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Serving Over 20,000 US Medical Transcriptionists

I left there in mid 2008. Very

Posted By: disorganized with poor communication on 2009-01-30
In Reply to: Chronicle - Dave

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I left in April 2008

For me, it was the schedule.  I hate to be tied down.  On top of that, I hate being tied down and working on accounts that aren't mine.  Towards the end, though, the account situation was getting better for me.  I was getting mostly my primary and only 1 or 2 other accounts. 


Leading up to that was the paycut.  ASR was great in the beginning when we were getting paid regular pay for it, but when they cut us down to 70% and then took away the daily bonuses, my paycheck was pretty skimpy.  Add to the fact that I had gotten a raise in 5 years, it wasn't a hard decision.


People leave companies for all kinds of reasons.  Some we understand, some we don't.  The only one it should really matter to is the person leaving the company.  MQ was great for me in the early years, but it just went through too many changes for me.  I'm just glad I got out before the pandomonium of CBay hit.  I must have had a guardian angel looking out for me. 


I left in March of 2008 sm
They had switched from MTWorld, which I loved, to Emdat Inscribe, which I loathe.

My biggest complaint has to do with the team managers. Most of them are NOT MTs and are clueless. The more MT clueless they are, the more they micromanage. The MT manager...well if you had asked me when I had been there a year, I'd tell you she was a peach to work with, but I had not been able to say that for the last 18 months I had worked there. They grew a little too fast and lost that personal touch they used to have. Also, they are management top heavy. There are too many of them, too many QA people, too many IT people who aren't that great, and too many heads of this and heads of that. No way an MT company needs that many managers.

To top all that off, they have gone from the 8.5 later 9 cpl I was paid to 7.5 and 8 to start, from what I understand. No pay for headers and footers, even if you have to fill them in yourself. They like to issue MTs a fine for not following instructions and do so without giving a warning or two, just an instant fine.
Welcome to 2008.

made in China?  Well then live with off shoring.  It's not that big a deal.  No one wants to work for cheap, but I think inflation has added to our tale of woes. 


Let's talk about under bidding right here in the US....  I think off shoring is the least of our worries. 


Believe me, there is always another US MT/MTSO that will underbid what you think you deserve in a New York minute. 


If you don't like off shoring, then get out of the business.  Because a lot of what we have especially is made in other countries.  So, just take a deep breath!  God Bless! 


P/S:  I've seen posts of an MT complaining she had to print on sticky paper for goodness sakes.  We are to please the client, not our self rightousness.  If you think it's worth more money, then charge and it and quit belly-aching. 


Thanks CMT, MSMT, and CMT 2/2008 (SM)
Whew!...What a relief.

Wow. Ever since the end of 2008? 2-3 months?
You sound like the folks that had the utter gall to offer me 0.0625 cpl after 30 years of transcription. Go fly a kite.
Ad on MTjobs dated 06/23/2008. nm
.
For 2008 they got better insurance for nationwide. Not just local.
But from what I understand transcriptinn is slow right now. Do send in resume for the future. I worked on that account and thought it was great. I'd go back if I could. Especially with the new insurance the hospital has for people all across the country. Good luck :)
Passed in Feb 2008-CMT Review Guide

No, you're in the year 2008, where the results of
most kids being raised in daycare with 2 parents working 24/7 are showing. Kids are a mess and the American family is a total mess, divorce rates 50%, our country going down the tubes, and YES a lot of it has to do with kids being left on their own while mommy works and goes to school, etc.  I don't know the answer, but for sure the results being disastrous are evident all around you. I stayed home with mine and am more than pleased with the results.  Just because children survive and grow into adults does not mean that they are healthy and happy adults. 
Saince, Inc is hiring. Last post aug 2008. Anyone

have anything to report, good or bad, on this company since last year?  Read one old post where someone was getting their first paycheck a month after starting.  Very little else in archives here.  Thanks in advance. 


 


 


TransTech health insurance rates for 2008
I thought I had found the perfect job in Transtech. My bubble just popped. Anybody else out there in cardiac arrest right now over the just published rates for open enrollment. As I need a family plan, unless they can come up with something quickly (she said they are searching for some better options), I will have absolutely no paycheck to speak of.

