You should never leave a company until you've had

At one time I would have let it slide, but now I've learned I can't afford it or [2008-12-02]
nm

If they know they've been typed. [2008-12-01]
Why can't you skip over those patients since obviously they know other girl typed them. Do not transcribe for free! Ever wonder why the other girl left?

I've done this for a short period. [2008-11-28]
I had a doctor who hated to dictate. He hired someone that was a resident, but then that physician moved on to other things. I actually liked it because it was feast or famine. I eventually dropped the account (not enough profit) and it was after it took 3 months to pay me. Never again will I waste time on accounts that do not pay. I learned my lesson.

Can the company making the deposit access your [2008-11-28]
Will the MT company paying my depositing into this bank debit check card account be able to access my checking account and take money out of my checking account?

It totally depends on the VR platform your company uses...sm [2008-11-27]
Some are very good and the reports require little editing, others are awful the reports can be typed almost as fast as editing them, not good when there is such a difference in pay.

In 12 years of MT'ing I've never re-read an entire chart. Edit/read as I type. nm [2008-11-26]
x

Please, guys, surely you've seen these people's work SM [2008-11-22]
and are appalled at the very low quality. When training, I worked alongside one of them. The quality was atrocious, but she put out vast quantities of it, moving many reports a day for the hospitals and making lots of money for herself and her employer, so her job was actually very secure in spite of the many complaints that came in from the unfortunate clinicians who received her work. But her speed cannot even begin to compare with that of a computer, or couldn't. I imagine she's safely retired now and doesn't have to face the change-or-get-out that will be required of other content slobs.

I've seen a few [2008-11-21]
Yes, I've seen some ads for used copies of Instant Text, after I purchased mine new. I've never had to contact tech support, so personally would not have cared about the license.

Not that I don't want to give you the company I work for...sm [2008-11-19]
It is Alphamed, but I wouldn't recommend it to you because I have hardly any work right now so I know they aren't hiring. If you did work there you would go broke if you didn't have a husband to back up your pay.

A company has the right to tell an IC [2008-11-18]
when they have work available. If you don't want to or can't work those hours that is up to you. Just because you are an IC, the company DOES NOT have to provide work when you want it. They can request an IC for certain hours.

i've done it several ways. [2008-11-18]
the pillow doesn't work for me -- makes it too high and too hot on my legs. my fav way now is to fold a small lap blanket in a strip across my knees and put a piece of that rubbery shelf liner under my keyboard on top of it. that puts it at the right angle and it doesn't slide. sometimes i just get close enough to my keyboard tray to buttress the keyboard against that and it works fine too. I also have a thin piece of wood (like weatherboard siding) that i use on my lap sometimes, but after awhile it bothers my knees. i'll tell ya tho, i have almost no prob's with my arms if i get that board in my lap. but i still revert back to the tray because i don't like having to move stuff to get up and down...

Here's what I've done [2008-11-16]
I've found that an air freshener with a scent like lavendar or vanilla helps me sleep, espeically the air fresheners that look like candles (but I don't use a sleep mask). I have thick curtains that keep it dark and fairly quite. I make sure I have a quilt or heavy blanket to sleep under that makes me feel all cozy and warm. I turn the ringer off on the phone. I keep a notebook by the bed for any ideas that come into my headwhile I'm trying toget to sleep. I drink a glass of warm tea or hot chocolate shortley beforegoing to bed and have found that a warm bath helps relax me.I did eventually learn to sleep through lawnmowers, garbagetrucks, andsirens (we live 1 blockfroma hosptial and a few blocks from a fire station). Hope this helps, Mariah

You've been complaining about this sm [2008-11-14]
for months now. Obviously for whatever reason you are not going to get more work from the people you work for. The answer is to get another job.

No company HAS to pay your OT. Just get [2008-11-14]

No company has to GRANT OT. If they [2008-11-14]
tell you not to work it, then don't. You should never assume with any job there is OT. If there is, just be thankful for the extra money, but never ever count on it.

That sounds to me like possible outsourcing at your company. [2008-11-14]
That is a long time to pass for the doctors to be dicating on their patients..I have seen that before with an old company I worked for and they were outsourcing come to find out...just putting a bug in your ear!!!

both are mine but the 1 w/lower count is the one company set up, i really baffled. [2008-11-13]
I decided to try it it seemed with long reports the line count seemed so low, but may be it is me. Duh, it just seemed with 5 full pages of dictation 178 lines was low.

