Is Medical Transcription outsourcing turning into a myth?

Of late outsourcing has become a matter of heated debate among top political circles in countries like US and UK. Security concerns, quality issues and job loss fears have kicked up lot of dust in these outsourcing nations. According to recent media reports in UK, Aviva, BT and Santander are driven to stop outsourcing its business to India on the face of alleged increase in jobless numbers back home. New Call Telecom UK has also joined the bandwagon by deciding to shift its call center home, from Mumbai. John O’Brian, research director, Tech Market View justifies this action half-heartedly saying that ‘putting something back is a strong selling point for a brand rather than taking something out’. There is alleged politics in the move against outsourcing, echo some intellectuals in the industry. They opine that realignment can take place from time to time but cannot pose any serious threat to outsourcing of business. “After all, it is profits that keep running any business”, they exude in confidence. Concerns The main arguments are 1. Outsourcing of work at low wages force locals to accept jobs at low rates and the business runs the risk of losing out to cheaper outsourcing service providers.rn2. There is a strong opinion that overseas – particularly in India, transcriptionists do not possess requisite qualification thus putting accuracy of data at risk. Inability to understand foreign accents and slang are also cited in support of this argument.rn3. The threat to confidentiality of data is another convenient tool used against outsourcing. Facts Today the transcription industry work under a stringent security cover. The fact is, under multi-level security layers like firewall protection network, 128 bit data encryption, sterilization of email servers, accessibility restrictions to data files and various types of alert systems, safety of data can never be under doubt. Technological advancements on the security front further strengthen this protective wall around data storage devices. Compliance to HIPAA/HITECH regulations in the US and the requirements of the DPA in the UK by Transcription agents also ensures adequate safety to data. Customer service issues or language barriers were never issues that called for any debate even during the early days of outsourcing. Also, what the advocates of job loss forget is that cheap outsourcing results in higher productivity and it frees coffers of companies to set up more business ventures creating more and more job opportunities. Future of outsourcing Transcription Outsourcing started with consultancy services and slowly it has covered almost all areas of business and industry including healthcare. It is the rising demand for documenting medical records that has brought in the concept of outsourcing in the healthcare field. In US alone, the Medical transcription industry is estimated to be of the order of US$10 to 25 billion and is growing at 15 per cent annually. Despite the so called controversy that surrounds outsourcing today, it will continue to play a major role in providing health care services to the people of both UK and the US at comparably lower costs.