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05 Feb 2005
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ADVERTISEMENT:
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Worldtech, a major player in Medical Trancription in India is on
the lookout for people to strengthen their operations in Hyderabad,
Cochin, Bangalore, Guntur, Kolkata, Vizag and Coimbatore. We need
quality MTs and QAs with good background. Remuneration package
linked to skill and productivity. Relocation assistance will be
provided.

Click here for further details:
http://www.mtindia.org/worldtech.html

Initial interviews and screeening will be done in your city itself.

Home based option after initial onsite placement.

Send your resume or speak to:

Venkat Nimmagadda, GM- HR
Worldtech MGR Estates
Saibaba Temple Road, Punjagutta
Hyderabad -500 082
Email: Contactus@...
Phones: 040-2335-2697/2698/2700

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MT & The Visually Handicapped...

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Dear Friends,

Is it possible for the visually handicapped to take up MT? It looks
a tall order! But here's a mail from one of those who is treading
the path. I am carrying this mail without any editing:

Hi friends, I am Mohanagiri. Wow! Now I think that I can call you
friends, because I am also a Medical Transcriptionist [MT]. Yes,
being an MT is great, but for me it is double great, for I have
achieved a really challenging task. You see, I am a visually
handicapped person. I am suffering from RP (Retinitis pigmentosa).
It is impossible for me to see the monitor and read, but I believed
in myself and I was very confident that I can achieve great things,
if I dedicate myself. There is always a way, if there is the will
to find it. I started training myself to become an MT in the
November 2004. Thanks to my friends Mr. Varun and Mr. Sureshbabu
who have and are working very hard behind the scenes for my
success, now I can say with confidence that I am an efficient MT. I
say to you that I am as good as any other MT. I have planned to
start my career as an MT in the month of April after getting an
extended exposure to the art of Medical Transcription.

My sincere thanks to my dear friend and classmate, Mr. Varun, who
with no hesitation agreed to teach me the art of hearing in detail
when I rang him up one day to help me. Varun has already achieved
a lot in MT, apart from his quality and dedication that all his
co-workers and MT friends are aware of, he has also got
international recognition with his MT website www.mt.4-all.org /
www.mtvarun.cjb.net.

My thanks to MTIndia.org also. When I first thought of getting in
to MT, I first visited MTIndia.org and it was from here that I got
in touch with my friend and MT guru Varun.

Now all I need is your encouragement and support so I shall
continue achieving great things. I may be an inspiration for people
like me.

With regards,

A. S. Mohanagiri
Medical Transcriptionist
mogu@...

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To participate in the Coffee Break XXIII, click here now:
http://www.mtindia.org/jobs/
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Ciao!

Dr Amit Chatterjee, SM
Strategist / Founder ~ mailto:amit@...
MT India ~ www.mtindia.org
"The Community of MT Professionals"

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NEWS AND VIEWS :
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1) Get ready for a fatter pay packet in 2005

Are you fresh out of college, looking for a job? Or are you
employed for quite some time? In both the cases, there's reason
enough for you to cheer.

At least that's what a salary survey conducted in 2004 indicates.
"Salary levels across the board have gone up in the past two years,
and it is expected to go up even higher," predicts Mr Harveen Bedi,
Business Head Quadrangle, Executive Search Arm of Naukri.Com.

The new economy sectors including IT and ITeS emerged as winners in
2004, where call centres and medical transcription firms handed out
the highest average salary increases in '04. Says Mr Bedi. "You
would be at least 30- 50 % behind your colleagues if you don't
change jobs in '05. However, if you aren't contemplating a change,
this is the best time for you to negotiate your worth with your
existing companies.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-989784,curpg-2.cms

2) Medical Transcription: Live once again

Medical transcription companies like Spryance are now expanding
their footprint in the country.

"I believe it was a simplistic view of the medical transcription
business, that all it required was for a person to listen and type,
that killed the industry. It led to several training schools being
set up which churned out low quality people. This was in a
situation where there was a desperate demand to offshore work for
cost reasons but the low quality killed the industry," says Rajiv
Shetye, vice president (operations) Spryance (India).

"India is the most significant outsourcing destination from the US,
Ireland and the Philippines being the other. Medical transcription
worth nearly $ 110 million is being outsourced to India. We have
been growing at 25% every quarter and expect this to continue."
Shetye said.

