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15 Mar 2003

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How much can an "average MT" earn?

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Dear Friends,

Infoscript Services Pvt. Ltd. (Infoscript) was founded on 27th
January 1998 to conduct business in Medical Transcription.
It started the first batch of MT training on March 17, 1998. To
mark this occasion, each year Infoscript celebrates the company day
on 17th March. Operating in only one shift, 6 days a week, the
company achieved breakeven in the 3rd year and maintained decent
profitability for the last 2 years. Excerpts from an interview with
Managing Director, Mr. V. Narayanasamy:

Quotes:

"An average MT, who is capable of delivering say above 90% accuracy
@ 600 lines per day, requiring 100% proofreading, can expect to
earn something around Rs. 8,000 per month. In reality, we see a
wide variation in MT's capabilities, necessitating a salary
variation anything from Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 15,000. Editors/QCs can
expect to earn well above Rs. 15,000.

Regarding career growth, I would like the MTs to set their
expectations realistically. First of all, the MT must become
independent, requiring no editing support. Then, a large majority
of the MTs can only expect to become more "experienced" Independent
MT, with better salaries. This is the case with the US MT industry
and it can't be any different in India. Of course, some of the
trusted, most talented, experienced, and loyal MTs can hope to
reach positions like QCs, managers, and trainers."

"Managing HR in MT industry is proving to be a tough task for
everyone, as is the case with any new industry. This problem is
further compounded as (a) the current demand for
talented/good/trained people far exceeds the supply and (b) the new
entrants also never hesitate to lure away the experienced/trained
from the existing companies with higher salary. This is an ideal
situation for employees to freely exercise their will, with less
care. They tend to become more critical about the company and less
critical about themselves and usually end in switching jobs, with
lot ease."

"I don't think US MTs need to feel threatened about outsourcing,
since the quantum of work outsourced remain to be a very small
fraction and also we are not able to grow very fast.

Whether one likes it or not, businesses all over the world have
compulsions to do what they are doing. Why would any outsourcing
happen at the expense of the local jobs, unless businesses are
convinced about its benefits? In the current competitive
environment, to stay in business, companies are forced to find ways
to minimize costs. And if outsourcing to offshore companies can
help that, they go about outsourcing. Instead of resenting, it is
better for US MTs to start thinking as why these things happen. It
is the reality of the situation."

To read the complete interview, please go to:
http://www.mtindia.org/article/default.cfm

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! Inch by inch, it's
a cinch."

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Decode That Doctorspeak!

See if you can tell the medical jargon from the balderdash.
Learning can be fun!
eg.

Q1. If your doctor says, "Bag this one STAT," she means:
a) Discharge the patient immediately!
b) Send the body, marked Stopped Treatment: Alternate Triage, to
the morgue.
c) Put the patient on a respirator now!

Ans: (c) Put the patient on a respirator now! A respirator is a
device that maintains artificial respiration (aka breathing). To do
something STAT means to do it in a hurry.

For more, see:
http://www.lifetimetv.com/cgi/wd_doctalk.cgi?Stage=1&Set=1

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NEWS AND VIEWS :
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1) Getting contracts ready for patient privacy

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act regulations
require physicians to devise or revise contracts with their
business associates to comply with new protections for patient
health information. The goal is to make sure that businesses that
are not directly covered by the privacy rule still follow its
standards.

Contracts must lay out standard safeguards to avoid misuse of
patient data. Sample provisions are available from the Dept. of
Health and Human Services' Office of Civil Rights Web site
(http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa/contractprov.html).

http://www.ama-assn.org/sci-pubs/amnews/pick_03/gvsc0317.htm

2) The US BPO backlash: History favors India

There were tense moments this week owing to events at the New
Jersey Senate. The Senate was hearing a Bill - introduced by
Senator Shirley K Turner - which sought to stop the import of US
government's BPO work from other countries. Thankfully, the Senate
put the Bill on hold - giving Indian interests in BPO work a
temporary reprieve.

Sidney Weiss, president, US Custom and International Trade Bar
Association, for one, believes that the proposed Bill at the New
Jersey Senate will fail the test of constitutional validity as well
as the yardsticks set by the WTO. Such legislations fundamentally
violate the provisions of US Constitution and the WTO agreement, he
said.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow
?artid=39658011

3) US plan for BPO ban 'restrictive': India

State-level laws in the US to ban outsourcing of information
technology work to India would constitute a 'restrictive trade
practice', India has told the US. At the recent WTO
mini-ministerial meet at Tokyo, commerce minister Arun Jaitley and
commerce secretary Dipak Chatterjee took up the matter with US
trade representative Robert Zoellick. New Jersey has taken the lead
in attempting to adopt such a populist legislation.

Highly placed government sources told ET that while the proposed
legislation would wield power only over state contracts -
stipulating that "only US citizens or aliens permitted to work"
could service the same - it was a disturbing precedent that could
set off a 'restrictive trade practice'.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow
?artid=38108869

4) US IT unions gang up against outsourcing to India

Technology sector labour unions in the US wants the US Congress to
study the "disturbing trend" of US companies outsourcing work to
India. The Washington Alliance of Technology Workers, (WashTech),
an organisation of high-tech workers formed to advocate improved
benefits and workplace rights, is spearheading the campaign.

The WashTech considers offshoring the biggest body blow and it
wants employees to join the fight against it. WashTech claims that
IT giants such as Microsoft, HP and IBM are outsourcing work
offshore in a big way.

Sujay Chohan of Gartner India has been studying this trend for some
time now, he says, "Not only will there be a clear economic impact
but a social impact also. Indian government needs to address this
as soon as possible." Nasscom has been trying to be proactive
against the backlash of offshoring to India. The association has
already appointed a lobbying firm and a public relation agency to
explain the issue in US.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow
?artid=39134788

5) IACC talks to resolve New Jersey issue

The Indo-American Chamber of Commerce on Thursday suggested
discussions at the highest level between the India and the United
States administration to sort out the issues relating to New Jersey
Bill to prevent outsourcing of any work from public sector
enterprises, especially those from India.

IACC president Vinod Chandiok stated that free and frank
discussions between the two governments will help appreciate each
others' point of view and a mutually beneficial solution will
emerge.

IACC president observed that outsourcing should be seen as a macro
business process. It could be true that in the case of IT-enabled
services, India is a major destination for outsourcing the low-end
work like call centers, medical transcription etc because of the
large reservoir of talented people and low cost. The impact of
these cost cutting measures by these companies directly benefit the
US investors.

http://www.rediff.com/money/2003/mar/13nj.htm

6) Doctors computerize medication orders to reduce errors

Doctors at some Maine hospitals have switched from pen and paper to
computers to write medication orders, a move intended to reduce
errors that can lead to overdoses, allergic reactions and even
death.

Experts say the shift to computerization has been found to
substantially reduce transcription errors as drugs are prepared in
the pharmacy and delivered to patients. About half of Maine's 39
hospitals are now insisting that doctors type their own orders into
a computer, or are planning to make it a standard procedure in the
next year or so.

http://www.cmonitor.com/stories/news/newengla2003/me__hospitalorder
s_2003.shtml

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The MTIndia Team
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