I hate to consider leaving, but it is a strong consideration!
August 2008 we were sold to CBAY after the announcement in May.
Check it out. As for me, I'm still here, still loving it, doing great, always get my account, making 10 cpl. I'll stay until I get fired.
MT Salary woes article in Advance for Health Information Prof. 8/2008







Vol. 18 •Issue 17 • Page 20
Reactions to the MT Study

A group of professors is taking a hard look at the medical transcription industry.


His knowledge of the industry a few years ago? Admittedly, zero. Coming from, as he described it, a position of ignorance about the medical transcription industry, Gary David, PhD, associate professor of sociology at Bentley College, Waltham, MA, hit the road and headed to Reno, NV, last year, where he took in the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI) Conference. After realizing no formal academic research had ever been done on the medical transcription industry, Dr. David and two Bentley colleagues, Donald Chand, PhD, professor of information and process management, and Angela Garcia, PhD, associate professor of sociology, set out to do an in-depth study of the industry.

The first part of the study was an online survey taken by 3,800 MTs, and the results of the survey were compiled, analyzed and presented as the study's preliminary findings. The full study is still in its infancy; the preliminary results from the survey represent only one part of the teams multifaceted approach. Dr. David has become embedded in the industry, serving on task forces and committees with AHDI and the Medical Transcription Industry Association (MTIA), and he's now a staple at the annual conferences.

ADVANCE spoke to Dr. David, as well as to experts in the industry. We aimed to look at specific aspects of the study's preliminary results and gauge its reception. The opinions are mixed when it comes to three major issues in the medical transcription industry: quality, the work force shortage and the ever-present salary issue.


Questions on Quality

The survey posed several questions related to the quality of documentation done by MTs. Nearly half of MTs reported that they see how flagged errors are resolved only rarely or never. Also, the survey showed that 59 percent of MTs transcribe for multiple physicians at multiple hospitals and/or clinics. Dr. David's view is that if an MT isn't told how a flagging issue was resolved, he or she may not know how to resolve a similar issue in the future, which can affect quality. Likewise, Dr. David noted, if an MT is transcribing for many accounts, he or she might not be able to develop an ear for physicians.

According to David Plummer, founder and CEO, Probity Medical Transcription, Harrisburg, PA, quality review is useless unless that information is shared quickly with the MTs. He also agreed that transcriptionists should have primary accounts to work on, and then when that runs out, have pre-determined secondary and tertiary accounts. Today, many MTs are transcribing the dictations of multiple physicians from multiple hospitals and/or clinics, Plummer said, and that's just the way the business model works for most medical transcription service organizations (MTSOs), he explained. Quality, turnaround times (TATs) and productivity suffer in this design; however, when you have a transcription system where the pools do not contain sophisticated logic and has transcriptionists flit from one account to another, these are expected outcomes, in Plummer's opinion. What has happened is that the architecture of some of the newer platforms has not been built with [MT familiarity] in mind, and it creates these massive pools with multiple hospitals and tens of thousands of physicians, and that's just not good for quality or the MT, Plummer explained.

Chris Hopkins, chief operating officer, Landmark Transcription, St. Davids, PA, looked at the survey results from another angle. He noted that approximately 50 percent of his work force consists of independent contractors, which may indicate that those MTs are working for multiple companies, which would explain why they are transcribing for many different accounts. Hopkins also said that just because an MT is transcribing for multiple accounts doesn't mean that quality work isn't being produced. Landmark maintains a system where MTs are assigned certain accounts, and MTs do transcribe for multiple physicians. By working on certain accounts, however, MTs can keep track of the different client specifications, something that Hopkins said may be difficult in a pooling system as mentioned above. [MTs] can't build up any kind of speed or fluency on an account when they're doing 10 different accounts, Hopkins said.

Bonnie Crow, director of U.S. operations at MxSecure, Scottsdale, AZ, agreed that in an MTSO setting, MTs are most likely transcribing for multiple accounts. These MTs are often experienced and highly skilled, Crow said, and therefore they produce high quality documents. With the flagging issue, Crow said that software used at MxSecure provides feedback to MTs, and she believes most platforms will allow this (Probity and Landmark have software that lets MTs see how a flagging was resolved, as well). Crow also noted that MTs should go through a quality auditing process on a consistent basis. I strongly feel the Quality Assurance monitoring process today is the best it has ever been, Crow said.

