Don't work for them

Are there any part-timers out there who work extra hours when they feel like it & get away with it? [2008-09-05]

It does matter. Take pride in your work. [2008-09-03]
We are supposed to be professionals.

plus, those that are now constantly in the pool work ... [2008-09-03]
have a very difficult time, and it seems some are constantly in it. I am fortuante that I am in my primary most of the time. They created the national pool reportedly/supposedly because a group were complaining last year about being out of work and this was the solution. Some have posted they do upwards of 15 or more different accounts in one day. It is very hard to make $$ when it takes longer to read the client profile than it does to transcribe/edit the report (short ones especially). I am not bashing MQ here - I am trying to explain some of the changes in answer to your question.

i am so bored when i work for the Q [2008-09-03]

Yes, you are required to do any work that...sm [2008-09-02]
comes your way unless it is a work type you are not approved to do. Don't worry, it should pick up today.

You have to work your schedule, no matter [2008-09-02]
x

I'm in SA5 and out of work as of 8:15 a.m. EST, anyone else? [2008-09-02]

No work [2008-09-02]
SA5, no work but to be expected after a holiday, so got that HIPAA thingy out of the way!

is anyone else out of work today? [2008-09-01]
scheduled to work but no jobs to download.

I have work [2008-09-01]
but it is not my primary

out of work [2008-09-01]
Yep. I was okay up until about 15 minutes ago. Time to call to get a ticket number and take the rest of the day off.

out of work @ 8:30 PM EST [2008-09-01]
Anyone else out? I got the T# and was told to call or EM my PS. Just curious what everyone else is doing or has done. I was only an hour or so into my shift. I, too, am PT flex (whatever the flex means to MQ). One would think the flex part means just that when we run out of work, no?

I have plenty of work in SA5 area. nm [2008-09-01]
x

LABOR DAY, work or not to work that is the question???? [2008-08-29]
On one hand they want us all available for the hurricane relief, now asking if we want to use our PTO on Labor day? Wasup? I am not using my PTO for time I can not be on vacation or sick. Provide me work or let me go, I do not care if I am paid as I would rather have the fantastic, one of the last days of summer to go out on river and to actually know ahead of time would be nice so I could make some plans and not have to sign in on Mondaymorning to find NO JOBS AVAILABLE, call 1-800-go @*^*^$ yourself and no one to answer or give a ticket number because they are so busy because of holiday weekend and allare out of work. What do they want? I am so confused, but will be right here on Monday morning to see what is up in the cesspool, but I will not sit by this stupid box waiting for work to come in. I am saving my PTO for my fall VACATION,not because they have no work to provide for me and force me to take it.We especially here at MQ NEEDa vacation, as vacatuibs actually make aperson more productive, studies have shown that again and again.I HAVE A LIFE OTHER THAN MEDQUIST!!!!!! They can have me 40 hours a week, but then it is MY time. Maybe looking for reasons to get rid of me as I am taking a week off anyway no matter what in October, have reservations and down payment not losing. This is bull crap with a capitalS. On way out of thisdog and pony show.

I won't work Christmas either [2008-08-29]
I'm going to ask off for Christmas too; I will work every other holiday, but I have a big family dinner on Christmas Day and I will not work. It might not seem fair, but it's the only day of the year that I insist on being off and after working for them for 28 years, I think I deserve it.

I am with you, why make more work? nm [2008-08-28]
.

Good work to bad work [2008-08-27]
OMG! I thought it was just me!

I won't work it then. If you are working [2008-08-27]
extra for a specific account, then call in a ticket stating such and you are not getting it. Then I would just wait for them to let you know the issue has been resolved. I would also email PS the ticket number and tell them the problem.

Anyone else have lots of work. [2008-08-18]
My group in SA5 area has over 3700 min of work. Must have had lots of people quit. My group usually runs out of work ALL THE TIME, but we have so much work in the last week. I am not complaining, but you would thinkthe clients will not be happy andwill leave MQ.

I didn't work either (sm) [2008-08-17]
I also volunteered to work extra this weekend and when I logged on, I was in the cesspool and I didn't fulfill my commitment either!! I thought there would be work because of the emails from my PS saying how much work there was...blah, blah, blah. Obviously, not in her BOB. Last night, when I worked my regular shift I only had a couple of reports in my PS's BOB. The rest were unfamiliar accounts to me, but luckily these were pretty decent accounts.

