All About Offshore
Posted By: AnnieK on 2007-06-17
In Reply to: All our jobs, not just MT's are in jeopardy.. - dinosaur
Sending the work offshore can and does work for a couple of reasons.
Firstly the time zone difference, while the US sleeps we are transcribing and the reports back on the specialists' desks, so to speak, when they arrive at work the next morning.
I do not take issue with the fact that you want to keep the work on your shores, but I do take issue with the fact that you think the rest of the world is Third World and incapable of producing work of a high standard. Believe me, there is a world out there and its name is not the US, contrary to what you might think.
A.
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Please post offshore topics on Offshore Concerns board. (NM)
Thank you.
Goldbird
You do know that they offshore, right?? Despite what they tell you -
about the hospitals asking, other hospitals have no idea that the accounts are being transcribed offshore!
They offshore and looking to do more. I have
nearly 20 years' experience in acute care, can do even the most difficult ESLs and they offered me 8 cpl, 8.5 cpl over 18,000 lines/pay period.
does not offshore
AccuStat Carolinas does not for any of their clients
They offshore. nm
Try not to offshore.
They might get it done faster/cheaper, but it is going to look like crap. How happy would your clients be then?
Even if they never offshore....sm
when their contracts renew they will be competing against the offshoring companies and the companies offshore already who will bid them under the table and they'll lose the account.
There are several interesting threads, articles, and blogs across the internet concerning the dying industry of the small MTSOs because of not having the capital to keep up with the technology and equipment needed and the decreasing line rates and increasing turnaround times that the facilities are demanding - and big national companies can offer them these things, so they can blow the small MTSOs out of the water.
There is no such thing as security in any job, but the MT industry is on even shakier ground. When your small MTSO has to sell out or loses their contracts and you lose your $36/hour client, you will find that very hard to replace when you go out into the new world of MT and try to find a comparable job today... there just aren't many out there and those that are have hundreds of MTs applying for them.
Now that's getting real...
Offshore
This is sooooooo not true. I work an afternoon shift and have friends/coworkers who work the midnight shift. Despite, this, even during the day shifts, the company we work for is sending all of the easy work offshore, leaving us domestic suckers to do ALL of the ESLs and otherwise hard work. This work was being stripped off daily, in ever increasing amounts --- now it is gone completely. Most of us do not mind doing all of the work as it comes --- but it absolutely sucks that we are being treated this way.
Offshore VR (sm)
I would think so. Personally, I think VR is better suited to newbie MT's and non-English-speaking transcriptionists because VR has a tendency to get the medical words right while totally mangling sentence structure, grammar, proper nouns, and other nuances of transcription that are more easily picked up by novices. Since the medical words have a better track record in VR, it thus becomes easier to bring in low-paid trainees.
Are you offshore?
Your grammer is soooooo bad, I can't take you seriously.
Oh, I have too, for offshore ads. But not U.S.
Oh so you are another offshore supporter?
Sounds like YOU may be the creep.
Offshore Ad on this site?
I was just over on the State Boards forum and saw an Ad for AAAMT saying they charge 5.9 cents per line. Unless they have monkeys working for bananas, they must have offshore workers because we could not put bread on the table for what they would have to pay after Charging 5.9 cents per line. They offer everything that the big MTSOs offer at 1/3rd to 1/4th the price so I think we can be sure they are not hiring US MTs. I believe MTSOs usually pay the MT around one-third what they charge so at 5.9 cents per line, we would be making around 2 cents a line. Ads like this make me question this site's loyalty to US MTs. 
You are offshore and got caught.
/
Nope, even more would end up offshore.
//
They also offshore to Trinidad.
y
Transcend does not offshore
but they are going to voice recognition which has a lot of bugs along with a paycut to about 4 cents a line. There are some other posts on this page about good companies because somebody else asked about them and they made a decision about it. It is probably your best answer. Sorry about the job loss. Why do things always happen around the holidays? Good luck to you.
Don't they offshore big time?
I've never worked there, but I've heard they will undercut American MTs just to send the work overseas.
I beg to differ, OSi DOES offshore.
Or, trying to kid, it is a very well known fact that OSi offshores.
They OFFSHORE and are wanting to do even more.
Pay not that good. I have 20 years' experience in acute care, can do ESLs and was only offered 8 cpl.
Which companies do we know do NOT offshore?
x
re: Which companies do we know do NOT offshore?
Transcend.
Amphion Does Not Offshore
www.amphionmedical.com
They offshore, pay is average. nm
Cymed-offshore
Well, thank you! You just answered a question I asked Cymed.....and they never answered! 
offshore crap
P
If all they had was the offshore companies
to transcribe, do you know how unhappy the M.D.'s would be. They are already complaining. There would be enough jobs if no one worked for the offshoring ones. Idealistic? Yes, but.............
Offshore concerns
They are smart , and that is why the jobs are going to them! Jobs don't make people smarter; smart people do their jobs well. If you don't believe this then you must question the wisdom of the American MTSOs and companies that outsource. As I have said before, all Indian MTs are not bad and all US MTs are not good. I've seen excellent quality from India and poor quality from the US - that's the other side of the story which none of you wants to see, let alone admit.