That's due in part to the technology that can allow MTs to follow documents through the quality assurance (QA) process. Kathy Eberle, who works in QA and is the operations supervisor for Landmark Transcription, explained that as soon as a document leaves QA's hands, MTs can immediately see the changes that were made. Some platforms make this difficult, however, and MTs and QA personnel may have to work harder to ensure that errors are explained. It is extra work to give them the feedback that they need, but in the end, it always pays off for QA because the MTs always become better for it, Eberle said.


Shortage or No Shortage?

Besides quality issues, another point brought to light by the MT study's preliminary results is the aging work force and, potentially, a looming work force shortage. There's no denying that the work force is on the older side—77 percent of respondents are older than 40. There is, however, room to debate whether or not there's an immediate crisis when it comes to a work force shortage. Dr. David commented that because there are no solid numbers on the actual number of MTs working, there's no way to determine if there is definitely a shortage.

Plummer disagreed with the conclusion that there's a work force shortage right now. He pointed out that Probity uses all domestic labor, and noted that all of the accounts he'd like to secure are either being transcribed in-house or by other MTSOs. When an account is landed, the MTs on that account typically join Probity, and the need for more workers is quickly met. Plummer called the work force shortage overplayed.

Eberle referred to the shortage as simply a shortage of qualified MTs, rather than of all MTs. She's noticing that many good MTs are leaving not just their positions, but the industry, and they're going back to school to start different careers. With quality MTs, we're truly lacking at the moment, Eberle added.

Hopkins echoed that, to a certain degree. He admitted it was hard to say whether or not the industry was facing a work force shortage, and said he doesn't see that happening at his MTSO, where his needs differ from some of the bigger transcription companies. At my level, where we are, we don't see a tremendous shortage of transcriptionists, Hopkins said.

He added that if he has an opening, he advertises it and that day, he'll wind up with 40 résumés in his inbox. I can usually fill a very specific position within a day, Hopkins said.

Crow, however, is worried about finding qualified MTs to support the growth of the industry. There aren't enough younger MTs to replace the retiring MTs within the next 10 years, she pointed out, and she strongly believes that there is a work force shortage. She added that new education programs are being put in place to produce good MTs, and many MTSOs are offering mentoring programs. Her company started a mentoring program 2 months ago for new MTs to help them garner experience in the field. This seems to be easing the labor shortage, according to Crow. We are very excited with the decrease in attrition numbers we are seeing already!


Salary Woes

While there may be debate over whether there's a work force shortage right now, one certainty in the MT industry is that wages aren't heading upward. In the survey, MTs reported varied personal incomes, with the majority, 72 percent, bringing home $10,000 to $50,000 annually. Another survey question asked about the number of wage earners in MTs' households, and 33 percent said that there is only one wage earner in the household--the MT.

Dr. David called the industry one of the only places where the laws of supply and demand don't work. There may be fewer transcriptionists and there's a greater demand for transcription services. [That] should mean that [MTs] get paid more, but their pay doesn't increase—if anything it goes down or stagnates—and so part of it is linked to how there's just no perceived value in what it is they do, he explained.

The industry as a whole needs to recognize that MTs spend a lot of time and money learning their craft, and if wages continue to drop or stagnate, potential MTs are going to look elsewhere—to other industries—for jobs, Hopkins pointed out. We want to see a viable pool of labor here in the United States, he said. If people can get better benefits and better wages at McDonald's, why wouldn't they go there? It's too hard to learn this business. It takes years of work to be fluent and professional.

Dr. David observed that there was a sense of unrest in the industry about salary issues. There's a number of things impacting [MTs], causing their wages to go down or be less robust in terms of going up, so it's definitely an issue that we've heard about, Dr. David said.


What's Next?

Overall, despite differing opinions on the results of the survey, everyone agreed that it could be a valuable tool in the industry. Crow said she hopes the study can lead to medical transcription being recognized as a degreed profession with mandated certification. I think once this is in place, the profession will be viewed by the younger people as a desirable health care position, Crow said.

