Outsourcing saves less than claimed
Posted By: Nancy Domenichelli on 2006-04-13
In Reply to:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060413/tc_nm/outsourcing_dc_1
Is this really a surprise to any of us?...
Thu Apr 13, 4:32 AM ET
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Outsourcing of information technology and business services delivers average cost savings of 15 percent, a survey found on Thursday, disproving market claims that outsourcing can reduce costs by over 60 percent.
After professional fees, severance pay and governance costs, savings range between 10 percent and 39 percent, with the average level at 15 percent when contracts are first let, according to outsourcing advisory firm TPI.
"This research proves that the promise of massive operational savings is unrealistic when you take into account the costs of procurement and ongoing contract management," Duncan Aitchison, TPI's managing director, said in a statement.
"In our experience, outsourcing arrangements which focus solely on delivering huge savings often fail to meet client expectations," he added.
Cost reduction remains the primary motivation behind current outsourcing contracts, but an increasing number of companies are outsourcing primarily to improve quality, at 21 percent now versus 11 percent in 2004.
The first three months of 2006 had the largest number of outsourcing contracts ever signed in the first quarter of a year. TPI found that 83 contracts were signed, valued globally at over 18 billion euros ($21.9 billion), compared with 76 deals worth just over 13 billion euros over the same period last year.
IBM, EDS and T-Systems were the main beneficiaries of contracts let in the first quarter of 2006, winning total contract values of 3.7 billion euros, 3.6 billion euros and 1.1 billion euros, respectively.
The pipeline of deals on which TPI is currently advising is led by EDS, IBM and CSC, which are competing for deals totaling 6.4 billion euros, 6 billion and 4 billion, respectively, it added.
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I never claimed to be the "A"...
Of course not all textbooks are the same. However, to claim all the arbitrary grammar guideline changes evident in the BOS are now patent rules of grammar is quite foolish. I also doubt very seriously that any textbook is based on the BOS.
Do we all remember the so-called "new math?" Look what is now happening across the nation. The trend is back to basic math, and it is now beginning to be taught the "old" way once again, mainly because our country's students have been struggling to understand even basic concepts.
Newer is definitely not always better. So, you think the BOS is *the* authority? I will never agree with that precept, and neither will the majority of MTs, healthcare providers, educators or even the public in general.
Never claimed
Not once did I say y'all were uneducated. IN fact, quite the opposite. My initial post was asking about training and what this field was all about, what did experienced MTs suggest.
I absolutely believe without a doubt I could do your job as an MT if I decided to go for it. No doubt. I absolutely have little doubt you could NOT do mine. Otherwise, you would be looking to do MT as a part time job for extra cash because your full time day job was already fulfilling.
No, you were bashing. You were rude and insulting to a harmless post asking for suggestions on how to get into the field. Don't try to change it now.
The bigotry I see claimed is not that but
when people start making generalizations about people's cleanliness or illegality. It's a huge jump from talking about illegal immigrants to assuming the Hispanic people you see are Mexicans, aliens, or dirty.
Sure, some of them are, but some of them aren't and anytime you make assumptions about a group of people, you are being prejudiced. That's what I saw the other day on this board, and that's what was called out.
I read about that, Comcast claimed they used too much bandwidth, but SM
it is supposed to be unlimited.
I never claimed to be great or perfect, I am just sick of the whining.
All we hear is "we need to discuss, we need to talk, we need to figure out what to do." I have offered some suggestions of what you might try to pull yourselves out of the mire, since you can't seem to think of any suggestions yourselves. The collective whining is getting you nowhere. How many times do you think you need to whine "poor me" before the situation changes itself? I hate to tell you, but no amount of whining is going to change your plight, only action on your part will do that. Anyway, bottom line is, whine all you want together, just take it to a blog so we don't have to be subjected to it.
