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Here, here, I agree. At one time, I was even accussed of holding MY templates hostage. Templates

Posted By: I brought with me to the company. nm on 2006-01-13
In Reply to: Being able to do anything thrown at you - Milton's Red Stapler

L


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Templates
The way I handle it is I try to figure out lines I type per an actual document minus the template part.  Then I would adjust my line rate downward to compensate, e.g., if my normal rate is 15 cpl, I would charge them 13-14 cpl OR instead of my usual count including spaces, tabs, etc., I would would try to figure it without counting them. I make clear to the client that there is no way to segregate the pre-printed lines and the lower than usual rate is a way of compensating them for it.  Another way to do it is how some hospitals and other MT companies are doing it - if you're using digital, charge by the dictated minute rather than the line.
Spaces or Templates/Pay or No Pay

Interested in learning what companies out there do not pay for spaces and/or what companies charge per report regardless of line length for use/nonuse of their crappy template?  For those of you who have worked for a company that charges for templates, was that information disclosed to you by the recruiter and/or contained in your contract? Any info (and opinions) in this regard would be appreciated. Thanks.  


Normals/templates
I let my IC's use them especially in my psych accounts.  However there was a time that one of the gals forgot to change the name on the header and I was gone and it went to the doctor directly with the incorrect name on the Header and big, big HIPAA violation and the doctor almost pulled the account since he did not catch it either.  So I understand where your MTSO is coming from but again, I would not keep the help that made these mistakes rather than make the other MT's pay for the incompetent ones and be unable to use their autorcorrect, ShortHand or whatever normals/expanders that they use.  The account stayed with me but we do watch the names closely now.   Why make all suffer for the mistakes of a few.
Yes, we are paid for templates.
NM
We can make templates
In Meditech you use the F keys for every little other thing, including their canned text which you have to hit, I think, F4, to pull it up. All the F keys have some laborious function but you can get used to it. As for templates, we do indeed create our own templates for the different dictators. The downside is that once you create one and it's there, you can't go back and edit it or change it, like when the doctor changes some wording and you want to edit it.

Mainly what I'm saying is, ask IT about the MT's creating their own canned text entries for templates. Use ShortHand or whatever Expander for everything else.

Our system used to crash a lot, too, but you could do a Recover and get it back. However, they've fixed that. Meditech doesn't have to be a pain, you can work it.
Good Luck...
You get paid for the templates too
NM
With the use of expander and templates sm

basically all the prep work it's definitely possible. 


Reports with a lot of templates...
and very fast dictators.  Also, the MTSO counts lines in an honest manner, i.e., caps, bold, underline, headers, footers, templates, etc.
Read this about VR, templates, etc.

Ok, our profession has been threatened and outright replaced by voice recognition and/or templates which is fill in the blank type forms. Here's what I have found upon interviewing the people at these various places.


Bottom line is by going with VR, you can get rid of the MTs but they are replaced with approximately 1.5 FTE in IT help. So fire 5 MTs, hire 7 ITs. They need people to babysit the computer generated reports with which they have chose to replace us. Same for templates. So if there is any medical provider out there reading this, just beware. You will spend more money by going with VR or templates than you ever dreamed you could save. I hope this does some good but please don't be fooled by these slick salesmen who sell you this VR or templatesoftware and charge a fortune for it. Not only does it take up more time from your physicians, but you will spend more money babysitting the computers and software than ever before.


Especially if you use a lot of expanders and templates.
Then, VR is definitely NOT WORTH YOUR TIME.  If you type 5 lines an hour or something, yeah, I could see it working out for you.  However, if you are a good MT, not so much. 
How about 0.03 per line for templates?
what templates, ones I make or their's. BS
You do get paid for things in templates...sm
Please e-mail me who told you otherwise.  Thank you. 
And no pay for headers you type or templates they add
/
Templates and word expanders
Figure out which abbreviations trigger an easy memory response. For instance, I've seen people put pn for pneumonia, but that just seemed to trip up my brain and so I put pne. Do you have doctors that use the same phrase over and over? For instance, nothing to indicate; that's nti. intrinsically and extrinsically is iae. no acute disease noted is nadn. You get more lines by typing (in the above example) 4 letters and getting paid for 22 (with spaces). I organized my templates by first 4 letters of last name and first 2 letters of first name - i.e., John Brown is browjo. (This habit started when I had a large hospital with 2000 doctors and this was the only way to keep them straight.) Then, if it's an H&P, it's browjohp; or discharge is browjods, etc. Seems complicated and you may find an easier way to catogorize, but once it's set in your brain, huge masses of data can easily be sorted through, accessed, appear on your screen, and half your typing is done for you.
companies that have lots of templates

Are there any companies that provide lots of templates and normals and a good rate per line?   This is my dream job, to find this company!