Hopkins hopes the study highlights the fact that offshoring labor is doing what he called a disservice to the industry. I think if people focus on providing a livable wage to the transcriptionists with a reasonable package of benefits and a decent schedule, the labor pool will become deeper and broader because more people will start to come into the industry, he explained.

Plummer hopes to see more transcription programs set up at colleges to help school more domestic MTs. He also hopes the study helps companies adhere to better quality, because that could help the entire industry. Overall, he found the preliminary results to be valuable, and he noted that the industry is ever-changing. It's a dynamic study, too, because it's like painting the Golden Gate Bridge—by the time you get done, it's time to do it again, Plummer said.

Lynn Jusinski is an associate Editor with ADVANCE.



Archieved info from Futurenet is kinda old (fall of 2008) and was wondering how things are now? sm
Got an offer... they admitted to lots of ESLs which is nothing new to me.   Being an IC is nothing new to me either.  The recruiter was a doll.  I like to work independently, don't mind running out of work once in a while as that's the way things go at certain times of the year in this biz, but want pretty steady work most of the time.  I don't mind being asked to work extra.  I don't mind working one weekend day.  I don't need a ton of flexibility all the time, but don't want to be called if I am half an hour late one day and hope to be trusted to make it up myself. I don't want or need to be babysat.  Will I be happy, I ask the 8 ball?   
On the MTIA website, those entries are dated July/August 2006! Now, in 2008, if you write your...

congressman in support S. 810 or H.R. 1653, you are supporting an act governing federal grants for scientific research or abstinence teaching in federally funded sex education programs,


And, I'm not saying I don't support those two issues.  I'm just saying it has nothing to do with outsourcing.  In order of effect real change, we must at least sound like we know what we are talking about.  Writing our congressman in support of a two year old bill that no longer exists or writing out congressman about outsourcing and reference bills that have nothing to do with outsourcing, makes us all look like uninformed weiners!


Has anyone ever left Keystrokes and gone back? I left a few months ago and realize that I made a

nm


It is as simple as filling out a form. I did it when I left an MTSO and when I left sm
a non-MT position at a company years ago.

What company? I did not know that any of them offer 401K anymore.
may I ask why you left? nm
,,
I would keep looking. I left after a
month because of the very low and convoluted pay scale, as well as the fact that I was never kept on an account long enough to build up any speed. Unless things have changed, you'll waste a lot of time looking up information that other services provide. They're nice people and they paid on time, but I didn't see enough earning potential so I moved on. BTW, I had 15 years of experience at that time and 99+% QA scores.
When I left
I was told by my PS that if I went with another company, MQ would one day buy it and then fire any MQ working there who had left MQ for that company. At the time it seemed like an empty threat, but who knows?
I did too, but left them behind and
if you want to email me I will tell you about my experience. I do not like the idea of posting negative things on this board, as everyone finds a company to be different for them. If interested, I will be glad to share.
I tell you why I left

Did you notice on Spantel the time difference?  You could be working in the evening yet the system would show it was the next day?  I was told about that when I was hired, yet I was constantly hearing from my manager about not having enough lines and there they were, credited for the next day.  They lost paperwork constantly as well and I had to work an entire month before getting paid because somebody lost the paperwork I filled out. 


I'd check my lines and see a list of jobs that showed 0 lines...yet go back in later and some would be there.  It was very very inconsistent.


 


LOL - that's why I left!!

That is why I left
nn
will anybody be left?
OMG, I know how you feel. My position was also outsourced after 20 years. I currently work for a national; but I feel there is no job security. So, I plan to go back to school and get out of transcription. This is not a profession that I would advise anybody to get into.
I left because sm

My lead just WOULD NOT leave me alone. I don't mind working 40 hours a week or even a few more, but when I have a day off, I want it to be a day off. She was constantly emailing and saying Critical Status on _____ Account and she would call me on my days off and ask me to work. Now, I know some people welcome the extra work, but I am very fortunate to be in the position where I have a husband who makes a good salary and yes, I need a full-time job but I do not need overtime and I do not want to work seven days a week.


