The Medical Transcription Market Scenario in India

Medical Transcription is a structured Healthcare BPO business thatis prominently found in the USA, Canada, Philippines and India.

As per the U.S.Bureau of Labor statistics reports, the MT industry was projected to growaround 11% providing for approximately 105,200 to 116,900 jobs between 2008 and2018 in spite of the gloomy and weak global economy.

In India, the MTmarket has evolved and it is estimated that there are now around 12,000 to13,000 experienced Medical Transcriptionists. MT companies with good businessfundamentals, finance, and technology and production practices are the onlyones that have survived and grown in the present market conditions. The qualityand turnaround time expectation in the MT industry is currently around 99% and12 hours respectively. Companies that produce consistent international qualityand deliveries are expected to sustain and grow their operations in the MT business.

Till 2009, theannual attrition rate in the MT industry was around 30% and many MT companieswent out of business between the years 2006 to 2008.  This was due to strong competition forrecruitment of experienced medical transcriptionists with rampant poaching ofemployees being a common recruitment strategy followed by most of therecruiters during that time. It was also very unfortunate that there were notmany MT companies and training institutes in India that were into qualityMedical Transcription training.

In the year2007, Azimuth addressed the shortfall of quality MT training and became one ofthe first companies in India to launch a complete and comprehensive online MTtraining course. The course’s strict adherence to the MT industry’s qualitynorms and training methodologies makes it very popular even to this very day.

Technicallyspeaking, there has been a dramatic change in the way the medical transcriptionwork has been processed since 2009. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act(2009) mandated the embrace of voice recognition technology by all thehealthcare service providers, and also emphasized the standardization ofmedical transcription reports. In India, between the years 2009 to 2010, the inabilityto adapt to technological changes in terms of voice recognition and delivergood quality to clients forced mediocre and small MT companies out of the MTbusiness.

Since 2011, theIndian MT industry has consolidated into a niche creamy sector with the majorityof experienced and seasoned MT players who have sustained and adapted tochanging MT technology, quality norms and market trends.  The news is that the Indian MT industry isexpected to grow at a minimum rate of 10% every year given that the foreignexchange rate between the US dollar and the Indian Rupee stay above Rs.50 perdollar, the inflation rate is less than 7%, and the US economy grows at a minimumrate of 2% t0 3% annually.

The futureoutlook of the MT industry in India looks bright in the wake of medicalinsurance gaining prominence in India. Corporate hospitals in India will alsobe recruiting approximately thousand medical transcriptionists every year fortheir in-house transcription and medical record management purposes.  Entry level and experienced MedicalTranscriptionists will also be wanted in other Healthcare services like Medicalcoding, Medical billing, and Medical record management based on their medicallanguage skill sets.

The bottom line is that there will becontinuous demand for Medical Transcription services in India and elsewhere aslong as quality, turnaround time & pricing are matched with the industry orlocal job market standards.

This Blog is written by Mr. Anand who has 12 years ofexperience in the Medical Transcription business. He is currently theVice-President of Azimuth. He can be contacted at anand@azisoft.com

The Medical Transcription Market Scenario in India

Medical Transcription is a structured Healthcare BPO business that is prominently found in the USA, Canada, Philippines and India.

As per the U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics reports, the MT industry was projected to grow around 11% providing for approximately 105,200 to 116,900 jobs between 2008 and 2018 in spite of the gloomy and weak global economy.

In India, the MT market has evolved and it is estimated that there are now around 12,000 to 13,000 experienced Medical Transcriptionists. MT companies with good business fundamentals, finance, and technology and production practices are the only ones that have survived and grown in the present market conditions. The quality and turnaround time expectation in the MT industry is currently around 99% and 12 hours respectively. Companies that produce consistent international quality and deliveries are expected to sustain and grow their operations in the MT business.

Till 2009, the annual attrition rate in the MT industry was around 30% and many MT companies went out of business between the years 2006 to 2008.  This was due to strong competition for recruitment of experienced medical transcriptionists with rampant poaching of employees being a common recruitment strategy followed by most of the recruiters during that time. It was also very unfortunate that there were not many MT companies and training institutes in India that were into quality Medical Transcription training.

