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Serving Over 20,000 US Medical Transcriptionists

Should I ask for an increase or just be glad I have a job? sm

Posted By: Desperate on 2009-02-09
In Reply to:

I know with the economy the way it is, I should probably just keep quiet and be thankful I have an income.  I realize there are many here that are without jobs and my heart goes out to you.


I have 18+ years of experience working in this field.  Six months ago I was hired by a national to cover a cardiology clinic account at .08 cpl.  I'd say at least 70% to 75% of the dictators are either ESL or mumbling/speedy Americans on a good day.  Today I have 100% ESLs!.  There are probably only two or three decent dictators in the whole lot if you can find one in the queue.  Turnover on this particular account has been so bad that cherry picking is actually permitted!


I've already applied for a other accounts within the company (that were advertized on various job boards) and haven't had any luck yet.  I probably won't get the opportunity to move because they can't keep this account covered.


With that being said, would it be unreasonable to ask for an increase to at least .09 to stay on this account?  The only other way I have a chance of making any money is to type for 10 hours a day.


Sorry I couldn't give you the short version! TIA!




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A pay increase.
:D
Ins. Increase
OK, you can panic or you can check into other things. Go ahead and call other companies and see what their insurance is costing the employee and the benefits it offers. This is going on in ALL insurance companies. Everyone and I do mean everyone I have talked to in the past 2 days about this has told me theirs has gone up, too. One of my friends who works for a very well known company pays over $108.00 a pay period for single coverage and basically the same benefits as my Aetna plan with TransTech. This is not some remote thing. Even my husband's insurance went up for all the plan options. He is now going to be paying $8.17 more a pay period than I am with Transtech for single employee only coverage. The cost of health care and medications are astronomical and they are having to pass this on down to the consumer. It's nothing new. It is time to wake up though. Inflation is not getting any better, only worse by the day. As for me, I will gladly work 45 more minutes a day to pay for the increase in my plan with TransTech. I would like to suggest a company though for those of you who have children and want a good insurance policy for them. My husband is ordered to provide health insurance for his daughter from his previous marriage and we took out a terrific policy on her with Midwestern Life of Tennessee. For a PPO plan that pays just like a group plan with your employer we pay $98.00 a month. This is for an 18-year-old female. Might be worth checking into. They will also take it directly from your checking account every month. They pay their claims well and on time and we've NEVER had a problem with them. Good luck to you all.
They would have to increase it by about 30% , that is
if they want to keep the MTs and want the MTs to type those spaces... LOL
I am so glad, so very glad that finally I have reached
the age that if we are low on work, I just take off. No problem at all and love the extra day or so off. I now have worked since the 70s and finally made to retirement age, get SS plus other retirement money coming in and thank the good Lord do not have to worry about if there is work or not. BTW, when I worked inhouse never ran out of work ever, only when transferring out to company do they run out of work. If I had to raise a family now I would most certainly cross train on other accts at my place but only have 1 that I work on, by choice.
RE: VR..anybody been able to make an increase in pay doing ME?
I more than doubled my production editing voice recognition drafts, and I am completely happy with the pay I receive for my efforts.
VR..anybody been able to make an increase in pay doing ME?
x
Webmedx MTs, 30% increase with ASR?
I keep hearing this is the productivity percentage an MT will see with ASR at Webmedx. What has your experience been?

Please share:

How long you've worked at Webmedx

How long you've been on ASR at Webmedx

If and how your production has changed (numbers/percentages if you have them)

I'd like to know how much of this promise of increased earnings is truth.

Thank you.
I think you might be wrong about a 30% increase sm
maybe a 30% decrease for ASR reports is correct. I don't know for sure though.
I got a significant increase when I

went to this company.  Pay is based on experience, like anywhere else.  You get adjustments based on quality score.  I got a raise the first quarter.  Regarding the negative comments about demographics, they were time consuming to me at first but CHANGES HAVE BEEN MADE to eliminate a lot of the data entry on the unpaid screen.  I don't spend any more time on demogs now than I did at any other company. 


LPH and increase speed

As I mentioned before, I am struggling with speed.


I am curious what most people start out typing (LPH) and how quickly you increased to your max (many mentioned they are 200-300+) lph.  Anyone who will share on this?


I appreciate it!


