Transcribing with Ease

Medical transcription requires speed and accuracy. Both qualities are needed for having an "A"-result transcribed document; well, basically, if not perfectly. It is frustrating sometimes when these two qualities are not achieved immediately. Patience is required or else the medical transcriptionist would feel depressed, thus discouraging him further to improve such qualities.

Transcription can be done with ease. It must be done heartily too. It must be done without "dwelling" so much on terms that cannot be deciphered or heard for the first time. Transcribe lightheartedly, keeping in mind that re-listening to the dictation, having somebody hear them, or researching for the terms will also do the trick of solving such indecipherability. If you come to such terms that you cannot understand, flag them first by putting a blank or highlighting it. Continue transcribing until you have reached the end of the dictation file.

When you're done doing that, go back to the terms you've missed or flagged. You have three options now: re-listening to the file (this one is a must though), having somebody hear them for you, or researching the terms. Doing so, those flags or blanks can be filled in. If all else fail, leave them in a blank format. It is safer that way than having to fill them with terms that you are not sure of or that you thought that you have heard them right. Chances are, you heard wrongly. If you heard them right, they wouldn't have been flagged in the first place!

Mindanao Transcription Players Meet With MTIAPI President Myla Reyes

MTIAPI and Mindanao's transcription education and service organizations in a round table discussion of challenges and opportunities last April 11, 2008 at MEDCo offices

Mindanao’s transcription players welcomed MTIAPI president, Myla Reyes and Executive Director, Raymund Eruma in a first-ever Mindanao-wide effort to gather issues and challenges faced by both medical transcription educational organizations and service organizations. Representatives from the cities of Butuan, Davao, General Santos, Zamboanga, Cagayan de Oro and Tacurong listened intently as Ms. Reyes presented key industry trends and developments. The optimistic forecast of growth for the transcription industry provided hope for Mindanao’s SMITEs who seek to become competitive players in the global arena.

“MTIAPI hopes to establish stronger branding, front-end awareness, and linkages with relevant international associations, as well as find partners and open up more business opportunities for our local MT companies. Furthermore, the Philippines is heavily promoting its medical transcription capabilities to the United States in a bid to raise its market share,” according to Myla Rose Mundo-Reyes, president of the Medical Transcription Industry Association of the Philippines (MTIAPI).

It was heartening to note that TADI (Transcription Alliance of Davao, Inc) shares MTIAPI’s desire to strengthen the advocacy for uplifting the quality and image of the MT career professional. Noteworthy suggestions also came from Cagayan de Oro to create forums where career professionals can generate leads and exchange best practices. Ms. Reyes cautioned though that any participant to these fora must practice responsible communication as perceptions of our foreign counterparts are strongly influenced by these exchanges. A majority of the players believed that the MT education platform must include values formation and other soft skills building programs.

With the growing shortage of medical transcription personnel in the US coupled with the increasing older population of Americans, the consistent offshore capabilities of the Philippines can propel us to become a dominant player in the future. And as the cost of doing business becomes more attractive in the provincial hubs, it makes more sense to explore the capabilities of Mindanao’s transcription sector.

(Published with permission from TADI President)

MTC Academy Davao

The Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry in Davao City may still be in the early stages of sorts as compared to other much larger and more established urban centers in the country. However, future prospects are still abloom for further growth in the industry. But the city is moving swiftly in gaining a larger piece of the pie when it comes to IT and outsourcing field. In the field of medical transcription, MTC Academy Davao is recognized as the premier and most established medical transcription training institution in the country that has a number of branches located in the key cities throughout the Philippines.

On May 30, 2008, MTC Academy Davao, also known by its corporate name, Nanoscript, Inc., further cemented itself as full-pledged partner in the development of the BPO industry in the city by officially joining the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCCI). The firm along with the other six (6) companies and private entities were officially inducted into the Chamber's fold which signified as a major step of the school in making further inroads towards the development by not just of the medical transcription training sector but also to the overall development and growth of the city's business environment. The Davao Chamber is recognized locally and internationally as an institution that has diverse membership base which comprises of small, medium, and large businesses as well as organizations of all types and diverse backgrounds across the city in the region. The Chamber's membership base covers all aspects of the city's economy from agribusiness to small and medium entrepreneurs from heavy industry to individual or corporate professional service firms and associations.

Being a member of the Davao Chamber, it will enable the MTC Academy Davao to engage in effective partnerships with other member firms and it also gives a distinction of being a part of an organization that has repeatedly garnered awards from the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry which is seen as one of the best organizations in the country as well.

RP Needs 32,000 Medical Transcriptionist

On the Philippine Daily Inquirer last April 9, 2008, it was posted that the country's medical transcription industry has to boost its workforce three times in order to increase its share of the total offshore market valued at around $18 billion.

According to (MTIAPI)-Medical Transcription Industry Association of the Philippines, local companies have missed out on lucrative contracts from US outsourcers due to a lack of capacity. The demand of medical transcriptionist has to be tripled than that of the current workforce which is around 10,000. Ms. Myla Rose Reyes, president of MTIAPI mentioned that the country must have around 32,000 medical transcriptionists by 2010 so it could adequately address the demand. As a result, MTIAPI is focusing on the development of a bigger pool of qualified transcriptionists to meet up the fast turnaround requirements of large foreign customers. They are now developing related skills training and certification programs with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), the Business Process Association of the Philippines (BPA/P), and the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations (COCOPEA).

Read more about the article here.

WHAT's HOT ABOUT BUSINESS TRANSCRIPTION?

You have probably heard of transcription before. Medical transcription gets a lot of attention, but there are some other types of transcription as well. One of it, which also shows a large demand in the Business Process Outsourcing industry (BPO), is the Business Transcription.

Transcription services are required in almost every area of the business spectrum. The very need to put the spoken word into text automatically creates demand for Business Transcription. Too much of transcription work in corporate world can put undue load on the existing staff and so companies outsource them to business transcriptionists. Realizing this, more and more companies are now going for transferring their transcription work to a different company. This can be cheap too if the company goes for outsourced business transcription services.

To get transcription work outsourced, the company records their meetings, seminars or conventions. This is then uploaded to a specified location from where the transcription company can download it to start off with the transcription work. Transcription companies accept audio files in various formats. MS Word or any other text processing software is used for creating transcripts. These transcripts would then be sent via email or simply uploaded to the location from where the company can have it.

Outsourced business transcription companies hire employees that need not be in sync with the rules and regulations of the country from where their clients send them recordings. However, many transcription tasks include understanding data and transcribing accordingly. Also, American accents and terms may be hard to follow for home grown transcriptionists. To avoid such problems, a Filipino transcriptionist should at least be exposed in a comprehensive training program for Business Transcriptions to familiarize themselves with business terms and develop their listening skills. They should be exposed in different files that can have American accent, Asian accent or even European accent. This ensures the best rates with no compromise on quality. MTC Academy Davao is now offering its course in Business Transcription. You can call them at 222-6822 for any inquiries.