The sector, which got off to a hyped up start and then collapsed,
is now reviving and Shetye says the industry needs to seriously
look at training more and newer people. While that could be an
industry initiative, Spryance itself is examining the idea of
taking on doctors. The company was established in 1999, with angel
funding from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the
private investment arm of the World Bank.

Spryance has chosen the home-based medical transcriptionist (HMT)
model. This allows professionals to work from home, reducing costs
for Spryance. Another innovation to create small groups of
four-five medical transcriptionists, to be led by the one with the
best skills. This micro-entrepreneur model allows for a more
distributed network, without moving people from their existing
locations.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/995674.cms

3) STPI bullish on medical transcription

THE Software Technology Parks of India is confident of an
exponential growth in the Indian health care BPO space in the next
few years. "While the opportunity for growth is phenomenal, there
is a real dearth in the availability of trained manpower,
particularly in the medical transcription segment," the Director of
STPI (Chennai), Ms R. Rajalakshmi, said.

Industry estimates have put the annual requirement at 35,000 to
40,000 medical transcriptionists. "Instead of grabbing the
opportunity, people are apprehensive about future prospects, but
the career path is ones imagination," Ms Rajalakshmi told Business
Line. According to her, the need of the hour was in ensuring
quality training programmes to capture the available market.

In view of the growth potential, STPI decided to step in and give a
twist to the issue by joining hands with the transcription industry
association on the one hand and the institution on the other. Our
role is merely to oversee the quality of the training programme. We
will continue to add value to these programmes," she said and
hinted about a proposed incentive for the faculty too.

She hailed the coming together of smaller players in the medical
transcription space and of sharing information. "The medical
transcriptionist consortium is a healthy sign, particularly when
several US companies have set up subsidiaries in India to do
transcription business. "While the MNCs are welcome to establish
shop here, the domestic players should also be given an
opportunity. But they cannot work in isolation." In Coimbatore,
about 12 companies have become members of the Coimbatore
Transcription Industry Association (CTIA).

As per the MoU signed by the institutes, on completion of the
training, selected candidates would undergo an on the job training
for a further period of six months in one of the member companies
before being placed.

While stating that STPI would ensure training quality, Ms
Rajalakshmi said that some more colleges in this region had
indicated their keenness to offer such programme and effect
suitable changes in the course curriculum to include specialisation
in medical transcription.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2004/10/02/stories/2004100201290500.htm

4) Transcend Acquires Medical Dictation, Inc.

Transcend Services Inc announced the acquisition of Medical
Dictation, Inc. ("MDI"), a Florida-based medical transcription
service company, on January 31, 2005 in a stock purchase
transaction to be accounted for as a purchase.

MDI, which is located near Tampa in Brooksville, Florida, recorded
unaudited profitable operations on revenue of approximately $6.3
million in 2004. Transcend paid $4.8 million for all of the stock
of MDI. The purchase price consisted of $1.0 million cash paid at
closing; 96,775 shares of Transcend's common stock, par value
$0.05, with a fair market value of $300,000 issued at closing; and
a 5% promissory note of $3.5 million payable in equal annual
installments of principal plus accrued interest on each of the
first three anniversary dates after closing. Transcend expects this
transaction to be accretive to its internal projections of earnings
per share for each quarter in 2005. MDI will continue to operate as
a wholly-owned subsidiary of Transcend.

http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/050201/15236_1.html

5) SPI Technologies Establishes Largest Cross-border Delivery
Platform

SPI Technologies Inc., the world's largest independent content
outsourcing services provider, has expanded its customer service
delivery platform by opening up new facilities in Mexico, India and
the Philippines.

SPI's healthcare division undertook a significant ramp-up in its
global operations by building a new production facility in Cebu
City (Philippines) and expanding its existing operations in Manila.
Both these initiatives, which will accommodate up to 1,200
additional business process outsourcing specialists, will focus on
providing state-of-the-art, HIPAA-compliant medical transcription
and information management services to hospitals, multi-specialty
clinics, HMOs, insurance companies and health information
organizations in the U.S.

http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&ne\
wsId=20050202005632&newsLang=en

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The MTIndia Team
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