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Serving Over 20,000 US Medical Transcriptionists

one of my bad Spheris experiences sm

Posted By: crispycritterMT on 2007-05-17
In Reply to: Would not recommed Spheris - Gloria

I was approved for intermittent family medical leave to take care of my mom who is a paraplegic, however, when I would ask for the time off they wouldn't let me take off unless I got someone to cover my second shift and nobody would. Also they don't want quality, only quantity. Barely over 60% of employees have over 98% quality. They are also heavy into India.


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My experiences
The worst QA I ever had was with JLG. They were constantly rude and condescending.

MAG Mutual was not good.

The others I worked with are no longer in service or have been bought out by other companies, so don't know how they are now.

Oracle Transcription was the absolute best. Wonderful.
These are not my experiences (sm)
I don't know about the 10 cents per line.  I make 8.5 cents per line, but I feel like my accounts are pretty easy.  I am a full-time employee, but I actually work as an IC with two other companies.  Even juggling three companies, I easily can make 1200-1500 lines a day with OSi.  If I don't work on my other work, I can do 2000-2200 lines.  In the 2 years I've been with OSi, I've never been called when I don't log in on time.  Obviously, if you are scheduled to work on Tuesday and you're not there, they will wonder what's up, but I've logged in an hour or two late before and it's not been a problem.  If I have something come up, a doctor appointment, issues at home, whatever, I just IM my coordinator and tell her, and I usually get back a no problem.  Everyone's experience is different.  Mine has been very, very good.
My experiences
I have always been a hard a** when it comes to people calling and stopping by during my work hours. I've been doing this 10+ years and a good time of that from home. You have to be strong at first; but eventually, if you respect yourself, others will soon follow and if they don't, they aren't friends to you.

I'm so an*l about it that once my hubby had flowers unexpectedly delivered to the house. I didn't answer the door :)

They called him, he had to call me, and have them redelivered, and begged me to answer the door. LOL.

A cousin of mine that I have been going out with on occasion as of late was starting to come by ever so often and visit for a bit. She worked nights so this was more than convenient for her.

After a couple of times of her doing this, I started getting annoyed. The next time she stopped by, I invited her in. Said I was working on a really tough report and she was more than welcome to wait. I would be done in about 20 minutes or so. So I closed the door to my office and made her wait.

Its been 6 months and she doesn't come by anymore.

There is a fine line between being at home and not being at home.

You have to decide what works for you but if its to much, you just have to simply stop answering the phone and make sure people understand that you work for money. Its not play.

I've went so far as to ask one person if they would support me? They giggled and said no, why? I said if you don't leave me alone during the day and respect my hours, I'll lose my job and I'll have no money. So I'll come to you for help then.

If its important to you, you do something about it. Otherwise, live with the rules you've set already.
My experiences

*Does anyone knows if any of the transcription companies actually gives their MTs yearly reviews,*


I don't know about all companies, but I've been an MT from home for 10 years, in-house 5 years (prior).  When in-house, yes, I got yearly reviews.  Since working from home, I've never had a yearly review.  I think I got a 90-day review once at one company.  I've worked for several companies, small-to-mid size to mid-size nationals, no large nationals, some for short periods of time, one for almost 6 years. (see last paragraph below).


*feedback on their performance,*


With the more organized and mid-size nationals, I've gotten informal feedback (you're doing a great job! kind of comments) on productivity - but that is something that it concrete and visible and able to be scored against the company expectation.  QA feedback has ranged from nonexistent to daily emails on blanks, being able to review the work I submitted the day before and compare pre and post completed reports, to just being told you're one of our best MTs! kind of comments.  (see last paragraph)


*and/or raises.*


At the company where I stayed for almost 6 years, I got raises maybe 2-3 times.  They were always related to the company needing more production from me or needing me to set up new accounts, help with setting up templates, etc.  I have gotten several 90-day raises at different companies, earlier if they released me from review early.


There were 2 exceptions to the above for me.  Both were small-to-mid size nationals.  One (as an employee) gave me monthly reports on my QA scores.  They later developed quarterly reports that included QA, performance, and team spirit (for lack of better term).  One (as an IC) gave me charts for monthly QA and meeting my production versus my committment.


We all have our own experiences - sm

Because mine does not match yours does not mean what I said is a lie. 


Everyone has to find their own niche in this business and what makes one person like a company will be the reason why another one dislike the same company.


