MT India Newsletter

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18 October 2003
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Yahoo Groups banned in India!

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Dear Friends,

For those of you who have been mailing us regarding non receipt of all
MTIndia ezines, as also those not so bothered, please visit the following:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/3148288.stm

http://www.ciol.com/content/news/2003/103092608.asp?nl=ctt-9_26_2003

At present all MTIndia ezines are hoisted at Yahoo! We have now backed up
our data from Yahoo, and are in the process of shifting to our own servers.
Until such time, we will continue this newsletter with Yahoo, however we
will be handicapped by not being able to access the administrative options
online - something like a double blind clinical trial!

If this newsletter goes through fine and the Feds don't pick me up for
sending it :o), we will also be sending you the jobs newsletter in text
format. The coffee break is suspended temporarily, until we are back to HTML
publishing (which should be very soon).

As for the MTID, our oldest and staunchest group, it has been on my mind for
quite some time. You would have noticed that the publication become
irregularly irregular since after MT week. Though this particular group is
over 5 years old and with over a 5000 strong membership, relevant and
thought provoking posts had become less and less frequent. As you know, MTID
is a moderated discussion list, where content is the discussion generated by
members. I frankly am of the opinion that the MTID needs a fresh person at
the helm and some new blood - and a bit of rekindling. So until that fresh
blood surfaces, I will lay this list to rest for the time being. I invite
our members to discuss this issue at the Forum (should they be so inclined):
http://mtindia.org/forum/default.cfm

Do enjoy the festivities, and take a well earned break!

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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NEWS AND VIEWS :
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1) Offshore outsourcing rumbles along

The outsourcing of medical transcription services shows no signs of abating,
according to several industry experts. If anything, it signals the possible
exodus of other "non-core" medical jobs to far-flung nations where the work
can be done cheaper.

John McCarthy, group director for research at Cambridge, Mass.-based
Forrester Research, says exporting transcription jobs is "old news."

Chris Hopkins, director of corporate recruiting and retention at
transcription service Medquist, Marlton, N.J., says domestic
transcriptionists aren't losing jobs, or salary. In fact, he says, offshore
outsourcing results from a shortage of U.S. workers.

Analysts, consultants and transcription firms cite cases where--as a result
of the 25 to 60 percent cost savings on labor--transcription companies in
places like India are able to afford superior infrastructure with greater
security than is available in America.

Though it may be a bitter pill for domestic transcriptionists to swallow, it
is true that offshore transcription work often is superior to what is
produced domestically, says Linda McAuley, a vice president and consultant
at Cap Gemini Ernst & Young's Los Angeles offices.

http://www.healthcare-informatics.com/issues/2003/10_03/trends.htm

2) Spryance to invest $5 m for Medical Transcription

Spryance Inc, a healthcare BPO firm, is infusing $ five million in its India
operations to augment its medical transcription (MT) activity by upgrading
its Quality Assessment (QA) hub at Tidel Park, Chennai, and to install a
second QA facility as a back up and for catering to increasing global demand
for high value health information management (HIM).

Raj Malhotra, president and CEO, Spryance Inc, said, 'since we started
three-and-half years ago we had phenomenal progress in the medical
transcription market and will be leveraging our proven technology and
infrastructure into new arena of health care management like billing and
coding outsourcing'.

Spryance India Pvt Ltd (SIPL), does sub-contract MT processing for over 125
US hospitals and clinics through 35 medical transcription service
organisations (MTSOs) with a growth exceeding 25 per cent in the past
consecutive 12 quarters. The soft arm of the World Bank, the International
Finance Corporation (IFC) ploughed in $3 mn and another $4 mn contributed by
management, resulting in the paid up equity of $ seven million for the
Spryance, Inc. For India operations, Spryance is now investing $ five
million taking its overall investment in the country to $ nine million till
date.

http://newstodaynet.com/17sep/bu1.htm

3) HealthScribe Increases Ownership Share in India-Based Operation

HealthScribe, Inc., announced it has signed an agreement to acquire Max
India Limited's equity stake in Max HealthScribe Limited (MHL) increasing
HealthScribe's current ownership in MHL to a controlling interest of
approximately 85%. MHL, originally founded by HealthScribe in 1994, provides

medical transcription services to hospitals, clinics and physician practice
groups through a joint venture arrangement with HealthScribe Inc.

"HealthScribe's increased equity stake in MHL is a key component of our
growth strategy as we continue building the premier BPO Services Company in
the US. Fundamental to our approach is the continued development of balanced
resources within both the US and offshore rather than focusing singularly on
the utilization of US or offshore resources," stated Dave Ehrhardt,
HealthScribe's President and COO. "This balance in resources allows
HealthScribe to provide the highest quality and most timely services in the
industry while maintaining competitiveness in pricing."

http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release_html_b1?release_id=57975

4) ACUSIS Announces Appointment of Technical Training Manager

Acusis announced that Changhsu Peter Liu has joined the Company in the role
of Technical Training Manager, the second strategically created technical
position for the Company in the last month. The position is designed to
highlight the company's commitment to technical training as a core
competency for continued corporate success.

In his new role, Liu will be instrumental in leading Acusis to expand the
learning culture, particularly with elearning as it relates to customers and
their specific needs. In addition to increasing overall external process
management and efficiency, Liu will drive the same learning initiatives
internally as cross-departmental processes between operations in India and
the United States.

<http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_vi
ew&newsId=20031016005095&newsLang=en>

5) BPO, ITES growth put at $24 b by '08

THE size of BPO and ITES (IT Enabled Services) business in the country has
been pegged at $21-$24 billion by 2008. Global outsourcing of BPO and ITES
operations to India will continue in the years ahead, according to Mr S.
Mahalingam, Chief Financial Officer of Tata Consultancy Services.

Speaking at a national conference on ITES organised by the Confederation of
Indian Industry, Mr Mahalingam said the ITES segment would grow at a rate
which would be faster than the growth in IT services. In 2002-03, the ITES
industry in India generated a revenue of Rs 11,700 crore, a rise of over 65
per cent from 2001-02.

Growth in the ITES segment would provide a boost for employment generation
and increased foreign exchange earnings. The size of the global market for
ITES is expected to touch $1.2 trillion by 2006. Besides call centres, this
would be accounted for by online information, medical transcription, back
office processing, etc.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2003/09/28/stories/2003092801340100.htm

6) TN on the threshold of a high-growth corridor?

S Mahalingam, chief financial officer, Tata Consultancy Service (TCS),
pointed out to some of the factors and supporting environment that promote
faster IT growth in Chennai notably the abundance of highly- skilled and
technical manpower as many professional colleges have adopted IT syllabus
and focus now on updating with latest advances in emerging technologies. Add
to this, he said 'a reasonably good infrastructure, lower cost of operation
and booming domestic market for hardware and software make the State a hot
spot for outsourcing of a host of IT- enabled services, like BPO, call
centres, medical transcription and various back-office operations for global
firms'. The government policy initiatives should make domestic industry as
the chief driver of IT and ITeS growth and Chennai

http://newstodaynet.com/17oct/rf5.htm

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Thank you for your interest in MT India!

The MTIndia Team
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