If the pay had been better, I would have just learned to be thick-skinned and ignore her when she kept bugging me, but the pay wasn't that great and I got an offer from some local doctors to do their overflow work and then found a second part-time job with a local MTSO and said bye-bye Keystrokes. Now I have weekends off and can basically set my own hours. Just call me Happy Camper.


I left OSi and went to SPi
I left OSi because my account coordinator changed about 3 times within a month then found the same thing happening at SPi. Now the word is out that another OSi account manager or maybe even 2 are leaving. This just gets old. I am very happily employed at Keystrokes now.
Thank you all. I like to see how much I have left to do. (nm)

actually not as many as you think have left
You're just speculating though!

I left also
more than once.  Their new policy states that cannot be rehired for a year.  If leave more than once may be 2 yrs before rehired.  I know, they won't rehire me either.  I gave them a little less than 2 wks. Luck of the draw I guess. Grass is not always greener on other side of track.  Hang in there.  There is still work out there, may not be with them, but you will not starve.  I don't think you will anyway.  :)
That is exactly why I have left the
MT world because it seems MOST of companies do not care about the MT, just themselves. I know it takes money to run a business, but why cheat on the MT's livelihood??? Anyway, I just got sick of the crap, and I found it to be totally
Unacceptable. That is my cents per line worth.
I left
because the line counting method jips you IMO.  If you are not on Extext you may be fine.  Wonderful people but I could not make my line count goals with them...
Been there- left
I agree about the statement that there are a few good team management players, but the one that did QA for me was horrible. Would send e-mails in CAPS. I felt that to be very unprofessional on her part. Filling in demographics was the pits. Not a money maker for me either. I left after the CAPPED e-mail. I would stay away from this company. Sound quality was bad as well. Posting my personal opinion.
I left the Q in Dec

and am now a HAPPY Keystroker!!  Good luck, what account do you have??


Left QT
Fortunately I left QT when If first heard the rumors, several months before they closed, LAJ was nice enough to allow me to continue to work part time so the transition was not too bad, except it was a big drop from gross back to characters. I too left and went to WMX but only stayed about a month and then moved on, have been at the current company 6 months and a lot like QT, one account pretty much, very basic account instructions, 12 hour window, I still miss QT but am happy now with benefits.
Has anyone left MQ and still
Getting their E-mail??
Had it and left - sm
I went with my cable company...no cap. Unlimited really means unlimited. For me, cable was cheaper, faster and much more reliable.
Just left there and sm
I couldn't get out quick enough.  They promise endless work and that turned out to be a great big bust.  They constantly run out of work.  The QA dept is ok or I should say there is at least one person in the QA dept I dealt with that is good.  The other I can't say for certain she even knew what she was doing as I received some really iffy feedback from her that I had to question.  The platform IS Apex and it stinks pure and simple.  It is nonproductive and slow as all get out.  I also think the line counts are not what they should be but there is no way to verify that as it's all done internally within the platform.  If you're looking for production and to make money I'd recommend you running the other way.  There are so many other opportunities out there.  Good luck to you though.
When I left
I was making 9.75 cents a line. I would not have stayed if they had offered me nine dollars a line. After I quit, someone from MQ called and asked what it would take get to have me come back. I told them there was not enough money in all the world to entice me to come back.
Then you should have just left it at that
There was no need to even mention anything other than this particular MTSO is a crook. If you didn't want anyone to make comments about your friend then you should not have even brought her up, or how much she is owed.

Your friend has learned a hard and valuable lesson and you get to go on a headhunt. Nice of you to take on the cause, but if her kids are starving I would think a sack of groceries would go a lot further than your ego.