AutoCorrect only saves the font if . . .
you check formatted text when making an entry. Otherwise the font is whatever you are using at the time you use the entry. You shouldn't have to have multiple entries just for different fonts.
Now, if an entry needs to be bolded or italicized, then you need to check formatted text for that to come up when you use that particular entry. It's the same for multiple-line addresses - check formatted text or you will get one long line with ** instead of a line break.
Truth be told, AutoCorrect is actually a fine Expander until you get to about 5000 entries. Then it may get a bit boggy.
I'm a vegetarian so not buying meat saves,
but also, the more *fixed* food is, the more expensive it is - for example, if I want soup, I buy the ingredients and make it myself, plus it tastes better and isn't loaded with garbage I don't need like salt and fat.
I don't buy extras - candles have been out for a long time - I have a few in case of power failure, but nothing fancy. I don't have a cell phone, or anything other than basic TV. I buy clothes at thrift stores (which is actually a lot of fun), and I never hang out at malls - impulse buying is out.
Get an extra plastic bottle and pour half your shampoo into it, then fill with water. Most people use way too much shampoo, conditioner, etc - dilute w/water - does the same job and lasts way longer.
If you will search around the web with Google, you can come up with hundreds of ways to save money - most of us buy stuff we don't need simply because we are lazy or we think our every desire needs to be gratified.
It's mostly just excess baggage; it is amazing how good it feels to not need *stuff* to feel good.
the potpourri idea is fabulous!!, plus don't forget the wonderful scent of herbs you can grow yourself to mix with the cinnamon, etc.
Good luck and have fun!
Thank you! That's pretty handy and saves time! nt
nt
Do you have Allow Fast Saves checked on one of the computers?
Look at the save tab in the options on both computers. You need to uncheck fast saves, then both computers should give you the same count.
The silver lining about the snippy ads is it saves us
or even worse, working for them. Although they're shooting themselves in the foot, those kind of ads are doing US a favor. ;)
Also got rid of our house phone because we all had cell phones and that saves me about 75.00 a month
or so.
A KVM switch will let you use 2 different hard drives on the same monitor. Saves much space
Check out KVM switch. I used my hospital computer provided to me when I first started with MQ. I used the KVM switch and that way I didn't have to invest in a monitor right off the bat. All I needed was a hard drive to dump the MQ program into. Then I could switch back and forth from one hard drive to the other. I don't know if this is what you are looking for but just thought I'd add this here as it has saved me much money and space.
OUTSOURCING....
http://msn.com.com/2100-9589_22-5757832.html?part=msn&subj=ns_5757832&tag=tg_itdc
outsourcing
In this day and age, especially with globalization, any one of us can be replaced quite easily..not just in the MT field, in all fields. When I heard they are outsourcing radiology work to India and hospitals are letting some radiologists go, I almost choked! The other day when I called the local court house to postpone my jury duty service, I talked with a lady who had a thick Indian accent. I was tempted to ask, are you in India.
outsourcing ad
about 20 or so posts down, subject "censorship" ... two advertisements at top of page, one soliciting transcription to be sent to india for great savings, etc. outrageous.
Outsourcing
Great article-- but do you think the CEOs care? They are too busy with their big 6-7 figure salaries and bonuses to worry about us. All they care about is the bottom line-- how to save an extra nickel so they can line their pockets and buy that new yacht every year. 
Outsourcing
I think it will get to the point where everybody will outsource at least some of the work. With all these companies begging for employees it doesn't seem like there's enough of us. The employer I just left was a private owned company and one of the biggest accounts decided to outsource. Don't know who they chose to do this for them, they didn't say, but my income was cut from 4500. a month to 1300. a month. Right now just desperate for a good job.
outsourcing
No way. It's here to stay. There just aren'the enough transcriptionists out there to do all the work and turn it around as quickly as it is expected these days. I would not worry. There is enough work for everyone.
