offshoring to India
Posted By: -results remain to be seen on 2007-03-29
In Reply to: Question regarding outsourcing to India (sm) - cat lady
if not the doctor, then the patient will not like it.
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Companies offshoring to India
Why is it so wrong that human beings in India are doing something to lift their country out of poverty? We are a developed country, so we can't possibly understand this aspect, but it really should be taken into consideration. If you can truly say that your company outsourcing to other countries has brought you to extreme poverty, as they experience, then I will completely understand the worries.
I have not suffered at all financially in my 12 years of transcription. In actuality, my income has increased slightly each year. I have lived a poor life as a single mother until finally being able to put myself through school and getting into this field. If there's an Indian mother or father who wants a better future for her family and be able to feed her kids, who am I as an American to say no to him/her? It's not taking away from our families to the point of poverty that their country has to endure.
I used to be one to sit here and worry, but then I had the revelation of how thankful I am that I don't have to drive to work everyday with the gas prices on the rise, that I don't have to pay a babysitter and leave my children with people who may possibly be harmful to them, that I still can put a little money away each paycheck into my savings account towards retirement, that I'm not suffering hardship because of my pay but only because of the economy.
Yes, I am happy to imagine a mother or father and the joy in her/his eyes at the prospect of a real job to provide for her family in such a struggling country. I am seeing from Someone else's perspective now. 
companies offshoring to India
What about the jeopardy of the medical reports with incorrect spellings, dosages, etc. that have been seen with the work produced by Indian labor; i.e. PORN instead of PRN - this is one example that I have heard about more than once.
What about the privacy of patient information and how this is not protected by Indian labor.
Furthermore the large companies are sending the work to India to save labor costs but I do not see them lower the price to their clients. I do see them lower their offer of wages to the US MTs however.
I am not sure about you but I do not want my medical records transcribed in India.
Offshoring to India may not be affecting you now...
but I can almost guarantee that you will be affected at some point in the near future. I thought like you too. I didn't understand what the big deal was about offshoring to India. Then the hospital I worked decided to outsource the entire transcription department. I went from an nice, secure hourly wage to being faced with finding a job with production pay. I went from $16 an hour for my 10 years experience to 8 cpl! I finally landed a job making 9 cpl, but had to do the dregs of dictation, the ESL dictators that barely spoke English. I was barely making 1000 lines a day -- that's around $11 an hour!
Then I parlayed my years of experience into finding a QA job. At 12 years of experience, I was making $15 an hour QA'ing. Still making less than I was as an MT when I worked directly for the hospital, but getting closer. Who cared that I was QA'ing work done by Indian MTs. It was a steady, reliable paycheck. Then the owner decided hey I could make more money if I paid my QA people per line and we don't have to pay them the same as MTs because they're not actually typing. So now I'm expected to accept 5 cpl.
So I sell out AGAIN. Take a job with another company I am absolutely certain offshores almost all of the work to India! But again they are willing to pay me hourly and they make promises about bringing a lot of the work back to the U.S., building up a U.S. team and so I pretend I'm not selling out, I'm just taking care of my family and I gotta do what I gotta do. Within six months of being hired, I am laid off.
Now, here I am, an American CMT with 20 years experience with no job, drawing unemployment, and the sad thing is I'm earning more on unemployment than I've earned on production in the last five years and it is a reliable check.
I'm real happy for you, but let me tell you your contentment is short-lived. The offshoring epidemic is going to affect us all one way or the other. If you haven't been, you will be financially hit and hit hard. The medical transcription industry already have been hit financially, some are just too ignorant to know any better. You think 7 cpl is a decent wage. Consider the education and knowledge base a medical Transcriptionist has to have to do her job well and tell me again how I should be happy with pennies per line and feel sorry for those poor Indians.
So you'll excuse me, if my heart doesn't bleed for all those poor Indians trying to earn a meager wage. Cause that's all I'm trying to do, but the deck is being stacked against me. There are companies out there crying that there is a shortage of experienced American MTs and so they are willing to train Indians to do OUR job for a third of what they are willing to pay an American MT and those same damn companies are telling me my 20 years worth of experience, knowledge, and education are only worth 8 cpl!
There's no shortage. Companies simply do not want to pay for the experienced MT.