This is why I call US MTs insular. If you will only look outside of your own town/state/country you will see how the world has changed and the so-called developing countries have advanced in many ways.
The problem with the US is it has been functioning too long in a cocoon, sheltered and protected. But with the coming of the global age, competiton has become fierce and jobs are moving overseas and it is now finding it difficult to cope in this new business climate.
You say "sadly" because it affects you but have you ever wondered how Indians like it when American companies dump poor quality goods on them and Indian businesses have to shut shop because they can't bear the competition? Of course most of you would not have heard that pesticides were found in bottles of a premier American brand of soft drink sold in India!
Instead of treating "offshoring" as some terrible phenomenon, it is high time US MTs learned to accept the situation because this is the New Age Economy where everything is decided in competition.
if they use the BOS on offshore sites.
If so, the AAMT must be making a killing.
Offshore telemarketers
I had one call for Direct TV. I answered the phone and he was having a conversation with his buddy in their native language. I said hello about 3 times before he said hello. I said hello again and he hung up. I called the number on the caller ID back and another foreigner answered, asking if he could help me. I told him I didn't know, they called me. "Well your number has been selected to receive a free system. How many TVs do you have?" I told him I wasn't interested. "Is it because you have cable?" I told him no. Then he asked if there was any particular reason. I paused a minute and said no, not wanting to be mean. But I think the next time, I will be getting the number for the corporate HQ and contacting the company directly and filing a complaint.
And you wonder why people offshore...
"As soon as company has to place these kind of restrictions they will need to bite the bullet and hire employees"... when people get to be too much a pain in the a--, they WON'T bite the bullet and hire employees, they'll hire Indian MT's. Do you know what a PAIN it is to do the government forms that come with employee status? YIKE.
I never heard of that! For a while, offshore
companies weren't welcome to advertise, but I have never heard of MTs not being welcome here, no matter where they are from. Perhaps you are thinking of companies and advertising, but that was a while ago.
Offshore Can Work
Dinosaur,
You are also making an assumption that this is a US/Asian thing while it is not. I am in fact an English-speaking South African. The fact is we do not run sweatshops, I earn more from my own doctors here than I do from the US clients I work for. There were various posts, I was not singling out yours, that inferred things like "pseudopsychologists", "sweatshops" and the like. In fact, there were posts that referred to the poor quality of work. I really do think that one of the big reasons offshore does work is because of the time zone difference - and that's not a bad thing if patient's can get back their reports timeously. Is it so foreign an idea that we could possibly work harmoniously together?
AnnieK
Offshore can work? Obviously it can and does....sm
But once again you're missing my point. Yes, the time zone difference makes it advantageous to send work offshore! Yes, it is a good thing to get patient records in as expeditious a manner as possible! I'm glad your not running a sweatshop, however, I never said that offshore transcription companies were running sweatshops! Yes, I am guilty of assuming (based on previous responses to my postings that you were from an Asian country.) Mea Culpa! Sorry, just an incorrect assumption on my part.
But, you are missing my point! Americans cannot compete on an equal basis with countries whose economies make it possible to live well on what is well below the poverty level here in the US. Just a plain, unpalatable fact! As an American I am asking other American transcriptionists to make our Senators and Congressmen (and women) aware of the complexity of offshore outsourcing in all fields. While it has it's benefits it also creates unemployment. America cannot survive if all jobs that CAN BE done by professionals overseas are outsourced. Furthermore, other than the time zone difference, the only reason work is being outsourced is money. Money that is going back into the coffers - not to build up the company, not to expand, but, more and more often only to be placed into the hands of the CEO's. CEO's that get "golden parachutes", CEO's that get fired for mishandling the company and take their 100 million dollar "parachute" and leave - only to take another CEO job that may or may not be good for the company. There is no pre-requisite in their contract that the company make money or do well! That's why we're being nickeled and dimed to death here. Greed and avarice!
I don't believe in socialism, I am a firm believer in democracy. However, I believe in taking responsibility and doing what is not only good for "me" but what is good for the country. Old fashioned and out of date, maybe, but I think if America is to succeed in the 21st century we need to start thinking about what America and Americans need and not just "get mine while the getting is good".
So, I have no problem with working harmoniously with any group of professionals. But I do have a problem with the fact that Americans are losing jobs due to economics. Especially since I believe that the factors leading up to the economics is due to greed and mis-management.
Keystrokes does not offshore
x
There was an offshore forum before
x
Work is being sent offshore
Healthcare has expanded. Offshoring is a way to have large volumes typed in a short amount of time. Most offshoring is larger hospitals and institutions. Your smaller practices stick with the smaller MTSOs or ICs. Offshoring is not due to crappy MT work. These posters with their greater than thou QA attitudes need to get over themselves. QA is to assure the client receives an accurate document.
