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Serving Over 20,000 US Medical Transcriptionists

Nice person, but docs stink

Posted By: oldCMG MT on 2009-02-20
In Reply to: Hands-On Transcription..sm - me 2

if it is the same that it used to be the dictation is bad and the sound quality is awful.  I think that it is a rerecording.  This was years ago though. 


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Very nice person ??? sm
A "very nice person" does not hire an MT, let them give up their job and then just totally ignore them without so much as an explanation.  I wont even bother rehashing the details of my experience with Lee and Keystrokes.  You've all heard it before.  It's just history repeating itself, over and over and over again.
you sound like a nice, mature person.
nm
A good mix. I don't mind ESL docs. I think that some U.S. docs are worse! nm
nm
They stink
They treat you like a kindergartener. The line counter seems to take forever. They put you on a zillion different accounts and then keep asking for help and then you work weekends, holidays. 7.5cents a line. No reimbursement for phones or equipment. They have full time status but it isn't great. They have corny contests where you win nothing. They don't run out of work but most of the work is nasty short reports some of them adding up to zero lines.
DSG does not stink
There are some mighty fine people who work there and I think, overall, they are a fine company to work for.  They handle some very up and up clients, so you can learn, learn, learn while working for them at several teaching hospitals. 
They stink.
They also read here. :-) I was paid late, paid wrong and had a horrible shift lead, although I hear she's been fired. I think their pay is also on the low end.
They stink

I worked there for a year. Every thing that has been posted in response to this is true. They have a funky payscale with low pay to start off with.


When I left focus was on training people in Trinidad. Personally, when this was announced it was their downfall. Not so much the fact that this was the direction they were taking, but the way it was presented. They tried to put a humanitarian spin on it and it was a turn off. I believe many people left after this (including the wonderful recruiter who hired me). I hung around for 6 months and waited it out, didn't like what happened so I too jumped ship.


There really are better companies out there. Although the staff was nice, but as many have stated...nice doesn't pay the bills.


Good luck.


 


Do they all STINK?
Look, I worked for 2 MTSOs, hired by both around Christmas, after leaving an MTSO which highly cheated me line-count wise. Okay, so MTSO #1 bait and switched, ran out of work you name it.  Stuck with MTSO #2 until now. Giving up completely. Great lines at first, then, line counting style changed by said company, now no work ever on anything, and it seems like you all probaly know both companies I am talking about. I am with mtMOM below. I am thinking they all stink. Sorry MTSO owners. But the 2 I speak of I got from high recommendations on this board.  The other companies come with even less reliability so where is one to turn. I've interviewed and got jobs with all of them, and wondering if I need to get out of this biz too. Now, this post, dear moderator is not to stir up trouble. Just one of the many right now posting here who is looking for something midground, at least one honest company which values its workers and keeps its promises. Has this gone away. And please, no golden child type answers to this one. I don't care if you get all the work, what remains to be seen is the work shared equally and lines counted fairly.  I dont want a miracle, just a job which keeps its promises. Are you out there, anyone, anyone? Or is the sound of crickets chirping never to cease? Not rhetorical. Where are you all applying, and what do you all do next, if you are in my similar situation. Thanks for the responses.
Very nice owner, nice work, nice place - sm
the leave you alone.  I left because they do not budge from their pay which was kind of mediocre.  I would go back if I had to because they were extremely nice.
no you stink 4-year-old
nm
Maybe because they stink almost as bad as Focus...NM
.
The insurance does stink...
Most people could probably save money by not getting the insurance and just paying on their own. We actually meet our $1000 deductible in less than 6 months so it is worth it for us. My kids have chronic medical conditions and insurance isn't really a choice but something you just need to have. 
I remember the big stink a few months back

and what's her name from TRS got all huffy and said how they were just trying to teach a trade to these poor people so they could earn a decent living, that they weren't taking U.S. jobs away.  I don't know why they thought we were dumb enough that we wouldn't realize that it wouldn't do any good to teach them a trade if there was no way to practice their trade.  I too thought it took a lot of balls to advertise for the overseas person.


There were several companies that were supportive of this, I don't remember all of them, but Cymed was one of them.  