As if offshoring to India wasn't bad enough - sm
the mention of a school starting in the Carribean is even worse! Think about how much ID theft and how many internet scams originate in the Caribbean. And they think we want our personal ID info. & medical records to to there? They better think again!
stop "complaining about offshoring to india?? NEVER sorry.. sm
Why in the world would it EVER be OK to OFFSHORE AMERICAN MEDICAL RECORDS to INDIA or any other country?
I want my records transcribed in my own country, thank you very much.
As far as companies selling the MT out.. and offshoring, if you really think that is OK.. and you are an MT.. I don't get it honestly. Maybe you could explain your OKness with this.
Thanks for your insight.
When people refer to offshoring, don't they mean the Phillippines as well as India?
nm
MW has it's own training in facility in India, so offshoring is growing with them. nm
MW India
India, Michael. The MT world is going to India. Wonder why? nm
!
offshore to India, it's OFFSHORE (off shore), not outsource to India.
nm
If the transcribed files go to India, are sent out from India to be transcribed, sm
then the transcribed work is sent BACK to India to be pasted into the GEMS platform and then sent back to the clients in America, how on earth can the company claim to be US-based because its Indian owner has a home in Kentucky?
No offshoring either. nm
Offshoring
Could someone define offshore "big time." When I worked for them I was told they have a company in the Philippines that they send work to, strictly some low priority government disability stuff. Their platform is great and the people I worked with were also wonderful to work for. I left for a personal reason but would not hesistate to recommend them, IF you can get a comparable line rate to make up for the spaces. Again the platform is very productive and they do pay for headers so that helps.
OSI offshoring - sm
Ask the recruiter when you speak to her. I know the offshore, I was working there when the news broke, and they are still doing it. Go ahead...ask. This is not sourgrapes, but fact.
Offshoring
Nah their govt would never bite the hand that feeds them. They would beat it out of their own citizens instead. That is the great thing about America, at least it is somewhat fair? We like to think it is the same in other countries but if it were they wouldn't be working for us in the first place. The only ones that can put a stop to this is us. You have to VOTE! Not for President but for all the little guys that have the power to keep the big P from allowing things we hate. Okay enough from me I have to go and type while I still have a job.
Offshoring
They own OSi and denied offshoring to India until they were caught several times. They are now banned from advertising on MTStars. They are promoting at OSI and focusing their attention on their new company in Tampa. Very low key. Be very careful about any comments here or the posts will be removed.
offshoring
Really, people, it is the folks in our country, you know, the good ol' U.S.A. who are selling us short, so don't get angry at India for taking jobs. Well, that would be a way of airing your prejudices. That's weak. 
Truly sorry about your loss, MTLittle.
offshoring
Sorry, Little MT.
Might as well get used to offshoring. It's everywhere,
and Spheris didn't help by proudly announcing their new offices in India and give carte blanche to the rest of the online companies to follow suit.
It's here, and probably to stay. Our largest nationals do it, our medium size nationals are doing it, and our smaller privates are doing it. No getting around it.
If you swear you will never work for an offshoring company, you will probably have to eat your words one day. That or go hungry until you can re-educate yourself and find a new career.
I would venture to guess that there are many MTs here working for offshoring companies who know it and won't admit it. There are many more who work for offshoring companies and probably don't know it.
Bottom line, you are going to have a mighty long list, and it will grow daily. Good luck.
Offshoring
I own aing serious. MTSO and we do not offshore. We have been against it for sometime. However, we are having trouble getting a reliable workforce. Seems every Transcriptionist has 3 PT jobs. We pay between 7.5 and 9.5 cpl and have tons of work. I for the first time talked to my partner about offshoring. We may hold out as long as possible.
Offshoring
In some cases, though, offshoring has indeed been the downfall of manual transcription. I work in a very large medical center, and the offshoring with direct link to EMR has eliminated all in-house transcription. It's a combination of technology and economics that is making manual MT obsolete.
Yes, she has the right and they are offshoring now (sm)
Everything the above poster said was true. I'm not there anymore either.
Is OSI still offshoring?
TIA
I do not know about offshoring
but they do outsource. I worked for a company and did their (OSi's) work; I guess it was overflow.
Don't you mean offshoring?
/
Yes-- Offshoring
Sorry about that, I knew what I meant! Anyway, would appreciate if anyone can pass along just how to know if a company you are looking into sends some of their work out of the US. Thanks again.
offshoring is doing it
There are so many companies offshoring and hospitals offshoring that be LUCKY that you get 8 cpl. Most companies cant pay that!!!!
