India – a Radiology Outsourcing Hub

India has achieved a high rank on grounds of progression in various economic sectors and has always been looked upon as an attractive destination for commercial ventures. With the advancement in broadband communications and the Internet, providing professional services through that medium  has become a value route for India to move up in the economic value chain. The scenario has influenced  the growth of offshore back office services like Radiology Outsourcing.

The United States of America and The United Kingdom has always had a high demand for radiologists due to  the increase in the number of patients occurring  almost daily. Outsourcing radiology to India addresses the issues of timely diagnosing, treatment of patients at  more economical rate than local resources.  Outsourcing radiology to India  has reduced the workload on local radiologists and has also resulted in faster turnaround time for the clients.

Doctors providing these radiology services in India are properly trained and licensed; Their services are continuously and meticulously  monitored by State and Federal legislation. Without an authorized license from the governing authorities, no doctor in India is allowed to provide these services.  Radiology outsourcing services are strongly welcomed as they are quiet profitable and add value to the Indian economy. Privatization in the domestic market as well as adoption of international trade practices have which occurred during the economic liberalisation of the Indian economy in the early 90’  has resulted in a high growth in this sector. Many Indian business took the path of accomplishment and charted  the  graph of their own  success. The Government of India has also encouraged FDIs (Foreign Direct Investment), STP (Software Technology Parks), Medical Tourism, Export oriented units and Free trade zone policies in India. As a result of all these policies, India  became a favorable  destination for outsourcing which eventually started with Medical Transcription, Radiology and later expanded to business process outsourcing  and web development outsourcing services.

Radiology is a branch of medical science used to diagnose and cure many diseases using imaging technologies. The new innovations in this field have helped  doctors to simplify the procedure of diagnosing life threatening diseases and have helped them decide the proper treatment for the patient quickly. Besides diagnosis, a radiologist is expected to takes X-rays and control the entry of non-radioactive material  into the  blood streams of people suspected with the disease. Qualified and experienced radiologists are always in high demand all over the world to fulfill the ever increasing need of radiology services. A Radiologist has the most popular platform to share ideas and information about innovations in technology through their online diagnosis. There are many radiology articles available on the web describing latest inventions and discoveries in medical imaging today.

Trends in Radiology are growing with the recent innovations in technology, enabling speedy data transfer of medical data over Internet to almost any and every part of the world with a compatible desktop computer. This is to say that Indian radiologists are reading scans of patients of United States at any time of the  day and night. Most of the practitioners take advantage of these time differences.

The reason behind the outsourcing of  radiology to India is the increasing disparity between the  increase in demand for radiologists which grows at  a rate of  six percent and the increase in the number of radiologists which stands at just two percent per year in the United States.  A recent study conducted on the general population has reveled that, the  population of people  over 65 will double and those over 85 will triple in United States. Many studies have been done which predicts that radiology demand among the  Medicare population will increase by 140% by 2020. Inefficient processes, decreasing strength of Radiology will stand to become  a long term issue.

India enjoys a sound  infrastructure and a healthy industry policy which matches with international standards of quality, security, training  with a sensible cost of labor. India is a world leader in providing outsourcing and offshore services with approximately sixty-three percent of the total market share in global outsourcing services.

Outsourcing radiology to India is also favored by the differences in time zones; time is a critical factor here. During the night hours and emergencies, lack of availability of diagnostic services inconveniences the  hospital staff. In the  US, it’s compulsory to have round the clock medical services by medicare providers. Therefore by outsourcing radiology services to countries like India the clients  can be assured of experienced and timely professional help.  Outsourcing offers the biggest advantage of immediate availability of diagnostic services at the time of emergencies or whenever they are required. No doubt, radiology is a technology driven business and India is counted as one of the best producers of radiology technology. This technology has made it easy for radiologists to read images send by  clients from from their native places. Day by day, India is becoming popular for its outsourcing medical services. With the latest technology, techniques and talented medical professionals, it has earned name and trust in  Outsourcing medical services.