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Serving Over 20,000 US Medical Transcriptionists

Sadly, I make $300 too much to get Food Stamps

Posted By: AnnuderMT on 2009-06-10
In Reply to: Forgot to mention - NightOwl

I was going to bite the bullet and get them. So obviously I'm overpaid. Time to switch companies.


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Transcender who doesn't want to go on food stamps
How is Spheris as an employer?  Are they hiring?  Are they fair?  Do they have benefits?  Can someone make a decent living there?  If their employees give them everything they've got, is Spheris loyal to them?  TIA.
Does that $0.9/65 Independent Contractor job come with food stamps?/sm

Does that $0.9/65 Independent Contractor job come with food stamps?

































































INDEPENDANT CONTRACTOR


 


EXPENSES


$0.09/65


 


$0.11/65


lines/8 hr day/40 hr wk


1200


 


1200


$/day


 


$108.00


 


$132.00


$/wk


 


$540.00


 


$660.00


$/yr


 


$28,080.00


 


$34,320.00


Health Ins @ 60+


$12,000.00


$16,080.00


 


$22,320.00


2 wk off/pd vac/PDO


$1,080.00


$15,000.00


 


$21,240.00


op costs


$1,200.00


$13,800.00


 


$20,040.00


minus taxes


$2,760.00


$2,760.00


 


$4,008.00


 


$17,040.00


$11,040.00


NET


$16,032.00


 


Sadly (or not, lol) UP. Gonna make more, gotta
y
Correction. Just visited the forum and the "food stamps"
post seems to have magically disappeared.  Hmmmmmmmmmm.. wonder why.
Sadly...no.
Sounds like I may have to go back to the old way and type it all. 
Sadly it seems
I think this has been brought up before in previous posts, and correct me/forgive me if I am wrong, but as an IC,you should be able to set your own schedule -- its a catch 22 though, because we have to remember in this business that hospitals NEVER close, therefore, the companies do need weekend coverage and coverage into the wee hours of the morning as well. The main service that I work for just asks their MTs to do a committment of between 400-500 lines on Saturday and Sunday and they offer a weekend bonus as well. For those of you that have children activity committments on the weekends or other things, maybe you could talk to your employer about doing a split shift of sorts. Sorry for the long post
Sadly, you are exactly right.
Time was when a good MT could pretty much write her own ticket. Alas, those days are LONG gone. I'm just hoping to eke out some kind of a living until I can retire.
Food for thought. What if...SM
I think helping to clarify the pay rate in this scenario was important for others to understand. It does show that the company is willing to try and compensate fairly for this transition, or at least it appears that way on the surface. But, what if there's more to it than meets the eye. What I would like to see us do as a profession is look at the bigger picture. Where does this all end? I see the potiential for it to end in our eventual professional deaths.

What if, for example, a significant enough number of MTs start doing the VR editing and do realize a reasonable increase in their base pay for their efforts. What I see is that, for an extra $200 bucks a pay period, they're getting us to help put them in the driver's seat. Small price to pay to ensure one's ability to eventually be able to cut out the "middle man" and have the whole profit margin to yourself. And once their feet are firmly planted on our ground and we have no where else to turn and no leg to stand on, what do you see happening to that extra $200 bucks a pay period then? I see it potentially turning into a scenario of: "We'll pay you whatever we like, and if you don't like it, hit the door. There are plenty of other hungry ex-MTs out there who would welcome a chance to come back at these lower wages just to have a job." Not a pretty picture of our collective future, but it could be an accurate one if we don't stand up now while we still have some ability to make a difference. What if?

Really, are the long-term results worth the minimal short-term gains in pay? At this rate, they're not only getting us to help them kill us off, they seem to be getting us dirt cheap to boot. From their perspective, the idea is to give us a couple hundred extra bucks dangling out there like the proverbial carrot while we help them work out the kinks, and all the while were really just lambs being led to the slaughter.

