Software companies asked to explore $12bn US market | Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF)

Pakistan Press Foundation

Software companies asked to explore $12bn US market

KARACHI- Pakistani software companies were suggested to adopt a pragmatic approach in exploring the US $ 12 billion medical transcription from American market, particularly since the recent friendly overtures between the two countries.

A seminar jointly organized by Csoft Private Ltd and Dadabhoy University on Medical Transcription Scope, Opportunities and Requirement, observed that Pakistan until date could not avail more than one percent of the share the ever bulging market offers, particularly to the Third World.

Nasir Jamal, the key speaker mentioned that while India has a 30 percent access to the American market of medical transcription, Pakistan through proper planning could still make significant inroads in the same.

The field along with Legal Transcription holds enough opportunities for all those committed to their work and extend due consideration towards quality and tune target, he said.

With reference to post-Sept. 11 scenarios, he said that due to ensuing slump in the insurance industry the demand might appear to be shrinking. However, the phase, he said, is temporary as all medical professionals and hospitals are obliged under the US law to maintain systematic computerized record of the service and medicines procured for the patients.

Since the third world countries offer comparatively cheap labour, four cents to 16 cents per line of the transcription, hence demand for medical transcripters as well as quality controllers would continue to exist

Elaborating the process, he said all US medical organizations hire firms to get their orally spoken or manually written record computerized and the latter get the work done through their contacts in different pans of the world.

Nasir Jamal mentioned that quality is prerequisite and Americans demand at least a 98.8 percent standard from the transcripters hired by them

He said that since a single error may prove to be fatal, as wrong reference to the recorded blood pressure of any particular patient may lead to serious consequences, therefore little risk can be taken and provision for quality controller is ensured particularly by the Third World companies.

The quality controllers, he said might either be a doctor or an extremely competent and experienced medical transcripter. He in this context also stressed for proper training programmes for the transcripters. On the occasion, it was also pointed out that owing to US legal requirement by the year 2010 all health-care outlets have to transform their data into computerized format and no (no) manually written data would be permissible from the very period.

Source: Business Recorder
Date:10/21/2001