AUTOMATIC SPEECH RECOGNITION IS MAKING MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTION JOBS EASIER

The introduction of Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) technology is altering the nature of work of Medical Transcriptionists. Prior to the introduction of ASR technology, medical transcriptionists had to keenly listen to a doctor's dictation of a medical report and completely transcribe the record. The need for a high level of accuracy and timely delivery of files made the work very challenging and at times even stressful. Medical transcriptionists used to spend nearly six hours on an average to transcribe one hour of dictation.

After the introduction of ASR, it was found that medical transcriptionists now spent less than three hours to edit and correct errors that were found on ASR software processed drafts.

This reduction in processing time is possible because, along with the actual voice files of doctors, medical transcriptionists now receive pre-transcribed draft documents that have a quality rating of approximately 90%.  The medical transcriptionists’ main objective is to rectify errors found on the drafts by editing them so as to improve the quality of the ASR documents.

The common errors that medical transcriptionists may encounter in the ASR draft are:

• Nonsensical phrases
• Sound-a-like phrases
• Wrong laboratory values
• Incorrect drug names
• Missing English or medical words
• Document formatting

Hence the job of a medical transcriptionist has become more like that of an editor in that it now involves mostly correcting and editing medical documents. This is making MT work more sophisticated and easy.

Furthermore, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, enacted as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 encourages all medical practitioners to transform from the conventional medical transcription practice to a more sophisticated ‘point-and-click’ template oriented system that is called electronic medical records (EMR).  This new system enables the speeding up of the documentation process and thereby helps doctors provide better care to their patients.

The introduction of ASR and EMR technology in medical transcription is consequently changing the nature of work of medical transcriptionists for good.

According to Mr. Anand, Vice President of Azimuth, the Indian medical documentation industry will take these technological changes in its stride and continue to grow.  Popular reports suggest that there are around 50,000 trained medical transcriptionists in India. In comparison, Mr. Anand believes that there are just 10,000 MT professionals who are active in the profession. He goes on to predict that there would be a huge demand for good quality Medical Transcriptionists in the days to come resulting in more career opportunities for graduates with good English skills.

He adds  that the current generation of Medical Transcriptionists who adapt to technological changes in their work will thrive in the game.

Life Skills Education Need of the Hour for School Students

According to UNICEF, “The term Life Skills refers to a large group of psycho-social and interpersonal skills which can help people make informed decisions, communicate effectively, and develop coping and self-management skills that may help them lead healthy and productive lives. Life skills may be directed toward personal actions, actions toward others, as well as actions to change the surrounding environment to make it conducive to health (healthy living)”.

In fact around 164 countries across the globe have made a commitment with UNICEF to include Life Skills Based Education (LSBE) in basic learning for school students. Unfortunately, this commitment continues to remain on paper in most of the countries, more so in India.

The Indian education system that was extremely theoretical in nature in the past has very recently been trying to apply elements of practical learning to all subjects and at all levels (classes) via its educational boards. Though this action is widely appreciated and welcomed, Life Skill Courses are yet to find prominence in the curricula of the various boards. Not surprisingly there is minimal learning or teaching aids relating to Life Skill courses in the Indian Schools.

As such, there is no concluding list of Life Skill courses as many Life Skill courses are demographic specific. For example, in some African countries HIV/AIDS prevention courses are considered most important Life Skill courses whereas in some other countries life skills for managing Exam Stress are considered very important.

In the Indian context, the following Life Skills courses need to be taught to the school students:

• Physical Wellness (Health, Hygiene, Diet and Nutrition)
• Mental Wellness (Goal Setting, Motivation, Positive Attitude, Decision Making)
• Communication (Listening, Writing, Comprehensive & Speaking)
• Social Skills (Religious and Class Tolerance, Morality, Ethics, Empathy & etiquette)
• Teamwork (Making Friends, Team play and Team work)
• Self Management (Managing Time, Managing Stress, Problem solving and reasoning)
• Local environment (Traffic rules & Road sense, Environment education

Azimuth Academy has initiated the development and delivery of Life Skill courses both in the online and DVD modes for the school students of India and abroad. For starters, it has the following Life Skill courses in the production pipeline:-

• Life Skills - Health & Hygiene for High School Students
• Life Skills - Diet & Nutrition  for High School Students
• Life Skills - Smart Study for High School Students
• Life Skills - Exam Stress (Beating Examination Blues) for High School Students 

SNIPPETS OF THE AZIMUTH LIFE SKILLS COURSE ON HEALTH & HYGIENE FOR JUNIOR SCHOOL STUDENTS

             

BASIC INFORMATION ON ALLERGIES FUNGAL DISEASES AND INFECTIONS

TIPS ON COMMON EVERYDAY ITEMS THAT CAN BE SHARED AND NOT SHARED

FUN EXERCISES TO TEST COMPREHENSION AND REINFORCE LEARNING

The Azimuth Academy welcomes content contribution, feedback and suggestions from academicians, teachers, soft skill/life skill trainers, institutions, NGOs and government agencies.

Please write/contact Anand K at anand@azisoft.com, Phone: +91-9843702020.

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.