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Serving Over 20,000 US Medical Transcriptionists

Most doctors and facilities have never heard of . . .

Posted By: IHMT on 2006-01-06
In Reply to: Becoming certified, anyone know if there is more money involved in being a certified MT versus non - Suzanne

CMT, or the AAMT.  Although they (AAMT) want to you to believe it matters, the CMT designation isn't really an important factor in the real working MT world.  Quality is what matters to the healthcare providers with which I work, and unfortunately having CMT after one's name doesn't guarantee that. 


The AAMT also is pushing for mandatory certification.  That will never happen.  I predict the AAMT will go broke within a couple years.


The bottom line is to do quality work.  That will keep an MT working and in demand.




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Actually, I have heard of facilities
Okay, my apologies if I thought you were biting my head off. I'm so used to the negativity that usually runs rampant on these boards that (without my usual pot of coffee to start my morning), I thought you were discrediting my concerns. Again, my apologies :-).

Back on topic, I have recently heard that facilities now do push every dictator through onto VR, no matter how horrible they are (I guess they figure it's the MTs problem, as usual).

There are very odd things going on at MDI-MD, and with the new offshoring, etc., it makes sense that they would pull back the ones too difficult for the ILPs to understand and pass those on to the American MTs.

But I seriously would like some opinions on why work is disappearing for 3-4 days, then reappearing for transcription. The ONLY thing I can think of is this, too, is work that was routed to the ILPs but it was close to falling (or already had fallen) out of TAT and they needed the American MTs to pull it back in line. Like I said, I've been on this account for more than a year and this NEVER has happened, EVER. The work was somewhere...the question is, where?

IMO, I think the lack of work, the only remaining transcription being the dregs of the dictators, and work suddenly appearing (and large volumes of it) 3-4 days after it was dictated just all points to offshoring in progress.

Any thoughts on that?

And, yes, BTW, like you I do VR and love it. I think Escription is just about the greatest thing since sliced bread, lol!
Anyone know a company that works with small pool of doctors? Tired of so many doctors nm
nm
The coverage is perfect for me as all my doctors and my kids doctors are sm
in network. With WebMedx none of them were. The coverage is much better for me. My husband's company wanted to charge us $1470 per month for family coverage. There are three of us, so that would be $490 per month per person, which is insane.
I take it they are two different facilities? :)
xx
From above: they are giving you. I bet facilities are
x
From what I know the three hospitals are actually one big account with three facilities and then
the fourth is a cancer center. I have worked at Transtech for almost two years and it's the best job I've ever had. I think you will have a primary account and then a backup. I don't know of anyone here who has more than that.
Most facilities don't know their work is offshored
the MT dept. head knows about it and nobody else. That's pretty evil. Hadn't thought about that.
Facilities have to have employees vote
on whether to accept a union or not at their place of employment or not. If the majority of employees vote no, then a union does not go into that specific facility.
All those facilities amount to 1127 sm

actual beds (the size of 1 large teaching hospital), clinic work, a rehab center with 40 beds and an imaging center.


The list of facilities sounds impressive, but does not amount to the number of accounts we have lost and will lose over the next few months.


The way W overhires, this account will be like all others, everyone fighting for some work.


Depending on where you live, there are many facilities hiring.
Check with Radiologix. They had an ad running for MT, pay well with great benefits.

If you check around, there are many other facilities hiring in-house if that is what you prefer. Some are hiring at-home employees also with a better setup than what you describe.

Pick yourself up! Don't let it get you down. Life can be much much worse.

Really, if you were in a room full of people and everyone threw their problems into the middle of the floor, you will see you really have no problems at all!

Good luck to you!
Um, some facilities are getting back huge mistakes!
Depends where you work. If you have access to all reports, try looking up some that have gone to the facilities. Where I work, it is frightening!!!! ; 0
They will outsource and find out facilities are willing to accept
p
The suits and facilities often control dictation, not
x
Some facilities or hospitals keep their own servers in-house sm
to store their medical records. eScription is a software program used to access those files.

It all depends on how each client handles their contracts with eScription. Not every client or hospital is the same.
Big facilities contract out MT through administration. Drs have no say, they dont pay the bill.
:+
We need to CALL THE FACILITIES and let them know what is going on! OR Class Action Lawsuit
...we need to all go out on strike! If we ALL stopped working tomorrow, called the facilities and let them know why, where would WebmedX be?
Our only hope lies in the facilities staffing MTs direct. SM
Win/win. They save a ton even if they pay us more per line which in turn puts us back in the bladk. We get affordable health coverage and labor laws.

SIMPLE AS THAT


Could you be confusing "using the facilities own MTs" with "sending to India" mayhaps?
x
I've heard only positive things about them. So, I applied, but haven't heard a word. Maybe fl
nm
doctors are way more $$ than MTs and
get a grip
Many of the doctors do this.
It wouldn't be a problem if it was just one doc. Sorry I didn't make that clear in my first post. There are several docs who dictate 'my normal' and it takes lots of time to do this on each report.
That took my doctors. I say KEEP IT IN THE US
PLEASE!
ESL doctors
It might be because most of the doctors that work in the hospitals in MI are ESL.
You get 400+ new doctors and you

can't possibly start producing high lines right away, especially when the account is at least 40% ESL if not higher.  


