02 Nov 2002

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Staying Alive, Both Sides Now!

~ Subhorup Dasgupta

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Dear Friends,

This is the concluding piece from Subho's article, continued from
last issue. To read earlier MT India Newsletters, see the archives
at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MTIndia

Enjoy !
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Continued from last issue...

What does lead to a lot of heartache is the fact that these people
often feel unrecognized and exploited. As a member of such a
group, I have often thought about what would make me feel
recognized and not exploited. As removed as it might be from what
I wish to believe about myself, the first thing that comes to my
mind is monetary compensation. Does that mean that I would be
happier in the same work conditions if I were paid more? Maybe
not, but that is what my mind keeps telling me, and I have seen
many a CT feel the same way. These are intelligent people who care
for the ozone and human rights and things like that, but when it
comes to feeling a sense of "worth" at their place of work, money
seems to be able to fix it. Also, one need only look at it from an
arithmetic point of view. The productive output of a person is
what determines the compensation. One needs only to compute one's
output, convert it to income and then deduct the overheads to
arrive at a realistic paycheck. I am sure once a CT does that,
this bug will not bother him or her any more. Of course, the
possibility is there that once this math is done, the CT is going
to get to see a side of the BO that was not obvious earlier. Best
of luck to both in such a scenario. The other thing that people of
our tribe look at is the position and the designation. From my
limited experience, I know for a fact that nothing kills
performance more than a designation. The only people I have seen
who rise in the organization and still remain highly productive are
people who have to think to remember what their "designation" is.
This business is one of teamwork, and the BOs have come to realize
that too. The successful BOs are turning out to be those who know
how to roll up their sleeves and get to typing stats if they have
to. The third thing that CTs feel strongly about is the stress and
the working hours. Of course that is not true with every service,
but it is true of large services where large volumes of work have
to ship before the sun sets. Compare this with the profile of the
CT and the other career options available that would pay as much or
more than medical transcription. Also, with the new commerce, the
rules are slowly changing. People in fields like ours work hard
and they play hard. They slog for months together and then they go
splurge on vacations. Most of the transcription services in India
are yet to be branded "large corporates." One would do well do
find out how life is in the so-called large corporates. Medical
transcription is a human endeavor and, over time, nobody has come
to understand that better than the BO, since at the end of the day,
all the BO has to count as his assets are his people.

The ones who have hung on in there are people with a different view
of things from the thousands who set the situation vacant columns
on fire a few years ago. Both the BO and the CT have matured and
have come a long way, not only on their personal journeys, but also
on the journey toward understanding the needs and the compulsions
and the limitations of each other. Satisfied workers are as
crucial to this business as are satisfied customers.

Business owners have to do their bit in finding ways and means to
enhance the quality of life of their committed transcriptionists
(any other path would mean losing them to a rival service), they
have to look at adding value to the compensation they offer to
their people. They need to compensate for what the committed
transcriptionist puts into the business. Often it is difficult to
convert that into money, and therefore, the BO needs to consider
things like offering vacations, gym or club memberships, sponsoring
courses in personal development, encouraging involvement in other
activities and causes, performance bonuses, offering services to
take care of routine tasks of daily living that the CT might not
find time to do, like day care for the children, paying bills,
undertaking routine household maintenance tasks, doing monthly
groceries, etc.

The transcriptionist has to understand and come to terms with not
only the highly demanding nature of the work that he or she does,
but also the highly demanding nature of the business. The CT has
to find ways of keeping alive and true the meaning of the work he
or she does, in the face of high stress, crazy deadlines (often
being called back from the open elevator doors), pay freeze, and
the physical price exacted by the work on your body and mind. The
choice to enter this field was ours, our business owners did not
thrust it upon us. The responsibility to take care of ourselves,
our bodies, minds, and spirits, is also ours.

Activities like yoga, noncompetitive sports, dancing, etc., are of
great help. Developing a hobby if one doesn't already have one is
of crucial importance. Save a small amount regularly to spend on
indulging yourself for the hard work that you do. Ask for
recreational amenities at your place of work. Share your passion
with others. Think about small ways that the workplace can be made
nicer and more likeable. Take your ideas to the office manager.
If you think it is a good idea, and nobody is listening, take it to
the directors. Carry your music along with you and force your boss
to listen to it (it is possible he or she will give you a payhike
rather than have to listen to it again). Forward email about your
pet causes to all at the workplace (preferably clicking on the send
button multiple times, you can always blame a slow connection
later). Tell everyone how much you like Thai food. Be a "pest."
That is the hallmark of a good transcriptionist. Ask any good
business owner.
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And here is wishing you all a Happy Festival of Lights!

