Despite global economic downtrend, the Medical Transcription (MT) industry is looking for a further growth buoyed by a report of the NASSCOM stating that recession has not hit the healthcare industry.
Reverse is the trend in medical transcription outsourcing in the US, which is witnessing agonising attrition in large scale in IT, financial, manufacturing and other sectors.
As per a NASSCOM report, the MT industry will be worth Rs 40 billion by 2010 and could employ as many as 50,000 people. It predicts that this industry is here to stay for at least 10 years.
It estimated the size of the US MT industry, which is in the range of around $ 12 million in 2005, would reach $ 16.8 billion by 2010. The work offshored was expected to be in the region of $ 860 million in 2010, of which India is expected to capture $ 647 million. India remained a preferred offshore destination primarily due to availability of manpower and industry maturity.
The report also expected the employee strength of 18,000 in 2006 in India-based MT vendors would reach 52,000 by 2010. For an industry that witnessed too much crowding, too fast in India, a report conducted by US-based Stevens International Consulting expected the value of MT outsourcing in the US to double by 2005 to $ 4 billion. India could take as much as two-thirds of that increase, providing work to 45,000 transcribers.
MT companies in Mysore observe that the demand for medical transcriptionists is great. There is currently a shortage of qualified medical transcriptionists - and demographic trends suggest that the outlook will continue to be favorable for some time to come. Good medical transcriptionists typically have no problem in obtaining and maintaining employment.
Currently there are around 300 MT companies including training institutes in India, employing about 50,000. Mysore houses around 25 MT firms (including Mom n Pop set ups). However, the major companies, which provide MT services, are only two - Software Paradigm International (SPI) and Acusis. Approximately, there are around a thousand employees.
In India, MT business is 3-4 years old. Bangalore pioneered, the Healthscribe India setting up the first MT company. In USA, where it is a well-established industry, it is 25 years old. Low cost, reliable telecommunication links, abundant, qualified, low cost, human resources, second-largest English-speaking workforce in the world, abundant supply of college graduates - 2.1 million graduates and 0.3 million post-graduates per year, about 12 hours time zone difference with US, less operating cost in India - 20 per cent vis a vis the US, reliable, low cost datacom bandwidth available on demand (for clients needing online connectivity), industry-friendly government and labour laws provide enough job opportunities in medical transcription.
“High-speed Internet access and faster, more reliable operating systems have made collaboration and information exchange more efficient than ever before. Technology advances such as these make it possible for us to offer home-based positions to our staff. This enables us to create a pleasant, family-friendly work environment that promotes both productivity and employee satisfaction,” says Sheetal Somashekar, HR Executive, SPI.
