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Serving Over 20,000 US Medical Transcriptionists

Amphion, TransTech, eTransPlus, some at Focus, and Health Information

Posted By: Partners for starters. nm on 2006-05-03
In Reply to: Transnet/Extext - jen

s


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Interested in information on Focus Infomatics health insurance
I am curious as to what the costs of their health insurance plan, and if they offer family insurance, what that cost is. I really need a job with benefits.
Amphion, Medware, eTransPlus, Charts in Time (CIT), Focus, possibly NEMT, our OSI friends, Prof.
s
TransTech, some MedWare accts., Amphion, Commonwealth (in CT.), Charts in Time, Focus. nm
s
Amphion, Etransplus or small MTSO?
Pros and cons to any of these?  Thanks.
Any new information on eTransPlus?? Everything is old in the archives.
TIA for any information. Apparently they are hiring for a new account and have a sign-on bonus so I thouht I'd check it out. Thanks
Anyone currently working for or have any information about eTransPlus? sm

When I looked in the archives, I couldn't find anything more recent than 2007.  I did not see anything bad, so maybe that is a good sign.  Thanks.



Does anyone have any information on HIP (Health
Information Partners)?  Consistent work?  Good platform?  Anything else?  Thanks in advance!!
Health Information First, LLC
Hi, does anyone have any experience with this company out of Maryland?  I just tested with them.
I went to etransplus from Transtech
Plenty of work always too. I use Extext and imported my ESP file from Transtech. Great bennies.
Health Information Partners
Great people there, good pay, and always have work.  What more could you want!
Health Information Partners

Does anyone have any feedback on Health Information Partners (HIP)--good or bad?


TIA!


Health Information Partners?

Good Morning.  Does anyone know about this company?  Line rate?  Orientation pay?  Scheduling?  Overall good company to work for? 


Thank you very much.


Health Information Partners - sm

Anybody  working for this company that could me some info i.e. platform, pay, line requirement, work flow, etc.? It would be much appreciated. I did a search and only found minimal information. Thanks in advance.


Health Information First (Hi1st),
Can I get some feedback on this company pretty please?  Thanks much!
HIM = Health Information Management
.
Anyone work for Health Information Partners LLC or
have any information about this company??  Need feedback.  Much thanks.
Is PT offered at Health Information Partners? Thanks. nm
nm
Health Information Partners (HIP) questions...
Anyone work for HIP or know about them?  They had an ad up a couple of places and was wondering about the scoop on them.  I found some old posts here from 2004-2005, looks like they are a small, newer company so maybe that's why I can't find much.  Any info and insight, good and bad??  Thanks!!
Transtech and DTS America use ExText, and so does eTransPlus, sm

at least on some accounts.  I think I have seen ads for all of them recently, although the Transtech one was only for weekends, I think.


Good luck!


This is Health Information Partners with a new name. City is the same in an ad of theirs. Newbies
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Health Information Partners, but they sold and are no longer around :( nm
nm
Looking for fellow employees of Health Information Partners..sm

Since they sold last year and I did not accept the job with OSi, I have had one crappy job after another.  Just curious to know where everybody ended up at, so email me if you like.


Thanks


Health Information Partners, based in Maryland. She used to take in newbies
d
EXACTLY! HIPAA protects the privacy of your health information IN THIS COUNTRY!
Once your protected health information leaves this country, your privacy is no longer protected.  So while you may not trust your neighbor to know your medical history, you can trust that if they breech your privacy, you have legal recourse and you can have their jobs!  In India, if someone holds your health records hostage and threaten to publish them on the internet because they didn't get their 2 cpl, you are basically screwed! 
Does anyone know anything about a company called Heart of Georgia Health Information Services? (sm)
I am beginning a job search and this was one of the services that I came across.  Has anyone worked for them and had good or bad experiences that they could share?  TIA
Health insurance at TransTech? sm

Anyone willing to tell me what they pay for their health insurance plan through TransTech?  I just had a great offer from Keystrokes that I guess I am going to have to turn down because their health insurance plan costs more than I can get one for on my own!  bummer disappointment!  So I am going to pursue Transtech but don't want to end up in the same boat again....TIA.


