Medical Transcription sector to boom despite recession: report
BS Reporter / Chennai/ Mysore Feb 05, 2009, 00:31 IST
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.
Medical Transcription has been here in India for over 10 years. Meanwhile, Hyderabad has become the hub of MT companies and biggest among them is TransDyne. www.transdyne.in is hiring more than 500 MTs this season.
I appreciate your effort to publish an article on medical transcription industry. My advice is that it would be wise to do some good homework before you publish an article like this. I have been in medical transcription for the last 10 years, and I know the industry has existed at least 5 years before that. If you want to highlight the status of the industry in a particular city, welcome to do so, but please do not misrepresent facts. If you want to collect some serious information about MT industry, you may visit companies like Spheris, Focus, C-bay, etc. They have been around for quite sometime.
Posted by: kk
March 26 , 2009, 14:11 IST
I agree with you and transcription major like TransDyne (www.transdyne.in) has been setting standards in the field of medical transcription in Hyderabad.
MT in India is 15 years old, in the US, it is about 40 years old. There are 300 MT companies in India including training institutes? Not sure what that means, but Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Delhi have probably more than 500 outfits, with the other cities each boasting 2 or 3 companies. Bangalore and Hyderabad together probably has 25000 MT professionals, so I am sure the national count is much higher.
\"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\" Which NASSCOM report is being referred here, please specify
Just two Majors, what about C-bay, Focus, Nuance, Spheris and all other major players in bangalore. Secondly, Healthscribe is not just 3 or 4 years, it was started its outsoursed part in India in 1997 now it is nearing 10 years with 10 fold increase in prodution and profit.
Posted by: Elijah
February 18 , 2009, 18:38 IST
Don't forget the transcription giant, TransDyne in Hyderabad, which alone has more than 1000 employees across AP.
Posted by: shijo
February 10 , 2009, 23:45 IST
I think the story was a Mysore story, and it is likely that those are the majors there.
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