Jeez, calm down Belle.I know how things work, but glad I gave you the chance to spaz out a little. [2008-08-15]

work-related stuff off the clock [2008-08-15]
I've brought that up myself that it wasn't fair when we had to be on the phone talking to PS, tech support, etc. and/or typing emailsthat we're not compensated for, but yet we need to do it as part of our job and yet the other person onthe other end of the line is on the clock -- wonder if this could be addressed to the labor board?awww, forget it, I'm sure their lawyers have some clause that pertains to that....

Ran out of work. We are to complete our work schedules, but [2008-08-15]
I am out of work right now after being in the cesspool this morning. For the lastweek,Impact would call every day begging for me towork and allowing OT pay, but now, NO WORK.I am to make up the time for no work too.

synching does not work for me [2008-08-13]
I turn that function off and simply move the curster with my hands-on arrow buttons. I keep my hands on the keyboard as much as possible, I do not use my mouse. However, I have a friend who does ASR and she swears by using her mouse. You just need to find your own niche. Good luck.

Also, all the logging in just to start work.... [2008-08-13]
you have to log into DocQmanage, log into etime, log into DQS.....it's a little much, imo.

HURRICANE IKE [2008-09-05]
Anybody in the cone? I am.... We went through Andrew in 1992....homeless x4 months...was not an MT back then. I am not sure how MQ handles such. Do they fire you after you can not work for an extended length of time? I emailed them but no answer. No one knows where Ike will go. It is way too soon to tell, but just preparing for the worst and hoping for the best. Pray for us.

yes [2008-09-05]
Was told by my PS as long as the work is there could put in extra hours since it is not OT.

My experience in the old days was the same. [2008-09-05]
Unfortunately AAMT was and has been busy trying to make the organization look big and important to others rather than focusing on and working for what the membership really needed - fair pay for good work and allowing us the time to do the job right rather than let the profession sink to quantity. I used to enjoy my job because the work was interesting and I was paid a decent wage. I have always taken pride in my important role in quality patient care and, in the end, the patients will always be my primary focus. Unfortunately, I find myself focusing more and more on finding a new profession because I am not being paid a decent wage anymore and just scraping along even though. I was a member for 13 years. During that entire time, the AAMT was busy trying to impress doctors with what our profession does for them, but too many doctors still don't get it and the bottom cash line rules their choices. The AAMT was busy designing and touting education requirements with dreams of needing a 2-year degree to be qualified to be hired. That never happened either. I remember when AAMT was pushing that transciptionists needed liability insurance. Since that time, the profession has pretty much gone to nearly absolute verbatim which drives me crazy at times. I took pride in assisting some doctors with making their reports readable and they appreciated that There were even some doctors who actually requested me and I felt proud about the quality of my work rather than just being a production number like I am now. The last straw for me regarding the AAMT was when work began going off shore and they have never appeared to have found for our jobs. Various off shore MTSO companies may claim they are HIPPA compliant, but, truth be told, HIPPA cannot be enforced beyond our shores. Remember the off shore Transcriptionist who held medical documents hostage with threats to publish them on the internet? US laws are difficult to enforce when the infraction has been committed in another company. The US can punish off shore companies who produce tainted products that do not meet safety requirements by denying entrance into the company, but the same is not true with patient medical documents.

Hi Rosie, I am [2008-09-05]
I live in Florida and we are still struggling here since the big hurricane in 2004. The hurricane that hit us a few weeks back did a lot of damage here, 40,000 to 50,000 people on the beachside had sewage in their homes. A number of homes in our area were ripped apart and Melbourne, where my daughter lives was flooded. We had over 25 inches of rain. It caused a lot of damage. I can't imagine what will happen this time if the storm after Hannah is as big as they say it is. I just hope it changes course, and none too soon for me. I don't think this state could handle it. We were without power for 3 weeks in 2004, and I remember going back and forth from the hospital to work at night, with no stoplights, heavy debris in the streets. It was the only place we could actually get anything to eat. We were so hot at night when we slept it was horrible. I remember taking the flashlight to the bedroom and going to bed at 7:30 at night. It was much worse though for a lot of people, and we prayed FPL would get to us to get the electric turned on. Boy, do we forget how important all these things are!