Outsourcing
...I hear you. The more we rely on technology, the greater the risk, and the more our private information goes bye-bye to India, Timbuktu, or where ever, the greater the risk we are putting ourselves. Interesting to find out China, the sleeping giant, has thrown out all things MICROSOFT in the country. See, there're thinking ahead, years down the road. They use only Linux, won't chance anything to a world wide shut down someday by terrorists or otherwise. THAT, I find interesting. I also wonder if our powerful men in politics, especially our President and his administration have arranged to keep their private healthcare records state side ... hmmmmm...
outsourcing
I agree with the posters. Check your medical reports, some of them contain serious errors, I was misdiagnosed in an op report as having a serious condition I was determined "not" to have.
I also was treated like a common criminal by a foreign country because I bought a laptop from someone who lost their job in 9/11. I paid a little more than I should have because I felt sorry for him and unless I pretended to be "him" they would not help me. I finally after two months got the right part from an American company and my laptop worked just fine after two shipments of the wrong part and a whole lot of aggravation and misinformation.
They are a third world country and we will take their place soon if we don't watch out. They'll be taking over more than our jobs. It's very dangerous. It is life-threatening as far as information goes. Some will be saving money but losing lives.
outsourcing
What worries me is it's bad enough when they mess with our finances because they don't understand how things work in our country. But now with transcription being outsourced, they are literally messing with our lives! A transcription mistake of left versus right, Klonopin versus Clonidine, 0.5 mg versus 50 mg, could mean disfigurement or death if not caught in time by an overworked nurse or doctor.
Outsourcing...
In response to: People say outsourcing will happen.....It is happening!! There are a few National companies (which will go unnamed, but you know who they are) who have contracts with facilities who know the work is being outsourced and they want it because it cut their line rates significantly. This is our biggest competition right now. Overseas, the piddly line rates of 6 cents/line is a lot of money to those people. They are getting better and better at it (the offshore countries), and in time, they will be so good that there will be little editing needed. It is just like newbies here in the US, it just takes time for them to improve and learn...and before you know it, we'll wake up one day and poof...very little if any work in US, all overseas! It is a global economy and what we think is peanuts, they think is a fortune! I am currently retraining in another profession (nutrition) because I have been watching this evolution for the past 7-10 years. I managed a company back in 1997 that first sent transcription overseas and I had to proof and edit that crap! I think in 9 years, they are probably getting better at it and with time, they will improve even more. Don't be so sure that outsourcing will not continue to be a current event! IMHO.
Outsourcing
I originally posted this on the "Company Board," but one kind soul there suggested I repost it on the Main Board, so here it goes:
I'll tell you my personal take on this. I'm a very small MTSO and am fighting like heck to keep my jobs in the good old USA - hiring only Americans, etc.
We face stiff competition from companies who offshore, use EMR, etc. I charge my clients what the market will bear. I've already had to lower my rates to 2 of my largest clients because even at the lower cpl rates I was charging them at the time, they were ready to walk to India, and in fact were testing out some Indian MT companies - this after I had, in fact, already lost 2 other doctors' offices to offshore Indian companies. I feel I am fair and pay my IC transcriptionists 2/3 of whatever I make from my clients. But whenever I advertise for experienced transcription help, I am pretty much told to go jump in the lake with the rates that I'm able to afford to pay, even though it's good, steady work. So the bottom line is that I really find it difficult to get any competent help from American MTs. Not that there aren't many around, just that I and many like me can't afford them. Not blaming the MTs (American OR Indian) for wanting to make a living either, I'm just saying this to demonstrate the dilemma I find myself in. I suspect it's the same for other small MTSOs. Can't really raise my rates, because from prior experience, many doctors offices have no scruples about sending work offshore. I've never resorted to offshoring anything, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't tempted.
