MT India Newsletter - http://www.MTIndia.org/

Oct 11, 2008
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Reactions to the MT Study

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Dear Friends,

Here are some interesting excerpts from the article in "ADVANCE" -
Reactions to the MT Study
By Lynn Jusinski :

Quality:

<Gary David, PhD, associate professor of sociology at Bentley
College, Waltham, MA, ,after realizing no formal academic research
had ever been done on the medical transcription industry, himself
and two Bentley colleagues, Donald Chand, PhD, professor of
information and process management, and Angela Garcia, PhD,
associate professor of sociology, set out to do an in-depth study
of the industry.>

<Nearly half of MTs reported that they see how flagged errors are
resolved only rarely or never. Also, the survey showed that 59
percent of MTs transcribe for multiple physicians at multiple
hospitals and/or clinics. Dr. David's view is that if an MT isn't
told how a flagging issue was resolved, he or she may not know how
to resolve a similar issue in the future, which can affect quality.
Likewise, Dr. David noted, if an MT is transcribing for many
accounts, he or she might not be able to develop an ear for
physicians.>

Shortage:

<The work force is on the older side—77 percent of respondents are
older than 40. Dr. David commented that because there are no solid
numbers on the actual number of MTs working, there's no way to
determine if there is definitely a shortage.>

<Kathy Eberle, who works in QA, referred to the shortage as simply
a shortage of qualified MTs, rather than of all MTs. She's noticing
that many good MTs are leaving not just their positions, but the
industry, and they're going back to school to start different
careers. "With quality MTs, we're truly lacking at the moment,"
Eberle added.>

Salary:

<One certainty in the MT industry is that wages aren't heading
upward. In the survey, MTs reported varied personal incomes, with
the majority, 72 percent, bringing home $10,000 to $50,000
annually.>

<Dr. David called the industry "one of the only places where the
laws of supply and demand don't work." There may be fewer
transcriptionists and there's a greater demand for transcription
services. "[That] should mean that [MTs] get paid more, but their
pay doesn't increase—if anything it goes down or stagnates—and so
part of it is linked to how there's just no perceived value in what
it is they do," he explained.>

Offshoring:

<Chris Hopkins, COO, Landmark Transcription, hopes the study
highlights the fact that offshoring labor is doing what he called a
"disservice to the industry." "I think if people focus on providing
a livable wage to the transcriptionists with a reasonable package
of benefits and a decent schedule, the labor pool will become
deeper and broader because more people will start to come into the
industry," he explained.>

Read more about the Reactions to the MT Study:
http://health-information.advanceweb.com/Editorial/Search/AViewer.aspx?AN=HI_08a\
ug25_hip20.html&AD=08-25-2008

Cheers!

Dr Amit Chatterjee, SM
Strategist / Founder ~ amit.chatterjee <at> mtindia.org
MT India ~ www.mtindia.org
"The Community of MT Professionals"

"It takes years to become an overnight success! Inch by inch, it's
a cinch."

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NEWS AND VIEWS :
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1) CBaySystems in transcription services deal with Medquist

CBaySystems Holdings Ltd. said its wholly-owned company CBay
Systems & Services Inc. has entered into an agreement with MedQuist
Inc., to outsource certain medical transcription services to
CBaySystems production centres. CBaySystems recently acquired a
69.5 percent stake MedQuist, one of the world's largest medical
transcription service organizations.

http://www.hemscott.com/news/static/tfn/item.do?newsId=67010082546570

2) Spheris inks deal with Community Health

Spheris announced it has entered into an exclusive, five-year
agreement with Community Health Systems Professional Services
Corporation (CHS), a subsidiary of the nation's leading operator of
community-based hospitals, to provide medical transcription
technology and services to all of its affiliated hospitals.

Further underscoring Spheris' competitive advantage in the medical
transcription industry is CHS' decision to make an equity
investment in Spheris. As a new minority owner in the company, CHS
will assume two positions on the Spheris Board of Directors.
Effective Oct. 3, 2008, Martin G. Schweinhart and James W.
Doucette, both CHS senior executives, joined the Spheris Board of
Directors. At that same time, Wayne Smith, who had been an
independent Spheris board member for more than seven years, stepped
down from his position.

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/spheris-community-health-systems-professio\
nal/story.aspx?guid={15483B4C-F5F4-46D6-87C8-9B71A6B7B1FC}&dist=hppr

3) Nuance acquires Philips speech-recognition business

Speech-recognition software vendor Nuance Communications has
acquired Netherlands-based Royal Philips Electronics' Speech
Recognition Systems (PSRS) unit for E66m ($96.1m) to strengthen its
presence in the European healthcare market. PSRS provides
speech-recognition applications in 25 languages, and has more than
8,000 installations and 100 integration partners worldwide. It had
170 employees and sales of E25m ($35m) in 2007. Nuance said the
acquisition will enable it to use PSRS's partner channel to offer
speech-enabled clinical documentation and communication
applications for the healthcare market.

The company expects the acquisition to add revenue of between $36m
and $39m in fiscal 2009, and its healthcare business to generate
worldwide revenue in excess of $410m. The acquisition is in line
with the company's strategy to expand its presence in the
healthcare market. In North America approximately $10 billion is
spent each year for medical transcription alone. In Europe an
estimated $2 billion is spent each year for manually processing
clinical information.

http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/1918856/

4) Making diversity work

"Don't we buy a Windows licence without making an issue out of it?
Corporates must also look at JAWS as a facilitator to tap a talent
pool that is readily available and long neglected," says K.C.
Anand, CEO, Healthsoft USA Llc, a Chennai-based medical
transcription company. The company aims to build a staff that
comprises at least 25 per cent of differently-abled persons. "A lot
of Venkateshes are waiting to be handpicked by companies with
opportunities," feels Venkatesh, 34, a veteran employee at
Healthsoft. Having been with the company for more than seven years
now, he says he has not felt the "seven-year-itch" yet. Content
with his employer, he is also the brand ambassador for the company.
Anand believes differently-abled people have better productivity
levels, and are sincere at their work. "They are more focused and
stable.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/life/2008/08/29/stories/2008082950020100.htm

5) Wellness Aided by Technology

Manipal Cure and Care (MCC) introduced the concept of wellness
along through its retail healthcare model, with six units at
different locations like Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad and Bangalore with
wellness, preventive, beauty and cosmetic care as the focus area.
MCC wanted to have an IT solution which will be utilised for
personal interactions while bringing in operational efficiency
along with enhanced customer experience.

ezEMRx allows the physicians to enter data using third party voice
recognition software. With this technology all that a physician
would do is speak through a microphone connected to the
workstation/ computer. The letters, notes are entered verbally with
words and then it gets converted into text, thus saving time. Yet
another aspect is that doctors are generally known to have bad
handwriting, so there is a possibility that while prescribing
medicines in written format the pharmacist ends up giving a wrong
drug. But when the same information is told verbally the software
has the capability to record it in text, thus avoiding prescription
errors.

http://www.expresshealthcaremgmt.com/200809/itspecial02.shtml

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The MTIndia Team
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