Templates are created by the IT people or

The MT usually does not have access to these things.  In my day, we had to put in a request and hope to heck they got it right.  Plus, we had to wait a while.  I think they're called dictionaries (templates) believe it or not.  It has been about a year, and I don't miss that system at all.  Clunky, slow, and lost many of reports due to it going down in the middle of typing.  Grrrr.....


Keystrokes and templates question (sm)

I see Keystrokes has an ad up on the job board.  I presently work for a company who fills in every possible heading that the doctor MAY dictate throughout the report and calls it their template for each work type.  They do not pay for any of these lines.  In some cases we are expected to delete headings if not dictated.  These deleted headings are now subtracted from the total line counts because they take the total number of lines in the template and subtract that number off the top of the line count.  Any missing lines would actually be subtracted from lines that the MT typed.  It would be so much easier for all involved to just let the MT type what the doctor says, headings and all.  I'm wondering how Keystrokes handles headings and templates?  Do they include them as part of the template or do they just let the MT type as the doctor dictates them?  If they are part of the template already, how are they counted or not counted? 


Also, what platform do they use and is it MT friendly?


TIA


MT SHOULD be paid for templates. Horrible MDI
x
The built-in templates for the ones you create
nm
lower pay rate for templates
Hi folks, Has anyone heard of getting a lower pay rate for templates? The company I work for is lowering their pay rates for what comes up as templates to 2 cents per line and say they will continue to pay the 8 cents per line for what we actually type? I have not heard of this before and was wondering if this was a common practice? Thanks for any feedback you might have.

Elizabeth MT since 2001
I worked for one company that did not pay for any templates.

The client had many templates. When I started I received pages of templates with the codes.  It was after my first paycheck that I was informed that the company did not pay for any templates.  You know they were charging the client full price and guess who was pocketing the profit?? 


You probably aren't paid for templates.
Ask your supervisor. And I hope you aren't using your real name. Good luck. I hope you find your answer :)
Anyone know of a company that uses a very easy platform with templates...
and lots of fill in the blanks? I am trying to find part-time work that doesn't require a whole lot of typing because I have pregnancy-induced carpal tunnel syndrome. I still have several months of pregnancy left and I still need to work, so my only option is to find work that requires a lot less typing! I am just happy that this CTS is usually only temporary! I do wear wrist splints and take frequent breaks during my shift but this provides little relief. If you know of companies that use easy platforms with templates, fill in the blanks, cut and paste, etc - please let me know! Thanks in Advance!
Line count involving templates
I need advice!! I am typing in a template that consists of 205 gross lines before any typing is done in it. The client isn't questioning the body of the template where we add the meds, past history, etc., but there is an area of a preprinted form that is added that consists of about 85 lines. The client doesn't want to be charged for this, as this is not part of the typing. How can I bill for this exclulding this preprinted form? I would have to get the total number of characters for the entire document including the form and divide by 65? Help!!
I don't know if this can be asked or not, but how does Keystrokes handle templates? (sm)

Are they prefilled by the platform and if so are they paid to the MT as having been typed by the MT or does the system subtract for the template? 


I have no problem not being paid for template characters; however, I have found (with a couple of services that I have worked for) that the platform (or client or maybe even the service) will fill in absolutely every heading that MIGHT possibly be dictated by the doctor.  We, as the MT, have then had to bounce up and down the template looking for the heading that is being dictated and in some cases, having to modify the template by extracting words to fit how the doctor is dictating that heading.  In both cases, the line counter was set up to deduct the characters from the ORIGINAL template (which we were not paid for).  If the doctor dictates a shorter heading than was prefilled by the system, we are essentially losing lines.  (I hope that wasn't too confusing.) 


It's just so much easier to type as the doctor is dictating and use my expansion program rather than jumping up and down a template.   I'm wondering how Keystrokes handles their templates.  TIA