TransTech health insurance
Does anyone have info on family plan health insurance at TT.  I have heard they have a few to choose from.  I don't want to spend my time going through the whole testing process if all the options are outrageously expensive.  Any info would be greatly appreciated.   Thanks!
MT Salary woes article in Advance for Health Information Prof. 8/2008







Vol. 18 •Issue 17 • Page 20
Reactions to the MT Study

A group of professors is taking a hard look at the medical transcription industry.


His knowledge of the industry a few years ago? Admittedly, zero. Coming from, as he described it, a position of ignorance about the medical transcription industry, Gary David, PhD, associate professor of sociology at Bentley College, Waltham, MA, hit the road and headed to Reno, NV, last year, where he took in the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI) Conference. After realizing no formal academic research had ever been done on the medical transcription industry, Dr. David and two Bentley colleagues, Donald Chand, PhD, professor of information and process management, and Angela Garcia, PhD, associate professor of sociology, set out to do an in-depth study of the industry.

The first part of the study was an online survey taken by 3,800 MTs, and the results of the survey were compiled, analyzed and presented as the study's preliminary findings. The full study is still in its infancy; the preliminary results from the survey represent only one part of the teams multifaceted approach. Dr. David has become embedded in the industry, serving on task forces and committees with AHDI and the Medical Transcription Industry Association (MTIA), and he's now a staple at the annual conferences.

ADVANCE spoke to Dr. David, as well as to experts in the industry. We aimed to look at specific aspects of the study's preliminary results and gauge its reception. The opinions are mixed when it comes to three major issues in the medical transcription industry: quality, the work force shortage and the ever-present salary issue.


Questions on Quality

The survey posed several questions related to the quality of documentation done by MTs. Nearly half of MTs reported that they see how flagged errors are resolved only rarely or never. Also, the survey showed that 59 percent of MTs transcribe for multiple physicians at multiple hospitals and/or clinics. Dr. David's view is that if an MT isn't told how a flagging issue was resolved, he or she may not know how to resolve a similar issue in the future, which can affect quality. Likewise, Dr. David noted, if an MT is transcribing for many accounts, he or she might not be able to develop an ear for physicians.

According to David Plummer, founder and CEO, Probity Medical Transcription, Harrisburg, PA, quality review is useless unless that information is shared quickly with the MTs. He also agreed that transcriptionists should have primary accounts to work on, and then when that runs out, have pre-determined secondary and tertiary accounts. Today, many MTs are transcribing the dictations of multiple physicians from multiple hospitals and/or clinics, Plummer said, and that's just the way the business model works for most medical transcription service organizations (MTSOs), he explained. Quality, turnaround times (TATs) and productivity suffer in this design; however, when you have a transcription system where the pools do not contain sophisticated logic and has transcriptionists flit from one account to another, these are expected outcomes, in Plummer's opinion. What has happened is that the architecture of some of the newer platforms has not been built with [MT familiarity] in mind, and it creates these massive pools with multiple hospitals and tens of thousands of physicians, and that's just not good for quality or the MT, Plummer explained.

Chris Hopkins, chief operating officer, Landmark Transcription, St. Davids, PA, looked at the survey results from another angle. He noted that approximately 50 percent of his work force consists of independent contractors, which may indicate that those MTs are working for multiple companies, which would explain why they are transcribing for many different accounts. Hopkins also said that just because an MT is transcribing for multiple accounts doesn't mean that quality work isn't being produced. Landmark maintains a system where MTs are assigned certain accounts, and MTs do transcribe for multiple physicians. By working on certain accounts, however, MTs can keep track of the different client specifications, something that Hopkins said may be difficult in a pooling system as mentioned above. [MTs] can't build up any kind of speed or fluency on an account when they're doing 10 different accounts, Hopkins said.

Bonnie Crow, director of U.S. operations at MxSecure, Scottsdale, AZ, agreed that in an MTSO setting, MTs are most likely transcribing for multiple accounts. These MTs are often experienced and highly skilled, Crow said, and therefore they produce high quality documents. With the flagging issue, Crow said that software used at MxSecure provides feedback to MTs, and she believes most platforms will allow this (Probity and Landmark have software that lets MTs see how a flagging was resolved, as well). Crow also noted that MTs should go through a quality auditing process on a consistent basis. I strongly feel the Quality Assurance monitoring process today is the best it has ever been, Crow said.

