MT India Newsletter Archives and Subscription @:
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12 Apr 2003

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The state of offshore transcription!

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Dear Friends,

We are publishing an article by Raj Krishnan, on the state of
offshore transcription, originally published in the print edition
of MT Times. Raj Krishnan holds an MBA from India and MS in
engineering from McGill University, Canada. Over the last 20 plus
years in North America, he has worked for Fortune 50 companies
including a Big Five consulting company, and Start-ups. He is a
co-owner of Netrascribe, a Medical Transcription company based in
Chennai and manages the US operations. Excerpts:

"The difference between MT outsourcing and other trades:

With medical transcription, every document you do is critical not
because of its monetary value but because of its context, use and
criticality. There is no room for error or way to recover from an
error.

To some extent it is like making doughnuts. It has to be made
everyday and made fresh. But the similarity stops there (even the
per unit margin is higher in the doughnut trade). In medical
transcription, when you find a bad report, you cannot throw it away
and replace it with a new one. Unlike durable goods or IT
outsourcing, there is no single specification or design that can be
used to check quality or ensure consistency of the final outcome in
MT.

The Evolution of offshore transcription companies:

Due to the early misconception about medical transcription, the
offshore transcription business attracted numerous new entrants who
were ill prepared. It was viewed as an opportunity to those who
either missed the IT boom or felt that they did not have the deep
technical skills to compete in that arena. It appealed to many as a
high-margin service industry that required minimum capital
investment and technical expertise that could be scaled with the
corresponding revenue increase. The job content was misunderstood
to be similar to a high-level data entry position and the basic
language skills of those with English as the second language was
considered adequate for the job. The training, skill levels and the
effort to deliver a quality product were underestimated.

Like most beginnings of a new industry, the fittest survived and
the industry is beginning to pull itself from the abyss. Those who
were determined to stay and make something out of the opportunity
are beginning to see their perseverance pay. Many who started with
the first MTIA (Medical Transcription Industry Alliance) conference
in Las Vegas and had the sustaining power to continue their
presence in the subsequent four annual sessions, notice a
significant difference in the perception of the offshore
transcription vendors. The last conference in Tampa, Florida ended
with the International Transcription opportunity session that was
attended equally by the vendors and potential customers. The
industry is beginning to recognize that the offshore companies
offer an opportunity to meet the demands of the industry. By
working together everyone can find a viable economic solution."

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

The article will be concluded next week. Enjoy!

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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NEWS AND VIEWS :
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1) Total eMed to pay $64M for EDiX

Total eMed has agreed to acquire EDiX Corp., a medical
transcription outsourcing subsidiary of IDX Systems Corp., for $64
million in cash. IDX had purchased EDiX in 1999, but the subsidiary
posted an operating loss of $3.1 million in 2002 because of higher
labor and related costs and software development costs. EDiX, which
delivers medical transcription services to more than 100,000
physicians at about 250 health systems, posted an operating income
of $5.3 million in 2001. Annual revenue rose from $95.6 million to
$112 million in 2002.

The purchase of EDiX, which has about 2,800 employees, should be
completed in the second quarter and make Franklin-based Total eMed
the second largest transcription company in the country with a
projected $150 million in revenue this year.

http://nashville.bizjournals.com/nashville/stories/2003/04/07/daily
25.html

2) Apollo Health Street bags MBPO order

Apollo Health Street has received a multi-year contract for over Rs
30 crore from a New York-based teaching hospital. Speaking at a
press meet in Mumbai, Divya Sehgal, vice-president, Apollo Health
Street, said, 'We are not keen at present in the medical
transcription space. We start off where medical transcription ends.
With countries like US cutting down on their budget for healthcare,
they need to reduce their processing costs. This is where we come
in.' Dr Vikram Chhatwal, CEO of Apollo Health Street, said, `This
order is the largest in the Indian healthcare industry and
reaffirms Apollo`s equity in the service provider space as a strong
player. Apollo`s MBPO foray will provide a comprehensive range of
services, including billing and coding services and claims
processing.

http://in.biz.yahoo.com/030312/77/2249t.html

3) New federal health privacy rules readied

Sweeping federal privacy rules take effect Monday, requiring
everything from sophisticated encryption software on hospital
computers to greater discretion when calling a patient's name in
waiting rooms. Even signature receipt sheets at pharmacies are to
be eliminated.

An idea of the law's complexity can be garnered from its name: The
Health Information Portability and Accountability Act Standards for
Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information.

Like other medical and dental practices, Orthopedic Surgeons is
trying to prevent all possible leaks. Its collection agency,
transcription service and mailing service have all been required to
sign confidentiality agreements. Even office cleaning staff must
sign the secrecy agreements, Loiselle said. Unauthorized disclosure
of patient information will be punished by a fine of up to $250,000
and a prison term of up to 10 years.

http://www.montanaforum.com/rednews/2003/04/10/build/health/health-
rules.php?nnn=2

4) Strain on training

Cathleen Hughes watches her instructor outline a long list of
subjects related to phlebotomy during a three-hour class at Everett
Community College Wednesday. Hughes, 44, is a laid off medical
transcriber who is taking retraining courses to learn how to draw
blood. New technologies made her job transcribing medical records
obsolete.

http://www.heraldnet.com/Stories/03/4/7/16746818.cfm

5) Mississippi Hospital Association's Diversified Services Partners
with Precyse Solutions

MHA DSI has signed a two-year exclusive agreement with Precyse
Solutions to co-market Precyse's Health Information Management
(HIM) services, replacing MedQuist as MHA DSI's
endorsed vendor for transcription services. Under the terms of this
new agreement, MHA DSI has agreed to promote Precyse services
exclusively, and Precyse has agreed to offer special terms on its
HIM services to MHA member hospitals. The new agreement will enable
MHA member hospitals to improve Health Information Management
processes, according to Julie McNeese, vice president for MHA DSI.

http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/cb_headline.cgi?&story_file=bw.
040703/230975699&directory=/google&header_file=header.htm&footer_fi
le=
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The MTIndia Team
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