Everyone has different experiences. sm
I have been with TTS going on 3 years. I make more at this company than I have at any other company in the 11+ plus years I've been in this business. No job is perfect, but I plan on being with TTS for as long as they will have me.
You and I have had different experiences
I have absolutely no micromanagement in the 2-3 years I have worked there. They have left me alone. Did you have issues as far as your work perhaps that might have caused them to want to manage you like that? I rarely ever speak with anyone so I have not run into hateful. I have run into someone I thought perhaps did not have the time that particular day to assist me but no hatefulness. I also see no disorganization. Different all around for you and me.
I guess everyone's experiences are different
I guess everybody's experiences are different and what they can handle, but I've been at Amphion for about a year and a half. While of course, it's not perfect, I've found it's the best company for me and they offer the things that are most important to me. I looked at my pay stub and on my last check, which was 9/7/2007, I had made just over $31,000 this year. I think the people there bend over backwards to help you, I have never run out of work completely like I did with other companies (may have to go to secondary or even tertiary account but hey that's better than no work), they pay us OT (what other trans companies pay you 12-1/2 cents for lines worked in hours over 40 hrs), offer bonuses/incentives when things are behind, and I love their platform. It's a fit for me but I guess not for everybody.
No bad experiences, everything great so far
NM
3 companies, 3 VR experiences

company #1 - VR up to 300-315 lines per hour, straight 150-175. VR pay is 70% of base rate, so this is not bad.   Do not use highlighter, but use editing and navigation shortcuts.  Use foot pedal but not usually the mouse. This is an account I'm very familiar with and I find the platform easy to use. I have done VR with this company since day 1 so I can't compare my paycheck with pre-VR.


company #2 - working here for 7 years, VR started last year, and a new platform started last year too. I find the platform pretty cumbersome - lots of switching back and forth to different panels to check demographics, add cc, etc. And uses drop-down menus to pick headings - for this company I find VR to be a money loser. Used to make 10 cpl to cover all team accounts, income dropped with new platform, then dropped some more with VR... then my position was eliminated and changed to new account for less money for both straight and regular.  VR rate is about 3 cents lower than base rate. New account has more than 50% difficult dictators, ESL and non-ESL. Fussing around with the headings and subheadings, which have to be fixed in VR as well as the text of the report  - not getting more than 700 to 1100 lines in 8 hours. Even using hot keys.  Need to pay bills so found another job. 


#3.  This is only my 3rd day. Using Escription. Much better quality of VR than I have ever seen before except for numbered lists -- the numbers are usually all off. Not too many panels to switch around to and no drop down headings.   Using the editing and navigation keys and also finally getting the hang of the highlighter thing - except it's a red box, less distracting than the highlighter.  And not using foot pedal.   Approaching 200 lines per hour on VR and improving.  Can take fingers off keyboard at times and drink something, stretch, etc. But this one only pays half of baseline rate. Only a few straight reports have come through.  Love the account.


So  - I have mixed feelings about VR and it really does depend on account, platform, etc. I do correct everything and still up names, etc.


Sometimes doing VR with all the function keys and highlighter reminds of trying to play my son's video games - uncoordinated.


I think the person who caused the bad experiences (sm)
is not directly working with the transcriptionists so much. I think they've changed things for the better from what I hear.
Experiences With National Companies
Can anyone tell me their experience with national companies? I have been in the transcription business for a long time, but I have never been so confused by vague instructions by national companies! I thought it would be as simple as going to a site and picking up my work and then E-mailing it back! Is there any company that works like that? I'm spending so much time trying to fit into a format, going to different places, loading the work, etc., that I'm actually losing money! Is this just from being inexperienced with a long distance company or do they all operate that way? Please e-mail me with your opinions.
Accustat. Any good or bad experiences with them.
a
please share your experiences on either platforms
which one you think is the best in terms of production?
What experiences has anyone had recently with ETransPlus?
My wife and I are about to become employed MTs with ETransPlus.  How is the level of communication between MTs and management?  Any more information would be appreciated.
Pros/Cons/Experiences...

Basically the pros, cons, experiences with either. 


So that explains why her experiences are totally
different than anyone else who works for Transcend on the BeyondBelief program. Unbelievable the number of glitches on that platfom that never seem to be resolved.
Anyone have experiences with Diskriter or Med-Scribe out of Fl that they could share.
Good to work for, good accounts, platforms and so forth. Anything that would help me make an informed decision. Nothing is worse than taking a job only to find out it is a nightmare. Been there and done that. Any help would be appreciated.
Looking for updated experiences with Transcription Matchmaker
I've scanned the archives and seen old posts where people gave their experiences with Transcription Matchmaker.  Any current reports?  Any folks who've had a positive placement experience with them?
Everyone has different experiences there. I like it and never ever made 3 cpl on editing. I make
a lot more than that and started at more than that. They treat their MTs fairly.  I have worked there over 2 years and won't be leaving. I make a lot of money plus have decent benefits. They have my vote
There are not very many negatives, it is just that those of us with positive experiences at ANY comp
x
Most of my experiences have been as a part-time employee, so that may be different. sm

However, here is my take on things:


YOG -- Loved it there!  I made great money, good benefits, and was left alone to do my job.  Unfortunately, the owner sold out to MQ.


