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Serving Over 20,000 US Medical Transcriptionists

start-up costs for equipment

Posted By: Nat on 2005-11-13
In Reply to:

What are the start-up costs (ballpark) for newly hired home transcribers?




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Equipment costs?
They sent me a footpedal and give the license # to use the Expander program. I would never had accepted a position with them or any other company with this much of an investment, I don't think anybody else would have either. This is just ludicrious and I don't believe it.
TransHealth has some that start the next month after you start work. nm
xx
Costs
Single cost is low $40s per pay period. Employee + Child is almost $140 per pay period.
Costs
I thought this was a bogus post about costs involved. I had never heard of such. Why do people feel the need to just make up things that are not true? Is it because they don't like the positive feedback that Keystrokes is getting and they are trying to head people off to their place where nobody wants to work once they catch on? Keystrokes is a good honest place to work, please quit stirring the pot.
VR costs
What nobody seems to be talking about is the burgeoning IT department that VR creates. So you save money by paying your editors peanuts but you must hire a bunch of highly paid IT people to babysit the software.
insurance costs
Between $100.00 and $125.00 per month for medical for single coverage, with kids about $300.00 or so. Dental is extra, 401K, DISCOUNT eye program (not vision coverage)
Yes, I could get satellite but costs way too much
nm
That costs them money though
If you are offered bonuses or anything like that based on your production then if they let you have more work, they just might have to pay you more! Not to mention if your not getting full-time hours they don't have to pay full-time benefits. Unfortunately, its business, and it totally SUCKS!
The answer: CUT COSTS...
Some CFOs even request MTSOs that oursource because they charge lower rates.
A local cc (NC) costs about $1200. The
local state supported 4-year university now offers an on-line MT program too and I think it is about $1800.00.  The cc arranges internships and helps with job placement, don't know about the 4-year school as it is a relatively new program and I am not familiar with it. 
...or at least an email in appreciation. That costs nothing. (NM)
//
BBB - I think it costs $9.50 to make a claim now
Check the BBB internet site.
Deventure insurance costs
I think I read somewhere that Deventure has Blue Cross insurance? If so what is the cost for single and also family?  What is their lpd requirement? TIA!
It costs the CMT megabucks to maintain sm
that certification that the regular MT does not have to incur. (I'm an ex-CMT, too.) Believe me, that extra money helped pay a fraction of those expenses.

Costs associated with accepting a position do not sm
include purchasing MS Word or medical spellchecker. Keystrokes provides the platfom for the account you are on and if you do not have Shorthand, they will provide it for you.

Some accounts do require unlimited long distance, but I have it anyway as I have 2 college students out of state and a teenager. I went with my local cable company and can call anywhere any time. It is less than my regular phone was.

I'm glad you are happy with your decision, but if you look in the future for another job, don't count KS out as they will work to help you get what you need and the account that best suits you.
I agree- avoid TTS at all costs (yours)
.
MTSO Costs Are Not MT's Problem.

and at-home MTs have to pay mortgages, tuition, taxes, utility bills.  We have to pay for our own computers in most cases, and we have to pay for our telephone bills and our internet connectivity.  We have to pay for our foot pedals, our C-phones, our headphones, our ergonomical equipment to preserve a healthy workplace, printer ink, fax phone numbers and machines, electricity for our home offices, thousands of dollars worth of reference books and reference software, and Expander software . . .


need I go on?  I don't think so.


Hospitals cutting their costs - where do

Don't kid yourself voices are not being heard. 


How is their benefit package? Insurance costs, etc?
//
I don't know how people can afford housing that costs that much!!! sm
My family lives in a 4-bedroom house with 3,000 square feet of living space (counting the basement, which is finished) and we paid $125,000 three years ago! Come to the Midwest, you can find a 2-bedroom house a heck of a lot cheaper than $600,000.
Do you know what the insurance costs are?? family or single?
Thanks. Looking for a new job.
Companies are putting more costs on us and paying us less nm
ww
I bet MGMT gets big bonuses for cutting costs.
I'd bet the ranch that more erosions are planned and they will keep on as long as they can find newbies frantic enough to have any job. Any MT worth a grain of salt, can find a better paying position in a heartbeat.
Approximate benefit costs/pay cpl difference
Does anyone have just single coverage for yourself through Keystrokes, around age 40; how much approximately per pay period? Also, is there usually a higher line rate paid for acute care and Ops compared to ER? Any info appreciated. Thanks for all your help.
Ok, the single gal who works here says that her insurance costs sm
64 dollars a pay period and that is for Blue Cross/Blue Shield Gold Plan, vision, and dental which is all combined and pretty darned cheap.

Anything overnight costs bunches. Even if you are paying
a credit card over the telephone it can be as much as 9 to 15 dollars.
Avoid DSG2 at all costs...don't know if it is rerecord or not

The industry standard is biweekly. It costs money

to process payroll and unless they are a very small company and do payroll in-house it isn't cost effective. 


The last time you asked, or the time before that, there were a few companies listed who pay weekly. 