I don't think I hate my job yet....... [2008-09-05]
but if MQ continues the way its been going with the 15 or so different accounts that I get every day at this point, I will have to move on soon to another company. They say they want to keep the experienced MT's, but that is getting harder to believe every day. They can't seriously think that we should be able to do all these different accounts and put out quality reports. I have been an MT for MQ for about 14 years now and have put up with a lot of crap these last 2 years. I can't take the stress anymore about wondering what they expect from me. It seems to me that they don't care what goes to QA anymore...just type it and hope you did alright. I used to take pride in my work and it just sucks working this way, and they wonder why so many are quitting. Mark my words, they are going to be stuck at some point with all newbies and wondering where all the profits have gone. Okay....i feel a little better :)

my heart and prayers go out to you [2008-09-05]
Since you've already been through one, you know just how disastrous it can be. I experienced the same thing during and after Hurricane Katrina. Eventually had to relocate so I could get back to work. Although I didn't get paid while being out of work, I didn't lose my job. That is one good thing I will have to say about MQ..they will work with you in helping you get back to work. My PS was wonderful. Just keep in touch with yours and keep the communication channels open.

I think you are so right about what can happen (and probably will) [2008-09-05]
happen if you change companies. Although, there probably is something out there which is better for the moment - hopefully better enough to fund my education for another career. What I am earning here doesn't leave me much money beyond paying the bills. At least in the hospital I was paid a decent salary and thus wish I hadn't left. Although, my stint in for the small service was great until we lost the business to the Indians who can afford to charge half the price. It looks like I will be driving again in order to go to school and for the new career. Not having to drive to work and saving all that commute time and saving money on gas has been wonderful, and I have been willing to put up with some crap in order not to commute, but I have to face up to reality - something I have been having to drive myself kicking and screaming to do.

OT is available to anyone who works over 40 prod hours, you can get paid OT also...sm [2008-09-05]
if you work over 40 prod hours. Why would you get paid OT for working less than 40 then it wouldn't be fair at all. This is a labor law not MQ law.

We went through Hurricane Ivan in 2004 [2008-09-05]
I had a great PS then, and still do now. We went to Atlanta - we had small kids and did not want to risk anything happening to them. We stayed in Atlanta about a week and a half until our electricity came back on. When we came home we had a lot of roof damage (ripped off in a few spots), obviously rain damage to the walls, carpet, etc. It was about 2-1/2 weeks before I could go back to work (thankfully the computers were okay), and MQ was okay with that. I kept in contact with my PS while in Atlanta, letting him know what was going on, etc., and then also when we got back home. I think communication is really the key. I am hoping that the letter I is not going to be famous for hurricanes, because I don't think we could handle a repeat of Ivan!!

Control 1 [2008-09-05]
I pressed Control 1 instead of Control Q, and all the lines bunched up closer.Anyone know howI undo it? Toggling doesn't work. Thanks!

If management is really reading [2008-09-04]
this board, and we know you are, how can you be reading these posts and not know what your doing to your staff??? Laugh now, but things are going to change. You won't be able to send our jobs out of the country for very much longer and you will need the US MTs to work for you and you won't have us. It will then be your turn to live with a lot less money and it will be your own fault.. If I were running this company I would certainly be trying to make the people who bring the money in a little happier because without us you don't have a company...

I'm tier 3 making 7 cpl 4.9 cpl for ASR - [2008-09-04]
Sorry to offend. I simply wondered why anyone would stay at a job they depise at a pay rate they feel is unfair, especially if that pay keeps decreasing. As far as the cpl goes, I was told it is based upon your experience and the testing results. I've been an MT for 20+ years and MQ is not such a bad place to work for in my opinion. I've definitely worked for worse companies than this one.

IT [2008-09-04]
It's a good program but with a lot of work setting it up the way you like it and a long learning curve. The instruction book is almost the size of a Reader's Digest. It will slow you down for a while until you get it

It's been a month since CBay took [2008-09-04]
over. Does anyone still think all our work will be sent overseas?