That's a shame about the increase
excited to be getting to work for that company.  Keystrokes has a high plan too and are looking into it, but I've read that on here for over a year now.  I guess I have nothing nice to say, so I'd better be quiet.  Sometimes saying too many good things can jinx us!  
Try 9 for decrease and # for increase.
NM
Have you asked them about an increase for the
x
Can anyone help me increase my lines?? sm
I've read how some of you produce 250-300 or more lines per hour without VR.  I'm wondering if you have the same docs every day who say the same things over and over so you use alot of normals and shortcuts. I mostly type for 1 hospital, not that difficult of an account, use many shortcuts but can't seem to produce more than 175 lines per hr. I've been doing this for quite some time and am getting discouraged at the end of my shift.  Any tricks of the trade would be very much appreciated.
VR does not necessarily increase
your speed. If you are making lots of corrections, then you will actually lose ground.
Dang - that's just a bit more than increase in
See link below for online calculator that lets you see what $x in a certain year should be worth today. I plugged in $14 and 1999, and it shows it would be worth $17.79 today.

That means that your 10 years of loyalty, seniority, accumulated knowledge about your platform and client sites, etc. are worth 21 cents.

Here's the calculator:
http://www.aier.org/research/worksheets-and-tools/cost-of-living-calculator
20% increase in production - haha!
haven't they been repeating over and over to you that you WILL see a 20% increase in production RIGHT AWAY!! after you conquer DQS then they're going to throw ASR at you and swear up and down that you'll have a 25% in production and they're going to cut your baseline rate by 20% to become a Medical Editor -- doesn't that sound just peachy!! i recalculated my last check with my MT work and my ME work and it came out to be $50 less because of the 20% decrease on my baseline rate for the honor of doing ME work (i have until 10/1/05 before the cut takes place). Oh, but you have your choice of doing 100% MT work and keeping your baseline rate, but guess what you'll be getting the docs that the voice recognition system can't do, therefore, you will probably see a 25% decrease in production. Heck, now as it is, the VR program can't pick up the little words like an, and, in, etc right and it's even leaving out very, very clear words that a very, very clear dictator is saying, so you figure how you're going to have a 25% increase on production when you're pecking nonstop on the keyboard like when you first started typing on a manual typewriter?? Tell me again, how grateful we're supposed to be for working at MQ? And, yes, I know I can go to MTJobs.com and find another job, but you know what, there's principles and if we just walk away from how we're being treated we're just going to be treated like that at another MQ-like company. Something needs to be done so they know that we don't appreciate being treated like someone with a 5th grade education.
What is the line rate for IC's, does it ever increase? nm
xx
promised rate increase
I have to 100% agree with your statement as I personally experienced just what you stated.
I think OP meant an 30% increase in productivitySM

I don't think the original poster meant a 30% increase in pay, but a 30% increase in productivity! 


Has anyone seen a line increase in the last 2 days?

Interesting, working the same but lines have increased by about 200 per day.


I did ask that, it would increase accuracy, productivity, TAT....sm
She took me off one of the two clinics so now I only have about 35 docs and maybe 10 specialities, but I believe this is only temporary since I am having trouble familiarizing.  I just get the impression that I am not up to par where I should be and I'm surprised, as I'm a quick study.  And to pour salt in it, my two QA people on our Messenger List notated next to their names yesterday that they were typing ___ and listed my account name.  These ladies only type when backed up.  So I think I'm bogging them down:(   I feel so inadequate, and for less than 8 cpl.  Oy.
Do you love their insurance increase as was
x
Fuzzy math. A 40% cut in pay is not offset by a 40% increase

in production.  


To break even in this picture, you would have to have a much greater increase in production. IF you currently do 2000 lines a day at 8 cpl, and your new "blended" rate pays 4.8 cpl, you would have to do 3,334 lines to break even, or at least a 67% increase in production.  Do you all really think you can do it? 


 


when minimum wage goes up do IC rates increase also?
x
as others have said, increase dictation speed, let spellchecker do it's job
x
I believe everyone starts off at 8 cpl and usually reviewed in 90 days for an increase.
There is also incentive pay if you go over 1200 lines a day or 6000 in a pay period I believe. That is about all I know.
No they don't. There is slight increase for evenings and nights;
xx
No, soon the government will increase the minimum wage
and MTs will be the working poor. Sad business this is.
But an increase every few months isn't in the lesson plan.
?
Voice will reduce transcription and increase editing

along with lowering pay across the board.  There is a company I left after a short period of time who bought into Dragon's sales pitch.  It was a medical management company who thought they could make a quick buck moving into MT.  They bought the sales pitch without understanding the whole picture.