Not singing the blues, just telling the facts. Personally, I'd rather be selling hotdogs on the beach.
outsourcing
I am the only Transcriptionist in a doctor's office. We started sending some work to a transcription company in November and later found out they were outsourcing to India. I thought my doctors would be upset, but guess what??? NO!!! It has been the biggest "mess" for me to correct. It has been far more trouble for me than if I just typed everything. I started leaving all the blanks, etc. and let the doctors start dealing with this and as of 6/15/07 we are no longer using that transcription company. We found someone locally (IC) who is typing our work for the same amount per line. YEAH!!!!!
ASR/VR/Outsourcing
Right. Hopefully the other companies do not do the same as Medquist. One company can ruin it for everybody.
The truth of the matter is if you can get the same item at a different store for half the price, you are going to go to that store to get it (which in turn would cause the other stores to have to lower their price).
I am just putting a warning out there for people to know that this is out there. Medquist will tell you that you will be able to produce more work and will lower your cpl to 5 cents/line; however, as you said, the quality VR puts out is horrible and it takes just as long to edit the VR work as it would to type it. They (Medquist) are also outsourcing work to the Phillipines. Our pay is lowered as the cost of living goes up.
maybe it goes along with outsourcing.
If you can outsource paperwork, why not babies? The article says all nationalities are involved. It does make one wonder.
Outsourcing sm
Our jobs are going overseas and I had an idea! Lets outsource the US Government to India.
I'd bet it would cost a lot less. When candidates are running for office, they can use those Indian phone banks to explain their platforms. The accents are thick, but what does it matter? Politicians are not outstanding speakers and when it comes to listening to the people their skills are nil. Employ an Indian to run your rhetoric...raise funds...and sit in a caucus.
Let Indians do the accounting for the feds. I am willing to bet that for 3 cents a line a "highly educated" Indian could find all the wastage of $100 hammers and $1000 toilet seats. Let them type up bills to be put before congress, they type cheap and we all know that. I can't speak for the accuracy, but it is CHEAP.
Better yet, buy American! Shun the goods from China, India, and all those third world countries. Keep it at home.
And um, Mr. President? Exporting democracy doesn't mean you export American jobs...
Outsourcing
Can anyone enlighten me just how an individual such as myself could check to see if a company that adverises on MT Job Boards has any affiliations with India or outsourcing? Thanks for your help.
Not outsourcing
All our hospitals/facilities Outsource - to us.- so unless we all want to loose our jobs, we need to be careful what we complain about. It's Offshoring that we're protesting.
outsourcing
I recently lost my job due to outsourcing and it is killing me emotionally. I loved the company had been with them for a year and it was okay, could have been better but I felt good about the work, company etc. Monday, got the call and just been ship wrecked every since. I expected more out of them...nothing like we will find you another account, it was just we are going to be sending it to India due to the cost. I am still hurting from it....not really financially, but mentally.
Outsourcing
Our manager has fought off that demon more than once. She is very supportive of in-house transcription. It's great to have someone finally stand up for us!!!
Outsourcing
I just have to vent my frustration! I had an appointment with my orthopedic doctor this morning and we started on the subject of transcription. When I asked if he had inhouse or a service he told me they send all their work to India. They have several physicians and PACs which dictate and they were spending over $100,000 a year for transcription. Their service was charging them .12 a line. They pay .06 a line in India. Obviously the service could not compete. :( I should have asked him about quality and TAT!
Outsourcing
It is rightly mentioned by “none” that “this is not the only industry that outsources”. One just has to look around our house or a store nearby to find that there are lots of electronic goods, clothes etc. which are not made in the United States. These have been true since decades.
Frankly speaking it was the western world and US which wanted these economies to open up so that American products could be sold there. Now these countries have a Nike, Pepsi, Ford, Whirlpool etc. but they are now producing it too and at a cheaper rate. The job losses through manufacturing have been huge but this sector innovated. My take is that MT industry also has to innovate because technology has made outsourcing inevitable.
And those of you who say that we should not visit a doctor who sends work overseas, my question is are you using only American made products? If you are then you can say that otherwise please don’t say things which you don’t follow yourself. Maybe lot of American jobs would be created if all the things we use in our daily life were made in US and not in China or India.
