07 Dec 2002

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Stopping Overseas Outsourcing Initiative

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Dear friends,

Last week we carried a preview of a group called Tighten Up America
who want to raise awareness and change the laws so that Americans'
medical records cannot be sent overseas to countries like the
Philippines, Pakistan and India, to be transcribed as they are now.

For obvious reasons, we do not support this group. But as a media,
it is our responsibility to carry news related to MT, and
especially so if it concerns offshore outsourcing, which is our
bread, if not butter:)

I have said it before, but for new entrants to our community,
MTIndia.org was conceptualized, and launched within 48 hrs of
MTDesk/MTChat declaring their policy to resist offshore
outsourcing - July 26th, 1999 is the date as per our records. It
was a knee-jerk reaction from our side, but one I have no regrets
on:)

Nevertheless, we have tried to keep MTIndia as the offshore
outsourcing voice, regardless of what is the political scenario in
Pakistan, Philippines etc. We tried to cater to all offshore
outsourcing units, but I read India as a subcontinent, similar to
what some in USA read Canada to be a part of America!

I would request you all to click on the link below (cut and paste
in your browser, and take care of the part of the link has been
wrapped around, and to add it.)

http://www.mtchat.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=10&t=0
02043&p=

These are a few statements I am quoting from one supporter of this
movement, which are not only factually incorrect, but ..... fill in
the blanks, I don't want to sound emotional :(

Quote "HighDesertMT":
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This practice is a threat to National Security.
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Highly personal information about U.S. citizens being sent into
countries where anti-American sentiment errupts with regularity,
where "governments" are at best, shaky, where faction/clan/family
puts you on one side or another or both, if you're smart; where
people are starving and dying and trying to make money anyway they
can; where "doctors" sweep floors and empty bedpans (or "Q/C"
transcription) for $100 per month-- cannot be anything but a
dangerous and stupid thing to do.
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The problem I see with your evaluation, however, are the political
realities of India and Pakistan. Take Afghanistan as a good example
of "biting the hand". Although the U.S. and allies came in there
and effectively liberated the people from the repressive Taliban
regime, poured in food and consumer goods and money, we are now
fighting all the other little warlords and clans who want to impose
their own set of rules and regs and kill the other guys. Loyalty
all depends on what faction/religion/clan/family to which you
belong. The concept of "one India" or "one Pakistan" similarly
doesn't exist because of the interminable ancient hatreds.

Americans don't realize that the peoples of these countries are
different than we are. I could visualize the sensible scenario you
describe, but I can also visualize the opposition-- the
"hand-biters" who will strive to overturn whatever status quo the
other guy manages. I just don't believe having this database of
U.S. citizen's highly personal information in such a powderkeg is
wise.

But, I do believe that there isn't enough rice in China to feed
their people, and that our import of goods and services from China
is probably mandatory. China, however is a lot different than
India, Pakistan, Indonesia, et al.
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If you see absolutely no risk in sending our medical records
overseas, should we invite the Iraqis to transcribe? Or perhaps the
Libians? If not, please describe why. If yes, please describe why.

Also give us your thoughts on why India and Pakistan are making the
greatest push on our industry, and not say, Chile or Argentina,
France, or Russia.
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But, have you failed to miss the anti-American demonstrations in
India? Are you aware that support for the U.S. endangers the
current government there? Government support for the U.S. means
that people will die in the streets of those countries.
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The Sikhs fought with and for the British and were very proud of
that. They also massacred their fellow Indians. They are now being
massacred. That is just one realities of death and politics of
India. Oh, BTW the Sikhs also want their own homeland carved out of
India.
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You know a Canadian government minister called our President a
moron! She was French-Canadian, though.

I don't think sending our records anywhere is a good idea. With all
the world intelligence operatives casting about for things to do
post-Cold War... Even our "friends" spy on us.
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What I regret is that not one Indian/Offshore company/individual,
including CBay, tried to get on the discussion to refute such
untruths. Skip "somebody from C-bay" :) - do you read me? I know it
was Thanksgiving, and you must be stuffing on the Turkey, but...

Anyway the remark for you was, "Skip says there's a shortage of
American MTs. Baloney. Companies outsource because it saves them
the big bucks." Invite your comments here Skip, if the "Hot Zone"
is too hot for you.:)

(Sorry Subho - didn't see your response until just now - thanks
for speaking aloud)

On the flip side, I found all the well known cheerleaders of the
"anti-offshore" (read anti-India) outsourcing, reacting extremely
rationally and factually. A step towards, in my opinion, to show
that things have turned a full circle.

We invite our members to discuss issues further at the forum:
www.mtindia.org/Forum/default.cfm

Or at our moderated discussion list:
www.mtindia.org/mtdigest/default.htm

It's the end of Ramzan, and heralding of Id. I wish all of you a
wonderful Id! Id Mubarakh!