Cheers!!! :)

Maj (Dr.) Amit Chatterjee, SM
Strategist/Founder ~ mailto:MTIndia@...
MT India ~ http://mtindia.org

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ADVERTISEMENT
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temporarily for further on job training. Permanent position will be
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Starting pay package Rs. 30,000 per month + benefits.

IMP: Please read our FAQs on Billing and Coding, before responding to
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Apply in confidence to:
Maj (Dr.) Amit Chatterjee, SM
amit@...

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NEWS AND VIEWS :
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1) Next, healthcare infomatics

The realisation has dawned that the global opportunity in health
care informatics could pass India and go to Taiwan and China, with
their larger numbers of trained professionals. Unless, of course,
Indian software professionals gear up and are certified according
to globally accepted standards for that vertical.

Healthcare infomatics, the application of information technology to
facilitate delivery of healthcare services, is set for huge
growth, particularly in the US. According to an estimate of the
Gartner Group, the US market of $40 billion in 2001 could become a
$60 billion opportunity by 2004 and would involve patients being
able to access secure electronic medical records, go online and
schedule appointments, look for the best hospital...

The business opportunity in healthcare infomatics includes external
services and software, which are growing annually at 14%, internal
services at 3% and hardware at 5.5%.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/xml/comp/articleshow?ar
tid=26794090&sType=1

2) ITES cos on the prowl for fresh talent

Though the proverbial silver lining still eludes the small fries
engaged in software business, the IT-enabled services (ITES) and
companies dealing in niche technologies have been on the prowl for
the past few months. While the software companies have hired lesser
numbers, the ITES companies have employed larger manpower and this
trend is likely to continue for some months.

Riding this high tide of expansion are the MT companies like Saral
in Ahmedabad and Fortune Infotech in Baroda. The Baroda-based
Fortune Infotech, is also looking to add around 150 people to its
400-men BPO and medical transcription company. "There has been a
resurgence in medical transcription and low-end BPO business is
also expanding," he said.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/xml/comp/articleshow?ar
tid=26800345&sType=1

3) Reflecting the shifting trends in IT

This year's IT.com will highlight the emerging sectors in the
industry - Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), E-governance, and
Banking and Finance - reflecting the shifting trends in the real
world.

BPO, outsourcing of business processes, got its spur from the down
turn in the US economy two years ago. As companies in the US and
Europe turned to outsourcing to cut their own costs, India found
its next wave in IT - as a provider of outsourced services. Every
day, the term BPO is getting newer meanings, as companies
experiment with new kinds of services that India can offer. The
first ones were the voice-based call centres and medical
transcription units; then companies such as HP and E&Y started
doing the accounting processes offshore. Wipro offered remote
reading of X-rays by radiologists in Bangalore for hospitals
abroad. Today, there is talk of even Business Printing Outsourcing
by WeP Peripherals.

http://in.biz.yahoo.com/021027/17/1wzy2.html

4) Keonics to focus on BPO, medical transcription training

State-owned Karnataka State Electronics Development Corporation
(Keonics) is focussing on training in the business process
outsourcing (BPO) and medical transcription segments to boost its
growth, reports The Economic Times.

According to Bhaskar Rao, MD of Keonics, the company will set up a
separate centre in Bangalore to impart ITES and BPO training and
will also move its medical transcription training outside Bangalore
to Hubli, Mysore and Mangalore.

The state government, CII and STPI are working with McKinsey to
create a million jobs in the ITES industry by 2010.

http://in.biz.yahoo.com/021102/77/1x99r.html

5) Arcamatrix Announces Debenture Closing and Warrant Extension

Arcamatrix Corporation announced the closing of its August 1st
Debenture. The Company raised $304,000 out of a maximum offering of
$325,000. The principal amount of the Debenture comes due on
October 31, 2003.

Arcamatrix is a medical services company specializing in the
generation of medical reports. The Company's first product,
Arcamedx, produces medical reports from dictated digital voice
recordings, and provides secure digital document storage and
delivery for physicians, healthcare professionals, clinics and
hospitals. The Arcamedx system operates as an Internet-based
Application Service Provider (ASP) offering healthcare
professionals secure document distribution, and providing
value-added services such as transcription. Transcribed documents
may be returned to the physician and securely stored within the
Arcamedx system or delivered with the original voice recordings or
diagnostic images, attached. These reports are easily
integrated into Practice Management and/or Electronic Medical
Records systems.

http://www.newswire.ca/releases/November2002/01/c7716.html

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Mediweb Infotech Pvt. Ltd. All cited articles are copyright of
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The MTIndia Team
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