RP seen needing 32,000 medical transcription workers by 2010

By Lawrence Casiraya
From INQUIRER.net

The country's medical transcription industry needs to increase its workforce threefold to increase its share of the total offshore market valued at around $18 billion.

According to the Medical Transcription Industry Association of the Philippines (MTIAPI), local companies have missed out on lucrative contracts from US outsourcers due to a lack of capacity.

MTIAPI is composed of around 80 medical transcription or MT service providers, mostly small companies with 50 or fewer seats.

"Until a critical capacity of qualified workforce is established, the country will have a hard time attracting interests from big US clients," said MTIAPI president Myla Rose Mundo-Reyes.

"Our role will be mainly third-party subcontractors," added Mundo-Reyes, who is also managing director of Total Transcription Solutions.

She said the country should have around 32,000 medical transcriptionists by 2010 so it could adequately address demand. That figure is more than triple that of the current workforce of around 10,000.

MTIAPI is prioritizing the development of a bigger pool of qualified transcriptionists to meet the faster turnaround requirements of large foreign customers.

The group is 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).