Outsourcing
This just recently happened at the company I work for (not just psych but psych was included), they went with another service to do their work (we were just doing overflow) and part of the deal was they had to take all the inhouse transcriptionists...well from what I hear they are making it real difficult for the transcriptions, I think so they'll quit and they can bring newer people in at a lower rate. Just my opinion.
About outsourcing...
It's not just us - but darnit, I'm still mad!!!
http://www.comcast.net/data/fan/html/popup.html?v=928157451&pl=newestFinance.xml&config=&launchpoint=Link&cid=fanlink&attr=featured_sidebar&tab=featured&attr=finance_sidebar
outsourcing
A lot of them do. Usually they start outsourcing discharge summaries. No matter where you work, inhouse or at home for a national, it can be sheer drudgery at times and the holidays are usually the worst of it.
Changing careers can be a good idea and a welcome change but with the uncertain times we live in who knows???? It's hard to make decisions when everything seems to be in the throes of bankruptcy, bailout and the old rules seem to be gone forever.
Things will get better in time. I hope.
outsourcing
Girl (or guy), I feel your pain! Unfortunately, it's not just transcription. I had heard that radiology reports were read by off-site radiologists now (in India, or wherever), and we experienced it firsthand a couple of months ago when my husband went to the ER and had several tests done. What took the longest time for us to get out of there was having to wait for the radiology report to be faxed back to the hospital. Sure, I guess they still have to have someone on site to take the pics, but I guess those are lower level, tech jobs. Crazy.
outsourcing
Hi
I too am concerned about losing my job. I've already lost one good job due to outsourcing, a gastroenterology office. My main job now is putting in system where info will be put in computer at time of patient visit thus, not needing transcription. Yes, I am very concerned about it.
outsourcing
Bless your heart... I just don't know if us transcriptionists can turn this around:( I called the Obama campaign line & reported what is happening to him & I also left a post on change.org about it. I just don't know if transcription is going to continue to spiral downhill or what, but I am so worried:( I am seriously thinking about going to college to do x-ray tech just so I can be multifunctional for the hospital if I get the shaft with transcription.
Outsourcing...
In my experience, the doctors who are either on staff and/or have admitting privileges to a particular hospital are basically at the mercy of the hospital board and administrators, as the revenues generated by the physicians to the hospital are filtered through all the departments, so that each gets their share of those revenues, with the hospital gain outweighing the physicians. So, although doctors may not necessarily like it if dept A is outsourced, they're still weighing that loss against depts B, C, D, etc. Does that make sense? Perhaps if they keep barking loudly enough as more and more departments are eventually outsourced, the powers that be will finally take notice and listen! Unfortunately, by the time that happens, those suits will all be standing around wondering what happened to THEIR jobs!
outsourcing
Working such rigid hours is a very common Eastern Asia thing. I know it is a stereotype but that is how one family can run a 24-hour store, because they are very strict with their hours. While IC used to be you work when you want as long as you get the minimum amount of work in each day that you said you would it is becoming more like just a glorified telecommute position. You still have to be online and ready to work certain hours and if you aren't you are disciplined like with any job. I see this a lot with jobs that are overseas companies and even American based companies are adopting the program. It prevents problems like were listed in another post - everyone taking the same days off and no work getting done.
Your best bet is to make sure the contract does not say you have to work certain hours, just submit so many lines a day AS WORK IS AVAILABLE...I've seen people get in trouble for not submitting lines but there wasn't work enough to get those lines.
We aren't given the freedom we used to, but there are still jobs out there if you dig far enough! Good Luck!!
OUTSOURCING PLAN...
