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I understand. Thank you for what you've posted.

Posted By: Busy MT'ing on 2005-10-01
In Reply to: yeah but - tired

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I don't understand myself but it is posted right on their site. nm
.
I've posted this before.
difference.  They don't pay too well, but I have my freedom.  The company you work for should not have you classified as an IC then.  You should be an employee if you have to sign-in/out, etc.  This has been discussed before I know, but I feel strongly that as an IC the company should not be telling you when to work.  They can tell you when they want the work back, which is usually 24 hours, but they should not be telling you that you have to work between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. for example.  So sorry this is happening to you.  I'm sure you are not alone.  I almost had it happen to me, and I quit.  I will not work set hours as an independent contractor ever.....   JMO....  
I've seen this posted before

Can you tell me the source of your info?  Were/are you a current or ex employee?  I'm not being snarky or rude, I truly want to know where the info comes from.  I'm on a permanent clinic account, and yes the work usually is done by Sunday but there's plenty to keep me busy during the week.


I'm just curious as to how old/new your info is about them having overflow accounts.


Don't you still work for QT? You've posted

several times in the past, always seeming to want to get something started. 


Off? I've posted here for years. SM

You could do a search to verify that.  MT in MT is right...referral bonuses ARE nice.  But, I would never recommend a company that I was not happy with...they couldn't pay me enough.  I've only been here a year, but that is way past the honeymoon stage.


Also, I would only get a referral bonus if a person stayed there for 6+ months.  So, unless someone really liked it here (as I do), I have absolutely nothing to gain with sharing my experiences.  I have said in past posts who I work for (Echo), but I didn't know if I could do that in this post as I didn't want the board administrators to think I was posting a help-wanted ad (which I'm not).  All I'm doing is sharing my experiences...what anyone does with that information is completely up to them.


Take care,


Chickadee


My line rate was better than any I've seen posted
before.  I haven't been there long enough to get a raise, though I think someone asked this question last week and the answer was you do get raises. 
I've been posting the same thing for a couple of years. I don't understand

why people feel like their company has to provide insurance and they may take a job they hate just for insurance.  Getting your own policy is almost always cheaper and then you aren't tied to a job/company you hate.


If you have pre-existing conditions situation may be different. 


I don't understand it. We've been consistently running out of work primary and secondary the
I quit.
I totally agree. Once you've posted your private information

on these boards, it's indexed and cached through Google and other sites.  I've been stalked and harrassed twice through MT boards due to information I posted.  One was a woman who totally disagreed with me and thought she needed to set me straight.  She was right and I was wrong, and she was going to scream and cuss at me until I saw things her way.  She Googled everything she could find about me and my business, then tracked me down through Anywho.  The other was a man who called my business number at 2:00 a.m. wanting to talk about sex because he needed a sex-cretary to do his transcription in person.  I know they got the information from the other MT board I used to go to because that was the only place I posted anything in the directory.  The scary thing is that information can still be found all these years later because it's been cached.  I had to change phone numbers, but those people still know my full name and address.  That's why I don't use one nickname to post now.


It's posted right on their website under Tech. Requiremts. Not the first MTSO I've seen post t
,,
The Rates Are Posted Here and Posted Below

The service owner fees are posted in a UnionNow post (below), but here they are again:


SERVICE OWNERS CHARGE:


$0.115 - $0.25 per line for full transcription of acute care on 24/7 accounts


$2.75 - $7.65 per report for full transcription of pathology, lab, specialty operative notes, plain film and interventional radiology



$0.097 - $0.125 per line for VR editing



OF THAT MONEY, MTs ARE RECEIVING



$0.85 - $1.25 per report full transcription



$0.06 - $0.115 per line full transcription



$0.035 - $0.06 per line for VR editing



AS OUR PRODUCTION BRINGS THE MONEY IN, WE DESERVE A LARGER CHUNK OF THE PROFITS - OFFICE STAFF CAN BE TRIMMED INSTEAD OF THE PRODUCTION STAFF.  IF A RECEPTIONIST MISSES A DAY OF WORK, ANYONE CAN ANSWER THE PHONE IN HER PLACE.  IF AN MT NEEDS A DAY OR SO OFF, PATIENT CARE CAN SUFFER BECAUSE AN INTEGRAL MEMBER OF A HEALTH CARE TEAM IS UNAVAILABLE.



WE ARE STILL EXTREMELY IMPORTANT IN THE HEALTH CARE PICTURE.  DO NOT SELL YOURSELVES SHORT.



IF YOU ARE AGAINST UNIONS OR INITIATIVES, I WHOLEHEARTEDLY RESPECT YOUR OPINION, BUT BEG THAT YOU RESEARCH, SPEAK TO OTHERS, EDUCATE YOURSELVES ABOUT WORKERS UNITED.  WE HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE HERE; THEY'VE TAKEN ALMOST EVERYTHING FROM US. 