I agree with you -- keep what you've got [2008-11-13]
but also keep looking. I hope you read my message below about the state jobs.

I have and I've even met quite a few [2008-11-13]
I was (and still am) on a music board for a band and quite a few of us met first through emails, then phone calls and then concerts, and finally we had get togethers every year for about 4-5 years alternating at each other's houses. We had so much fun and I never would have met them if it wasn't for the internet. We haven't seen each other in quite sometime, but we do correspond mostly by email now (phone once in a blue moon), but there are a few of them that live in the same state now that are very close and go to each others's weddings, baby showers, etc.

I've met about 15 from the web... [2008-11-13]
...and keep in contact with bunches more. The longest relationships I have currently are with a group of 7 women I started talking to about 10 years ago when all of our kids were just babies. We've gotten together at least once a year, sometimes twice a year or more. We've flown out west to meet up with 2 of the gals for a weekend. I wish they lived closer. Then another set of folks, I've known and talked to daily for just a little over 6 years. Three of us are admin of an online gaming league together, and again, we talk constantly - email, phone, IM...one day we will meet I hope, but I've met 9 men and women from the game league in real life, and 2 have stayed at my home. Then I have my MT friends who I've worked with at different points in time who I speak to just about daily. It's no wonder my phone batteries are always dead. Being afraid to meet them or talk to them on the phone was never an issue with me. Sure I am aware of the dangers involved, but hours upon hours chatting in IM on the phone, sharing stories & confidences, common interests, family pictures, talking to their significant others, etc., erased any kind of fear for me. Don't get me wrong, I don't just talk to anyone, I'm cautious of who I let into my online world, and so far, I've chosen my friends wisely repeatedly.

Thanks, I've been researching it too, [2008-11-12]
it does seem like it is very treatable and is also very rare and slow-growing. It looks very promising. I have printed out a bunch of stuff for mom and she is feeling much, much better with just that. :)

That's the silliest thing I've... [2008-11-12]
ever seen in my life. They've got to be kidding. Just my opinion. Anxious to hear others.

Diskriter Company info [2008-11-12]
Didn't see this post. Hope it's not up twice! Anyone know any recent info on Diskriter? Thinking about taking a position with this company but not sure about it. Thanks for any help!

Might get responses if on Company Board. [2008-11-12]
x

I've been thinking about a job change recently [2008-11-12]
I've only been in this biz for about 13 years, but now that my last one is off to school, I'm also thinking about a career change. I live in a very rural area as well, so I understand completely what you mean about people thinking $8 an hour is a good wage. One thing I'd like to suggest is looking into a state job. We have 2 state prisons in my area (about a 20-minute commute) and both hire medical transcriptionists as well as medical records personnel. These jobs generally start out at about $12 to $15 an hour plus state benefits, which in my state are the best bennies anywhere. The jobs that require coding certification pay even more. I would highly recommend that you look on the internet for state civil service jobs in your state. You'd be surprised at the opportunities in the medical field. I'm considering this option myself but want to wait until next fall, after I have the summer to spend with my kids (and so I don't start out in the hole because of babysitting expenses) and to have time to look into getting my coding cert. I graduated from a business school with an Associate's in medical secretarial and did a lot of coding prior to working from home. I used to do billing for a very large rehab facility, so I don't think it will be too hard to brush up on my skills. Anyway, good luck and let me know if this (a state job) pans out for you. Most people have no idea these kinds of jobs are even out there (I didn't).

Just venting about TAT.... [2008-12-04]
If these hospitals are so picky about turnaround time...These docs come in on Saturday night and dictate 50 charts from the last 6 months that they haven't done, every report is 15-20 minutes long, and by cracky, they had better be typed and on the chart within 48 hours, or the transcription company gets a fine. OK. I feel better now.

Online education [2008-12-03]
I'm looking at a company called Future MT for online education. Does anyone know anything about them?

Iridium [2008-12-03]
I searched and found it is an India based company. They have bought out some accounts here in the USA. They are looking for many MT's, but I worry about my personal info going overseas AND getting paid correctly.

