Max HealthScribe tests new waters

BANGALORE: Will India’s largest and only pure play medical transcription company, Max HealthScribe, continue to be focussed is the big question. As the company faces severe growth pressure, chances seem remote. Registering a growth of around 30 percent for the past couple of years, the company has engaged in conducting a market survey by itself to find out other growth opportunities.

To be released in the next five months, the survey aims to assist the Bangalore-based medical transcription companies in identifying growth opportunities through acquisition, exploring opportunities in other transcription work and business process outsourcing work. This would include extending its services to other verticals too. As of now, Max HealthScribe services its former parent company in HealthScribe Inc., one of the largest medical transcription companies in the US.

"At present we are not looking actively beyond the arrangement of servicing HealthScribe until the survey is completed. After that we might look at other countries as well as other verticals and services," remarked, the company’s COO, Suresh Nair.

Started in 1994 as a fully owned subsidiary of US-based HealthScribe Inc, the company sold its majority stake of 62 percent to the Max Group for a consideration of $four million in July 2000.

With the investment in place, the company grew to finish the last fiscal with revenues of $nine million and expects a 35 percent jump in revenues this year.

With the US medical transcription market pegged at $six to eight billion, poised to grow at 20 to 30 percent, Max HealthScribe expects to increase its capacity from the present six to seven million lines per month to 10 million by the year end. (The number of lines transcribed measures medical transcription capacity.)

The company had doubled it capacity in the past two years by adding only 500 transcriptionists to its present strength of 1,200.

At the present the company is adding 25 to 30 transcriptionists every month. A good command on written English and the ability to comprehend would fetch a job for anyone, with the entry-level salary anywhere between Rs 8,500 to Rs 10,000 per month.

By outsourcing the medical transcription to India, hospitals in the US are expected to save roughly 30 percent of their operating costs. "India was looked up by the US hospitals for the command over the language, both written and spoken. However, the country did not hook up to the opportunity placed in front.

Transcriptionists are expected to understand the medical treatment and prescribe accordingly. So even if the doctor has made a mistake, the transcriptions is expected to correct it. The written language has to be flawless as the doctors expect it," said Nair.

According to Nair, other than India, Philippines has some capacity to transcribe but the bottom line is that the US has no other option but outsource to India. This means that the ongoing fracas over outsourcing would have no affect on this segment.

With the insurance companies making it mandatory for the health agencies to have all records in written format, medical transcription is sure looking as a promising business. Despite all this, medical transcription companies cannot afford to be complacent and miss the bus.