That's due in part to the technology that can allow MTs to follow documents through the quality assurance (QA) process. Kathy Eberle, who works in QA and is the operations supervisor for Landmark Transcription, explained that as soon as a document leaves QA's hands, MTs can immediately see the changes that were made. Some platforms make this difficult, however, and MTs and QA personnel may have to work harder to ensure that errors are explained. It is extra work to give them the feedback that they need, but in the end, it always pays off for QA because the MTs always become better for it, Eberle said.


Shortage or No Shortage?

Besides quality issues, another point brought to light by the MT study's preliminary results is the aging work force and, potentially, a looming work force shortage. There's no denying that the work force is on the older side—77 percent of respondents are older than 40. There is, however, room to debate whether or not there's an immediate crisis when it comes to a work force shortage. Dr. David commented that because there are no solid numbers on the actual number of MTs working, there's no way to determine if there is definitely a shortage.

Plummer disagreed with the conclusion that there's a work force shortage right now. He pointed out that Probity uses all domestic labor, and noted that all of the accounts he'd like to secure are either being transcribed in-house or by other MTSOs. When an account is landed, the MTs on that account typically join Probity, and the need for more workers is quickly met. Plummer called the work force shortage overplayed.

Eberle referred to the shortage as simply a shortage of qualified MTs, rather than of all MTs. She's noticing that many good MTs are leaving not just their positions, but the industry, and they're going back to school to start different careers. With quality MTs, we're truly lacking at the moment, Eberle added.

Hopkins echoed that, to a certain degree. He admitted it was hard to say whether or not the industry was facing a work force shortage, and said he doesn't see that happening at his MTSO, where his needs differ from some of the bigger transcription companies. At my level, where we are, we don't see a tremendous shortage of transcriptionists, Hopkins said.

He added that if he has an opening, he advertises it and that day, he'll wind up with 40 résumés in his inbox. I can usually fill a very specific position within a day, Hopkins said.

Crow, however, is worried about finding qualified MTs to support the growth of the industry. There aren't enough younger MTs to replace the retiring MTs within the next 10 years, she pointed out, and she strongly believes that there is a work force shortage. She added that new education programs are being put in place to produce good MTs, and many MTSOs are offering mentoring programs. Her company started a mentoring program 2 months ago for new MTs to help them garner experience in the field. This seems to be easing the labor shortage, according to Crow. We are very excited with the decrease in attrition numbers we are seeing already!


Salary Woes

While there may be debate over whether there's a work force shortage right now, one certainty in the MT industry is that wages aren't heading upward. In the survey, MTs reported varied personal incomes, with the majority, 72 percent, bringing home $10,000 to $50,000 annually. Another survey question asked about the number of wage earners in MTs' households, and 33 percent said that there is only one wage earner in the household--the MT.

Dr. David called the industry one of the only places where the laws of supply and demand don't work. There may be fewer transcriptionists and there's a greater demand for transcription services. [That] should mean that [MTs] get paid more, but their pay doesn't increase—if anything it goes down or stagnates—and so part of it is linked to how there's just no perceived value in what it is they do, he explained.

The industry as a whole needs to recognize that MTs spend a lot of time and money learning their craft, and if wages continue to drop or stagnate, potential MTs are going to look elsewhere—to other industries—for jobs, Hopkins pointed out. We want to see a viable pool of labor here in the United States, he said. If people can get better benefits and better wages at McDonald's, why wouldn't they go there? It's too hard to learn this business. It takes years of work to be fluent and professional.

Dr. David observed that there was a sense of unrest in the industry about salary issues. There's a number of things impacting [MTs], causing their wages to go down or be less robust in terms of going up, so it's definitely an issue that we've heard about, Dr. David said.


What's Next?

Overall, despite differing opinions on the results of the survey, everyone agreed that it could be a valuable tool in the industry. Crow said she hopes the study can lead to medical transcription being recognized as a degreed profession with mandated certification. I think once this is in place, the profession will be viewed by the younger people as a desirable health care position, Crow said.