In the year 2007, Azimuth addressed the shortfall of quality MT training and became one of the first companies in India to launch a complete and comprehensive online MT training course. The course’s strict adherence to the MT industry’s quality norms and training methodologies makes it very popular even to this very day.

Technically speaking, there has been a dramatic change in the way the medical transcription work has been processed since 2009. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (2009) mandated the embrace of voice recognition technology by all the healthcare service providers, and also emphasized the standardization of medical transcription reports. In India, between the years 2009 to 2010, the inability to adapt to technological changes in terms of voice recognition and deliver good quality to clients forced mediocre and small MT companies out of the MT business.

Since 2011, the Indian MT industry has consolidated into a niche creamy sector with the majority of experienced and seasoned MT players who have sustained and adapted to changing MT technology, quality norms and market trends.  The news is that the Indian MT industry is expected to grow at a minimum rate of 10% every year given that the foreign exchange rate between the US dollar and the Indian Rupee stay above Rs.50 per dollar, the inflation rate is less than 7%, and the US economy grows at a minimum rate of 2% t0 3% annually.

The future outlook of the MT industry in India looks bright in the wake of medical insurance gaining prominence in India. Corporate hospitals in India will also be recruiting approximately thousand medical transcriptionists every year for their in-house transcription and medical record management purposes.  Entry level and experienced Medical Transcriptionists will also be wanted in other Healthcare services like Medical coding, Medical billing, and Medical record management based on their medical language skill sets.

The bottom line is that there will be continuous demand for Medical Transcription services in India and elsewhere as long as quality, turnaround time & pricing are matched with the industry or local job market standards.

This Blog is written by Mr. Anand who has 12 years of experience in the Medical Transcription business. He is currently the Vice-President of Azimuth. He can be contacted at anand@azisoft.com

Azimuth Women's Day Celebration 2012

Women's Day 2012 was celebrated in true Azimuth style with a classically crisp and professional program. The entire company turned out to pay tribute and recognize the contributions and achievement of women, specifically the ladies working at Azimuth.

The event got off to a rosy start with the Azi ladies being greeted and gifted at the Venue with beautiful pink roses. Historically, with respect to Women's Day, roses are said to symbolize a better quality of life.

The program was inaugurated with a speech presented by the DGM-Production of Azi, Chitra Gopinath. She sagaciously noted 'that true heroines are those that may not make an international impact, but are those who make vital contributions daily to their families and workplace in their own devoted way'.

She also highlighted the longstanding Azi principle of recognizing talent and potential without any gender bias, that was enabling women with professional and leadership qualities to hold key management posts. She further encouraged the Azi ladies to play more active roles and to be the sparks for positive change in the company.

The speech was followed with a 'chocolate draw', where all the men in the team came forward to pick a lady's name from a closed box and to hand the lucky one a huge bar of chocolate. Being a secret draw, the excitement of not knowing whose name would be drawn kept this part of the program lively and interesting.

The 'hairdressing show' that followed next, showcased the Azi ladies skill in designing and modeling unique hair styles, using flowers, clips, curls and pins. The Azi ladies yet again proved that with them, professionalism and beauty went hand in hand. All were appreciated for their spirited involvement and were gifted a special memento.

The ladies were then felicitated by the Azimuth VP Sales (India) and GM Mr.Anand K on Women's Day. He further extolled them to follow the ideal of Mahatma Gandhi in being the change that one wanted to see.

The program was concluded with Padma’s delicious payasam and spinach vadais being served for all the team.


All in all, the event left the women with a cherished memory and a resolve to make positive changes at their homes and company and the men with a feel-good attitude to take back to their ladies at home.

Azimuth Blood Donation Campaign - 25 Feb 2012

There are many virtues that an individual possesses that make him worthy of living in this beautiful world, and one among those virtues is donating blood. It is an indisputable fact that blood donated is of enormous importance to some needy soul out there. Blood donation is also important because most of the blood banks across India have a dire need for blood to cater to patients’ needs in various medical situations. Blood Donation therefore ranks high in the scrolls of nobility.

Azimuth, as a part of its larger corporate responsibility, teamed up with the Indira Gandhi Government General Hospital, in conducting a voluntary blood donation camp. It was held at its beautiful head quarters at Azeez Nagar in peaceful Pondicherry on 25 February 2012.