They hire at $8 an hour, have great benefits and expect you to kill yourself for that $8 an hour.  IF you edit more than 16,000 lines a day for each pay period (2 weeks), then you pay bumps up to $10/hr.  But if the average for any pay period is less than 16,000 lines per day, you get stuck with your $8 and are told if you don't like it leave.  Well, I did.  The day after I left they announced they were sending the editing to India.  Ain't that a kicker?  Their reason?  To get the MTs in India to train Dragon so the American MTs can make their 16,000 lpd goals and have happier employees


Things that make you go hummm.


d~


My husband got a raise to cover his increase, the lucky bum. nm
..
You DO get a line rate increase for passing the CMT at Webmedx. sm
Ask your supervisor.
I totally agree. I also wonder if they increase the work flow to our "overseas partners" so th
gets done by them thus not many US MTs are getting the incentive. I just find it strange that we can have a lot of work before the holiday that no one seems to be working on but then on the holiday we run out of work. Something is up with that.
Old posts say IC,DSS files, starting pay not negotiable,rate increase after 90 days,1000-1500 lpd.
,
Thanks! I'm glad to hear that, I didn't think anyone used it anymore! I'm glad to hear so
I'll definitely check them out!
we will be glad to use our
after we find another job
I'm glad I could help.
I am an MT, before I get accused of being in a managerial position. 
YW...glad I could help :)

I'm glad I'm not the only one
When I was hired two years ago, I gave a set schedule as an SE (with every intention of following it), but right from the beginning I had to adjust it because of no work being available.  Since then, I pretty much do what I want to.  Thank goodness I work for a good office and they don't bother me much, but all the talk about the changes coming are worrying me.  If they make me work a set schedule, I may just fly the coop, because I know there will never be work available during my shift.     
I am glad you think so
You must be in management and not an MT or ME.

I have never had so many problems with MQ since being transferred to Amherst. Yes, there it is again, AMHERST. I am exhausted after my 40 hour week and feel like I have been typing for 2. I just do not get anywhere. All crappy dictators, and jumping from account to account and running out of work.

You must not do acute care or as it used to be called, medical records, and you must have easy, easy reports. I am making squat for all my aggravation.

Even if the grass wasn't greener on the other side, I would never come back.

I am just holding on until I can find another job and I am looking.

I can't take this garbage anymore.

It is not worth my health, happiness or my family. They all come before this company. It used to be a good company before FRANK came on board.

Can't wait until I can get out of here.

Oh, do you have to work on Thanksgiving and Christmas, if you celebrate that holiday? Just another one more thing to annoy me.
well glad you think so
nm
I want to say I am so glad that (sm)
I am not the only one who cannot stand the company. Every time I post elsewhere (will not say where) I got flamed for saying this is not the absolute best company to work for. Believe me, it is about the worst. Any time a company claims it is the best, that is a red flag IMO.
I am so glad....
I am so glad to hear that! I just got my work computer and am scheduled to start on the 30th :) I have been so nervous because I have had 3 different job offers and chose Spheris.


Glad it is not just me
I thought maybe it was me, but I know I'm able to do more than 150 lph. Been there since summer 05 and wondering how long to stick this out. Demo screens can really slow you down and no compensation for them either. There are so many MTSO out there, where to go??? I don't want to hop from this one to that one again and again.
I am glad I went with them too. I have been there sm
two years. The first year was a little rocky but everything is great now.

My account has only one ESL but a handful of ATROCIOUS American docs. I would prefer a nice accent to speed-demon mush-mouth at this point. I am glad I do not get them often or I would be bald from pulling my hair out!
You will be glad...sm
Pay is on time every other Monday, never had a problem. They are very flexible, as long as you work your scheduled day. I work whenever I want during that day. They never bother you once you're out of QA. Very nice people!
Glad to know this about them
Sounds like stinky pay IF and WHEN you even get paid. I tend to gloss over the too happy to be true posts. That bubble will burst in short order. Things for the realistic info on this company. DELETE!!
Glad for you
Sounds like good news for you and your friends and relatives, but have been here for awhile and so have some others and it has been the same with them also, not just me. Bounced from account to account. I just received an email saying, Congrats for saying what others past and present have not said. That is a fact and says something. I am not making this up to slam anyone. It is the truth. I am sure there are those that a happy, some do not know the difference especially the new ones. It is just a matter of time. Everyone has to decide for themselves, but I can guarantee many just keep on looking.
Welcome!! We are glad to have you.
I really think you will like MDI-FL.
Glad to help. nm
:))