What if the way this particular company seems to have just sprung this whole deal on everyone was a glimpse of the boldness and in-your-face attitude to come? What if?
Sadly, none are the best - still trying to find it myself. nm
x
Sadly yes :( - what info do you need? - nm
sss
You are sadly misinformed. sm
AAMT is certifying OFFSHORE MTs and allowing them to join the organization, thus, the name AMERICAN needs to be removed from the name.  Anyone in this industry who does not understand and acknowledge the negative impacting offshoring has had on our profession has their head in the sand. 
Food to munch on

Thank you guys so much for all your input.  Yes, we do have the advantage of knowing our docs, etc.  We are now using tapes, so we are not familiar at all with the service's platform.  There were four of us in-house transcriptionists.  One has already been deleted due to not having DSL in her area.  One is doing the unemployment route and going back to school, as she said she did not feel secure with going with the service, and this would be a perfect opportunity for her to advance her education.  So, there are 2 of us left and we are undecided due to the issues discussed.  Our CMO, who is Indian, would just throw a fit if we do not go with the service.  He has refused over and over again through the years to outsource transcription.  He only wants us doing it.  My doctors have been told that we are going with the service, even though nothing is set in concrete.  The docs have only been okay with this transition knowing this.  If the two remaining transcriptionists do not get onboard with the service, I think my company will have mutiny on their hands - - IT WILL NOT BE A PRETTY PICTURE THAT IS FOR SURE. 


The MT who wrote the newspapers and such - - YOU ARE MY HERO!!!  Way to go. 


You get to a point where you are tired of being #%#@@#.  That's where I am.


 


 


Sadly it seems more and more that the better companies...
expect ICs to sign on with the commitment to work a Tues - Sat or Sun - Th. Does that seem flexible to you? Personally I think it's unrealistic to expect a person to want to work either every Sat. or Sun. I couldn't do it if I wanted to. Soccer on Sat. and church on Sun. It's tough.
I would take it. That would pay for food for the week
and maybe something better than the usual mac and cheese and hot dogs we have been eating. Uggg. I would perhaps even try to buy meat like chicken or steak for a change. LOL.
Why have cable and little food. You don't say
internet.  But like you said you get your priorities straight. 
DEVENTURE IS NOT UNIQUE, SADLY.

I never worked for Deventure.  But, I did apply there.  During the application process, there were red flags that alerted me to the fact that I did not want to work for them.  It seemed to me that they were either extremely disorganized or downright dishonest.  Sadly, I don't think they are unique.  I've had similar experiences with many other companies during my search for the best job, which still has not been found. 


But, you know what?  I've also observed that many of these companies totally rely on the fact that they can manipulate MTs to the Nth degree.  What was that word of wisdom that was once spoken by one of my favorite TV psychologists?  You teach people how to treat you.  Never was this as true as it is in the MT work world.  Of course, you can go bankrupt while searching for those who will treat you as a human being and not expect you to perform as a tireless, inhuman robot.


Even if Deventure WINS this case, I praise the lady who is allowing her case to be heard.  


I do skip over them because sadly it is the same thing.
Wrong line count and no work. It is just hard because once it gets going it takes over the whole page and it is hard to find anything else someone has posted. I have nothing against TT or its MTs, it just seems like they have some legitimate concerns and they want to be heard. I figured we just must have a lot of TT employees on here and they should be able to discuss things in their own forum.
Praying doesn't put food on the table.
I'm back in school getting the degree that will get me out of this crappy business.

Complaining doesn't change anything, but neither does putting your future in someone else's hands and "praying things just work out."