The disparity in pay is unbelievable [2008-09-04]
MedQuist does a great disservice by not making pay a more uniform entity, one that is equal to experience, competence, and loyalty. It is disgraceful that some of MTs who are Tier 3 and have worked, as they have stated below, for MedQ for years are making 7cpl? I am boohooing at my 9cpl and now consider myself supremely lucky...though I know for a fact MTs who are exactly the same level as me are making over 10cpl. And I am 100% ASR so of course I making 0.063. And NO my work has not increased 30%. I have to work my A$$ off to try to make up the difference between ASR (which I actually happen to like a lot) and staightMTing. And the hoops one has to jump through just to get a 3% raise is ridiculous...a vetting process more intense than getting into the CIA...it takes month between the audits and the micromanging check of your schedule...in the end all to give them a reason to turn you down. It is disgraceful to pay a medical terminology expert so poorly....you could answer phones and get paid more.

Happy at MQ [2008-09-04]
I did not mean to sound like I was belittling anyone, I know each has her/his own experiences. Maybe what I don't understand isif so many are unhappy then why are they still with MQ? I was unhappy with others and moved on until I found the right fit. I was mainly looking for consistent work.I negotiated my line rate before signing on the dotted line with MQ, 8 cpl was the offer and I declined and told them what I would accept as tier 3, 12 cpl,and they called a couple of days later and we negociated 10 cpl. I knew from research they would not go for 12 cpl as employee, but started high and came down to what was acceptablefor both of us. True, I do not get in the cesspool but maybe once or twice a week and some weeks not at all, but I am grateful to have the work, even if it is unfamiliar,without having to call someone for it when my primaries are out of work.This is a big relief to me as the other places were often out of work and I would have to wait around half the day to get work from another account (cannot make money that way). It benifits me to have the work automatically there no matter what. My BOB is large, maybe 12 or more accounts, and Iget a mix of4 or5 accounts every day with ASR thrown in, not just one account. They are for the most part good accounts for me though, but I have many years experience and maybesomenewer to the profession would not think so. As far as my schedule, I work a split shift the hours that I chose and have had no problem flexing this on occasion when needed as long as I communicate with PS what is going on, but it is a fixed schedule.As far as clocking in and out/fixed schedule,I would have to do this working anywhere else at an outside job so no big deal to me. The only difference is that I can now flex these hours if something comes up and I need to. I understand that the company needs to know when people are working so they can manage TAT and having people working whenever makes it very difficult to do that. I do not have a problem sticking to my schedule because it is what I chose. As IC being able to work whenever I felt like it, I found I was working more hours for the same pay as nowhaving a fixed schedule mainly because of workflow issues. I knowseveral people who workfor MQ and are very happy, so not sure being unhappy at MQ is the norm, although I do understand thatworking conditions are not the same throughout the company. If my pay drops to the point I cannot live, then I will simply move on.

Disparity in pay [2008-09-04]
Your post was right on! I too am a tier 3 with over 40 years of experience who is struggling. A year ago I lost my long-time primaries (they left MQ), and have been struggling with all new heavy ESL accounts and making about 1/3 less than I did a year ago. However, to add insult to injury, I know several tier 1 MTs who are making the same 9 cents a line that I make and do only clinic work. When I requested a change to their primary account (a huge clinic), I was told that I would have to take a cut in pay.

Spoke too soon [2008-09-04]
Primary only lasted about 2 hours. I'm really starting to lack motivation after 5 days of crap work.

why don't we quit? [2008-09-04]
i was pondering this question as put forth in the thread below where some people are happy here, but so many of us are not. for me, first, i just wasn't willing to believe that things had gotten so bad. i kept holding out hope that things would swing back around and i'd get back to where i liked this job, that reaching my line count would get easy again, that there would be one day, just ONE day, where i didn't end up crying and hating everything. i just kept hoping. then, when the reality of the situation was just too glaring to ignore, i have gone through several periods of time, about 1 to 2 weeks worth, where i went crazy and applied to any and every job i saw. in the past 3 or 4 months i've sent my resume out at least 20 times. it seemed like i was applying to at least 5 jobs on a daily basis. i've had a couple of interviews, have started working part-time, as a 2nd job, with an MT work from home company that i really love, and am currently hoping and waiting for an interview at an actual office, outside of my home, as an MT. the process of looking and sending out resumes, and waiting, and then hearing and weeding out the jobs that won't work, and them weeding you out, and just the whole process, it seems to take forever. i imagine everyone here who is miserable working for MQ is in some phase of this same process - holding out hope, hating their job, but needing to work at home and not realizing there are alternatives until they get desperate enough to really start looking and finding out there are, looking and waiting and hoping. if this job i am currently holding out hope for doesn't pan out, i will be getting back into crazy mode again, and will go on the daily rampage of sending out resumes to any and every job i see. i'm not limiting myself to medical transcription, but am applying for anything medical, anything, as well as just regular old secretarial jobs. these are not jobs that i would really like, nor do i really want to have to drive any great distance to work, but right now i am willing to drive an hour to a job that pays me decently and treats me like a valued employee. i still am not willing to give up on thinking that jobs like that exist. medquist just doesn't happen to be one of them.