WE PROPOSE:


$1.25 PER REPORT TRANSCRIBED IN THE U.S.A. BY A U.S. MTs


$0.10 PER LINE TRANSCRIBED IN THE U.S.A. BY A U.S. MTs


$0.075 PER VR LINE EDITED IN THE U.S.A. BY U.S. MTs


What good does it do? They've lied, they've betrayed us.

They've taken all they are going to take from me.   I am not going to waste any more time being angry.   I hate the way things ended, but I refuse to accept the blame for any part of it because I know that was a lie too, even though they did try to blame the MTs.  I know part of the problem was quality issues, but QA wasn't to blame for that either, although they have been.   


It is time to pick up and move on.   I think mgmt will reap what they sow.   For those who worked on the main account Webmedx is still hiring, though the best time slots have already been taken.  


 


 


What the heck? I've never heard that in the 8 yrs I've worked here. sm
Go back to your STM or over his or her head.
Since you've brought it up, I've stopped SM

giving the negative info because every time I have in the past I am called a disgruntled ex-employee or told that my experience has no relation to what the company is like today.


I won't repeat the information I've given in the past, anyone can find it on searches.  I've decided to just let the people have their experience with the company and that experience will validate everything I've ever said about those people.


The same people own and run that company--they may have new names doing the management, but it still runs the same way.


You've got it ~ you've hit the nail on the head....

I can Google until dawn and still not find John Smith in NY - you know the neurologist...  Cut me a break!  I've now learned to ask my online company for a list of referring physicians (since none of the accounts are in my state) and also ask for websites for the hospitals, but I still don't take more than 5 min of my own time to find referring physicians.  I send it right through with a verify cc:... 


As far as making an educated guess, I would only do that if it was my own account and I know the dictator well.  For the online company, it is their responsibility to make that educated guess as it is their client, not mine.  I leave that up to the company to make assumptions; this way it is on their back, not mine when it comes to the legality of the report.  Ultimately, the physician is responsible when signing that report or there should be clause on those reports that state dictated but not read.  If that clause is not there, then it is the physician's responsibility to know the content, not the MT.  An MT can only transcribe what they hear and really should not be making educated guesses on anyone since we live in a world of sue-happy patients and their malpractice insurance is so high.  If there is a question, it needs to go the dictator to resolve.


JMO - been doing this for over 20 years.  


I've been a QA 15 years and I've never heard
of any company only paying for the actual Keystrokes of the blank. You would literally make less than minimum wage that way. Waaay less.
I've come here for as long as I've been...
...an MT, for the same reasons all of you do. I don't scan the boards looking for false accusations, but when something comes up that does involve me, I would like the opportunity to defend myself. That's all...
What I don't understand is this-

But I still don't understand

They never have anything positive to say, except about themselves.  I guess we don't need to ask anymore questions after we come to that conclusion.


So, let me understand (sm)
That this is your first career/job out of high school and you are getting 8.5 cpl for clinics and they are mentoring you?  Did you hire in at that?  How long have you been there to be offered QA with such little background in MT? (no offense)  I have 10 years experience and they are talking 8 cpl to me.  Hmmm.....
I think we can all understand
The typo police don't have to come out every time.  Get a life.  We all work with words all day long and when you get on here, you might be a little tired.  Give 'em a break.
I don't understand it, either. sm
It'd be great if MTs came here and supported each other. This is NOT a great field to be in, IMO. We should be banding together as sisters (and brothers) in the same boat.

