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Chitra Phadnis

The approximately $6-billion medical transcription industry needs to outsource work because of a shortage in capacity in the US. However, the quality of work determines whether a company can survive or not.

BANGALORE, March 22

THE oldest medical transcription company in India set up seven years ago, HealthScribe, is looking at diversifying into other product areas, leveraging its expertise. ``We are still at the discussion stage,'' Mr Suresh Nair, Chief Operating Officer, told Business Line.

A more defined strategy is expected to be firmed up in the next one month, though the new areas of operation may only begin by Q3 this year. The company is looking at two potential areas — billing and coding for healthcare industry and back-office processing in areas such as HR functions.

``We have already trained a large number of people in healthcare. We can acquire domain knowledge in other areas too,'' Mr Nair said. The expansion comes on the heels of the break-even post-September 2001. ``We are now making cash profits and this helps us look at other areas,'' Mr Nair said.

In case more funds are needed, parent Max, which acquired a 62 per cent share on the company two years back, is always ready to put in more equity. The company ddid not need to look outside for finances, Mr Nair said.

In financial year 2002, HealthScribe has grown by 50 per cent over the previous year with revenues touching $8 million. The same kind of growth is expected in the next fiscal, for which the company is targeting a turnover of $12 million.

The number of employees has increased from 400 to 1,100. By the end of the year, it is expected to reach 15-1600. ``Today we are at a stage when we have to tell customers to come back later. We get more orders than we can handle,'' Mr Nair said.

HealthScribe subcontracts around 30 per cent of its work to smaller companies in Bangalore and Mysore.

"We have stringent quality checks on them. The company plans to keep the quantum of work outsourced a constant while expanding activities in-house," he said.

``In percentage terms, the outsourced work will go down,'' Mr Nair said. The approximately $ 6-billion medical transcription industry needs to outsource work because of a shortage in capacity in the US. However, the quality of work determines whether a company can survive or not.

The survivors in the industry from the thousands that mushroomed a few years ago were those who were quality- conscious, Mr Nair said.

HealthScribe itself appointed a consultant, went in for a major revamp and changed its training criteria last year to become more process-oriented. The changes showed a ``dramatic increase in productivity,'' Mr Nair claimed.

By year-end, the company is also considering introducing the option of working from home.

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