All Things Transcription

Well, it seems I was a little premature in deserting my soapbox labeled “outsourcing.” On 6/13/09, I posted an article about outsourcing. That article was in response to an incident involving a Pakistani medical transcriptionist and her attempt to extort a large amount of money by threatening to put private medical records out on the internet. This article is in response to an article that was published in both the Economic Times and The Daily Mail in regards to a British TV station that purchased a large number of medical records from some Indian men that were outsourced from the London Clinic. The London Clinic is a well-regarded private clinic in London. Some National Health hospitals also outsource their records to Indian companies as well. Please, read the articles. You really need to see the reason these guys were selling the records.

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Let’s look at outsourcing from a different angle. Many medical transcriptionists refuse to work for an MTSO that outsources. They disagree with outsourcing and see this as a way to have their opinions heard. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this. In fact, I agree with it. Is this helping to reduce outsourcing? If a company is already outsourcing and increasing their profits with it, US medical transcriptionists refusing to work for them isn’t enough to influence them to stop outsourcing.

Is there a group of people who can influence these companies to stop outsourcing? Of course there is, doctors. The doctors are the ones that are supplying the work to the MTSOs. If the doctors stop supplying the work to these companies and make sure to let them know that the reason is outsourcing, I would be willing to bet that it might influence these companies to rethink their positions.

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On several occasions I have come across a question on a forum I visit that has me absolutely flabbergasted. This question originates from students but I still cannot fathom the cluelessness of this question. Here it is:

“When should I start using headphones?” See the title for my reaction.

Let me reiterate that this question is being asked by students. However, I cannot imagine what these folks are thinking. Do they really think that listening to dictation when everyone can hear it is the norm in the industry?

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