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of outsourcing of medical tests and data QUIN AR Y ACTIVITIES interpretation. Hospitals in India, Switzerland and Australia have been performing certain The highest level of decision makers or policy medical services – ranging from reading makers perform quinary activities. These are radiology images, to interpreting Magnetic subtly different from the knowledge based ResonanceImages(MRIs)andultrasoundtests. industries that the quinary sector in general Outsourcing holds tremendous advantages for deals with. patients, if it is focused on improving quality or providing specialised care. Quinaryactivitiesareservicesthatfocuson the creation, re-arrangement and interpretationofnewandexistingideas;data Medical Tourism interpretationandtheuseandevaluationof When medical treatment is combined with newtechnologies.Oftenreferredtoas‘gold international tourism activity, it lends itself collar’ professions, they represent another to what is commonly known as medical subdivisionofthetertiarysectorrepresenting tourism. special and highly paid skills of senior businessexecutives,governmentofficials, research scientists, financial and legal QU ATERN AR Y ACTIVITIES consultants, etc. Their importance in the structure of advanced economies far What do a CEO of an MNC in Copenhagen, at outweighstheirnumbers. New York and a medical transcriptionist at Bangalore have in common? All these people work in a segment of the service sector that is knowledge oriented. This sector can be divided Outsourcing has resulted in the opening into quaternary and quinary activities. up of a large number of call centres in India, Quaternary activities involve some of the China, Eastern Europe, Israel, Philippines following: the collection, production and and Costa Rica. It has created new jobs in dissemination of information or even the productionofinformation.Quaternaryactivities these countries. Outsourcing is coming to centre around research, development and may those countries where cheap and skilled beseenasanadvancedformofservicesinvolving workers are available. These are also out- migrating countries. With the work available specialised knowledge and technicalskills. though outsourcing, the migration in these The Quaternary Sector countries may come down. Outsourcing TheQuaternarySectoralongwiththeTertiary countries are facing resistance from job- Sectorhasreplacedmostoftheprimaryand seeking youths in their respective countries. secondary employment as the basis for The comparative advantage is the main economicgrowth.OverhalfofallworkersIn reason for continuing outsourcing. New developedeconomiesareinthe‘Knowledge trends in quinary services include knowledge Sector’andtherehasbeenaveryhighgrowth indemandforandconsumptionofinformation- processing outsourcing (KPO) and ‘home basedservicesfrommutualfundmanagers shoring’, the latter as an alternative to totaxconsultants,softwaredevelopersand outsourcing. The KPO industry is distinct statisticians. Personnel working in office from Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) as buildings,elementaryschoolsanduniversity it involves highly skilled workers. It is classrooms, hospitals and doctors’ offices, theatres,accountingandbrokeragefirmsall information driven knowledge outsourcing. belongtothiscategoryofservices. KPO enables companies to create additional business opportunities. Examples of KPOs Like some of the tertiary functions, include research and development (R and D) quaternaryactivitiescanalsobeoutsourced. activities, e-learning, business research, theenvironment,ornecessarilylocalisedbyd by intellectual property (IP) research, legal market. profession and the banking sector. Tertiary and Quaternary Activities 51 Reprint 2026-27