I wish the monitors would institute a zero-tolerance policy toward people who deliberately harass someone here like this person or people were doing to Metrochick.
Don't understand
I couldn't afford to stay in business if I paid people for NOT working.  I can understand if the computer is down or if there is a problem, but just because there is no work, a company would go broke.  Can I bill the doctors if they do not dictate a day?  How can I pay you if I cannot bill a customer for work?  This work has always been up and down -- feast or famine my father used to say.  But through the years -- now over 20 -- I have learned to save for the lean times.   Like I said if the problem was on my end due to machinery malfunction but if docs don't send in the dication how can I pay you for something I cannot bill out to them?  
I Understand more now
I understand more now of what you are saying.  I agree with you more than when I first read your post.  It is so hard to juggle in this job market.  There are so many pieces that fit into the cpl you charge the client,  the transcriptionist, supplies, QA time, software, etc. that is it very hard for an owner to make much and when an account is down for the day to pay those people that should be on it while it generates no income is double hard.   It is really hard to strike that balance of being staffed correctly for both the busy and slow times of the year.  A lot of it is out of my control.   You are probably with a larger company that can afford to pay you for 8 hours of work and generating income from only one.   They count that into their overhead.  I have only 5 accounts of 2-3 docs, have 2 part-times and am the QA, owner, Transcriptionist also.  But on those accounts that my gals type, I make only 25 to 30% max on what they type which a lot of times generates out to only $7 to $9 an hour for doing pick-up, pick-up, delivery, printing, etc.  That is why in 2006 I am going to  probably cut back to doing only what will keep me with a decent income to pay my bills and I do not have to worry about having enough work for the gals, doing the running, etc.  My guilt is high when the docs are on vacation or it is a slow time and the gals have no work but I cannot cut myself short either.   Enough rambling on,  - I do understand more and I think that if your company is not paying you for the time, they know they have overstaffed themselves to cover those times when the need is heavy and thus I would probably look for another company that staffs more evenly.   Sorry I rambled on so much.     
The way I understand it . . .
they are instituting what they're calling a pilot program to sort of test the waters of offshoring work by starting to send a small percentage of work overseas in order to be competetive with their contract fees. No, I don't think they're doing it yet, but it is obviously going to happen at least to a small extent in the near future. We have to accept this as the trend of the future because it's happening everywhere, like it or not.
What does this mean for MTs? I don't understand.
?
Understand. Thank you!
x
I understand!
That is why I love it when they post unqualified applicants need not apply!
I can understand...
I worked for an Iranian doc in office and there was a woman there that'd worked for him for about 13 years. He would call her at 3 am because he thought of something he wanted to tell her (she was also an MT). He did this all the time. As far as I know she's still there because he pays so well.
I understand all that.
The point is that besides the tons of different work types there are VERY different account specifics from hospitals all over the country. I am well versed in different work types; that was not the issue. The issue was all the different account specifics that changed on a weekly basis to boot. It became where we had no primary account. How is that productive for them or for me?
I understand that...
That is my exact point that the PTO accrues so slowly that how do they expect you to use this for your maternity leave!! Actually right now I earn less than 4 hours every two weeks and I can't accrue any because I have to use it for holidays and when there is no work unless I want to work all through the night after I have just sat all day waiting for work!! Do this make more sense... I was just told I wanted to be a maternity rider when that is not the case. All I came on here to do was to try to find a better job with more PTO then maybe when I do have a baby I can take two weeks off with it at least...at this rate I will have to come right back to work like two days after I pop a kid out! I never wanted to get into a XXXX match with anyone over maternity leave, but that is what it has turned out to be!!!
I know, don't understand it either!
there really is no proofing while you type. Proofing is going back and proofreading a document after it's done. Doesn't everyone technically read the words as they type??? And with all that going on at once, you miss things. On the other hand, I do not blame MTs who do not proofread the documents at the end, definitely less production and hence less money. I'm going to tell you a secret...lol..I just started skimping a bit on that myself. If I have a small mistake, oh well. I need to make a living here! :)
No, you don't understand.
My account with them DID pay for headers and footers and I always randomly check my line count against the ESCRIPTION (not Editscript) metrics of the company.  This week it is off consistently and in talking with the company was told the client does not want to pay for headers any longer ???? so without letting us know, we are suddenly not paid for completing demographics.  I simply wanted to make sure others were aware of this as this evidently can happen anywhere at anytime and no one at the company may feel compelled to share this info with the MTs. 
I understand what you are trying to say, or what
is bothering you. I have been in this industry my entire adult life - a LONG time - and I agree that most companies have changed in that they just don't share info that is really pertinent - like not getting paid for headers anymore. Its sneaky to me, or underhanded, and just breeds contempt or suspicion in the MTs. Or, the company can have an uppity attitude, like why on earth is it the MTs business what they are getting paid for or not? Which also makes me feel bitter. I remember the old days of honest communication - the news might not have been good, but I handled it well. They treated me with respect, and I felt like a professional. Gone are those days, and it is a shame.
This is what I don't understand........
Wouldn't it have been more beneficial to everyone involved to sell the company rather than just let it die a painful death?
I don't understand...
why they yell at the MTs when it is not their fault? The MTs get blamed for everything!!!!!!!!! Grrrrr
I don't understand
how you can say they ALWAYS pay on time when just this past Friday they were late with direct deposit
I don't understand something sm
How do you have any contact with anyone in upper management? I work there; I never even hear from upper management. I talk to my manager and that's it. What morale problems are your referring to, because I couldn't be happier here?
I really don't understand all of what you just said
but I do know that not everyone has had a bad experience with OSi. I never run out of work, have great coordinators, am always paid on time, am making more than I did when I first started, and have expanded my abilities greatly. All of the things that are important to me in a company, I have at OSi, and I've had them for the past 3 years. I understand some people didn't have a good experience there, and that this is their place to hang out and vent. I just think it's too bad when OSi has been a good fit for many people, and then there are these people who hang out at this board who have made it their life's mission to carp on OSi. It doesn't really affect me at all...it's just very, very tiring.
Don't really understand what she is doing.
I tested for her last year and was hired for this account.  Immediately she wanted me on a psych account that I was not interested in.  She then tried to give me ANOTHER account.  I explained that I would be more than happy to take on the other account AFTER I was established on the one I was hired for.  She came back and told me they shifted things around internally and had it covered now.  Not sure what kind of game that was but I know it is one I want no parts of.  Hope this helps. 
What I don't understand is (sm)
If a company does not pay for headers and footers, fine.  I get that.  But what advantage is it for them to disable the feature so that we can't see the counts of individual reports?  I have worked at places not on Ex-Text where some reports just mysteriously never made it to the hospital.  No one was cheating, it was just a software glitch.  Had to send again and it counted. So what would prevent that from happening with this?  I agree, we should be able to verify that every single report is counting, if for no other reason than this one.
I just can't understand why you are saying you need

