Medical Transcription is a sunrise industry. The Philippines brands itself as the global choice for quality MT Services. Although smaller compared to the call center sector, MT is touted as the fastest growing segment in the overall BPO industry. The MT sector is set to become another major player in the Philippine outsourcing industry.

The Philippines is the preferred offshore location afte India when it comes to outsourcing medical transcription work to Asia. Why? because this country has the distinct advantage of having a vast pool of English speaking people. It is actually the third largest English speaking country in the world with a literacy rate of almost  94%. It is also has the advantage of having the much preferred 12 hour times difference with the United states. The Philippine government  had recently announced that Philippines MT companies have won medical transcription and medical coding contract worth $1.4 million with american clients.

Industry association, private sectors and government agencies have identified MT as one of the country's priority growth sectors. As a result, many career advocacy programs have been developed to promote the growth of this industry in the country.

The demand for MT services in the US continues to grow at double digit pace is due to the economic crisis brought about by the multi-billion dollar credit collapse of its housing sector last estimated at 18% yearly. The great demand for documentation of medical information continues to rise dramatically in the US where approximately 6,700 hospital must convert medical records into electronic format in compliance with requirements for federal certification. Major US based MT firm MXSecure is set to open a representative office in the Philippines in an effort to tap into the country's medical transcription industry. The market of MT in the US is estimated to be at $25 billion and increasing at a rate of 15% to 20% annually. Europe, Canada and Australia are the other potential market for the Philippines. However, India is the top offshore provider at this time. Philippine corners only one percent of the market behind outsourcing giant India.

By getting a US MT company to be present here, our own industry can learn from the foreign firm's experiences with US medical institutions. The country can still improve its quality of work and then get more projects eventually.

While this country shows significant potential for economic growth, the country needs to strengthen its positioning as far as international visibility and establishing a track record for producing quality medical transcription service.

Facing The challenge:

The challenge now is for our local stakeholders - the private sector and the government, to ensure that the right component are in place when the investors begin pouring in. At the end of the spectrum, the industry is faced with the challenge of finding and developing a qualified applicants. Since MT requires longer training and a higher level skill set, so the pace of supply is almost stagnating while more and more small and medium MT businesses burgeon in the country. For now, most RP-MT industry player still maintaining US trained medical transcription editors who go through the copy that the Filipinos produce, and this has substantially added to the cost of operations. Indeed, good Filipino editors who are familiar with medical terminologies are hard to find, partly because the industry is still in its infancy. The country is in the take-off phase and these are all part of the growth pain.

In response to this problem, the Medical Transcription Industry Association of the Philippines, Inc. (MTIAPI) composed of around 80 medical transcription or MT service provider, most small companies with 50 or fewer seats, similarly acknowledges the need to hurdle the challenge posed by a trained and experienced industry worker.

MTIAPI is prioritizing the the development of a bigger pool of qualified transcriptionists to meet the faster turnaround requirements of large foreign customers. The group is developing related skills training and certification programs with the Technical  Education and skills Development Authority (TESDA), the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPA/P), and the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Association (COCOPEA). It is always pointed out that employers prefer medical transcriptionists who have completed a postsecondary training proggram.

Further, RP firms develop on-the-job simulation for MT applicants. A homegrown, on-line on-the-job simulation (OJS) program lets Filipino "near-hires" increase their chances of landing a job in a medical transcription firm. The development of this on-the-job simulation was prompted by the need to train graduates of MT centers.

Finally, MT requires a great deal of study, preparation and hardwork. Penetrating this business entails careful planning, education on the risk involved and understanding that there is an investment period like any other business. The need for quality people, trained and capable  Filipino transcription workers and editors and quality training partners are vital ingredients for a Med-Script industry to move as major global player.