Nae

[ 07-14-2003: Message edited by: Nae ]

At one time earlier this year I was told MTIA was going to share offshore statistical information with AAMT but then I never heard anything more ... I would be real curious to know if AAMT leadership has heard some of these figures. I know they had representatives there because they have a write up about the meeting it in the latest JAAMT...unfortunately these statisics did not make up part of the JAAMT article.

Maybe Advance is just slow getting this one up on the website.

Nae

These are some of his conclusions:

*Prices for medical transcription will rise. (I guess he hasn't talked to any of the institutions that are sending acute care work offshore for 10 cents a line to tell them they have it wrong and they should be going up not down)
*Salaries for MTs must increase to attract new labor to the market (I am still laughing...certainly I agree with him it would be darn nice if they would go up, but since that is likely to happen when my pigs fly I wonder whose chain he really is yanking)
*Offshore production is neither a threat nor a savior because there is inadequate productivity capacity to meet market demand. Therefore every skilled, hardworking MT whether domestic or offshore should have little difficulty keeping fully employed... I guess somebody needs to run find Stella and tell her that those folks she is so worried about not being able to find a job are all wrong (A quick scan of help wanted ads for MTs U.S. shows starting pay as 4, 5, 6 cents a line, with 8 and 9 the top ranks for nationals...it is gonna be pretty hard for those to go up when those accounts are being benchmarked at 10 cents to the MTSO offshore! Oh alrighty...you are right that is really a great big meooowwww on my part)

Darn I wish this article was online:

Here are some of the statistics he quotes (he does specifically state that his statics are intended to be more conservative than many industry forecasts...I would still like to know how he came up with them)
*Size of the domestic (outsourced) MT labor force (full and part time) 150,000
*Average dollar value of production per MT (full and part time) $35,000
*Total value of outsourced production $5 billion
*Annual growth of outsourced production 13% per year. At this rate of growth the total of outsourced market will reach $9 billion within 5 years

domestic labor pool problems:
*average age of MT labor force is 49 years old (I would love to say duhhh...because it takes that darn long to get really, really good at this...but the reality is more likely that this represents 2-income families where the woman is not the primary income)
*total number of domestic MTs is declining...(again, duhhhhh, I know that is not kind, but honest to Pete these folks drive me nuts)
*While productivity per MT is increasing, total productive capacity is falling (I have lots of reasons why that would be so but I will spare you all my diatribe... )

And among his offshore statistics
*Approximately 12,000 MTs in all countries outside the U.S., growing at 30 percent per year
*Education level is high (minimum bachelor's degree)
*experience level averages about 2 years per MT

That is about the gist of the article... the last paragraph says: These conclusions argue strongly for end-users (hospitals, clinics, etc.) to embrace closer ties with outsourcing companies whether domestic or offshore. If adversarial attitudes prevail in an era of tight production and high demand, the next few years may be difficult for end-users to navigate.

It also says in his bio that he has worked in international business development for 25 years, half ot that time spent living in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, and his company began "investing" in the MT industry in 1997...

Nae

I guess I better say this before I get asked. No I do not think offshore services are going to go away. Personally, I think we have to find ways to "work" with (as opposed to give it all away to) offshore services at decent prices that WE ALL CAN LIVE WITH. Yes, I do work for a service that has had no choice but to work with an offshore service for two accounts (the Big Kahuna corrected me!)... I was one of the ones who encouraged my MTSO to do so as the other choice was to watch seasoned MTs that had worked with her for years leave due to lack of work. That is not to say that I enjoy looking at the spectre hospitals jumping at the chance to pay only 10 cents a line or of a fellow MTSO who is now scrambling to find work for 15 MTs while telling me she is thinking about going back to teaching high school English as she watches her service bleed a slow death. Certainly the institutions think they are gettting a great deal with the bargain basement prices of offshore firms (and even some U.S. firms to be fair)... but sooner or later the chicken comes home to roost and by that time the "seasoned MTs" that are the backbone of the business (those 49 year old wonders) will have long left the building.

I wonder if this TLPeteete person can type...maybe he would like to become a highly paid professional MT in this field where he thinks the rates are rising ???

Nae

[ 07-14-2003: Message edited by: Nae ]
Edited for clarity as the Big Kahuna pointed out an error Nae

[ 07-15-2003: Message edited by: Nae ]

[ 07-15-2003: Message edited by: Nae ]

that quotes the vice president of marketing for "Acusis"; Delbert Arrendale, president of Arrendale Associates; who refers to successful Indian services who employ physicians and nurses (instead of the garden variety of MT I guess)

They list a poll at the website that currently shows 60% of readers saying offshore transcription will take jobs away for the US

30% saying it will alleviate the shortage

Advance poll results

To vote the place to vote is on the right hand side.

Nae

Nae

I met them at a MTIA Board meeting in San Francisco last September, I believe. Terry was very eager for me to join MTIA's international committee to help with offshore stuff and slightly puzzled when I said that my plate was already full and declined the offer.

Click here to take a short ride in the Way-Back machine

quote:

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Terry is the wife of Rama Peteete, of Infoscript Services, Pvt. Ltd.

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Thanks. I didn't want to be the one to point THAT out!

Regards,

Amit
amit@mtindia.org
www.mtindia.org

[ 07-16-2003: Message edited by: Amit C. ]

[ 07-16-2003: Message edited by: Amit C. ]

Hmmmm, something's fishy. The blurb at the bottom of the "her" article says: "...half of his time he has lived overseas...His company began investing...He can be reached at..."

Anyway, I desperately want to agree with the author, whoever he/she is. I desperately want to believe that the demand is rising faster than the supply, and that overseas production is not enough to meet the gap. Right now I don't see it, but again, I don't have a firm grasp on national trends. The author did use a 5-year time span for his/her predictions, so I guess we'll have to wait and see. The one thing that I have to wonder about are the statistics that he/she is using to base these calculations on. If those numbers are off, the whole scenario collapses.

My question is this: assuming that his/her numbers are pretty close, and the demand is greater than the supply, and the offshore labor pool is not enough to bridge the gap, what "X" factor could come into play that would prevent the seemingly inevitable rise in compensation? Is there something that we haven't thought of yet that could change the equation?

Jay

Also, if there is a documentation revolution (widespread adoption of EPR with POS entry, etc.--or some other unforseen adjustment) this could affect demand for MT as we know it. I'm thinking of something on the scale of the PPS revolution in reimbursement (1982?). While PPS had a profound impact on coding, I think that whole system is about ready for an implosion, and that could really reverse the trend of opportunities for coders.

quote:

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Terry is the wife of Rama Peteete, of Infoscript Services, Pvt. Ltd.
Hmmmm, something's fishy. The blurb at the bottom of the "her" article says: "...half of his time he has lived overseas...His company began investing...He can be reached at..."

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Corrigendum:

For "wife"
Read "husband"

Regards,

Amit
amit@mtindia.org
www.mtindia.org