The other poster is wrong -- Bayscribe does NOT stink. sm

I was one of those brought in from the stone age, dragging my heels, kicking and screaming, when I had to give up my beloved WP51 a few years ago when they implemented the Bayscribe platform, but in all honesty, it is generally a great platform.  I was a PRD+ user before, and their expander emulates that (I think it can emulate others too, but not sure).  I averaged 300 lines per hour using Bayscribe and never felt that it hindered me.  You just have to get used to learning something new, like any other platform.  Their spellchecker could be better, but that is only a minor irritation.


I wouldn't walk away from a great-paying job with great accounts simply because of fear of adjusting to something new.   I'm sure you'll be very happy if you go with MDI-MD.


What you smell is the own vindictive stink of your words.
No, I'm not GP.  Just don't like bullies.  Never did.  Never will.  Which is what you are.  Now, behave or I'll tell your mommie!
Your company might stink, but the ExText is one of the best things out there! Good
s
I think it is one person. I had a few print outs from a few weeks ago and this person even capital
I have had a positive one. I have been with Keystrokes for 3 months and am very happy.

I printed them to show my manager but she told me that there are few bitter people out there and no one can do anything about them. My manager said that everyone can tell that it is the same few over and over again, for Keystrokes and a few other companies as well. Time to move on Ms. Anon. I cannot think why a company would go through the trouble of getting IDs and getting you installed just to ignore you after that. Doesn't make sense, does it? Are you sure that't the whole truth? You keep saying truth but it sounds fishy.
Exactly what I'm talking about RUDE! You are a very unhappy person. A happy person does not
respond in such a way!  This is the reason SS has such a bad name.
Ohhhhh, sooooooo true -- Transtech tech people absolutely stink anymore since ____ left. He was the

greatest!  Hated to hear that he had left.  We got some real doozies for tech help now.  The MT ends up training them.  They are clueless as to what to do when we need help.  TRUTH!


They ALWAYS have a BAD attitude in their voice, too -- like we MT's are a bother to them -- thought that is what they get paid for.


I am not a hateful person but that person screamed at me for 45 minutes. sm
She said all transcriptionists are idiots.
Very nice people, nice place to work. nm

nm


Yes, nice QA (and nice people in general), but very little work right now. nm
nm
Could be because all they can get from the docs is 11 cpl....nm
x
ESL docs
Im having a very hard time with all the discussion that I see on the boards regarding ESL doctors  -- I have been in this business 20+ years and it takes time to develop an ear to be able to understand ESL doctors  -- if you have a friend who is an MT, have her on instant message and ASK what the doctor might be saying  -- there have been times too, with her and my experience where she has played her stuck spot back and I heard as clear as a bell what the doctor was saying  -- unfortunately, the schools with their training don't do ESL doctors and this is the reason that 99.9% of the companies wont hire without experience - PLEASE resign yourselves that ESL docs are going away unfortunately
with ESL docs, you just never know..sm
You could have great ESL dictators, and at .09/line, you would be paid at least close to what a good Transcriptionist is worth (still not enough as our wages are pitiful now). On the other hand, if you have really terrible ESL dictators, that .09 could easily become comparable to making .05/line if you have to slow down to understand the doctor. With ESL's, you really don't know until after you have made that commitment. However, as a previous MTSO, I would never give one person all of the crappy dictators. Rather, I tried to distribute the work evenly to give everyone a fair shot at a decent line count. Good luck in your decision. Try bargaining. Tell them you feel ESL doctors are worth the extra compensation because often times your hourly production is decreased because they do not dictate proper English sentences, mispronounce words etc, and tell them you believe the work is worth .10/line and you will strongly consider the position.
Docs
who eat, slurp, roll hard candy or lozenges in their mouth, sniffing their nose constantly all while speaking....especially the eating while dictating drives me CRAZY!  It is just like having a rude person standing right next to your ear eating smacking his food.  GRRRRRRRR 
the docs may not NEED it but its sm
not for you to decide. If thats what they want and you do their work, then you do it or you don't work. I don't like it either, but they don't dictate their reports to suit the lifestyle of your or me. I don't understand why people can't see its the profession, you aren't going to change it. you need to get a new profession.