Are they still offshoring? nm
.
offshoring
They are NOT better, but one thing I don't think anyone realizes is that with electronic signature, the docs don't read a lot of their charts anymore - they have no clue what half of their charts look like, only the really anal (and I mean that in the best of ways) know the mistakes that are being made. I just QAd one that said the patient was running a bicycle for exercise; also another with a 0.3 x 0.5 tumor, and the MT put 3 x 5 tumor. Not a HUGE error the first time around, but the second one puts the patient's life at risk. A NOTE TO ANY PHYSICIAN: READ YOUR CHARTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Offshoring
I refuse to renew my membership in AAMT or to give even one penny to this organization. Think about it, people. They have supported offshoring. Do they care about us?
Offshoring
I believe everyone has the right to work, and the new outsourcing trend is inevitable for all jobs that can be outsourced. But, I think it should be done fairly for everyone and the job market should be competitive for everyone doing the work no matter what country they are from. The pay should be the same for everyone who is hired at whatever level they are hired at. If the pay were the same, we wouldn't see so much of it leaving this country. GREED IS THE REAL FACTOR HERE FOLKS. They can live a lot cheaper on 2 cents a line, and we would starve to death. I met an Indian MT one time, and she said they were paid 2 cents per line and had to type 2000 lines a day.. Now what is that about.
offshoring
That's right. Just move on over and let others take over. It is the American way.
Offshoring
Actually, we can complain all day but it won't stop. Unfortunately, with the AAMT becoming cheerleaders for offshoring it is only going to get worse. They need to be shut down completely as they are useless If they really wanted to do their job, they should stand behind American MTs 100%.
Oh well, just my 1/2 a cent worth.
Offshoring
I don't care what Medware tells you about competing in the marketplace or that offshoring is here to stay in the competitive market, the bottom line is that eventually you will pay for it. You may not be paying for it now, but eventually you will.
The goal of Medware and any other company that offshores is to make more money. Right now they are losing money by having the offshores type the report, offshores then edit the report, then it is sent to America where the reviewers review it for errors. And trust me, there are a lot of errors!!! Some companies pay reviewers 0.03 cents a line for reviewing and cleaning up the errors, others will pay a wage that is less than what QuickTrip is paying. And if you don't know what QuickTrip is, it is a gas station/convenient store. If the reviewer has a blank or problem, then the report is sent on to their supervisor. That is way too many hands on a single chart. The goal is to have the report typed by offshores and then reviewed by offshores and never have an American touch the chart at all. And when that happens, our job market is seriously reduced. Instead of each company employing 20-30 reviewers, they will only employ 1 or 2 who will only listen to offshore editor's blanks.
You may feel that you are safe in VR at Medware. But did you know that all the doctors who are not trained for VR have their reports transcribed by offshores? Did you know, well, you should if you read the memo that the offshores are currently being trained to produce a quality document which will not require further editing in America. Once they are trained who is to say they will be working on YOUR voice recognition work?
You would do well to look over to Heartland. They decided to only use offshore MTs to work for them. They fired over 150 MTs. What makes you think Medware won't do the same one day?
NO offshoring
True and all the owner has done unfortunately is lied and made the company and MTs look bad -- hopefully her other business will fail as well
And no offshoring either
I forgot to mention that. All the government contracts I have been looking at say no offshoring. That is something new from when I looked at government contracts previously.
OFFSHORING
Ask SPi--they're doing exactly the same thing. They're losing accounts and employees by droves.
Offshoring
Knowing which transcription services do not offshore would be greatly appreciated! They are the only ones I will work for, and I am sure most MTs feel the same. Please raise your hand, and let us know who you are.
No, no offshoring. (sm)
Sorry, but don't know about connections. I have high speed.
Offshoring, huh?
Good to know - I had heard pretty good reports about this company - giving them the benefit of the doubt, I can certainly understand platform trouble - but off-shoring is a big TURN-OFF to me.
No more offshoring????
Keep off-shoring broke!
My best suggestion for stopping this off-shoring is for MTs to unite somehow and realize that electronic medical records are here! They will not go away - this will force the major transcription companies to off-shore big time because there will be of a lack of third shift necessary to cover shorter TAT - everyone gets upset about the offshoring but little is being done about it. With shorter turnaround times and instant gratification desired by the docs the responsibility falls back on the MT to make that happen not the company. They type while we are sleeping, taking our weekends off, or refusing to do ESL...lets not worry about the migrant workers how about saving our own butts? If we can meet the turnaround and still provide the quality we would have a leg to stand on to impose sanctions on companies that send this out of the US kinda like fines imposed on those that hire migrant workers - but we surely could not go to congress and say, well I dont work the weekends or nights.