Hopkins hopes the study highlights the fact that offshoring labor is doing what he called a disservice to the industry. I think if people focus on providing a livable wage to the transcriptionists with a reasonable package of benefits and a decent schedule, the labor pool will become deeper and broader because more people will start to come into the industry, he explained.

Plummer hopes to see more transcription programs set up at colleges to help school more domestic MTs. He also hopes the study helps companies adhere to better quality, because that could help the entire industry. Overall, he found the preliminary results to be valuable, and he noted that the industry is ever-changing. It's a dynamic study, too, because it's like painting the Golden Gate Bridge—by the time you get done, it's time to do it again, Plummer said.

Lynn Jusinski is an associate Editor with ADVANCE.



TransTech has NINE health insurance plans
.
DSG, Amphion, Focus, Medware
nm
TransTech health insurance rates for 2008
I thought I had found the perfect job in Transtech. My bubble just popped. Anybody else out there in cardiac arrest right now over the just published rates for open enrollment. As I need a family plan, unless they can come up with something quickly (she said they are searching for some better options), I will have absolutely no paycheck to speak of.

I hate to consider leaving, but it is a strong consideration!
Can anyone offer any information on Amphion's insurance?
The company I currently work for has made insurance cuts and I'm forced to go on the hunt again. Thank you!
Any current information/feedback on Amphion?
All I can find are posts from last year.  TIA!
Focus Infomatics information please.
Does anyone work for Focus Infomatics?  Need advice on whether to apply.  Need to know what kind of money they make.
Focus/eScription information
See Not Enough MTs below.  Focus and eScription are the same company.
Focus Infomatics..anyone have information on the cost of their insurance or other benefits?
I heard they recently started offering their employees insurance...just wondering the cost and if it's good insurance. Thanks
Think Amphion uses ExText. TransTech does but has mucho ESLs! nm
s
Any recent information on Transtech??
Just offered a postition with them on new account going live in a couple of weeks.  I was just wondering how they were to work for, can you make your lines, etc.  Thanks. 
Since when does TransTech hire IC status? You might want to post the correct information. nm
n
Focus, focus, focus on your work. It's amazing what you can do! nm
x
Current Amphion employee...I'm very happy. The part of Amphion I work with has no faxes, lists,s
minor demographic work..superb QA and feedback.  Fellow MTs on same account are more than willing to help and now they also have mentor program.  My pay is what they said.  They do have different pay for different levels. 
Anyone know anything about Global Information Systems? Any information would be appreciated. nm

MedScribe Information Systems, Inc - Information please?

Anyone with information on this company? 


eTransPlus

Since it seems to work when I post a reply I'll ask my question here. I saw in the archives 5 posts on eTransPlus that were all favorable. But the last one was in March 2005. If anyone still works there can you just e-mail me or reply to this?? I was wondering about their pay and flexibility with scheduling. I know sometimes we just have to "take the plunge" but I want to just see if I can find out if things were still pretty smooth there.  Thanks.


eTransPlus
Month we were running out of work, didnt hear from supervisors at all when inquired about getting another account, after emailing them several times. Now that there is a very high backload, we're getting emails from them. eTransPlus have gone and is going through changes. The way we get paid has changed. It is now on a graduated scale- So, if you want to make at least 9cpl, you will have to produce 1601 lines per day- If you're not a high producer, don't expect to get more than 6 or 7 cpl.
eTransPlus
Thanks..it sounds like it's not too bad if there's plenty of work..I'll probably end up staying put.....  thanks again!! 
etransplus
If you want to work for crooks and liars, you can work for them, but you will constantly run out of work and they will make promises to you until they are blue in the face and you have to file bankruptcy.  They don't care about you as the main person behind their business success, you are just a number, and  they will send you insulting gifts just to let you know how much you really are appreciated.  So all I saw is beware and don't put all your eggs in the EtransPlus basket for goodness sake. 
eTransPlus
I appreciate the info..I'll stay put for a while!!   thanks much!
ETransPlus
They have had an ad for radiology people for a new account.
eTransPlus
You want JS to email you?
eTransPlus

Any information about this company would be appreciated.  I sent my resume yesterday, and within two hours had been called and offered a job.  Sounds great, but it all happened so fast, I have not had time to find out anything about the company, specifically, do they communicate with their MTs, do they run out of work, and do they have a platform where you can make decent money.