Cheers!!!

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

"It takes years to become an overnight success."

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

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NEWS AND VIEWS :
-----------------------------

1) AAMT supports MTIA Billing Principles

Verifiability: A medical transcription billing method should be
subject to verification, with such verification being available to
parties to the transaction.

Definability: A medical transcription billing method should
accurately define all measurements and be free from definitional
ambiguity.

Measurability: A medical transcription billing method should allow
for complete understanding of the formulas used in its calculation
and result in a clear and concise invoice.

Consistency: A medical transcription billing method should be
generally reliable and consistent in its application.

Integrity: A medical transcription billing method should be fair
and honest, resulting in invoices that accurately reflect and
charge for services rendered.

http://www.aamt.org/agate/aamt_oms/downloads/MTIABillingMethodPrinc
iples.doc

2) Single vendors manage multiple processes

The key outsourcing trend until recently has been focused around
on-site delivery. However the off-shore model of doing business is
gaining popularity. This development is due to the improved telecom
infrastructure, the expansion of the Internet and the gradual
emergence of off-shore destinations such as India in the Asia Pac
region.

Other trends include the fact that BPO players are emerging either
as process specialists such as HR vendors or as industry
specialists (those offering solutions for a set of industries such
as financial services, healthcare etc.)

According to a report by PwC, Process and industry specialists have
the following advantages:

After an initial investment in developing a solution, the
incremental investment in subsequent customization is low
The familiarity with the associated process or industry leads to a
more efficient delivery model.

PwC believes that technology expertise would not be a major
differentiator among competitors and is the easiest to build.

http://www.nasscom.org/newslines/ites_update.asp

3) Bringing medical transcription into the modern age

When digital recorders came out in 1998, Dr. Molin started using
one and saw an opportunity. "Dictation was typically done at that
point on microcassettes. You can't fly a microcassette from one
side of the country to another country. But having a digital file
creates an opportunity for doing transcription in a more efficient
and reliable fashion. I thought it would be a great opportunity to
do transcription offshore."

He based the transcription business in South Africa because he's
originally from there; it's an English-speaking country; it has an
abundance of highly skilled medical transcriptionists; and it has a
lower labor cost than the United States.

Words of wisdom: "Good ideas are a dime a dozen. The devil is in
the details. What might make a business succeed or fail is how you
manage the details. "The second key thing is make sure you have
adequate capitalization. You will always underestimate the amount
of money you're going to need to get a business off the ground.
Whatever you think you need, multiply it by three, and you're still
going to need more. "The third thing is you've got to be very
motivated and obsessed with what you want to do. You've got to be
100% committed to making it work."

http://www.ama-assn.org/sci-pubs/amnews/pick_02/bisb1209.htm

4) Telecom sector needs $60 bn investment

`With the recent telecom revolution in India and China, India can
cash on opportunities such as business process outsourcing like
legal and medical transcription,` said Nanik Rupani, chairman,
electronics and telecommunication committee of Indian Merchant
Chambers (IMC), in a press meet, in which the international
conference on communication convergence was formally announced. It
is estimated that India needs $60 billion investment by 2005 in the
telecom sector to keep up with the planned increase in teledensity.
According to the IMC panelists, who were discussing the
opportunities in the telecom sector, the business opportunity
offered by this new wave in India has tremendous potential, and
needs to be explored and tapped by way of domestic and foreign
investments.

http://in.biz.yahoo.com/021204/77/1ysla.html

5) India becomes global back office

It is past 11 a.m. in Fremont, Calif. and a typical shopper is
browsing through JC Penney's Web site to pick up gifts for
Christmas. The attractive Internet display lured the shopper to buy
more than she planned, and she wanted to know if she could get a
credit extension. She fires off an e-mail inquiry and gets an
almost instant reply. She is impressed with the customer service.

But what is even more impressive -- and perhaps unknown to her --
is that her e-mail was processed and answered in the middle of the
night, more than 8,000 miles away, from a back office processing
outfit in New Delhi, India. India, has become an electronic
housekeeper to the world, taking care of a host of routine
activities, like customer relations, accounting, billing, credit
card/payment processing, insurance, medical transcription,
engineering drawing and the likes, for companies across the world.

http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20021129-105122-9297r

6) Homeland Security vs. Personal Privacy

Civil libertarians have warned that the homeland security bill
passed by Congress and the Senate, taken in context with broadened
surveillance powers and new database technology, represents an
unprecedented threat to personal privacy. The Senate has voted
overwhelmingly to create a new Homeland Security Department after
the House passed a nearly identical version of the bill last week.
A major area of contention involved permitting the department to
develop a Total Information Awareness program that will sift
through electronic data, such as medical records, in search of
possible terror plots.

http://www.hipaadvisory.com/news/2002/1120usapatriot.htm

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Thank you for your interest in MT India!

The MTIndia Team
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