Dated September 12, 2002

An interview with Mr Harikrishnan, Location Head, Acusis Software India Pvt. Ltd, Chennai.

Can you give us a clear picture about the field of medical transcription, which is perceived as an easy profit venture?

There is a misconception that medical transcription is a very easy profession that does not require much training. This is a myth because it takes you time to listen, comprehend the message and then type. To do this with precision, the MTs (Medical Transcriptionist) need to know good English, posses knowledge of medical terminology, have excellent listening comprehension and language skills.

Secondly, since the MT gets paid on the amount of text trascribed, they tend to think that the more number of lines an MT does the better it is. ! One is not just paid on the number of lines but also on the quality of work which has to conform to certain parameters.

Another factor that many MT firms don't pay attention to is the confidentiality of these documents. These patient records, and insurance claims have to be handled carefully. So the transfer of information has to be regulated in order to safeguard the documents and also the doctor- patient confidentiality.

How is Acusis different from other MT companies in India?

Acusis is very different in the basic sense that we work on a home based transcription model where our transcriptionists work from home and in case of technical failure, we can work from our offices too.

Our headquaters in Pittsburgh has a dedicated team of marketing professionals who are constantly getting new projects for the company. In India, we are headquartered in Bangalore, where we have our in- house technical development and support team. We have offices in Chennai and Mysore, which have been equipped with all the necessary facilities and state of the art technology.

We give a lot of importance to training and an interested candidate has to undergo an in-depth screening process before he is assigned projects. He has to first complete a test that assesses his basic knowledge after which he has to transcribe a dummy passage where his level of accuracy is tested . In short, we only consider people who have had experience in this field and are committed to this profession.

Unlike many MT companies we do not just pay our transcriptionists by the number of lines he or she transcribes. We have stringent quality control systems where in the team leader checks the work of every transcriptionist and then stores it in the server so that the clients can access it.

How do you recruit people for this kind of home based system?

We get a lot of enquiries from those interested in working from home and people come to know about us through word of mouth. Those who are already with us bring in more professionals into the fold.

How does one become a home based transcriptionist with Acusis?

After the initial test is cleared, we charge you a nominal deposit amount before proceeding further. This is just to find out how committed one is to the project. Then we send our computer professionals to the person's to house to check out the computer system and internet connection speed. A separate software is loaded on to the system by which only the person can access the files to be transcribed. This software suite also contains a ready reckoner of medical lingo and medical references. Once this system is up and running, we start assigning real time passages to be transcribed and sent back to the team leader.

We pay on the basis of the number of lines that are transcribed per day and also the accuracy of the transcription.

Our computer technicians can be consulted in case of any kind of software or hardware problems. In case of any major technical failure in the home computer, the transcriptionist can come and finish the project in our site office.

What are the advantages of working with Acusis?

The first advantage is that one can work from the comfort of his/her home and at his own chosen work timings.

With a small initial investment they can earn handsomely without the hassles of commuting. This profession gives

housewives and home bound people a good shot at making a lucrative earning. One can also regulate the load of work accordingly, without the fear of termination.

Further, we have also tied up with ISPs so that the home-based transcriptionists can get their Internet connectivity at a cheaper rate.

MALINI SURYANARAYANAN

maalini.mds@cnkonline.com