Which is better? [2008-12-02]
I currently use ShortHand and will be moving to a company that uses Instant Text with Medrite. Was told that my Shorthand could be converted somehow to use within Instant Text or I could use the Medrite expander. I really just want to use Shorthand, but if I cannot, does anyone know which way would be better -- to put my Shorthand expansions into the Instant Text or the Medrite system? When they do this, will my Shorthand basically work the same? Any info greatly appreciated.

I like Escription, but [2008-12-02]
I also work for a small company so there are very few hands in the pot when it comes to training the speech rec engine. I would imagine the more people that work on an account, the more room there is for errors causing the speech rec to get worse instead of better.

Editing requires a somewhat different set of SM [2008-12-02]
talents and skills, Carole. Some make more, some less, depending on that. Also, very important, depending on how the lines edited are being counted compared to the amount of work required--this can vary widely, even within a company depending on which account being worked on.

Dear MTSO... [2008-12-01]
You have the wrong employees. I NEVER TAKE THE HOLIDAYS OFF unless there is no work for me to do. Don't tell me there aren't people in the US who have no work ethic because you are looking in the wrong places. I know lots of people who have a better work ethic than you apparently. Poor baby had to do four 18-hour shifts...if you OWN your own company and you only have 48 employees, this can happen when you um, like give them all the day off. Sounds like to me you have IC workers, not employees. Most employees I know work when employer says to work. If you need people to work holidays, why did you give them all the day off?

Agree [2008-11-29]
It's really important to take care of yourself, your physical and emotional health. Do proofread and do your best, but don't pull your hair out over it. This is not meant as a copout, but I would wonder if the QA dings were more the result of an over-zealous QA/QC Editor than actual declines in your own ability. For instance, I've been in situations where I had the punctuation correct, but the QA/QC person did not understand it that way and marked it as incorrect. One glaring example is that of military time. Where I had transcribed 1435 hours, she changed it to 14:35 hours. And where I had transcribed 4:00 p.m., she changed it to 4:00 o'clock p.m. As for the simple words, a, the, and, etc., it was a toss up as to include them or not. One day it was okay, the next day it was not okay to include these in the report. Sometimes, she wanted the patient, other times it was just patient, regardless of what the dictator actually said. She ruled at that company and whatever she said was right was right, and was not to be challenged. I simply could not stand it any longer, and left that job after less than 2 weeks.

ESCRIPTION INFORMATION [2008-11-29]
Just within the last 2 weeks, I was unable to pick and choose the reports that I loved doing inmy queue anymore. WHY? I wasn't sure at first. Then after 2 weeks, I finally IM-ed the trainer for our company and asked her, thinking SURELY she would know since she was the one who trained us in Escription to begin with,what was going on? I was told she didn't know and referred me to my immediate supervisor. Ok.. so I wrote her an email and she came back with the reason they did that was because the OLDER jobs were being missed and the TAT was in jeopardy (I knew this was a crock because most of those reports have dates on them that were dictated 3-4days earlier) and she said it was also because they weren't able to send us the STAT reports that needed to get through to a random Editor to do in ahurry. I knew THAT was a crock too becauseInever had a problem with them sending those in my queue as welland did them whenever they wanted me to. Okay.. so I deducted those2 replies as meaningless andwas still leftwondering WHY they did it. No one had an answer for me, but... lo andbehold.. this past pay period was a real eye-opener. I was given a WARNING letter by my supervisor because she said my production per hour fell short of my rate per line and they had to give me minimum wage (according to what itisin my state of course)and that 3 of those WARNING letters ina 6-monthpay periodwere cause for termination. Shesaid it was in the manual. I looked andfound nothing in therepertaning to any of that.This is actually what she emailed me: If after payroll is processed your lines per hour multiplied by your line rate is less than minimum wage, that is what puts you at minimum wage where our company, by law, needs to pay you at least minimum wage. It is possible that one can type 4000 lines, for example,in the pay period and not be paid minimum wage, so long as the number of hours they worked did not put them in a minimum wage situation, i.e., 80 hours compared to perhaps 40 hours. Okay so why didn't someone say this to me a while back and where in the manual does it say this? In any case, aside from being monitored after wondering WHY we can't pick and choose our reports, I started thinking back to the days when I made 9 cpl for editing for another company.. then I was talked into coming to the present company I work for now and was given 8.6 cpl because they were just starting a new Speech Team and I was excited to say the least.. I finally have the dream jobI wanted! Well.. thereagain, I spoke too soon and then my immediate supervisor, the one who tried soooo hard to get this going, was demoted to QA with a cut in pay because they wanted to do away with speech forever. Needless to say, she left.. I was the only one left on the Speech Team and DID stay at my rate which was fine. It was then that I left for a month to try another company and I found out they were worse. Long story short, I came back to present company and then ESCRIPTION came into play... 5.5 cpl.. well.. okay.. the platform is better and I think I can do okay.. then more people were hired and NOW it's 4 cpl. I am struggling every day to make ends meet. Even if you were to get 15,000 lines per pay period, that is only 600.00 BEFORE taxes.. that's still poverty pay. Part time, you need only 6,000 per pay period and full time at 12,000. You aren't making jack crap. My co-worker and I get picked on and singled out when we ask questions or challenge them about our pay and find errors in the way the ADJUST it for Escription. Yes, they adjust our pay and we just figured out that our PTO time isn't the 10.00 per hour as promised but they calculate it on the last 6 pay periods.. Didn't use to be like thateither.. it was always at 10.00 per hour. Back to the pick and choose thingee.. Yes, I think they DO keep thegood ones for the clique. It's likehighschool.. you are either with the IN crowd or you're an OUTSIDER and notgood enough to join the GANG.... it's sickening... I have looked high and low for a decent paying editing job out there and there is none to be found..There has to be a better way than this??