MQ -- Never worked there full time as I quit the day they bought YOG.  However, at one point I had worked there part time and I ran out of work 3 days in a row while training and no one cared.  Didn't take long for me to say goodbye, plus I was put off by their attitude at the time that people inhouse got more benefits than those working at home as they said working at home was a benefit. 


WestTran -- great owner, uses Iscriptor (easy to use).  A few bad dictators, but generally not bad.  Only downside was not having direct deposit, but checks were always mailed on time.


Webmedx -- not a good experience for me, but it did look like they had a nice benefit package for FT employees.  I found the Enterprise system to be slow and cumbersome.  I used to type 300-350 lph, but typing as fast and furious as I could, never made it past 240 on their system.  Sound quality was awful, ran out of work, and supervisor was indifferent. 


DTS in Oklahoma -- great people, but was working on an overflow account that used MedRite.  What an awful platform!  I would type and sit and watch it try to catch up with me.  Slow and cumbersome.  And no direct deposit. 


TransTech -- great people, nice benefits at the time, pay so-so but good incentive tier. 


MDI-MD -- great pay at the time because they were compensating for the MT having to pay for LD.  Ran out of work at times, but eventually got up to 5 accounts and was able to bounce back and forth and got my lines.   Direct deposit, always on time.  Down side is statutory employee and have to mess with the taxes thing.


CardioScribes -- great people, all cardiology clinics.  Direct deposit, but uncertain pay days, although you always do get paid.  Work for me has been slow, although I see ads advertising for more help, so that is frustrating.  Also IC work, which is a down side for me anymore.


Encompass -- I am just starting there part-time, but everyone I have encountered has been friendly and helpful.  The dictation so far has been easy.  They offer direct deposit and even some benefits for those working part-time. 


eTransPlus -- I will be starting there full time.  I have not done any actual work so far, so cannot comment on that, but the benefit package seems nice and the incentive tier seems easy to achieve.  They offer direct deposit.  Right now, they are offering a sign-on bonus, so that is a nice plus.


I have been around for 100 years or so, so I probably have forgotten some, but that is my experience that I can remember.  Of course, everyone's experience is personal.  As I have said before, one person's hell is another man's heaven. 


Good luck to us all in finding a place we want to call home. 


 


 


Anyone ever been fired or "et go" with FutureNet Tech? Any bad experiences? nm
nm
I think we all have had nightmare experiences. I recently started a job that was "starving" fo
more work than you can imagine and then 2 days into it, NOTHING.. plus the software was a pain in the beeeehind!!! This great opportunity turned out to be a waste of time. Hopefully things get better for you. I quit..making $4 an hour was not my idea of surviving.
I realize that experiences vary by person, but I believe they are fair,
xx
Any personal experiences with Northeast Transcription; good, bad or ugly?nm
xx
If you do a search on here you'll find mixed responses to the experiences people have had with th
nm
InterPro present or past employees care to share your experiences
I'm to take the test tomorrow.  Thanks in advance
I still feel like a team player of Spheris, as the shackle scars are still on my legs! Spheris was

Micromanaged to the microsecond, or ms!  Horrible. And part of a team?  Total opposite - part of a team as in prison.


Don't imply you're worried at all. Just stating fact that Spheris does NOT allow a Spheris MT
work concurrently for MQ - no exceptions.  MQ, on the other hand, does not have the same feelings as Spheris.  Just all I had to say so that MTs aren't misled into thinking they can do the same "legally". Even went to the ropes on this issue with Spheris, as I was professional as well, and wouldn't share info, etc. The point they raised was that MQ is their direct #1 competition, and if I was typing for MQ and doing great work, that was in direct conflict of interest with Spheris' best interests.  Guess which one I obviously stuck with!!
Thank you, Spheris recruiter! Anybody wanna place a bet that there are lots of Spheris
HELP WANTED ads on the job board?? So funny!! Out of the blue, Spheris, we love you!! Lets all run and apply NOW!!
I also know Spheris would fire you if they knew you worked for MQ. That is a BIG NO with Spheris!
nm
Spheris - any spheris employees out there care to s/m
comment on the new Cornerstone platform, good, bad? Will we all be going to SR on this? Thanks.
My experience with Spheris isn't bad at all. I have been with Spheris sm
6 months and already have 40 hours PTO. I was shocked.  Spheris is a  great company.  After 90 days I did get my sign on bonus and didn't even have to ask.  There is soooooooooooooooo much that Spheris offer I wasn't even aware of.  I am so glad that I didn't listen to the negative posts on this board in regards to Spheris because I am a happy camper.
MQ vs Spheris
I worked for MQ about 5 years ago. I wouldn't recommend them. Not enough time to go into it. I understand things may have changed, but I still wouldn't recommend them. From what I've read on boards, they haven't changed.

