Doctors ditch hospitals to diagnose from BPOs

Faster growth and higher salaries tempt many to swap lab coats for office suits

MUMBAI: After wielding the stethoscope for more than four years in various New Delhi hospitals, pulmonologist Upender Kapoor decided to walk an altogether different path and plunge into the business/knowledge process outsourcing pool (BPO/KPO). That was in 2007.

Today, the MD (master of medicine) in pharmacology from Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi, is heading the life science practice at Patni BPO in
Noida.

“Faster career growth and a significantly higher monthly salary” were factors, which worked behind Kapoor’s decision to swap the white lab coat for a suit and tie.

Similarly, Mumbai-based dental graduate Nikita Shah is also thinking of venturing into the outsourcing sector. After completing her BDS (bachelor of dental surgery) from Akola’s Jamanlal Goenka Dental College three years ago, she worked in a few government hospitals in Mumbai thereafter. But bigger bucks, opportunity to work with global clients, and a steady work culture were reasons that made her apply to BPO/KPO players.

Like Kapoor and Shah, a number of other doctors, with degrees ranging from Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) to Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine & Surgery (BAMS) and Bachelor of Homeopathic Medicine & Surgery (BHMS), are either attending or planning to attend, to the needs of EU- and US-based clients.

The widening pool of opportunities in the BPO/KPO sector has lead to a sea change in the composition of its workforce, from one comprising mainly of 10+12 pass outs and graduates with minimum skills and training, to one sprinkled with an array of medical graduates and post-graduates.

Says Nishikant Kadam, head, human resource, at CBay Systems, a leading healthcare BPO, “though healthcare outsourcing has been in existence since the last few years, it is only in the past year-and-a-half or so that doctors are increasingly entering the business outsourcing domain.”

The big catch of working in a BPO/KPO lies in the better salaries, faster growth and conducive work environment, says Anish Nanavaty, chief executive officer — knowledge services, at WNS Global Services, one of India’s largest BPO players.

“The average starting salaries are about 30-50% higher than what their medical practice may initially provide,” says Nanavaty. Starting salaries for doctors in a BPO/KPO could be upwards of Rs 40,000.

At the manager level, after two-three years experience in the centre, a doctor in a BPO can earn upwards of Rs 75, 000-80,000 per month, says Kadam.

Also, the gestation period needed for medical graduates to get started and set up practice is around five to seven years. This long wait plays a key reason in drawing doctors towards a BPO, says pulmonologist Kapoor.

“That’s precisely why medical graduates who don’t have the financial resources for further studies and specialisation have started eyeing a job in the outsourcing field,” adds Kadam.

Moreover, the healthcare outsourcing market is attaining dizzying heights. According to estimates, the global market for outsourced healthcare services is pegged at $24 billion presently. Of this, the Indian share is pegged at $4.5 billion.

All these factors have lead to the surge in the number of doctors entering the outsourcing domain. CBay has 23 doctors on its rolls. A huge increase from the nine in 2007, says Kadam, while WNS and Patni have 10 each.

But generally what are the roles that medical practitioners get to execute in a BPO set up?

Industry experts say that doctors usually take on roles to support therapeutic research that is done for pharmaceutical companies; as quality analysts for medical transcriptions, medical writers, analyse adverse events during drug trials etc.

Says Sanjiv Kapur, senior vice-president and head, Patni BPO, “post diagnosis, a
patient’s medical details are outsourced to India, where doctors analyse it, prepare a case report, and recommend a line of treatment.”

“Doctors in a BPO/KPO also convert medical transcriptions that are outsourced from a voice file to electronic documents,” adds Kadam.

g_priyanka@dnaindia.net