Nationals who outsource to India [2008-11-29]
Will the nationals in this country face financial hardship if the Obama/Biden administration cuts tax incentives to companies who outsource their MT work to India? I know of one company who outsources and they are not doing too well financially and their CEO resigned not to long ago, no reason given. I know a lot of MTs refuse to work for companies that outsource but many domesticMTs do work for them and maybe now is a time to bail out. Any thoughts???

No. As another poster said, it encourages guessing, which is completely counter-procuctive to the g [2008-11-28]
makes for low morale within a company.

In some cases, this is true...sm. [2008-11-28]
Personally, I don't mind doing ESL doctors or more difficult docs. I can now run through them just like any other. However, others in my company are not the same way. On many occasions I have been requested by physicians (of course this burns the other MTs) to do their dictation. With that I have many recommendations and have been promoted for that reason. I think it really depends on the company and the people.

Talk to your bank [2008-11-28]
With DD, your bank statement is proof that the company paid you or not. With checks or prepaid credit cards, if it's lost in the mail YOU have no proof it wasn't sent. If it gets screwed up in adding it to the card, YOU have no proof the MTSO is at fault and you have to fight with Visa. The MTSO is correct in refusing to tell you which other MTs get Visa--they have a right to privacy. The main problem I can see with Visa is that it's just inappropriate. You'll be forced to spend every penny you earn AND spend it at an establishment that takes Visa. How do you plan on saving? How do you plan to pay your insurance and other expenses? What if your children need $10 for school? You also may be subjected to fees and/or expiration of the funds on the card. Why don't you talk to your bank about the safety of direct deposit? Perhaps if they can calm any unfounded fears you have, you can be paid in a more appropriate manner.

I would really question this.........sm [2008-11-28]
Does the company issue any kind of periodic earnings statement so that you can see where you stand with regards to taxes, insurance, etc.? How would you be able to determine whether you are being paid for all your hours/lines if there is no statement earning? As far as how safe it is, I can't really answer that, but I would be a little leary because of the above concerns.

Not rare [2008-11-28]
I had an account where a company of dictators (not doctors, but PACs I think) was hired specifically to do dictations of discharge summaries. There was a lot of shuffling of papers, but some of them did quite well, considering they probably never met the patient, and I was happy thatclear-speaking people werehired to do the dictations of a fewveryheavy ESLMDs. I don't know how accurate the dictation was, but it suremade my job a lot easier. I have to admit that I wouldn't want my own reportsas a patientdictated by an outside person, though.

