for the work you do? You need to get some assurance on this. I
guess you are not intending to work as a charity.:)

About distance education in MT, I am frankly quite sceptical. In
fact I can't identify a proper training institution in the country
which is today churning out good MTs. US courses are structured
for Americans - not Indians. Also I cannot see universities
contributing in any way unless they start partnering with the MT
Industry to understand training requirements. Presently the better
training options are MT companies training for inhouse absorption.
Maybe we will see some changes in this direction soon.

Regards,

Amit C.
Comment? mailto:MTID@yahoogroups.com

===========CONTINUING============

From: Sudip Bohidar <sudip_sandeep@...>
Subject: Re: Future of MT

Dear Amit & MTIDers,

The reply that you have given to Ms. Claire is very encouraging for
me. I have taken this course in 2000. Currently, I am working in a
company in Hyderabad. What Ms. Claire is saying is true about
closing of company. Companies are closing down in Orissa, from
where I have come. But, as you recommend, she should try and go to
other cities. Here also in Hyderabad, most of the companies require
MTs. Everday there are vacancy news in paper. But as she is staying
in Goa, so it will be suitable for her to try in either Maharashtra
or Gujrat.

One thing I want to be very clear is that of voice recognition or
speech recognition. If you could please help me in this regard in
detail, it would be very nice of you. Waiting for your reply.

Sudip
Comment? mailto:MTID@yahoogroups.com

[MODERATOR COMMENT]

Dear Sudip,

Sound is processed in the auditory cortex, right above your ear.
The memory of sound is stored in the auditory association area,
which occupies most of the sides of your head. It's here that words
and sounds are stored. (Just read on....this gets interesting!)

Strategically located where auditory association meets visual
association is Wernicke's area, the spot where objects are named.
When you hear of a patient with "polyuria, polydipsia, polyphagia",
with hyperglycemia, and the doctor mumbles s/l **di....
..ourpathy**, it's Wernicke that whispers, "Diabetic Neuropathy,
stupid." Wernicke is the king of nouns.

At the other end of auditory association lies Broca's area, a
powerful extension of auditory association into the motor
association cortex. The motor association the is the center of all
physical action and Broca's area the center of action words.
Broca energetically generates verbs, enthusiastically constructs
sentences, and anxiously anticipates what others are about to say.
Vision and "vision words" happen at the back of the skull, action
and action words happen at the front, in Broca's area, right next
to the prefrontal cortex. The ear is right in the middle, the key
to everything.

An electronic ear, or a microphone as some nerds call it, can
never ever be as sensitive as a human ear. Whatever be the
speed of software development, WERNICKE AND BROCA
areas are unlikely to be electronically replaced in this century!

The human MT is here to stay for some time:)

I do not blame you for your fears, I had the same reservations
before I had really entered this field! I will quote a friend:

"As a practicing radiologist, I and my colleagues have seriously
studied the options. MedSpeak, IBM ViaVoice, and Dragon Systems
Naturally Speaking are the major packages. I personally own
ViaVoice and Dragon. They are pretty good, reaching up to 95-98%
accuracy at normal speaking speeds, but that 2% error rate kills
you! In practice, I am slamming out my dictations way too fast for
the system to work, and the American transcriptionist, even though
she (mostly females) makes more than the Indian, she makes a lot
less than the American physician, so her time spent transcribing is
less expensive to the group than my time spent meticulously
correcting the small errors the speech recognition systems make.
Also, I can use "meta-language" like "Start with a normal standard
CT Chest and add that there is a 2cm nodule in the lateral segment
of the middle lobe." and she will produce the whole report
properly. Or, "go back to where I said left subclavian and change
it to right" and she figures it out. The key to making Indian
transcription work is to make it thoroughly responsive. The
American transcriptionist does a lot of "back-office" work in
addition to just turning speech into text. Sometimes the charge
codes are wrong. They take care of all that for me, so I can just
interpret scans at full speed. They format and deliver the work.
They call me if they don't understand a word, or if a transcription
gets cut off. A good American agent, and tight telecommunications
is key. BTW The Indian grammer and word choice is sometimes very
strange to the American ear. Watch lots of American TV! Contact
Address: Chris Woodhouse, MD, MSEE Staff Radiologist, Baptist
Health Systems of Florida Research Associate, Mount Sinai Hospital
of Miami Beach, 1324 Euclid Avenue, Suite 6, Miami Beach, FL 33139"

Regards,

Amit C.
Comment? mailto:MTID@yahoogroups.com

++++ new post - same topic ++++

From: "David Raj Minz" <davidminz@...>
Subject: Claire Rocha Melo

Dear Amit,

This is in response to Claire Rocha Melo's letter where she has
given you the full details of the trouble that she has gone
through to become an MT and you have likewise advised her. I also
think it is a good idea for her to migrate to a different city if
she wants to get into transcription. I myself am from a small place
like Bhubaneswar and I have gone through the same problems that she
has faced. I migrated to Bangalore and now I am working with
Healthscribe, which I think is the only company in India which
sends files directly from the MT after the MT has met a certain
accuracy criteria.

