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15 May 2004

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A Happy MT Week!

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Dear Friends,

We dedicate this issue to the committed Indian MT - those who
untiringly transcribe and enjoy doing so! Unfortunately, their
numbers are limited, and that is the reason we remain such a small
industry. Nevertheless, wherever they are, I take time out to thank
them, and let them know their work is appreciated. If the US MTs
consider the offshoring industry to be a threat today, it is
because of these unknown "soldiers," who have proved over the last
decade, by consistently delivering quality, that they are second to
none. Your shoulders are the pillars for the MTSOs to compete
on quality and TAT in the market, rather than on costs. I salute
your efforts and dedication.

While the week is dedicated to you, it is also your responsibility
to further the cause of the profession, in your own area. Here are
a few guidelines from the AAMT:
http://www.aamt.org/scriptcontent/emtweek.cfm?section=events

On another front, let us share the plans for MT week. This is what
MT India will be doing:
- An online quiz, every day from 18th to 20th with attractive cash
prizes.
- A final round quiz on 22nd, to select the winner of the MT India
Quiz Contest '2004.

The Quiz will be online at www.mtindia.org/mtweek at 0600 hrs on
18th. Entries must reach us by 2200 hours, the same day.

Wishing you all A Happy MT Week!

Ciao!

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

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NEWS AND VIEWS :
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1) Doctors' mumbles bring grumbles from medical transcriptionists

The No. 1 problem in the industry is doctors who dictate poorly,
said George Heymont, managing partner of Alert & Oriented Medical
Transcription Services in San Francisco. "They talk too fast, where
no matter how much you slow it down, you can't understand it," he
said. "Or maybe English is their second language.
"They contradict themselves; they make up words. We're heard of
doctors eating while they're dictating. One even had a parrot in
the room, so you kept hearing this squawk."

http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/news/local/states/texas/northea
st/8573164.htm?1c

2) CBay, iLIANT join hands for synergy

CBay Systems Limited, Maryland, US, whose healthcare BPO services
are outsourced from its India offices in Mumbai, Bangalore and
Hyderabad has formed an alliance with iLIANT Corporation, Tampa, US
to provide medical transcription services.

A major player in software, business process outsourcing (BPO) and
consulting services for physician practices, iLIANT will hand over
the responsibility of managing its North Carolina, US, based
transcription clients to CBay which will assume operational charge
of that region.

A separate services agreement will allow iLIANT to extend CBay
transcription technology and services to its physician clients on
an ongoing basis. This will be of help to CBay which provides
transcription and information management services to physician
groups, hospitals, and integrated health care facility networks.
'The iLIANT agreement is a significant validation of our strategy
to lead in the healthcare transcription outsourcing market through
solutions that combine best practices and leading technology,' said
V Raman Kumar, chief executive officer, CBay.

http://newstodaynet.com/12may/bu7.htm

3) 'Offshoring' wave sweeps through specialty services

The phenomenon of offshore outsourcing - sending jobs overseas
where salaries and overhead are a fraction of that in the United
States - is now hitting specialty services, like Hudson's Northeast
Transcription.

Hudson noted that she saw a transcription by an offshore firm in
which the doctor's reference to "Vaseline" was entered as
"gasoline." But Hudson said some of her customers are less
concerned about quality than about controlling costs, at a time
when everyone from hospitals to insurers, let alone patients, are
trying to crack down on medical spending.

Northeast charges between 13.5 cents and 14.5 cents a line for
transcriptions, Kinsman said, based on factors such as turnaround
time and volume. She said the company receives solicitations to
subcontract the work overseas for as little as 6 cents to 8 cents a
line.

Kinsman said she regularly receives solicitations from overseas
firms looking to be subcontractors for Northeast, sometimes two or
three a day. The letters are riddled with spelling and grammar
errors, she said, making her wonder about their claims of 98
percent to 100 percent accuracy in transcriptions.

http://www.pressherald.com/business/stories/040504transcribe.shtml

4) Philips unit delays filing again on billing probe

MedQuist, a U.S. unit of Dutch Philips Electronics, said on Friday
it had again delayed the filing of its annual report with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

MedQuist said in a statement filed with the SEC that it would also
be unable to file its first quarter results until a review of
billing practices was complete.

MedQuist generates just over one percent of Philips's sales.
MedQuist had sales of 514 million euros ($606.4 million) in 2002
and income from operations of 68 million euros. Philips's total
sales in 2003 amounted to 29 billion euros.

http://www.forbes.com/business/services/newswire/2004/05/14/rtr1371
610.html

5) Is nothing private anymore? By Lou Dobbs ...

In addition to those financial records, private medical data are
also at risk. Last October, a disgruntled worker in Pakistan, who
transcribed medical files from the University of California-San
Francisco Medical Center, threatened to post patient files on the
Internet if she was not given the back pay she was owed by her
employer. The same month, a Toledo, Ohio, company, which outsources
medical transcription, experienced an extortion attempt by its own
workers in India. The employees involved were turned in to Indian
authorities within a day, but the company chose not to inform
customers that the incident had occurred.

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/biztech/articles/040517/17dobbs.htm

6) More companies using 'Net for phone service

In Nashville, a typist taps a doctor's notes into a computer, and
then everything freezes up. The typist punches a Nashville number
into a phone, and a telephone rings 11,000 miles away in Bangalore,
India.

Reaching the help desk is only a local call for both typist and
employer, Nashville medical transcription company DTS America Inc.
The reasons lie in an Internet-based technology called Voice over
Internet Protocol, VoIP (pronounced voyp) for short.

The cost to DTS America for VoIP isn't much more than the cost of
the broadband Internet service it had purchased through Nashville
provider ISDN-Net, said Doug Hardwick, DTS' chief executive
officer. VoIP sliced the company's cost of long-distance service to
India from upwards of 35 cents per minute to the cost of a local
call.

Moreover, Hardwick said, the calls sound better over the VoIP
connection than they did over regular telephone lines, which had
''choppy'' sound.

http://www.tennessean.com/business/archives/04/04/50352771.shtml?El
ement_ID=50352771

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Thank you for your interest in MT India!

The MTIndia Team
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