Capacity-building a challenge MT industry finds

The demand for medical transcriptionists (MTs) is very great with good job opportunities. Good MTs typically have no problem obtaining and maintaining employment. MT companies in Mysore are currently facing a shortage of qualified MTs.

Demographic trends suggest that the outlook will continue to be favourable for some time to come. MT is called a recession-proof industry.

According to the American Association for Medical Transcription (AAMT), MT is a $15 billion to $17 billion industry. It ranks amongst the first set of ITeS-BPO activities to be sourced from India.

There are at least 120-150 companies engaged in the MT segment in India, earning annual revenue of approximately $220-240 million. As per a Nasscom report, the industry will be worth Rs 40 billion by 2010, and could employ as many as 50,000 people.

The important thing when considering a career in medical transcription is to choose the right medical transcription school. However, there are not many MT schools that offer training for MT job- seekers to meet the requirements of MT companies. Mysore, for example, has hardly two-three training institutes and even these are not very well known and not very popular.

Besides, there is not much awareness also about MT as a career. It is generally not the first choice of candidates, though MT offers a better career growth.

The career may be technically challenging, but rewarding. If one is serious about exploring a career as an at-home medical transcriptionist, it will be important to find the right MT school. However, now the situation is improving with increasing awareness among job seekers MT as a career.

As there are a few and not up to industry requirements, companies that hire give training to the entrants mainly in English grammar, language of medicine and transcription skills. The entrants are hired based on a written test in grammar and comprehension skills. Those who clear the test undergo four months training.

The entrants generally pay Rs 15,000 for the training. During the training, they are paid Rs 3,000 as stipend and books worth Rs 4,000. The trainees need to clear the test before they are put on live projects.

“The major challenge for any MT company is to build capacity. Getting right people with right skills are a big challenge. There is a gross shortage of capacity globally which needs to be tackled immediately. We need to build good capacity that can deliver high level of quality,” said a top executive of an MT firm in Mysore.

“The other challenge is to make the trainees productive immediately after the training. There is a vast untapped potential. However, unfortunately there is not much awareness about this profession. MT has a great scope and it can be taken as a full-fledged profession especially in these volatile times as it is a recession proof profession,” he told Business Standard.