I just heard of an institution that I worked for when with a company that offshores. The reports are horrible with a lot of blanks being sent back to the client. So tell me, how is their QA? Notsogood!!! LOL QA is a short sell. It sounds good in the contract. Your reports will be QA'd, bunch a bologna. Oh palleezzz!! Get over it already. I highly doubt there are physicians sitting around saying "Hmmm, this American MT really stinks and leaves a lot of blanks, I think I send my work to India..." Yeah, I'm so sure! 
offshore transcription sm
I probably shouldn't start this but here are some examples of offshore transcription I have had to edit:
She was depressed and tried calcium, but did not want any more calcium. (supposed to be counseling)
Mother and wife Crohn deceased. (supposed to be Mother alive with Crohn's disease).
Too much work is sent offshore so if everyone
quit working for companies that offshore aren't going to be enough positions to provide jobs with companies who don't offshore.
...or anywhere else offshore for that matter? (sm)
Cost cannot be allowed to be the sole driving factor when private information is involved. It seems that companies that store private records just will not learn this lesson. So, every other day we hear about another million credit card records compromised, laptops stolen with the files of half the Navy personnel on them, etc., etc.
Now we're sending both medical and credit records overseas to be processed (yes, the Big Three credit agencies now have offshore companies handling inquiries). The security issues with all of this are simply enormous...but hey, we're saving money!
It was not that long ago that an offshore worker threatened to post medical records on the Internet if the American MTSO she was working for didn't pay her more money.
What's really funny about all of this is that the poor schmucks overseas don't seem to realize that they're just the step-down along the path from hands-on American transcription to speech rec. It's as if Indian companies had suddenly discovered in 1900 that there was a thriving U.S. market for buggy whips and spent enormous sums to build whip factories...just in time to watch the Model T to come rolling off the assembly line.
Companies that offshore should have to pay a
X
Offshore knows when they start getting same
x
They don't even allow offshore posters--why would they have
Transcend offshore
THAT IS AN OUT AND OUT LIE.
really, that's what offshore charges?
are you kidding??? I work for a hospital in California and get paid 10 cents per 65 character line... i would hope that I am getting paid more than ESL workers!
IMO, they'd just send it ALL offshore.
Except maybe the stats, and could probably use VR for those and find a few people willing to proof those stats. JMO.
I say let them try to send all of their work offshore
I think they would end up with some unhappy clients.
Up-date from CC offshore customer rep.
Okay, I found a phone number on my statement for thier "Premier" card so I called that number. I asked where the rep was located and she told me Buffulo, NY and her name was Vivian. I got the answer to my question and then told her I had initially called and got hold of a center in the Phillipines but I refused to talk to them. I asked how I could go about lodging a complaint about the company offshoring. She said she could forward the complaint for me but it probably wouldn't do any good. I told her it would do some good if more people did as I was doing and also lodged complaints about offshoring. I explained that in my profession offshoring a a huge problem and that it was only a matter of time before SHE lost her job to offshoring also. I told her to include in my complaint that her bosses worked for me and if I, and others like me, refused to use their services, her boss and the company's management would be looking for new jobs. Vivian told me they have call centers all over the world and I just lucked out using the :"Premier" phone number because I do not have a "Premier" card. She said in the future if I want to get a rep in the US, I will probably have to hang-up and call back, several times maybe, until I got hold of a US rep. (Yeah, right, I am calling the Premier number first thing). But, at least I know what it might take to get a US rep.
I realise even the offshore people are just looking to make a living but what about all the US citizens trying to make a living, only to see their jobs go offshore? And I agree that it is "managament" that is responsible for this, but until we stand up for ourselve, no one else will. Management works for us!! Just like the managment of the MTSOs and even the Nationals have no job without us. It it too easy to say, "Well, just this one time, I will use the foreign call center, One time won't make a difference." But it is that one time, added to your one time and added to her one time, added to my one time and on and on, that WILL make a difference. It is too easy to sit back and wait for someone else to solve the problem. That attitude will get us nowhere but out of work or working for slave wages
I realise even the offshore people are just looking to make a living but what about
Offshore call centers
Why did you even have a discussion with him? Just because his communication skills were good? It could be his sister who is taking an MT position away from one of our sisters! Geesh, don't you people get it??!! Just politely insist that you speak to a rep. in the US and stick to your guns until you are connected with one.
Medikin / AAMT / offshore
Well, here's another 1500 jobs that will not be available to American MTs. Any thoughts ????
Hillary Clinton, you will hear from me BIGTIME.
Just got my renewal for AAMT membership. Think I will decline this year.
New York, NY, September 12, 2005. Medikin has signed an exclusive partnership deal with the leading and largest medical transcription academy in the Philippines, MTC Academy (MTCA), to provide Philippine MTSOs Medikin's HIPAA compliant TASP technology platform to streamline document and workflow management functions. The partnership was official on the opening day of MTCA's Business and Technology Seminar in Manila, Philippines on August 26-27. Other leading American companies and organizations such as the AAMT (American Association of Medical Transcription), Scribe Healthcare Technologies, Tele-Trans Transcription ......According to the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) an estimated 1,500 Philippine MTSOs will establish by 2007.
and they have offshore services as clients.
t
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