and... [2008-09-04]
..ya know, i wouldn't hate Medquist so much, i'd be willing to put up with the cesspool, and the multiple clients, if they didn't have the stringent so many lines in a certain period of time constraints. it seems they could deal with accountability in a more flexible way that would helpthe MTs be more productive. some days (most days recently) it is simply impossible to make 1200 lines in a day, when dictation after dictation is done by a doctor who has conversations with co-workers, sits there leafing through the charts, does everything BUT dictate. you can't fast forward through everything and speeding things up doesn't always help in these types of situations. what it does do is make it so there is no way you will reach your line count. of course, we have no idea if anyone ever speaks to the physicians about this or not. if they knew this was affecting our pay check, they might make more of an effort, but maybe i'm just being naive. but anyway...i feel there shouldn't bethese rules that set us up to fail. maybe we should have to work a certain amount of hours to get benefits, and maybe we should have to make a certain line count for accountability, but they should let us do it more on our own time, and if some days it takes us more than 8 hours to get our lines, they should let us. i'm fine with working 8 hours and if i have a great day and hit my 1200 in 5 hours, fine, i'll keep working until my 8 hour shift is done. but on those other days, they should just let us catch up on our line count, off the clock, whenever we can. i know i would feel a lot better about myself if i could average what i'm supposed to. i guess this opens those murky waters of labor laws and people who might take advantage, i dunno...just babbling here on my break....

70K [2008-09-04]
Joanna, How many lines/hours/days of the week do you work in order to reach that 70K mark? I would like to strive to get a similar income. Thanks for any info.

It's still English; if I wanted to be rich, I'd use my BA in math [2008-09-03]
I enjoy transcription and don't want to be around distractions. I strive to do my best at is, as I would at any job. People with the attitude of just slopping through these reports have no business in this profession and give competent transcriptionists a bad reputation. No wonder we cannot get any respect with illiterates doing the job. If you want more money, do something else. If you can't work outside the home, quit complaining until you can. If you want to be a good medical transcriptionist, learn the English language. I'm tired of people complaining about how bad reports done by our Indian counterparts are when they don't have good grammar, spelling, or punctuation skills themselves.

Good Examples [2008-09-03]
I'm trying to have my MTs NOT run together 2 sentences. If the second phrase can make a new sentence when you say it outloud,then a comma doesn't work--that's basically running 2 sentences together.

I calculate 225 lph ASR = 150 lph transcription [2008-09-03]
To earn the same hourly pay amount for ASR as you would for straight typing based on typing lph minimum quota - Old fashion algebra: (x lph)(ASR pay rate)= (150 lph)(typing pay rate) x = (150 lph)(typing pay rate)/ASR pay rate) x = 225 I detest being told that my pay will not increase if I put out more work. Add to that, some ASR reports are a dream to do and some are a horror, being able to be typed faster.

Confused [2008-09-03]
I'm a bit confused. I've read a lot of posts about the BIG pay decreases that have happened and how horrible it is to work for MQ. I've been here about a year now and make more moneyin my40hour work week than I did working similar hours at my previous medical office job. So, I quit it and nowonly do MT work. Could someone explain where these big decreases came from and how much the actual $ loss has been. I just haven't seen itin my situation and am very curious. I know theypay lessthanICs can get as12 cplis my current IC MT rate, but this is also after 11 years of service and with my own paper and gas being used without reimbursement. I stay with them because they were my first account and are great people. I also have not been able to find any otherICaccounts willing to pay more than 8 cpl, which is why I came to MQ in the firstplace, after months and months of footwork.At least with MQ I get401K, PTO, etc., and no gas expense to boot. I'm also able to get time off and adjust my shift when necessary, which as an IC can be very hard to do at times.