The camp was a huge success with close to 100 volunteers coming forward to donate their blood much to the cheers of their peers & the medicos present.

While inaugurating this camp, the company’s CEO & CMD, Mr. Terry Leger thanked all the volunteers for their whole hearted participation in the camp and the Azi Event Management Team for their exuberant organization of the event.

He also added, “Azimuth will conduct such voluntary blood donation camps annually to serve society at large.”

With Azimuth’s dynamic growth in Medical Transcription, eLearning content development and online training services on the rise, the Azimuth Family is becoming larger by the day and one can expect to see more such corporate social responsibility initiatives in the days to come.

ENGLISH FOR JOB SEEKERS

Sharpen your English to find a job

Get a competing edge in the job market. "English for job seekers" is a 15 hour-course that can be comfortably taken during the weekend. Azimuth academy has trained hundreds of freshers into successful professionals in Pondicherry and internationally.

Topics include:
Communication skills, Resume building, Interview guidelines, Essay and letter writing, Phone and e-mail etiquette, Group Discussion.

Starts Jan 9, 2010
Twice a month
Weekend Course -15 hrs

"Join the program and boost your English"

AZIMUTH CELEBRATED THE INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

Introduction:

The 100th International Women’s Day that dawned on 08 March 2010 saw much activity, excitement and fun at Azimuth. The efforts taken by the Azi Events Management Team to ensure a memorable centenary of the International Women’s Day paid off in style with all the members especially the ladies of the Azi Family taking back home wonderful memories of the day.

The day was packed with interesting events. The idea behind the Azimuth International Women’s Day Celebration was to show our appreciation to women & actively demonstrate our commitment to uphold the rights and privileges of womanhood. It is but natural that Azimuth that has 65% of its workforce as ladies, should do so.

The events planned for the day were:
- Azimuth Intercollegiate English Essay Competition for Women
- Cultural Program

Azimuth Intercollegiate English Essay Competition for Women:

In an initiative to promote English amongst the local student community an Intercollegiate English Essay Competition for Women from arts & science colleges in Pondicherry was held as a special event to mark the International Women’s Day.




Eighty students from ten colleges, namely Achariya Arts & Science College, Aravindar Arts & Science College, Bharathidasan Govt.College for Women, Idyaya College of Arts & Science for Women, Immaculate College for Women, Tagore Government Arts College, Indira Gandhi College of Arts & Science, Mother Theresa Institute of Health Science, Pope John Paul II College of Education & Saradha Gangadharan Arts & Science College participated enthusiastically.

The first prize was bagged by Ms.K Sindhu of Acharia. She took home a cash prize of Rs.2000. The second prize was bagged by Ms.A Indhumathi of Pope John Paul who also won a cash award of Rs.1000. The third prize went to Ms. Harini of Mother Theresa. All the participants were awarded participation certificates.

A Press meet was held to cover the event.

The Chief Guest of Honor for the event Mrs. T. Nikila Rani - Managing Director – SureSoft Systems Pvt. Ltd. distributed the prizes and encouraged the participants with an inspiring speech.
Mrs. Chitra Gopinath – Operations Manager presented the vote of thanks.





AZIMUTH CULTURAL PROGRAM:

The Azimuth cultural program held for the first time in the air-conditioned presentation hall of the Company kept the electrified air from superheating. The hall was packed with staff and trainees of the Azimuth and late comers had to cool their heels standing.





The festive cultural program kicked off in the afternoon with classic Bharatanatyam vying with heart pulsing hip hop & Chennai petta rap to win the hearts of the foot-tapping groovy audience.
Melodious songsters, sagacious speakers & rib-tickling comedians, kept one & all rooted to the edge of their seats exercising their vocal chords, hands & tear glands in joy.

The fun-filled evening came to an end with the awards ceremony where the proud winners & runners up of the Azi Shuttle Badminton Tournament Singles, Doubles, & Mixed Doubles events were given prizes for winning their respective events.

Mrs. Chitra Gopinath, Operations Manager had the last say in expressing her happiness and thankfulness to the event organizers on the successful celebration of the centenary of the International Women’s Day.