Gotta take the bull by the horns and take action or the world will run you over like a steamroller.
Can you use a food pedal with on-line tests, or do
nm
Oh yeah! A food pedal would be great..just think..
Supper time would be so easy..just hit the left pedal for the microwave, the right for the fridge..just push that pedal to the medal and whip up some potato salad and green beans..
Not fair, but sadly how most places work
nm
Sadly, its one of the oldest tricks in this business.
Always has happened to me, whatever mode of delivery for the work. In the days of tapes, I would get double or triple what I requested. Now its the same thing, thus why I don't take any jobs on the side now. I would always, always ask for a minimum amount of work, which the owner gladly agreed to, only to be bombed. Then the whole guilt game would start...Not for me anymore! Its so counterproductive in the long run - makes us resentful, right? Why not just give the MTs what they agreed to, right? Oh well!
Another thing.. sadly, at 5 cpl, I think I am on the high end of what is being paid.
I cant tell you how many companies with ES offered me like 2-3 cpl..and to that I had to respond GET REAL!!!
With respect, the real irony sadly is

    that if you've followed these boards for at least 2 years, you already had an idea of what was going to happen.  Several MTs made an effort here to warn as many as possible about the future loss of jobs.  Many of the posts were ultimately deleted.  I agree there is nothing gained from rehashing the past other than we must learn from it.     


        QT made a business decision.  They built a company, made a profit, saw more/better/different profit elsewhere, designed a plan to get from point A to point B and moved on - happens every day in the business world.  From all appearances, they did everything right for a while - had they not, there would not be this group of really great MTs struggling to deal with the loss of a job and the stress of starting anew.  QT had an option - they could let their dedicated MTs know what was going to happen and ask them to ride things out as long as possible or they could just squeeze every last drop from each MT and each account.   Too bad for the MTs but, after all, it's only business.  If there were lies, deception, half-truths, etc., this too is a part of the profit/loss bottom line.  


The real irony  - and this is public knowledge - is that former QT owners have started new businesses and are bragging far and wide (see internet blogging) about their new employees.


        Of course, finding a new scrapbooking job will probably be a little easier than finding and securing a new MT account.  


                You think? 


      I have a prediction (purely for entertainment purposes, of course) - Profits will not sustain the new venture/old lifestyle for very long and that within, oh 24 months or so, there will be a foot dipped into a new MT venture, since the old one was soooo profitable, and old habits are hard to break.      


Sadly, most newer computers do not have the 9-pin port.
I have had to buy USB adapter to which some do and do not work correctly with this footpedal. Is this by chance an Escription account? Thus far, this is the only software that I have found which requires such an obsolete port. I bought a laptop assuming it would have the 9-pin port but it did not so I tried at least four adapter until I found one that works.
Does credibility put food on our table, gas in our cars, and
clothes on our backs?

We must have been credible at some point in time. After all, we made good incomes because we were paid higher wages, we started MTSOs that were later bought out by the big boys with the big bucks, and we loved what we did and the product we produced. When did we lose credibility? Maybe when the big boys started offshoring? Do you think credibility will be brought back when the big boys bring our jobs back into our own country? Huh? Huh? Huh?
The company is not putting food on her table,
SHE is putting the food on the table?


The company is not putting food on her table,
SHE is putting the food on the table?


Sadly, they gave up on quality a long
The original CEO said in a meeting one time that the doctors won't care if a report has a few mistakes in it as long as it is back on time.  That was a big red flag to me.  Apparently it has come to be that way.
I agree. Sadly, it is absolutely true, nm
.
Sadly, it is ALL the employees of this one particular account and we have no backup accts.
Apparently, the hospital obviously wants the work first to go to the employees and we get whatever is left, which is slim to none some days. Very frustrating.
If poisoned pet food and toys doesn't keep people (sm)
out of Wal-Mart (and it doesn't seem to, read the blog Behind the Counter), I can't see it stopping offshoring.

Not to excuse it, but I've watched the trend over the last decade, and I honestly think a lot of companies offshore only because of the bottom line; transcription is one area that hospitals are always trying to cut and the pressure to drop line rates is tremendous. I used to take several calls a month at the small MTSO where I used to work requesting us to drop our per line rate. It ranged from whining and pleading to outright threats of losing the account if we didn't comply. It was a constant aggravation and stress.

