The Hindu Business Line : Job opportunities galore in medical transcription

Hyderabad, Jan. 1 Job cuts, perks slash, cap on expansion are now common trends in the Indian IT/ITES sectors, reeling under the impact of the recession in the US.

However, there seems to be one segment, which is bucking this trend — medical transcription (MT). In fact, there are jobs to be grabbed, say some of the big companies.

Transdyne, among the top 10 MT companies in India, for example plans to add 300-400 staff in 2009. At present, the company has 1,200 employees, mostly in Hyderabad and a few in Vijayawada.

“Our optimism is based on the feeling that a big chunk of business was waiting to be moved to India from the US, which is the biggest source for the Indian MT industry,” said Mr Raghu Vasu, CEO of the company.

The Indian model for providing outsourced MT work is proven in the US. Also, since healthcare is reasonably recession proof, big budget cuts are not expected and hence contracts should be coming to competent Indian companies, he told Business Line.

Bangalore, Hyderabad and Delhi are the main centres for MT, with about a dozen companies being bigger than 1,000 employees.

Unlike the BPO/ITES segment, where accent barriers and time differential for working are demanding, the MT sector does not require high English language skills and the outsourced work time coincides with the day in India. This provides opportunities for housewives, graduates etc to take up jobs.

CKar Systems, a 100 per cent subsidiary of CBay Systems, US, the world’s largest medical transcription company, is also on the expansion mode.

It has a 400-seater facility in Banjara hills, which can accommodate up to 1,200 professionals. CKar is close to expanding its 150-seater facility in Vijayawada and follow it up with a 250-seater one in Hyderabad early 2009, said Mr Mohit Srivastava, Business Head.

The company has launched a major recruitment drive for this expansion and also for the expected major contracts to come to it following the acquisition of MedQuist, a medical transcription company, by its parent CBay Systems in the US in August 2007. At present, the company employs over 600 and expects to ramp up to 1,000 soon, Mr Srivastava said.

CKar Systems serves healthcare clients in the US. It provides a round-the-clock-service model by capitalising on the time zone differences between the US and India, thereby providing cost effective turnaround time to its clients, he said.

CBaySystems (India) Pvt Ltd, with its headquarters in Mumbai, is India’s largest provider of medical transcription services employing over 5,500 employees in its captive and franchisee centres in India and one each in Bhutan and Oman. It is also on a drive to increase its employee strength considerably, in anticipation of shift in job works, post-acquisition of MedQuist.

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