 


MTStars FlashType works just like Shorthand and costs less.
see link below
Heck, I don't care what it costs. It's Blue Cross, sm
accepted everywhere in my area.  Only one of my docs was in the preferred tier with the last insurance and I didn't want to switch so I just paid out of my pocket. I only have myself and the rate is cheaper for me.
Med-Scribe. Any current or new information on them. Very curious about the costs of their family med
ins. Is it better than the $650 I currently pay? I hope someone has some answers. What are the accounts like?? easy, hard, easy to make line count?? Paid training? Give me the scoop.
High insurance costs are a national problem, not just in MT. My husband's company sm
charges us $210.00 per paycheck for him, me and our 2 children. The deductible is $500, each visit costs us $25, prescriptions are $10 for generic and $25 for everything else. It is getting crazy everywhere.
Transolutions? Anyone know how good their medical insurance benefits are, costs, etc..specifically
family coverage. They say you only have to work 32 hours to be eligible so I'm curious what their benefits are like. Thanks
Webmedex or Medware? Which would you choose in terms of benefits, specifically medical ins costs.
Any know what the difference is with these companies in terms of pay and what the preminums are for family medical insurance?
Well, call a lawyer then. A good one. You could even get court costs paid by your employer probabl
d
Are you a senior/mature MT? I think they are putting health insurance costs into hiring process

These companies can get CHEAP labor because some girls have small children and husbands and will sell themselves short when it comes to $$$$$.   With the offshoring and some U.S. MT's working for less than, that has destroyed any hope of a good wage or especially a raise. 


Equipment
You can rent a C-phone or Lanier unit from them, but you have to provide your own computer. You have to pay your own LD charges. No benefits as we are statutory employees. I've been with MDI for 18 months and have been very happy there.
Equipment?
Just hired.  They require a $40 dollar lease payment a month for special pedal needed.
You must use their equipment, for which there is $200
zz
No, I have all my own equipment. sm
My checks were short and late from the very first check.
Equipment
I know that KS just stopped providing equipment. I asked my lead why and she told me flat out that it was taking a FT person to keep track of it, the shipping costs were getting out of hand and they were no longer going to stock endless supplies of it all.

When they made the decision, the owner contacted us all and offered it all dirt cheap: Pedals were $50, c-phones $100 and Lanier machines $200.

I have worked for many, far too many IMO, MTSOs and have always had to have my own equipment. It is part of being an MT.

I have been with KS for 2 years. During that time, they have been fair to me, have paid me on time and correctly and have always provided me with enough work to pay my bills, send 2 kids to college (2 more years and I am done!!!!!) and no have to depend on an ex-husband who does not always remember that child support is not optional.

If someone did not have to pay for their equipment, perhaps they worked something out with the office; I am sure if someone could not afford to purchase, even with being able to break it into 4 payments, the owner would have made special arrangements and probably just gave it to them. They're like that there. They look out for their own.


This is your job. You need to have the necessary equipment
A fax machine is standard equipment in the year 2007.  If you work from home, you need to have the basics.  Either that or pay the $1.50 a page and DEFINITELY do NOT complain to the company about it. 
Equipment is now on the way...
I'll get it 30 something days after hire. So things are moving...just veeeery slowly.
Equipment - SM
All accounts are on different platforms and require different equipment. Some of them will require that you have your own C-phone or Lanier system with unlimited long distance. My 2 accounts are internet-based, so all I need are my transnet/Dictaphone pedal and my other acount just uses a USB wav pedal. They supplied me with the Dictaphone pedal when I started a year ago, but I already had my own USB pedal, which I use for my backup account. Each account is different, so you will want to ask them what equipment you will need. You will need your won computer, however.
Equipment
Precyse Solutions provides equipment.
MQ equipment....sm
Your friend shouldn't have to pay for the shipping. If MQ wants their equipment back, they need to send pre-paid UPS boxes.

I left MQ about 8 years ago. I held onto their equipment for at least 6 months. I contacted them several times. I was moving and didn't have the space for it anymore. Since they neglected to send boxes, I finally tossed the hard-drive into the back of a Rumpke garbage truck. I made sure I witnessed it being crushed to cover my a$$. The system was DOS and they had just transitioned onto their web-based platform, which is probably why they had no use for it.
Equipment
They only provide the foot pedal...no PC. They also sent me Stedman's electronic medical dictionary and spell checker software as well as quick look drug reference software.
equipment
TTS also requires you to buy Word 2003 out of pocket.
What equipment do I need?
I can't go into more debt buying pedals and systems that won't work with them. So far I have a wav pedal. Anything else?

I've heard such mixed reviews from them, I don't know what to think. I just know I need a job.
equipment
I never heard of the FOB, either.

You do need a specific foot pedal to work on Bayscribe. There are tons of foot pedals and not all are configured to work with every platform.

I agree that the Baycribe platform was simple to set up, and there were rarely any technical issues with it - only when it was down for maintenance by the owner (not Landmark).

Landmark did have some accounts that used ExText and that would require a different foot pedal.
Companies =can use my own equipment?
Any suggestions on companies where you can use your own PC.