Informatics to offer medical transcription courses

By Alexander Villafania, INQ7.net

IT education institution Informatics recently signed up with the American Academy of Medical Transcription (AAMT) to start offering its first medical transcription training program in the Philippines.

The training modules intend to improve both English communication skills and medical knowledge from basic to intermediate in students hoping to work in the medical transcription business growing in the country.

Among the modules are English grammar and style essentials, foreign accent dictation, human anatomy and physiology, pharmacology, diagnostic procedures, laboratory medicines, medical word building, and medico-legal concepts and ethics.

Participants with medical backgrounds would have 150 hours of lecture and 160 hours of on-the-job training. Those without medical skills would have 220 lecture hours and 160 hours of on-the-job training.

The program intends to train about 2,000 medical transcribers to enter the workforce this year, according to Informatics director for corporate learning Paul Dumaguin.

Statistics from the Medical Transcription Industry Association of the Philippines indicate that over 7,000 medical transcribers are needed to meet the demand of the medical transcription business.

The US is currently the biggest source of medical transcription and 45 percent of the work is being done by India.

Dumaguin said that medical transcribers can work for existing firms, but have an option to work at home as independent transcribers.

“Trainees typically obtain employment with an MT outsourcing firm, but with the growth of the industry, they have other options as well, such as putting up their own MT businesses,” Dumaguin said.

The worldwide medical transcription business is expected to grow to 25 billion US dollars within the next three years.