As far as the grocery clerks and weekends, etc. etc. They don't all call in sick and not work. Years ago when some of these supermarket chains were union, they made good money and those people worked their hind ends off, weekends, nights, holidays the whole bit. I know because my hubby is now drawing retirement from one of the chains. Seems to me we have a whole generation of younger folks that don't want to work but like the other poster said, they just want to p*ss and moan!
Yes! Nice lady, nice company. nm
xx
I second that. Amphion is nice, nice, nice

Rotten docs

Dear Doctor:


While I have a great deal of respect for what you do, you aggravate me.


Please, when you are addressing a letter be courteous enough to include the CITY and the STATE, and if you spell something don't spell ROAD for me, because, trust me, I learned how to spell road in the second grade!


Don't make me search for 15 minutes to find something your lazy ### could have read off the chart, because I only made 14 cents to type that letter, and my time and skill is worth more than 60 cents an hour. 


And while I am venting, how about you say pheochromatoma, instead of feo, if that is what you mean.  Don't be so lazy my job is 100 times harder.


If thats all they can get from the docs, get a different account!! There are more out there
I'm tired of these companies expecting IC work for 8 cpl, have a set schedule and thats even when I'm offering to do ops mainly!! Thats disgusting. I can just as easy do the basic 4, have a set schedule and not have to pay my own social security and taxes! Dont take it!
No ESL docs, no op notes (as far as I know) SM

They are mainly consults, soap notes, some radiology.  You use their templates and get paid for headers/footers.


I don't know if everyone makes the same, but I make 8 cpl (55 characters per line) without spaces.  I compared it to the normal 65 characters per line with spaces, and it is equivalent to 8 cents per line with spaces.  So, not too bad...just average I guess. 


But the dictators are really clear and there are a lot of samples.  I think the work is pretty easy.  I think it makes a really good p.r.n. position. 


Good luck with whatever you decide to do. :)


Chickadee


You need to realize that about 80 pc of the docs sm

practicing acute care in this country are ESL.  It is what it is. 


I like them a lot better than the native English speakers, who slur words, like to play with the language.  ESLs learn one way to say it, and they say it that way every time.  You just have to get used to it.


TransTech and ESL Docs
Well, you know...ANYONE who wants to continue to be a Transcriptionist had better become proficient in ESL docs. They are here to stay. If you had YOUR own business you would take the accounts to. I can do them. I moan a lot of times when I see a particular doctor's name come up for me to transcribe for, but it's all just part of the job. Like I said, better get used to it as there are more and more foreign doctors every day. I transcribe and I get paid and I don't feel cheated ONE bit.
All the decent docs have

TransTech did a big hiring blitz back in October last year for a new account, but the account almost immediately started going to VR, so the doable dictators left in a hurry!


The jobs that get sifted towards the MT's out of VR machine, thus, are the very difficult dictators that should be warned about their dictation habits.


The ExSpeech (editing platform) is very awkward and time consuming, so it is a catch 22 for the MT's. ExText has a good spell check and is easy platform to learn.


TransTech does not allow the MT's to check/verify our lines in the manner in which, in my opinion, we should be able to do. The CTRL I function does not give even a close line count and our pay stubs do not show it either -- just the word *piecework*. We can go to iChart; however, it does not show an immediate line count nor the jobs or line count per report -- only a total line count for a period of time per TransTech's counting method. It is a lot of trouble to go to iChart to get an immediate line count each time you choose to check your pace. We should be able to do this right from the platform/software that we are working in, IMO.


It seems our lines have been much harder to obtain in the past several months -- I suppose more to the dictators shuffled our way from VR, than anything that Transtech is doing with the line counts. I can't imagine them messing with our line counts in any form or fashion, as some companies have been accused of doing.


VR is the way of the future in order for the companies to be more profitable for themselves, so this is what we have to look forward to -- those of us who remain in the MT profession.