You can go to whatever school you like and still be considered a newbie in a lot of company's eyes.  It all depends on what you want to do as far as your career.  Whatever floats your boat.  


What I really don't understand...

is that the account I'm supposed to do has a ton of work, and they are giving incentives. 


Seems to me they are really, really disorganized. 


Sorry you are facing this.  My other job has run out of work this weekend too.  All the companies want full-time, but when you do that, you end up short on pay.  I'm on my own.  Can't afford that.


Lord, I just depressed myself....didn't mean to do that to you too....



As I understand it, it's
because they can only make money if they can get work, and a lot of American companies won't subcontract work to them. Therefore the Indians have to come here to set up their own shop to be able to say they are an American company and be able to get their own work. So then they are based here but can still send all or most of their work back home. Now you would think at least America is getting some tax money for the business, but no. They are probably here on one of those special visas and they get huge tax breaks. Uncle Sam is paying them to come here and do this to us.

Grrr.


i don't understand that...

WHY doesn't control I work?  I've used ExText before with different companies, each time using control I to monitor my production accurately.  The last report takes a minute or two to be counted, but, sheesh, that's nothing.  I KNOW there's nothing fishy going on, btw.  I just would like to know WHY control I doesn't work at TT. Is it just program goblins?  Now, THAT I understand.  LOL! But, as expensive as Dictaphone is, I would think they'd make it right, no matter how they have to do it. I'm just not getting that part of it.


 


I understand
I feel for all of you, as I said. A paycheck is a paycheck for me. The company was the best company that I have ever worked for, and I am truly sorry things turned out the way they did for so many. I will just look at the cup half full on the positive side and hope that maybe they can be again. I wish you both well and I hope you find another greener pasture. They are out there. Take care.
I Understand
So, you're actually working 7.5 hours during your 8-hour shift, but your company is basing your benefit rate on how much you did during the 8 hours instead of during the actual 7.5 hours worked. Right?
i understand
I'm glad they are going to fix the problem. I wasn't suggesting that running out of work was your fault by any means, I was just wondering if you had crosstrained. I completely understand that others shouldn't take work because they run out, it is par for the course. I am trying to get as much in as I can right now because I'm sure with the holidays things will slow down, (it happened on columbus day, no more work left) and I don't feel right taking from others unless it is simply to help out if it is backlogged. I hope you aren't offended, I wasn't trying to start an argument :)

I understand that, but....
isn't it management's job to manage their MTs? I am not talking about little questions about account specifics or things like that. That is what we have the IM group for. I research before I IM a fellow MT and I IM them before I bother a supervisor. I have emailed about things that could affect patient safety without receiving an answer and there is no provision in the system to make sure that QA is going to pick up on the same problem that I do by listening to the whole report. Also, when you answer an email or IM, how long does it take to type, Thank you for bringing this to my attention or Have a good day? Most of the time I prefer to be left alone, and I understand the volume they deal with, but it is the little things that make us feel valued and not isolated.
From what I understand not enough MTs

are interested in getting insurance through KS, which limits their options for a more affordable plan. 


I'm new enough that I don't have insurance so can't speak for the details.  Fortunately we are able to get a decent insurance through my husband's work, but I personally wouldn't want to be tied into insurance through a transcription company and would rather have my own policy so that I can take any job I want without having to consider their insurance coverage.


still do not understand

okay, I found the box where it asks for User ID and Set Key - what I do have is a password, so I assume that may go into the Set Key spot, but how do I get the User ID?  Am I the User or is it the dictator?  I type for about 5 docs in one clinic.  What do I do from here?


Also, will I need to go to this box for each individual dictation that I receive and enter these codes? 


A bit confused yet.