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Pros and cons of word Expander programs that work with Chartscript?  PC ShortHand as opposed to Instant Text?  Which is better?  I have downloaded PC shorthand for a 30 day trial, but to me its a little slow.  Any ideas?  Thanks

Yes, I'm bragging.  I'm rather proud of myself with that.  Would have been more, but my foot pedal unplugged itself 1/2 hour before day's end!

Stupid nonholiday means there's no more work. 

Speaking of nonholidays, my children did come up with a nice Rosa Parks Day tradition -- meatloaf, since that's what Ms. Parks was planning for dinner that night.

What is the most popular or should I say proper way of setting up a heading for an operative report, order, spaces, tabs etc?  I know the doctor's way is always right but some doctors do not give enough information and some give too much.  Just wondering if you tab over diagnosis and align or place list under headings.  And spaces after each heading.

DATE OF PROCEDURE:

PREOPERATIVE DIAGNOSIS:

POSTOPERATIVE DIAGNOSIS:

PROCEDURE PERFORMED:

SURGEON:

ASSISTANT:

COMPLICATIONS:

ESTIMATED BLOOD LOSS:

FINDINGS:

PROCEDURE IN DETAIL: 

Okay everyone I'm asking for your advice. As of right now I work in a doctor's office doing transcription and filling in for front desk when the girl is off that works there. I love the girls I work with and I love doing transcription. I also have a part-time job at home doing transcription with a great company that I can go full-time with, but I'm scared to make the change. I know in the beginning I'll have to put in more hours to make the same amount of money due to getting paid by the line and get my line counts up, but I would love to work at home again and have a more flexible schedule. What would you do? Help!

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Thank you,

Goldbird

Any suggestions??  I have 7 years clinic experience and am looking for work.  Seems like I cannot get a response back to test or interview.  I need a company that offers TAT, not set hours.  I send in resumes and cover letters daily...What else could I do??? 

Also, in the meantime does anyone have suggestions on "practice files".  I want to expand my skills/specialties.  I have not done radiology and have always wanted to get into it...Thanks for any advice!

I am searching for possibilities to streamline getting reports back to my client.  Is there a HIPAA-compliant way to send medical reports securely via email so that they could be printed on site?

I've been Googling it and there is some info about going from WordPerfect to Word, but I can't find anything about importing them from Word to WordPerfect.

I just got really screwy account where we have to transcribe the reports in WordPerfect to get the line count, then save them in Word to send to the client. 

I am being paid 4 cpl for editing reports produced by voice recognition software (eScription).  Is 4 cpl the norm?  Are other companies paying more to edit voice recognition reports?

Hi there,

I have been working as an MT now since January and want to add this experience to my resume.  Can anyone help me make it look good?

I'm trying to revamp my schedule around transporting kids.  Would be interested to know what works for you.  Thanks! 

on offshoring.  Did anyone see the article on the 15 Kaiser workers who were fired for looking at Nadiya Suleyman's (or however, you spell that) medical records?  I commented in my local paper on how violations of HIPAA are enough of a danger here in the US.  If everyone who is willing would take the time to put in a blurb in the "comments" section of their online newspaper, on offshoring dangers, we will spread the word and the public will become more aware.  Even if only 1 or 2 people read it, it's food for thought...  TIA

What is the fastest, most accurate way you proofread?  I have been playing back my reports from the beginning of it on fast chipmunk sounding speed.  I catch myself making exapander errors a lot. I

 absolutely have to proofread as I usually catch at least 2 per report before I send them.  Trying to proofread 'as I go' does not work for me as I still find mistakes when I am done.  What is the Fastest way of doing this?  Does  anyone have any advice?  Thank you muchos.

My husband is a top-level executive (CFO) with a retail company.  He was just informed that he would be required to take a pay cut that will amount to $1200 out of our monthly budget, or approximately $15,000 a year.  We are also going to be required to pay an additional $200 a month toward our medical benefits, so we are looking at about $1400 chopped out of our monthly income effective immediately.  Although I wish right now I was in a higher-paying field, I am grateful that I am in a job where I can increase my pay through increased effort.  I decided early in the week to see if I could increase my production by really keeping my nose to the grindstone and focusing.  I typed in 2 days what it usually takes me 3 to do.  I will be making a great effort to help make up some of what my husband has lost. 

Anyway, just wanted to let you know that it's not only MTs who are seeing downward pressure one wages.  At least we have the opportunity to increase our pay through our own efforts.  My husband doesn't have that option.  He will be working longer hours and being paid considerably less.  

My question is why are you against them?  My husband is a union member and we have good family benefits plus he gets a very decent wage.  Granted, he hasn't been a member very long, about 1 year plus, but so far everything seems good.  Yes, unions are political, but so is everything else today.  There are lobbyists for everything in Washington and as the saying goes "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours".  But at least unions are there to protect their workers, or so it goes in theory.  US MTs have no protection whatsoever and our profession as we know it is on its way to becoming obsolete.