I think some companies dipped a toe into offshoring just to try to keep up and then it trapped them into continuing so as to meet expenses and the TAT. JMO on the mid-size MTSOs; not sure how it worked in the big ones.
There are, Food Shelf, Goodwill, Salvation Army. LOL! nm
.
Praying most certainly DOES put food on the table! I am extremely offended by your post.
t
If they invented a food pedal, we would never be allowed to take a lunch break, lol.

Have to agree ... keeping the lights turned on, food on the table, and sm
a roof over my head is pretty good motivation!  Plus, I do not want to exist.  I am single, but I want the same things my married friends have with 2 incomes.  Since I haven't found the seeds for my money tree yet, I work.  As I mentioned below, I have been an MT for 30+ years, but I have worked the last 10 years or so at home, and it is MUCH different than having to get dressed up and drive over town.  Working on a Saturday or evenings or anything is not so bad when you can sit wearing a t-shirt and shorts and have your doggie curled up under the desk. 
Transtech no work situation putting me in the Salvation Army food line?

This is utterly ridiculous -- NO WORK/LOW WORK.  It is not even the holidays yet.  D. giving the title of an email Census does not make that the reason for the low/no work situation at Transtech!  There are other reasons OTHER THAN CENSUS.  That is so sickening all the time.  The greatest need of us MT's is honesty from their employer --- from the very beginning of employment to the end!


Even a child could see through their excuses for NO WORK. 


I doubt you will make enough money in 5 hours a week to make
nm
I make 4 cents a line, work part and make
over $500 a week on part.
Great post! I make 0.085 at Keystrokes and make more than at any sm
other company in the last 5 years. Why? Because there is always work for me. I love starting work each day, knowing that the company I work for appreciates me and has plenty of work. Transtech and Keystrokes sound very similar; those of us that work for either can count our blessings that we are not part of the cesspool or huge corporate mess that makes up the biggest few companies. We do not have to worry about our jobs getting sent overseas and we see a future in this business!!!
Yeah, but we don't make what docs make. nm
nm
But we don't even make what in-house make.
It would be different if we made the same as the in-house MTs.  In a lot of cases, most of the people working in-house make much more including benefits than we do at home as full-time employees.  That's where I think the unfairness comes in.  The in-house employees don't all work every single weekend.  Most of them rotate at a much higher salary and much better benefits.  The MTs at home are expected to fill in for the in-house for less money, less benefits and give more and more back in the form of weekends and holidays.   Most remote MTs only receive benefits contingent on production, and even then they're not nearly as good as in-house benefits.  How is that equal in the healthcare team perspective?
you might want to make sure you don't make yourself look like an IDOT before you go any further.
/
I make $1.10 per report and make much more sm
than by the line. Day by day it varies and goes back and forth, but over a long period, it is better by the report. Make sure they pay links though; this is key.
Do Shapin MTs really only make 6 cpl and QAs make 1.5 cpl?
/
Why can't you make money with all OPs? I do all OPs and make
good money.  I'm not with WebMedX though. 
I'm happy with what I make. I still make more than if I went anywhere else and hardly noone in th
biz gives raises so I feel blessed that I make a lot more than most, raise or no raise.
And always make sure you don't make line
counts that amount to anything.  They always place you with impossible ESLs as soon as you start making decent money. 
I make more than that with Spheris but never have work. I would rather make $1.25 and have work. s
My SIL works for KS, and she gets paid double for linked reports too. Where do you get $2.25? I am ready to leave Spheris.
Make sure you have some (sm)

money saved up so when they don't bother to send your paycheck or give you excuses, run out of work constantly or take a long time setting you up, you won't go bankrupt.


 


Okay, those using DQS, how do you do it? How do you make (sm)
your line count?  How do you everything???  Is Instant Text V Pro anything like Smartype where you key in a few letters and the list comes up?  I'm so stressed from trying to learn this program.  Any, and I mean any, positive pointers you can share would so oh so appreciated!!!  Please help!