Max India MD, Vivek Jetley told The Financial Express, "If we can'tclose an alliance with some of these players over the next 60 days, then wewould certainly think of going it alone in the medical transcriptionbusiness." HealthScribe India (a 100 per cent subsidiary of the US parent),which set up shop in 1994, has around 350 trained transcriptionists andfacilities in Bangalore.

Jetley said that Max India hopes to offer an entire chain of IT-enabledservices ranging from medical transcription to back-office processing ofclaims -akin to the role played by a third party administrator in theinsurance sector.

On the company's alliance with the prestigious Harvard Medical Inc (HMI) USAin the area of healthcare, he said that Max had decided to move away fromthe traditional large hospital model to concentrate on healthcare deliverysystems."We will start with primary care clinics and move on to secondaryand tertiary care. The first primary care clinic in Delhi is expected to beoperational by October," Jetley added.

The tie-up with HMI, part of the Harvard Medical School and HarvardUniversity, will allow Max access HMI's 17 affiliated teaching hospitals inthe US and its pool of over 7,000 clinicians.

Meanwhile, Jetley also said that Max was set to invest around $2 million inits joint venture with the US-based software firm MindCrossing in which theIndian firm acquired a 15 per cent stake for $4 million. Max India alsoacquired a 22 per cent holding in AltaCast LLC, an advanced informationsolutions company.

The joint venture company, Max MindCrossing, Jetley said, would dodevelopment work for both Altacast and MindCrossing and undertake softwaredevelopment programmes in the healthcare and financial services arena.