Shine templates take too long to load sm
Isn't too bad if you can go straight into it and start typing, but the account I do you have to go in and fill/fix the template after it loads before you can start typing, so it can be time consuming.
The majority of places have you use templates and software platforms. Maybe someone can suggest a
s
"hand holding"
No.....hand holding I don't need...nor do I need EXPERIENCE...I have been doing this for 20 years...so think about it!!...I am talking about little things that add up that they have NOT TRANSMITTED to you....a physician list for letters that were not given to and I had to look up every address......(oh we are working on getting a list)....pfffff....also had NO CLUE...where these physicians were and trying to find out where and why? Experience I have...just that I am not a yellow pages directory and they had very POOR COMMUNICATION...I was trying to be polite but since YOU ARE NOT.......I will lay it out....they are a TERRIBLE organization to work for....Also....try to put everything in microsoft word and then transmit, etc......lots of BS to put up with. And waiting for work...NOT KNOWING if you have work in your q....waiting for them to let you know if there is work......but yet you had to have it done @ THEIR convience even if it meant missing dinner with the family because I FORGOT to put it in your q....puuuhhhlllease!
The company is getting by on yanking peoples chains and empty promises.
How are the DRC/Acusis MTs holding up? Are you
s
Wow! How are your hands still holding out
typing that much for that many years! After 10 years, my hands are killing me after half a day. I used to be able to do that much, but it hurts too much now.
Really? Your STM should be holding these at least monthly
I would check with your STM to find out when he/she holds her team conference calls.
Anyone holding out on PC check at the A? nm
nm
I am not holding out hope - already looking elsewhere
The new accounts aren't coming, several current ones are leaving, and layoffs have started, even in QA.  They hired in anticipation of the new accounts, so now they have those MTs plus the MTs from the accounts leaving to redistribute into the already shrinking workload.  It does seem like this is a situation being experienced not just at the Web, but that doesn't help us pay our bills.  I think we need to find a company on the upswing.
Heartlanders: A week later.. how are we holding up? sm
I don't know about everyone else, but the shock hasn't worn off yet and I'm still in disbelief. I've had the worst week of my life trying to figure out how I am going to survive, especially after seeing those COBRA rates - no favor to us!
What's holding you back is your address -
If you'd called them from Bangalore, you'd probably have gotten responses to every single application.
If there is a person holding each end of the pole, does that make them
:P
Good advice! I was holding a grudge
I realized that while I was angry and at home all the time with a grudge, my friend was out dancing and going on with her life.  I was the one caught in a trap.  Be above all that, forgive, turn the page and go on.
Dear SM thank U for not holding your tongue any longer

You don't even know what you are talking about.  They had no choice but to be open about offshoring after the best QA manager EVER got fired for accidentally forwarding an email from India. 


If they had nothing to hide she should have never been fired in the first place. 


Trust me you are much better off not taking the OSi job. 


At least 20 or 25 of us left that place specifically because of what they did to her. 


That was WRONG, WRONG, WRONG   Never looked back


try holding cntr down and using mouse scroll.
x
No hand-holding here at all. Experienced! But truly the WORST ACCTS.
v
I can do that as I expect a lot of places are holding off hiring now because work does tend to get a
little slow at this time of the year.  I can manage with what I have until January. 
Why would anyone be so adamant about holding on to such a crud-ball, crap-paying, loser of a job lik
If this is what it takes to get us off our butts and get a respectable job that pays more than a 16-year-old makes babysitting, so be it. Maybe it's a blessing in disguise.

I for one am outta here. Good luck!
I agree. Pay always on time.
nm
I agree. And when it comes my time to die and I have to
at least I will have tried my best here on this earth. Wondering if some people plan to tell God that He needed to suck it up too... Can you imagine if God said that to us? He had the right to tell us to suck it up and go to Hades!
I agree 100%! I definitely think it's time to break them down! nm
x
I agree 10 minutes isn't much time. You never
know what might be THE job.  Precyse lied to me too and did the IM thing the whole time, which I felt was very unprofessional.  Fortunately for me I found out they lied to me very quickly and turned down their offer, though was so unimpressed with them I'm sure I would have turned them down even before I found out they were lying to me.  The fact that they offshore was also a major factor. 
Agree, everyone should keep appointments on time. nm

Have to agree. Tax time hits companies, too.
x
Agree! Been around a long time, and the work I see SM
coming in from overseas (in general,any foreign country)needs extensive editing. The medical terminology is not so much the issue, but rather the poor grasp of our language. The reports produced from my experience are quite an embarrassment to those in this profession who have worked very hard over the years. I can decipher a report typed by an ILP vs. an American MT the second I look at it. I have quit editing and refuse to edit reports typed by overseas MTs in the future. I decided that I will not be an enabler to fix the mess that comes in so a company can come out smelling like a rose. Give the work to those of us who have the years of experience and education in MT at a fair wage, and in the long run it will be cheaper, with little to no editing would be necessary. Hello? It does not take a rocket scientist to figure this out. I know, it never will be like the good old days, but we can only hope that some form of restriction will be implemented to keep companies from outsourcing our citizens' personal medical information overseas. We can only hope!
I agree...if they can't even tell you what you are producing every day time to move on...
good luck...
I so agree. Worked w/them for short time sm
and one of the worst experiences of my career.  Too many things to list.  Horrid.