Okay, here is the plan. For all of these hospitals with heavy ESL dictation loads, outsource these yourselves to India, Pakistan, Trinidad or where ever they speak that English as an unknown language. It won't matter if it is correct as typing those documents is just a best guess scenario anyway. Leave all of the English as a First Language (EFL) here in the US for those of us to type as we have been working long and hard to gain our experience and deserve to have decent work. If a hospital has a lot of ESLs that they have brought stateside to staff their hospitals as hospitalists as they work cheaper then it should be their responsibility to give them English classes and monitor their progress until they can speak English clearly, concisely, and accurately. The solution to this problem with ESLs is in our HANDS and we know it. The large companies and hospital clients need to take note before it is too late and we are all retired. You need us more than we need you.
OUTSOURCING PLAN...
And it is you and your "oh so thankful to have a job" kind that have gotten those of us that are MTs and will never be MLSs into this ESL cesspool by allowing it to happen. Anything for money, right??
OUTSOURCING PLAN...
Sure, my world is called Affirmative Reaction, taking back what was ours by right of being an MT before the almighty dollar spoke and we allowed our hospitals to actively solicit these ESLs, bring them stateside, pay for their malpractice coverage, and employ them as hospitalists, and now we are stuck with a language barrier that, in all other fields, requires a certified translator but now that we have been awarded the title of MLS we are supposed to type an accurate medical document while listening to an ESL's attempt to speak English?? This is your world now, I have done my time, and you are welcomed to all the ESLs you can handle or rather fool yourself into believing that you can do so very accurately.
OUTSOURCING PLAN...
Okay, this string is not a question of what our ancestors did, it is to get those of you that are new to the MT business to realize that if we don't do something about this outsourcing of medical transcription, your "oh so wonderful jobs" may be forfeit. Look at IBM, laying off over 13K stateside and hiring 14K in India. Any Capitol One sending all of its customer service to Manila--that's right, your credit information. Think money has anything to do with that?? Open your eyes, your job is slipping through your fingers...
OUTSOURCING PLAN...
If these ESL doctors are such wonderful humans, why don't they stay in their homelands and help their own people? There would be no third-world problems if the privileged and educated people stayed in their homeland and actively helped their own, rather than fleeing to the US to live the good life that their own countrymen will never see. Charity starts at home, remember.
OUTSOURCING PLAN...
How could it happen? Very easily. Many of the national companies actually have policies in which they state that, should an MT notify them of a difficult/hard to understand dictator, they will alert that dictator and work with him/her to enhance their dictating skills, along with notifying the client that a particular dictator presents an accuracy problem in that their English is not clearly understandable in order to be transcribed accurately. Unfortunately, most of these companies do not enforce their policies and allow the client to send these dictators as overload work since their own in-house staff doesn't want to type them either. These national companies could address these issues, the dictator would benefit from the help provided, and the MT would be able to produce an accurate product. There are even self-help tools for these ESLs to better their dictating skills. If these clients/hospitals do not choose to help their ESL dictators, then they should either type their dictated product in-house or pay more for the handling of such a poor dictation product. MTs are not the garbage men or clean-up crew. If one wants an accurate medical document, one must provide an accurate and understandable dictated product. We are not magicians, we are MTs.
OUTSOURCING PLAN...
No, not a newbie, more notches on my belt from nursing and working as an MT than you will ever see...
OUTSOURCING PLAN...
Not off base at all. Yes, they are part of the healthcare system, and their documentation is very important. But if the dictation that constitutes their documentation is substandard then the risk of mistakes rises and patient care is at risk. Having worked with these doctors, I know that they generally do take constructive criticism well and do try to make things better once the problem has been pointed out and a solution offered. You can't solve a problem by ignoring it exists.
OUTSOURCING PLAN...
It does exist, won't name the companies without their permission, but even the in-house supervisors will attest to the fact that they do offer suggestions to these difficult dictators in hopes of making the dictated product better. Guess you haven't looked in the right places??
OUTSOURCING PLAN...
Soy intelligente y no necessito trabajar mas! Y tu??
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