why we left MQ
There are far too many reasons to list here.
left MQ
I left in Jan 08 because my pay was about $600 less a month-- hated my accounts, etc!!! Much better at JLG!!
But what about those of us who have left
And were fall out from it? Are we supposed to try again, or are we black-listed? What is being taken care of about that? Not to be flip, but we did lose out on working at a great place, and had to take the time to go elsewhere, etc. There was fall out, and wondering if there is anything done about the people lost because of the situation which has been taken care of now.
I left there.
The pay was good. If you have a lot of experience, and experience with ESLs, they have some real stinker accounts (you know the kind, hospitals along the coasts where ESLs run rampant). Maybe that's why pay was good and they paid more during training. I don't mind ESLs but a steady diet was just making me mad.
I just left there....
Running out of work was common. When you run out, they expect you to flex and then be johnny-on-the-spot on the Friday, Saturday, Sunday shifts when the work piles up. If it had been an occasional thing, I could understand, but from the beginning of November until I left a few weeks back, it was still a problem. They should rename the company to Precyse No-Jobs-Available Solutions, LLC (with LLC standing for Low Lines coming).
I just left
I started working for them in 2002.. it was my first national. It was in its last days of being called Edix. I started with 7 to 8 cpl (can't remember) - but made good money because there was nearly unlimited overtime on my account, incentives, bonus etc. Also felt appreciated.  After 2 years I started making 10 cpl on specials team (working as needed on all team accounts).  There were always a lot of changes, especially numerous supervisors, but nothing that bothered me until about 2-3 years ago. The atmosphere became somewhat frantic - that's the word I think of - more nitpicky QA, supervisors seeming very stressed out, and tons of e-mails that interrupted your train of thought.  But was still making good money until they changed platform to Cornerstone. I found it cumbersome and pay diminished.  Then along came VR and pay diminished further. Then they cut down on specials teams, I got send to another account for 8.3 cpl/5 something for VR. The combination of this particular account, VR, pay cut, and platform did me in. I tried sticking it out and hoped for an improvement but it was very stressful. Had to find something else and now I look forward to going to work again.
Just left SPi
They have the best platform going - Chartnet.  They have good benefits and the best PTO I have seen.  Pay is so-so.  Having said that, in my opinon, this is the type of company that MTs are looking to avoid.  I was there when they bought Cymed and just left in March.  Had 9 years with the company, 2000 lines per day, 98-100% QA scores.  Paid holidays and 4 weeks PTO.  I was laid off because they keep losing big accounts and the big ones they keep are being offshored to the Philippines.  I can't tell you how many accounts I was on for the last 2 years.  Went through about 5-6 account managers (new ones coming from MQ).  They expect you to sit at the computer and wait for work, but you have to clock out when there is none.  I was sitting at the computer 10-15 hours a day and only getting about 5 hours of typing.  They just signed a contract to offshore work for CBay and the Q to the Philippines.  Don't know what they are offering, but we actually trained them on an acct with 135 doctors so they could offshore it!
I left there because.....
For one, they give you a copy of their incentive policy and then after you've worked your butt off, your told that it is old and isn't in effect. Another reason, I was typing straight and got an email with some instructions about VR. I asked when this was supposed to happen and was told yesterday. I had several questions and they were NEVER answered. I was told that every account on dictaphone (at every company) was going to VR, I don't think this is true. As for the schedule, I was an IC. I like to start about 7 a.m. and if I wasn't on at 7:15, I'd get a friendly email asking if I planned on working that day. Its a crap company if you ask me. The only positive is that they did pay on time. If you can handle being played around and the psychotic owner and her minions, it might be for you. Hope you find greener pastures ;)
Why I left - sm
Work was very inconsistent, endless e-mails and updates (to the tune of about 200 a month), then conference calls that were a waste of time, and it seemed that over the 3 years I was there doing acute care the ESL load went from about 25% of okay to understand to 95% of the worst ones on the planet and the sound quality went in the toilet where it took QA and then QC to finish the reports and then often with big fat blanks.  SO glad to have moved on! 
When I left...
One of the higher-ups there (who knew he was soon leaving) implied that the pay would be scaled down and even noted that if I were to quit and then return the next week, my pay wouldn't be near what I was making when I left. So do they offer any bonuses or shift differentials? The place I currently work for has a good line rate PLUS we get bonuses (on reasonable amount of production), shift differential PLUS they weight the difficult dictators so you get bonus lines for those. There are still some good companies and hospitals out there. (though, admittedly, I wonder how long it will be before they get sucked into the vortex of India).
I just left KS because of all the sm
disorganization. They are wonderful great people to work for but I just can't get use to the disorganization that goes on there.

They wanted to put me on that Christus account. I have had enough experience to know that when a company tells you they want to do that because you are good watch out.

How long have you been doing MT?