 


They use their own software. You get docs
s
all those horrible docs got you
Schizophrenic? You're like one of those people who sit in a bus & just starts telling and calling people names with no thought. All bark, no bite.
Number of docs
Are there any companies that assign a certain number of doctors?  I have too many to EVER make a good line count.
Docs using PC's instead of charts sm
The younger docs are now carrying laptops into the examining room, no more charts. My husband and I had extensive, large charts (which we earned through serious stuff) and now they have been replaced by the young staff coming in with a laptop, no more charts. I was not brave enough to ask at my last visit but I will this visit, Where are our huge charts? Mine used to make comments about the large chart and too many papers. I wanted to say, Do you ever read any of those reports? Very curt, very non-caring attitude, told me last time had had input all my allergies (which are serious) into his computer. I am really worried as my husband and I have been through a lot. I think they could very easily print a H&P from there if you went into a hospital. Two of my clients used to do open heart surgery and they would ask me to print out a H&P from the chart just before the surgery. Some of those people they had not seen in years. I explained that I would not do that as the patient could have developed an illness since last seen. You gotta thank computers for replacing us. Between outsourcing and electronic medical record, we are becoming distinct as the dinosaur. Just IMHO from this area anyway.
When I was inhouse the rad docs liked it
And at that hospital those same docs were pushing for VR.  Most of 'em liked to goof off for hours wandering the halls telling jokes, then wanted to read like mad when our MT staff was down to a couple night people, and whine that we didn't get it all typed for them to sign off before they went home.  So I think its fitting its going to bite them in the butt.
assigned docs
On my account, I have one doc that I am assigned to. My main priority is his work for that day. If other MTs are out or busy, I can be asked to help them out. It is hit or miss. Last week I did 10,000 lines (my hands were killing me) just helping out for the MTs on vacation.

The other account I work on is a pool, so I go there when I am done with my assigned work. This week, my doc is out and I am only working in the pool. It is backed up and getting further behind, and it is mostly very short jobs (20 seconds), so I much prefer my other account.

I understand there are some new docs coming on, so hopefully this will pick up.

I love having a few assigned docs since I get to know their style and makes my job much easier.

There is pretty much an even mix, but my ESLs are better than the US docs.
I am very happy with my account, my pay and the way I am treated.
Exams is what I mean. Docs are stretching
reports/exams out so long, I wish I was being paid by line.
Spheris is paying between 1.35
and 1.45 per exam.
Was getting 11 cent a line before but home-based hospital
employee. Much better.
I am PT. I do 600 lines/day. I share one of my two docs with
another person and it works out well. Key advice: Let your lead know if it is too much. They would rather know early than miss deadlines. I learned the hard way but now with sharing the one doc it is perfect.
NEVER whined about the hard docs...
I was offered by them when there were a lot of certain docs up they would assign me some different ones to break them up, but...I have not asked them to do that.  So don't assume....
If a lot of MTs, hosp. personnel, & docs are on all
s
If you hear docs discussing it,
I'd be very cautious to work for them.  Chances are, they're going to fly through that dictation faster than a speeding bullet.  You might be better off with an MTSO that pays by the minute rather than a private office.
If docs would spend 5 seconds...sm
spelling another doctor's name, which they believe we're automatically supposed to know how to spell, it would save a lot of grief.  But MTSOs are quiescent about this, even though they know it's a hardship on us...what the heck, it's not THEIR time.  Don't want to spell a doc's name... their 5 seconds is worth more than 10 minutes of my time looking it up.  Tough!!  Blanks are in.  Let THEM fill it in.
That is docs who think you can read their mind.
Sorry, needing a little QA on my post here!
A flyer for individual docs:
*If you're like most doctors, you never read dictated medical reports, anyway! Yours, or anyone else's! So why pay through the nose for something you'll never look at?*

*At AchooQuist, we understand the needs of busy docs like you.... men and women who laugh in the face of malpractice suits. That is why we've tailored our MT services to suit your busy, careless, greedy lifestyle.*

*When you joint the AchooQuist team, you'll pay what YOU want. (next-to-nothing). And you'll get exactly what you pay for.*

*We GUARANTEE it.*
If you go to the docs, be prepared to lose your job.

Although how much can that matter if you are not being paid anyway!!!  I personally have never had this happen to me, but I can see where it could cause major problems on many levels (especially if you have automatic bank withdrawals).  I would have to consider - Is it the client's fault?  Is the company not managing money correctly?  Does this happen often? 


It is your employer's place to investigate this problem with the client, not you. I would strongly suggest that you not go directly to the client unless you have reached your limit with the company and no longer wish to be employed by them.  Have they actually broken their contract agreement with you.  If so, then I say it is every man for himself so to speak.