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MANILA : As the Philippines faces an oversupply of nursing graduates, more Filipino nurses are now looking for jobs in the medical transcription industry.
Nearly half a million licensed Filipino nurses are unemployed, and they are joining many others who are currently enrolled in medical transcription courses.
"In the last several months, we've seen an increase of nurses enrolling in our school by 40 to 50 per cent. Our goal is patient care, so at least in medical transcription, we can still do our jobs," said Ryan Herrera, marketing manager at MTC Academy.
Medical transcription is the process of documenting medical records.
American doctors and medical facilities are required to digitise patients' records. And as the cost of healthcare in the US continues to rise, outsourcing key medical business processes like medical transcription can reduce costs by as much as 70 per cent.
Myla Rose Mundo-Reyes, managing director of Total Transcription Solutions, said: "Looking at the profile of workers in the United States, most of them are baby boomers and these baby boomers are nearing the retiree age.
"So the acute shortage is more prominent, and hospitals, clinics, medical transcription companies in the United States are now looking into outsourcing."
According to the Medical Transcription Industry Association of the Philippines, local companies have missed out on lucrative contracts from the US due to the lack of capacity.
The industry is now targeting to increase its workforce three-fold to increase its share of the total offshore market, valued at around US$20 billion.
Experts believe that the growth of the industry will also help keep medical professionals from leaving the country.
Physical therapists and nurses currently account for more than 85 per cent of the workforce.
Fred Kumetz, president & CEO of eData Services explained: "Outsourcing to foreign companies provides work to Filipinos at a wage that is greater than what they would otherwise earn in their own profession. That does keep people here."
Revenue from the medical transcription service sector is expected to grow by as much as 90 per cent annually in the next few years, from about US$75 million in 2006. - CNA /ls
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