Medical transcription courses need of the hour

The Indian Medical Transcription Industry Association (IMTIA) is in the process of holding dialogue with various colleges to run medical transcription (MT) programmes as part of syllabus to meet the growing requirements across the world.

Depending on the success of the IMTIA initiative in Bangalore, where some colleges have come forward to train students in MT, it was planned to spread the programme to other major towns, particularly Coimbatore, the association president Suresh Nair told newsmen in Coimbatore recently.

The IMTIA would provide software support, like men and material, if the colleges were ready to provide infrastructural facilities, Nair said.

The industry was holding great potential, with the US, UK and Australia emerging as new sources of business, he said, adding that the market in India was growing at the rate of 50 per cent annually, presently standing at $250 million.

The size of the global medical industry was estimated to be around $12 billion and India could play a leading role in view of the tremendous human resources available.

The IMTIA aimed at creating awareness about medical transcription as a viable long-term career option, Nair, also CEO of Spheris India Ltd, said it was only a matter of time before it moved up the value chain to render services such as medical coding and billing services, document imaging, data warehousing, claim processing, insurance and other high end services. — PTI