It doesn't matter what company you go to you're going to have a period of adjustment, no matter how simple the platform may be. 


Where are the doctors? (sm)

So I've been a Transcriptionist for many, many years, working as an employee and as an IC for my own account.  I've been recruited lately by several places who want to pay 7-8 cpl for ICs.  Now I'm an educated adult, I know darn well that no MTSO in the world would charge a client 7-8 cpl so there have to be doctors willing to pay more than that wouldn't you think?  Why are they so hard to find?


Can someone tell me where I can find a nice doctor that is willing to pay 12-14 cpl and give me the same no benefits I'm being recruited for? 


Am I in an alternate universe?  I just don't see how MTSOs can command and get 14-20 cpl but the rest of us who offer just as much can't seem to get our feet in the door.


doctors may think they don't need us but
I have a client who does work comp evaluations and when he does a record review, there are at least 2 or 3 records that are unreadable because they are handwritten. Sometimes 20 or so pages. So he just says unreadable. That does not help him in his evaluation and it won't help the patient either.
ESL Doctors
I read and SAW on television just a couple of weeks ago a report that said the U.S. now has 55% ESL doctors. Doesn't surprise me one bit. So no, transcription companies do not take accounts with a bunch of ESL doctors, that is just about all there is anymore.
My GYN and GP doctors were using
this technology LONG before Obama even was nominated to run for office -- cant blame him for everything
Yep, that;'s what our doctors are doing - NM
NM
About those doctors

You were certainly more tolerant of this so-called doctor than I would have been.  I would never tolerate a doctor telling me I'm the doctor, I'll make the diagnosis.  HE would have been in for a tongue lashing he would not soon have forgotten.  So long as you are paying his fee, IMO you have every right to question his diagnosis and/or treatment.  I've been told by several doctors that they are amazed at how many times a patient who is an MT makes an accurate diagnosis. 


With that being said, I can't help but add what a shame I think it is that we are suppose to be as technically knowledgeable as a physician, most of whom have many more years of education than we do, yet we (or now-a-days you who are still working MTs) are reduced pay-wise to little more, if even as much, as ordinary clerk/typists.  I know that all of you spend years perfecting your skills. Even though I worked in the field for nearly half a century I was still  learning the day I quit.  So....it pains me greatly to see what has become of an occupation that used to command great respect to the point where we (you) are disrespected in so many ways.  It seems that many MTSOs are he!! bent on reducing your pride and self-confidence to a pile of rubble so you will be happy to accept the mere pittance they are willing to pay while expecting that you be even more knowlegeable.  Some have people doing Q.A. who it seems their only purpose is to cut MTs down to groveling pieces of humanity begging for a crumb of work.   Empathy is why I continue to hang out here.   I may be only a party of one but I vow to do all I can to bring the deplorable state of the MT industry to the attention of as many people as I can.  I have talked to several physicians and they are horrified at the situation. Several have told me that they don't know how you girls do it and proceed to tell about some ESL that they can't even understand.  Many of them have also said that they are going to go directly to the hospital administration and address these issues with them and see that their dictation will never be sent off-shore.  Each and every one I have talked to has been absolutely horrified to think their medical records might be going out of this country.  Physicians DO care about their patient records and if enough of them are educated about what is going on, they will confront the bean counters and things WILL change.  So while it is a fact that hospitals will not even take up the matter of their poor dictating habits with physicians lest they offend them, you can also bet that if enough of them demand a change in how their records are handled, they are going to pay attention to them on that too.  It's really up to all of you who are still working.  Do you want to DO something to make changes to your lot in life or do you just want to cry and complain???  VR is not necessarily a BAD thing, perhaps even a good thing as long as there are people qualified to edit and fix things like patient with a fx of the hip due to tripping over a garden horse.


Kudos to cj and friends for taking action.  When MTSOs were mom and pop operations they served a purpose and they appreciated their MTs.  The giants have crushed most of them.  I don't want to work any more but if I did I would not work for these mega-MTSOs at their puny 6-7-8 cpl but I would work to help a small MTSO get off the ground even if it meant (by my volunteering) to work for 5 cpl to help them get up and running.  I hope those of you who are applying to cj et AL will consider giving them a hand up.  Working for a lesser cpl with better things on the horizon and plenty of work would make sense rather than getting 10-11-12 cpl and spending 24/7 staring at a blank screen with no work available.


I am making a lot of noise about this issue because well...there is just something about the situation of people being hired to do work when no work exists that just p**ses me off!!