About offshoring...
There was a big stink years ago when foreign car makers brought factories to the USA. These autoworkers are still working and in the USA and they are foreign owned. If the jobs stay here I really can't get too upset about who owns it.
Sony owns a movie studio and they make TV programs too. I am not sure I could tell what shows not to watch. They are produced in the USA, do well and American companies advertise with those programs...oh so what? JOBS ARE HERE.
With MT, I am not that concerned about outsourcing taking my job away. I WILL NOT edit Indian work, I WILL NOT work for a company that outsources to India or anywhere else. That, perhaps, has taken work away from me, but given that I work full time, I can pay all my bills and some and my job is here (and to stay) it isn't something I sit and worry about.
I'll have to rag on MTs for minute. I have, in fact, edited American MTs and I have tell you, many of them I have seen are worthless. They don't show up and when the do I wonder why they bothered. I don't know that I'd call them MTs, they are typists after a fashion. Ever try to staff an MT company? You try to find qualified MT who also show up when they are supposed to and do the lines they are supposed to do! Every last recruiter I know or have spoken to will tell you that staffing a new account will drive you over the edge. They tell me that most MTs appear to have lied on their resumes, as evidenced by their lack of knowledge, speed and accuracy once they start the job. Many of them put everything they want to do in life ahead of their job and show up late, leave early and do almost nothing while they are working. On top of that, they don't do a good job when they show up, then they will gripe about line rate and want more money, an easier account, or to be allowed to cherrypick in some way. One recruiter told me that if she needs 30 MTs she will try to hire 50 to 60 of them because she knows she'll get about 15 who will stick for any period of time and who can do an adequate job.
If you want to stop outsourcing of MTs, then hone your skills. Talk to others about how they have their Expanders fixed up. Brush up on your terminology. Seek to expand your knowledge by offering to learn new things. Quit whining about line rates. They go up, they go down and you might as well get used to it. Work to be accurate. Work at being faster. SHOW UP and on time. Be worth it, and be worth it at a company who refuses to outsource to India.
offshoring
Excellent!
Offshoring or not?
Some companies state on their website whether they have US MTs only. Of course we don't know how reliable this information is. Why not just ask the MTSO?
OFFSHORING
I had no idea this is going on. Maybe would could come up with a form letter that could be used by anyone interested that would notify AAMT that we are withdrawing any and ALL support of this organization. I really don't think that they would survive peddaling their wares only to foreigners.
Another avenue for change might be getting the knowledge out to American patients that their medical records are being peddeled to whatever foreigner charges the least, with subsequent compromise of the integrity, accuracy, security, and privacy of their medical records.
OFFSHORING
Another thing we can all do is check with the medical facilities that we use for our personal health maintenance, as to who does their transcription, and let them know that you are not interesting in your medical records being shared with the world. We can also all encourage our friends and families to do the same.
Offshoring
What needs to happen is somehow, patients need to know that their info is getting shipped all over the world! I am sure that MOST people do NOT know this! Has anyone tried to get it out there in the media?
Offshoring??
I think my main concern is do they offshore to India, or elsewhere? I will not work for a company that does so. Any information would be greatly appreciated.
Not much offshoring?
Are you kidding? Their whole work force is going to be offshore before long. No ill will here, MQ was great while it lasted for 12 years. I could almost tolerate ASR because I would almost break even, but when the cesspool came, I had to get out. Again, I wish everyone at MQ nothing but the best. What works for one does not necesssarily work for others, just my experience. I am happy where I am now, but no place is perfect.
offshoring
They started offshoring perhaps a little over a year ago. As far as I know, they're still doing that which offends everything I hold dear, especially when I have friends who are sitting now without work.
TRS already was offshoring. The
probably related to the training program TRS already provided there.
Offshoring will dry up...
watch the trend reverse when the tax cuts stop for companies who offshore. Outsourcing is one thing, offshoring is another ballgame. All of the big companies who offshore their easy transcription to workers who do not speak English well so that they can put more in their pockets... well, the clock is ticking for them... I for one will have a party when this tax law is reversed and I will toast to all of the MTSO's who have sold us out. Hmmmm. Seems those companies will be looking for American workers again soon.
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