As far as getting adequate training is concerned, one cannot say if
it is good or bad till you move out to a different company and
start work. The best part about Healthscribe is that when you join
you join in training. So even if you have gone through training in
some company, here you again go through it so that you can cope
with the kind of work that Healthscribe does. Believe me there is
no other place like Healthscribe in this business in India.

Regards

David Raj Minz

Comment? mailto:MTID@yahoogroups.com

[MODERATOR COMMENT]

<Believe me there is no other place like Healthscribe in this
business in India.>

Hmmmmm.......

I really don't need to comment on this one - do I? ;)

Amit C.
Comment? mailto:MTID@yahoogroups.com

++++ new post - same topic ++++

From: Shane Rebello <janinerebello@...>
Subject: Future of MT

Dear Amit,

Many thanks for your newsletter dated October 4, 2002. It was
indeed, highly informative and thought provoking!

Can you help me, please? I am a trained MT but with no practical
work experience as the company that employed me closed down due to
financial litigation, immediately after my nine months of MT
training course was completed. Currently, there are no MT companies
stationed in Goa.

I would be very grateful to you or anyone on on this list if you
can offer me any information or suggestions that could help me in
pursuing a career in MT.

Thanking you, for all your help in advance.

Sincerely,

Shane
Comment? mailto:MTID@yahoogroups.com

++++ new post - same topic ++++

From: Roushan Ali <roushanali02@...>
Subject: Which cities have better prospects for MT business

Dear Sir,

Peace be upon you. May you be successful in your mission.
I am related to MT industry for almost 2 years, but I with my some
friends are interested to open an MT training institute with the
production house. Can you give me the name of some Cities which are
lacking in this field but do have great prospects for MT business,
except Kolkata, Bombay, Delhi, and Chennai. I will be grateful to
you.

Thanking you,

Roushan Ali
Comment? mailto:MTID@yahoogroups.com

++++ new post - different topic ++++

From: <ProfMedicalTrans@...>
Subject: Question/HIPAA/INDIA

Hi Amit & all in India!

Under HIPAA, will US medical facilities who desire to maintain
their transcription services in India be in compliance. I have
heard that it is a violation to use medical transcription services
outside the USA. Any comments or input to this question?

Derrick Smith
Comment? mailto:MTID@yahoogroups.com

[MODERATOR COMMENT]

Dear Derrick,

Under HIPAA, A medical transcription service provider would be
classified under the definition of a Business Associate.

Civil and criminal penalties can be imposed for non-compliance with
HIPAA. The imposition of these penalties are against Covered
Entities (e.g. healthcare provider) but not directed directly
against Business Associates (e.g. medical transcription service
organization).

US Healthcare providers should ask their transcription company
about their privacy and security regulations and ensure that they
are contractually obligated to comply with these regulations.

MTSOs must be able to support two requirements. Ensure the security
and confidentiality of the patient's Protected Health Information
(PHI) and maintain an audit trail of all individuals who have had
access to a PHI. This means that transcription service providers
must implement technology and business processes in their operation
to support these two key requirements.

These obligations remain the same, whether the transcription is
done within the US or outside its borders. Many nationals are using
the internet to deliver in the US - the same security protocols are
needed for a business based out of India. Under no circumstances,
can HIPAA be interpreted to read "it is a violation to use medical
transcription services outside the USA."

Regards,

Amit C.
Comment? mailto:MTID@yahoogroups.com

========== BILLBOARD =============

From: Kishore Ramkumar Ganguly <kr_ganguly@...>
Subject: Re: Arti's article on conman...

Dear Maj Amit Chatterjee,

I must say you are doing an excellent job for MTIndia which serves
as a platform for people to exchange their opinions and
suggestions, thereby making people more aware about this profession
and letting them think in a wider perspective.

This is regarding the article by Arti(MTIndia Digest #87) on Apurva
Patel, Proprietor of Zenvision Infoworks, Mumbai. I totally endorse
Arti's views on Apurva Patel's crookedness. He has cheated many
people by making them as his associates, getting his work done, and
when his associates asked for the payment after some months, he
came up with stupid complaints like the accuracy is very poor, etc.
which he could not prove. Thus he had his work done free of cost!
He, along with one Harshad Dholakia (Proprietor of Compusys Systems
Ltd., Mumbai) and one Pankaj Mehta are into this dirty racket.
Moreover, Apurva & Co. have not returned the security deposit of
25, 000/- that they had taken from the MTs even after more than 1.5
years since completion of the one year contract. These people are
just fooling around with other people's money and careers.

I have got immense respect for this profession and it is very sad
to note that due to people like Apurva Patel, a honorable
profession like medical transcription has not really picked up in
India, especially in a cosmopolitan city like Mumbai, where there
are lots of highly skilled MTs who are leaving the MT field due to
frustration and disappointment of being cheated in some way or the
other.

I am sure that this is not an isolated case and there are many
Apurva Patels in India cheating thousands of MT aspirants, and I
request people to come forward and expose such unscrupulous people.
Unless and until such people are blacklisted, this industry will
not prosper in India.

Thank you for allowing me to present my case.

Regards,

Kishore Ganguly
Comment? mailto:MTID@yahoogroups.com

----------------------------------------------------
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