Healthcare Hurdles for BPO

Grabbing a healthcare project is not something that a typical call center would do

. It's true that medical transcription has been part of the BPO industry for some ten years now. That is probably the first BPO service that started getting outsourced to the third world countries. Telemarketing and lead generation picked up later on. So as I was saying, call centers don't take up medical projects other than medical transcription services. Other call center services like billing and claims processing are coming up steadily but they are not finding takers in the business process outsourcing industry.

When a call center takes on a medical project, they have to deal with various formalities like license and certifications to prove that they are capable of handling such projects. Offshore BPO destinations cannot get these licenses and so they miss out on many of these healthcare projects. When President Barack Obama announced his Healthcare Reform plans, thousands of call centers were tempted to bite into the healthcare pill. The sector was about to be huge in terms of revenue. According to the Obama plan, the federal government would ensure the healthcare of some 2 million Americans. The BPO service sector was abuzz with excited whispers. But those petered down once they got to know the eligibility criteria of the call center that wants to get these projects.

Other than the tough eligibility criteria, the call centers also have to contend with the question of data safety. Medical records are extremely personal information and the users are really paranoid about their data being misused. That is why healthcare firms in the USA are not open about outsourcing the projects to BPO units in the third world countries like Indian and the Philippines. They are worried that their customers might not like it if they found out that their medical records are accessible to call center services in countries far away. They usually complain to the healthcare unit and threaten to discontinue doing business with them. Such hassles crop up on a daily basis, making it difficult for the answering agents to carry on operations smoothly.

Handling medical projects is not the work of a regular call center agent. You need specialized training and knowledge sharing to enable the BPO agents to become competent enough to work on such projects. That means investment of time on research for the BPO service unit and also on resources to get the agents trained. That would mean further expenses for the firm. In an age where investment is a big deal for even the cash-rich companies, these answering service units are not willing to make the commitment and train the agents for help desk services in the healthcare sector.

Moreover, there is little margin for error in the medical sector. Call center units can be sued for their minor errors which can actually cause great damage. The fear of being in the legal soup puts off many BPO units from exploring these waters. But there are still takers for the medical sector business process outsourcing work. In due course, more players will join in.

Healthcare Hurdles for BPO

By: jems hug

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