On this MT site alone, post after post is negative and it's mostly about MTSO's and the way they treat their workers who make them $ - US.  I've been an at-home MT for about 3-1/2 years now and previous to that worked in-house.  I work for a well known national and when I first started it was good - I was making really good $, more than I did in-house, had a great supervisor, good accounts, and they always gave us opportunities for bonuses that you could actually make some $ on.  My sup even sent me a B-day card and a Xmas card by snail-mail  and in her own handwriting no less!  The good times lasted for about 1-1/2 years and it has all been downhill ever since.  With the combination of ILP and ASR, the transcription industry is going down the tubes and FAST.  The big fear in the past was hospitals outsourcing and in-house MTs losing their jobs.  That fear became a reality as more and more hospitals realized they could save $ by outsourcing a portion, if not all, their work.  Now today the fear is outsource companies outsourcing overseas (kind of funny when you think about it - outsourcing company outsourcing) and machines taking the place of humans, again MTs losing their jobs.  When will it end?  We can come on here and post our frustration and moan and groan, but what is that really going to accomplish.  Some may think (and hope) that MTSOs read this board and our e-mails and suddenly one day the light will come shining down from the heavens and the angels will sing because the MTSOs will finally come to their senses as to how rotten they have been to us, their loyal worker bees, and will shower us with praise and gifts of gold and $.  Well, to those MTs who think this way, WAKE UP.  MTSOs do not care about us.  They may say they do, but they know that right at this moment in time they still need us.  ASR and ILP are not as efficient as they need to be to get the job done correctly at dirt cheap rates, but it is only a matter of time before they become dominant and transcription as we know it is in the archive books.  MTSOs main objective is to make the most $ and pay out as little as they can get away with.  They chip away little by little - sending more accounts overseas, cutting rates, reorganizing to fit their needs but not taking into consideration how it affects the MT.  They are business people doing what business people do by trade and they are accomplishing what they are setting out to do - make the most $ and pay out the least.  So what are MTs supposed to do to protect our professional trade?  Voicing our opinions, whether it be here on this board or by e-mail or phone, isn't going to change a thing.  Maybe it's time to get proactive and actually DO something rather than complain or just up and quit and then the MTSOs can say they HAVE to have ILPs and ASR because there aren't enough qualified US MTs.  I for one would be interested in seeing a union or other organization be formed to protect the US MT industry from it's downfall, but I wouldn't know where to start.  If nothing is done now, I'm afraid that in 10 years or less my job as I know it will be a part of history.  If anyone has any other proactive ideas, please post them.  I'm sure there are plenty of MTs who would be willing to join a group venture to protect our profession.

Got a letter from Frank about "document preservation"  and the ever-threatening "new pay plan."  He keeps mentioning his new pay plan, but never has the balls to tell us what it is.

Let's say using standard margins, and standard font.  I'm from the old school of 'pages', and hourly salary.  As I take on f/t employment in the world of 'lines per hour' and 'lines per day' .... what does that equate to, approximately ?

thanks guys ....

Joanne

I started on a new platform about two weeks ago and am finding it HORRIBLE!

I normally get between 130-170 lph, depending on dictators.  Today I worked four hours and had 200 lines

It is a word-based platform.  To put in a QA marker you put in spaces, highlight them change screens, use the mouse (no shortcut keys) click add, save, and then back to your screen.  To remove a QA marker, you have to change screens, use mouse click on QA marker number, and then click delete...  You also have to do this to look up or edit doctors, patient info...

In all honesty from anyone who has worked on such a platform, WILL I GET FAST ENOUGH TO KEEP MY CHILDREN FROM STARVING?

Thanks in advance

I wonder why the light above caps locked is so small.  With the constant need for capitalizing words in this industry, I am constantly backspacing to delete words mistakely capitalized or not capitalized, especially with IT.  Does anyone have a cure for this? 

Hi,

Has anyone tried using one of the new netbooks with a broadband "air card" which plugs into a  USB port, a wireless keyboard and mouse (for ease of typing),  and a foot pedal plugged into another USB port? Am thinking about getting rid of the high-speed cable and going this route which costs about 60$ a month so that i could take my work with me or check on work away from home.  This has really become an issue lately because my granddaughter is in  Children's Hospital with a heart defect.  Most of the time there is "sit around and wait for hours" where i could be doing some reports while waiting for news.  Verizon gal told me that the broadband is "secure" where WiFi is not.  any advice/ideas? I say a netbook because they are so cheap ...about 350$ compared to a laptop.

Throw me some suggestions. I've tried Weight Watchers but always felt like I was starving, so that's out. I tried counting calories but always went over the limit. Anybody with any good ideas?  I need to knock off about 30 pounds.

Doc comes on and I thought he had a poor connection or something because his voice is shaking... he says, "Sorry, I'm jogging and I'm a little out of breath..." 

JOGGING WHILE DICTATING!!!???

Needless to say, I'm not enjoying this dictation.

Long report too... he's a cardiologist... lol... maybe explains the jogging...

Okay, just had to vent.  Back to work.