A surgeon or an assistant generally dictates the operative reports.

The OP report describes an operation or a surgical procedure for the purpose of correcting and diagnosing medical abnormality or disease. the core of the operative report is about the description of the surgical procedure performed. Another important section of the report is preoperative and postoperative diagnoses performed. Apart from these 2 section other information that are transcribed are physician name, date of procedure performed, indication and surgical findings.

Appropriate filing of medical records is an essential requirement for every physician. Operative note transcription is vital to surgeons. Generating an appropriate and well-timed dictation after an operative procedure is crucial for offering fine medical care to the patient.

For students who have just completed class XII and want to take up a career that directly prepares them for work, University of Mumbai's Garware Institute of Career Education and Development is the place to go to. For under-graduate diploma courses, students seeking admissions will have to appear for an entrance exam followed by an interview.

Medical Transcription
Admission on the basis of a written test and interview
Duration: 6 months (Part time)
Fee Structure: Rs 15,000/-

Industry players unanimously agree. "The potential is huge," says Vishal Jain, CEO of Delhi-based Rekha Transcription India. All the key medical transcription companies, he notes, have been logging 30-50% growth. "We are all scrambling for capacity and this is because transcription companies in the United States are scrambling for capacity.

Indeed, that's what is driving this growth. While the $12 billion medical transcription industry there (US), is growing at 20%, the growth of employees is only 10%. The industry, says Valuenotes, will grow to $16.8 billion in 2010.

Around 30% of the work is outsourced in the United States, of which around 10-15% comes to India, which offers a huge cost advantage - work here is 30% cheaper.

Medical transcription was among the first IT-enabled services to be outsourced to India. It is the process whereby one transcribes medical records dictated by doctors and others, including history and physical reports. It is in demand in the US as the entire healthcare industry there is based on insurance and detailed medical records are needed for processing these claims.

After a boom in the mid-1990s, when a lot of mom-and-pop shops erupted on the scene, the industry went bust around 2001, following a huge decline in the quality of work.