I've been with Spheris for almost three months now and I really like it. I'm making good money working Mon-Fri and I'm not getting hounded by a supervisor for petty stuff. I enjoy working for Spheris. I say, give them a try!
Spheris is

Spheris is hiring for all shifts, PT and FT, acute and clinic.  I've been with them for about a year now and am really happy there, after having worked for 2 other nationals that I didn't have such great experiences with.

I'd be happy to pass your resume along to a recruiter, if you'd like, or answer any questions you have.  My email is carasoffice@yahoo.com.


Good luck!


Spheris...
They tell everyone that - not to say you are not a good MT.  But I was too, but when I reapplied, they said no - I think because all their new Spheris management is installed now, the ex-Edix management is probably gone (except those who fit in with the new regime), and they just don't want to be bothered with ex-Edix people.  Just my theory.  At any rate, plenty of us have posted on this board, so it is obvious that most if not all of us are not being rehired.
Try Spheris. NM
x
Spheris
TO: MTMQ... Why are YOU making this business? Are you the board monitor. It's none of your business what anyone Or when anyone posts on this board.
Spheris
And just how they going to get anyone's identity on here. What she is doing is NOT dishonest, It's smart because even if they do find out, she has another job to cover herself. BusyMT'ing is diong the right thing by protecting Her interests, which you have to do in this dog-eat-dog MT world. My hats off to you BusyMT'ing. You go girl. And if you really think about every MT company is competition for another MT company no matter how you look it. If one is independent, no company has any say what you do.. IC is the way to go. More pay and you answer to no one but yourself...
Yes, we will see. Spheris has only
acquired one company. Spheris was formed with the merger of Total eMed and EDiX. So, Spheris itself has only made one acquisition - HealthScribe/Acivis.

I think they have to get this acquisition settled before buying anything else and when/if they do make another purchase, I think it will be more global oriented, not US-based like MQ is. That is strictly my perspective.
OSI or Spheris
My husband came home on Friday and said he was going to be laid off soon.  I am still trying to accept this and what it means to our family budget.  I got a job offer from Spheris and OSi to begin in their mentor programs.  I am really lost and don't know which would be better for my family.  Please everyone give me the heads up on both companies.   I know Spheris offshores, but have plenty of work.  OSI seems to be running out of work.  Which program should I choose.  Both recruiters tell me their companies have plenty of work.  HELP
Spheris or OSI
OSI pays better than Spheris. I work at OSi on an account that runs out of work but I can make $500-600/wk...I worked for a lady locally and used to make $1000/wk on the same account, but she lost the account to OSI, and they keep a little more for themselves if you see what I mean. I know someone who worked at Spheris and only made $300-400 week, and then she made $600 wk at OSI. And let's just say her speed didn't bring her down.
re: spheris
I currently work for Spheris. I find their platform makes it difficult to get a decent line count.... it feels like I type alot more then what the platform tells me??
why Spheris...

MQ or Spheris
Keep looking. Don't go with either. You'll be sorry if you do. Have been with both and there are better options out there.
Spheris
It's great if you have 20 years experience and like to make 8 dollars an hour.  They formulate it that way, so even if you get a raise, you get yet another pay cut.  McDonalds is sounding pretty good right about now!
I like it at Spheris
It amazes me how rumors fly around here - chained to the chair?  I don't think so!  I take breaks when  and as often as I want.  No clocking in and out for breaks.  I like the company and am quite happy there.
Spheris
Yes, Spheris is currently hiring for radiology. They are a good company to work for supplies computer and reimbursement for phone service. Good benefits, too.
Currently, Spheris does not have IC/SE.
I doubt Spheris is in the picture for MQ though.

I'm sure that some MTs have been called by MQ Rewards Plan committee though I doubt all MQ MTs get on this board so we wouldn't necessarily hear about it.

I hope they don't do away with SE either.
Actually, I don't see that. Spheris has
leveled their accounts period. Whether you have 1 year of experience or 10 years of experience, if you work on a level 7 account you receive 0.0867 cpl as a base rate. Period. Flat out. No consideration is given to experience period. The incentive is based on WEEKLY production.

Sounds like MQ is basing pay on 2 factors --- years of experience AND level of account.

Of course, I realize SEs may become a thing of the past. However, I highly doubt it. I believe they would have stopped advertising and hiring SEs recently if that were true. They'd only be hiring FT and PT employees.

We'll see!