Released on = March 1, 2007, 10:36 pm

Press Release Author = ValueNotes Outsourcing Practice

Industry = Healthcare

Press Release Summary = Healthcare BPO services provider Zavata India's $80 million
contract from four major hospitals in the US in November last year is likely to set
a strong precedent for more contracts involving turnkey end-to-end Revenue Cycle
Management (RCM) Services.

Press Release Body = A range of services beginning from the admission to
post-discharge of a patient including medical coding, billing, medical
transcription, claims generation, patient follow-up, etc. are referred to as revenue
cycle management. Although more than half of the hospitals in the US are directly or
indirectly offshoring various components of healthcare services, offshore vendors
can now expect more end-to-end work. Rising cost pressures, coupled with increasing
workload are forcing healthcare institutions to explore the outsourcing / offshoring
option.

Currently most of the offshore vendors focus on either the large hospitals or the
physician market space. But in future, Indian vendors offering RCM services can look
to tap a huge opportunity from the relatively un-addressed and large segment
consisting of mid-size hospitals (<500 beds) in the US. So far, this segment had
been beyond the radar of most vendors, but the Zavata deal, which demonstrates the
rising comfort level with offshoring by mid-sized hospitals, is likely to spark off
a new wave of deals and contracts. Arun Jethmalani, CEO of ValueNotes says, "a key
trend we are seeing is the increasing ability of Indian vendors to provide
end-to-end services for healthcare revenue cycle management. Related to this is the
likely increase in penetration of offshore vendors into the hospital segment."

India-based vendors in this segment range from large, healthcare focused players
such as Apollo Health Street, Ajuba, Zavata and Perot Systems to small, home run
outfits, including freelancers. With larger buyers looking for service providers to
provide the entire range of services, vendors will gear up to add or extend their
service offerings. Investment capability - for capacity addition, expansion in
services and greater automation - will be the critical factor for smaller companies
to survive and grow in the long run.

"US Healthcare Revenue Cycle Management - Offshoring of Medical Coding & Billing
Services", a recently released report by Pune-based ValueNotes, leading provider of
outsourcing research and information shows that the share of work from hospitals
forms 20% of the total medical billing and coding work offshored to Indian vendors.
Although the market is currently small - total revenue earned by players in 2006 was
$125 million - this is expected to more than triple by 2011, while the number of
employees engaged in billing and coding will increase to 17,500. Analyst Neeraja
Kandala says that with increasing vendor capability, offshoring is expected to grow
by at least 25% CAGR for the next three years.


About ValueNotes

ValueNotes Database is a leading provider of business intelligence and research,
with expertise across selected domains and types of customer needs. Working with
clients across the globe we have significant understanding of international markets.



About ValueNotes Outsourcing Practice

The ValueNotes Outsourcing Practice is one of the largest information providers on
the outsourcing industry. Our Outsourcing Practice uses a comprehensive, analytical
framework providing fresh insights into the fast emerging and yet, complex
outsourcing space. We extensively track the outsourcing space in-depth through a
regular analysis of news and events and continuous primary research and contact with
the industry.

Web Site = http://www.valuenotes.biz/bpo/rcm.asp

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