Depends on type of prepaid card sm [2008-11-28]
I have a Visa debit card through ADP. They are the payroll processing company used by Medquist (which is where I got the card initially) and many other companies, not just MTSOs. The only fee involved is $1.50 per month to have the card and fees for using it at an ATM, which is the same as if it were through a traditional banking account. I can also transfer the funds to my saving account if I want or set it up to have a certain percentage put on the card and the rest in the bank. I have had this card for about 3 years now and love it. However, if the card they are wanting you to use is like the ones you can get at grocery stores, Wal-Mart, etc, stay clear. They require fees for almost everything from getting your money loaded onto it to using it for each and every purchase. As far as not wanting to give out routing information for direct deposit, why is there such a worry? So long as the information is given only to your employer, there shouldn't be a problem. Unless this is only a short-term job, I don't see the big deal.

Prepaid MC/Visa [2008-11-28]
i think you ladies have this MC/Visa thing all wrong...think of it as a debit card from your bank. I have worked for multiple companies that have had this. This was done through ADP the payroll company...you can have all or a percentage of a fixed dollar amt put on the card, the rest is direct deposited into your bank account. you goto ADP online and get your paystub just like regular. Other payrollprocesses that do this are Paychex which uses JPMorgan/Chase as their MC/Visa...all reputable and above board. Face it ladies this is the wave of the future...banks don't want us writing checks and don't want to deal with paper checks so they are slowly phasing them out.

Can the company making the deposit access your [2008-11-28]
Will the MT company paying my depositing into this bank debit check card account be able to access my checking account and take money out of my checking account?

by doing the harder dictators you.... [2008-11-27]
get valuable experience and when it comes down to it, YOU are the one who looks good and has more potential for raises and promotions because you can do those and do them well when no one else can. Also, you are the one that they'll see can ultimately do ANY type of report/dictator without hesitation or problems. So let them cherrypick. They're only hurting themselves in the long run. (that is, if you work for a company who actually appreciates it's employees!)

exactly what i was going to say. [2008-11-27]
You will invariably be working then for a company who will not (or does not) have a good reputation. If the company understood the nature of the work, they'd understand how unreasonable this is.

ABSURD [2008-11-27]
I wouldn't even work for a company that just takes off points from the QA/QC score for blanks, because everyone is different and it should be our goal to work together to create the best document, not to penalize those who cannot be perfect.

I always reread [2008-11-26]
I never send in a report without relistening to it. I first type all the dictations at once and then speed up the dictation between 200% to 250% and go over everything. I leave everything to the proofreading, checking up words, referring physicians, correcting mistakes etc., unless the doctor is really slow and then I correct my mistakes as I go along, but still proofread. Since quick typing is so essential, I don't want to stop typing in middle to check things up and I found mistakes so many times (even small things like an extra comma, a missing letter, he/she, etc.) that I don't feel I can send it without proofreading.

cherrypicking [2008-11-26]
I need to vent. I work for a really nice company, have been with them for several years, and really like my work. Lately a couple of new people were hired, and it is obvious they are cherrypicking. Tough dictators get refused/sent back to pool. On our platform, we can tell when a job is sent back. If you are one of those people, why do you think you have the right to pick and choose your work and leave the crap for everyone else. it is only fair to take the jobs as they come. We will all get some good, some bad. Would you like the shoe on the other foot - you get stuck with all the crappy dictators? I am asking here, please do the work as it is assigned. Play fair, will ya? I have seen people post on this subject before but had never experienced it. Now I know why prior posters were so PO'ed about it. It kills the line count for the day, every day, while the new kid on the block is raking it in. Whoever you are, I hope the boss confronts you and assigns you all the junk for a while or fires your butt so those of us who have worked there for years can continue with the jobs we have loved for so long. You are ruining it for everyone else. Okay, vented. back to work. wonder what is in the pool now.

Benefits [2008-11-26]
Just found out benefit premiums are going up over $100 more a month. I am hardly getting by as is, let alone when benefits go up. I have to carry the insurance for my entire family (husband is self employed). If someone works for a company that offers good coverage (deductible $1000 or less and copays $30 or less) and cheap premiums (i.e. less than $500/mo for family coverage), could you please let me know. I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you.

When I first started at this, my [2008-11-26]
supervisor told me if I was uncomfortable doing a certain type of work to leave it until I was more comfortable. Same with dictators. I didn't do it long, just a week and would try the odd work I never did before in between the good stuff. Could this be the case with your company?