Doctors don't appreciate us....
They just appreciate not having to do the work and having someone else type it!   Duh! 
ESL doctors
If I had my way and I ran a hospital or was the person in charge of hiring doctors at a hospital, every foreign dictator would have to pass an English-speaking test to be hired.  If they did not measure up I would not hire them.  What good is a foreign doctor who the patients, nurses, and other doctors cannot understand?  In my opinion this is a lawsuit in the making.  My mom had some foreign doctor once and she called me on the phone, I never understood a word she said.  I just kept saying I would be in later.  So misunderstanding foreign doctors, would be foremost on my mind if I was hiring a doctor.  Misunderstandings leads to malpractice lawsuits, something the doctors are always complaining about. 
I do some NPs who dictate for doctors
Just seem to have a little trouble pronouncing some words..It's kinda funny, but I always know what they are trying to say.
Transcription Doctors, Inc.
Has anyone heard of Transcription Doctors, Inc. nm
Transcription Doctors
They have an ad on MT Stars, but I cannot find their website and I was just wondering if anyone knew if they are a good company to work for and if they pay on time. nm
Doctors who say next paragraph...
after each and every sentence!
assigned doctors
nm
Can you talk to your doctors and let them know the
sf
Doctors helper?

Does anyone have any information?


I love it there. Most of the doctors
are really very good. You have the ones that like telling stories for every patient and others that uh uh through every report but other than that the doctors are really very good. We are always busy it seems. We did have one or two slow weeks back at the beginning of the year but we are busier than ever (more like out of control with work). The pay is kind of low to start but when you add in the shift differential along with the line count differential it can add up and is comparable to Medware, especially for ER work. Direct deposit every 2 weeks. Benefits through Aetna. As for the learning curve, I was up to speed within a month. Hope this helps you!
The Transcription Doctors, Inc.
The owner of TTD, Inc. is extremely nice and very easygoing.  I worked for them for a year as an IC and was very happy.  I only left because I wanted to become a W2 employee with PTO and benefits.  Feel free to email me if you have more questions
The doctors are paying 12-20 cpl, but

and never an interruption in service.  Can you as an IC promise that?  I have my own accounts, and I can't promise that.  hello?  I need a vacation once in a while.  I don't have back-up because I just don't, plus it's tapes.  Now I get 12 cpl and it's easy work, but I have to pick up and deliver or else hire someone to do that for me, hence, loss of money even though I can write it off. 


The companies are hiring at 7-8 cpl to cover their QA and also to make some money.  No company is going to pay us what they charge, but 7-8 cpl is the going rate for ICs working for MTSOs. 


Now, you can offer what you'd like for what rate you'd like, but be ready when you need a vacation or just want a break because they'll get their panties in a bunch wanting you to find coverage, and then who do you trust to work for you and not try to take your account?  Believe me, it happens. 


Doctors paying about 11-12 cpl here, no more. 20 cpl?
Maybe in bigger cities, but I don't live in the smallest town and the doctors around here pay 11-12 cents tops. Making even 12 cpl, it's hardly worth it when you factor in all the crap you have to do for them plus find time to transcribe, or pay someone else to do it for you and either QA all reports yourself or hire someone to do that, taking phone calls and meetings, etc. Now if I found one paying 20 cpl, that makes it tolerable at least. But let's face it, if an MT or MTSO has clients paying 20 cpl or anywhere close to that, they sure as heck aren't going to be letting them go anytime soon, so it'd be real hard to get your foot in that door. It's kinda like the saying, all the good ones are taken.

To that end, there are also MTSOs that pay better than 7-8 cpl, but they aren't going to be the ones always advertising for help and the MTs working there are likely going to stay put, so you might have to be patient and look a little harder for the diamonds in the rough. ;)
Except that the doctors & hospitals - sm
are being swallowed up one by one by the big mega-institutions: Tenet, Sutter Health, Catholic Healthcare, etc. The docs & hospitals have less and less say over who does their transcription (if they even have a clue who does), just like they have less and less control over what procedures they can recommend, and what drugs they can prescribe.

It's all come down to the fat-cats in the 3-piece suits sitting in their high-rise corner offices, dictating what healthcare will be meted out to those of use who need it, and how much the hospitals should pay for 'ancillary' costs such as transcription.

If ever there was a group of people the goverment should be investigating and putting a short leash on, it's the HMOs and the Health Management Corporations, which have ruined almost every corner of the American healthcare industry.
Transcription Doctors
I worked as an IC for a year w/TTD, Inc. and had a very positive experience. Small company, very nice owner. Email me if you have any specific questions. :)
The Transcription Doctors, Inc
I was just wondering if anyone has worked for The Transcription Doctors, Inc. on the escription platform and how it was.   TIA
Transcription Doctors
Didn't work on eScription but worked for TTD, Inc. as an IC a little over a year ago and had a good experience. Email me for details if you'd like.
Many doctors' offices have something else

Maybe they don't call it transcription or VR, but my doctors use a laptop on a rolling cart that they take from room to room.  It's a point and click system, though they may enter vital signs and drug names manually.  They tell me that it produces reports so that there is no need for any transcriptionists or editors.


Where I currently work, less than 3% of the reports are standard transcription; everything else is VR.


ARe TTD Inc & Transcription Doctors the same co. or 2 different..
companies? Any info on TTD? I couldn't find much in the archives. Thanks!
They are the same. The Transcription Doctors

TRANSCRIPTION DOCTORS

There platform is easy to work for and easy accounts BUT you are considered an IC and have to adhere to a STRICT schedule, doesn't sound like a IC, huh? 


QA is OK, but again, you have to have to stick to a strict schedule, or else.