Friday, April 13, 2007 Icac seeks MT training for gamers
ONLINE gamers are potential medical transcriptionists and learn about the profession inside Internet cafes, an official of the Internet Café Association of Cebu (Icac) said.
Felix Cogal, Icac president said Icac, a group of local Internet café operators, are in negotiations with Total Transcription Solutions Inc. (TTSI), a medical transcription (MT)-training center that enables Internet cafes to become an “extended laboratory” for MT students.
He said TTSI will provide Internet cafes with MT Tutor Online prepaid cards and equip the cafes with the necessary software to run the online tutorial.
However, Cogal said cyber café operators may also invest in additional “foot pedals” or controls that will further enhance the tutorials.
While the tutorials are meant for MT students, online gamers can take advantage of the software by purchasing a prepaid card, learning the modules and participating in the exercises, he said.
“This will slowly convert online gamers as medical transcriptionists,” said Cogal, adding that because online exams are monitored, those who perform better have a bigger chance of getting hired automatically.
Due to limited manpower, MT training centers are tapping Internet cafes and the academe to attract more Filipinos to become transcriptionists.
Growing
MTs and contact centers are two of the business process outsourcing (BPO) services that are in demand in Cebu.
BPO refers to the out-sourcing by a company of some of its backroom operations, such as accounting, information technology, human resources, MT and contact center, to an independent organization.
MT is one of the growing outsourced services of United States-based hospitals and healthcare institutions, and is an industry known to provide competitive salaries to its employees.
A medical transcriptionist is tasked in transcribing the diagnoses of doctors or a patient’s medical records.
Although a background in the medical profession is an added advantage, it is “not a necessary requirement” in the field, Cogal said.
“Based on the presentation, you only need to be well-versed in the English language, have a good typing speed and comprehension,” he said, adding that even high school graduates are qualified to take the tutorial.
“This thing is good for the younger generation because it is both fun, since it follows an online game concept, is and educational. It also gives them a bigger chance to land a job,” he said.
Cogal also said the proposed joint venture with TTSI will be revenue-generating for Internet café operators.
Earlier, Magtanggol Bawal, Microsoft Southern Philippines sales operations director, said revenue reinforcement, such as turning Internet cafes into legitimate call centers or outsourcing facilities is one way to support the struggling industry.
Because the plan is currently under negotiation, Cogal said he could not yet determine how much revenue Internet café owners will be earning.
He said a memorandum of agreement between Icac and TTSI will hopefully be signed next month. (MMM)
