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Serving Over 20,000 US Medical Transcriptionists

Some companies have done this for years.

Posted By: MTIAM on 2009-05-18
In Reply to: Advanced Medical Transcription LLC - vera

Went to work for one that required and paid for the complete physical and audiometry/hearing test.  Just took longer to get started making money, in my opinion.  Too bad after all that - after sending me their computer which was required- at their cost - I had to return it - at their cost - after training was so poor and trainer went on vacation in the middle of mine and Tech Support didn't answer phone calls 2nd shift for hours at a time while I was left locked up on MY time.  Figured I was out about 2 weeks making a wage somewhere else.  No wonder the MTSOs that do this can't afford to pay a decent CPL.  ARGH!


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Best companies 10 years ago..
Agree wholeheartedly with this. Ten years ago, 99% of pay was by gross line. Work was plentiful, always typed in WP 5.1 and sent back to service (which by the way were all small, approximately 30 people at most) by company bulletin board. I made $65,000 a year minimum back then, working for one (yes one) company. The turning point with the downward spiral for this business as far as we transcriptionists are concerned was, I think, threefold: 1) The megaliths swallowing up the small local services or underbidding them for the work and forcing them out of business, 2) the internet (yes, believe it or not), 3) the elimination of or the refusal to pay in the gross line. It was easy to verify a gross line count, i.e., Sylcount, etc. which the small services used. WHAT YOU SAW WAS WHAT YOU GOT, not any more. Sad, isn't it?
4 companies in 15 years is not job hopping. sm
Two companies sold to MQ, one closed when the owners retired and I still work at the fourth one. I see people who have worked at 10 companies in as many months. Sometimes the reasons are valid, ie nonpayment, no work, but most of the time it is just because they do not give any commitment.
Companies that require five years' experience...sm
This October, I will be working as an MT for five years. I'm now looking to change companies and I notice there are several who require a minimum of five years' experience.

Would I be better off waiting until October, when I will have been an MT for five years, to change? Do these companies pay any better than those who require less experience? Or are they all pretty much the same and I may as well go ahead and apply to the ones who have less stringent prerequisites?

I've only worked for one MT company so I'm not very savvy on the MT marketplace. Any advice would be appreciated.
I have been a recruiter for 4 different companies over the past 15 years. sm
This is more common than most realize. For every 20 resumes I receive, only 8 are qualified. Of those 8, only 6 will answer their phone or call back when a voice mail is left. That always amazes me, as why apply if you have no desire to talk to the company? Of those 6, only 4 actually are qualified. You would be surprised how many only want 1st shift, M-F, no weekends, no holidays, no ESL doctors, only internet accounts, only word-based, only op notes, no op notes, only long reports, only short reports, etc. The list goes on and on. We hear about every health ailment, how some are working althought they do not need the money, wish I could say that, about how their husbands do not like them to work when they are home. We hear about how they have to leave for an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon because they have to drive their kids to school. Did I mention that they need off every other Wednesday for 3 hours for Cub Scouts and every Thursday for two hours at lunchtime to be lunch mom at the school. Oh, don't forget that they get their hair done every Friday morning from 8 until 10 and they may have to drive their mom to the doctor every Tuesday. I am not exaggerating. They all assure me that they want a lot of volume, but of the 4 that I actually hire, it is even scarier. One may be perfect in terms of volume, quality and actually showing up for work. One will work for an hour and disappear forever. One will beg for work but only take 10 minutes off the system at most. One will have an emergency the first day and never call back, never actually starting.

So to have 100 employees, you need to go through 3000 resumes, hire 500 of them and hope to get 100 good ones.

I was going to work for a large company that gets a few bad and many good posts here but decided that the pressure would be too great. It is hard to find 5 good MTs for a new account. I cannot even begin to think how impossible it would be to find 25 or 30, as they have advertised in the past.

This industry sees a lot of job hoppers. Yes, there are a lot of bad companies out there, but they job hop for no reason it seems, other than someone actually expected them to show up and produce.

I am personally against offshore transcription and will not work for a company that send work out of the U.S. but I know why they turn to other countries to do the work. They have a better work ethic. When they find a good job, they stay with it forever. They appreciate that have a job and food on the table. It is a way of life for them and there are no second chances. They cannot burn their bridges or no one will hire them.

Maybe MTSOs need to have higher standards and hold their employees to them. There are thousands of excellent MTs out there, we just have to weed through so many to get to them that they sometimes get overlooked.

Sorry for ranting, but I really enjoyed the OP's post and it struck a few nerves!!!
You are carrying a grudge for two years? Companies change. I have
had only good experiences with them.
Some states/companies have a noncompete thing going on. It took years for Diskriter to be able to
s
Fifteen years experience here and also offered 8 cpl as a max at multiple companies. This biz is
going down hill fast. I remember making 10 cpl 10 years ago and that was cheap..Only profession I know that has gone down in wages rather than up. Very sad. If you offered 8 cpl..take it..
I talked to them today. They want 3 years in a hospital or 5 years combination sm
hospital and at home or clinic and at home. For radiology, they want 3 years full time radiology. I thought they were very nice and I have a few friends that work for them and are happy. The pay seems average to high for what I am seeing now. I think they are 0.08 per line or 1.08 for radiology. Beats what I will have with the new MQ program.
Honda is 11 years old, 190,000 miles . Toyota was 15 years old and 279,000 superb
x
I worked on site for many years. I've been doing this for 10 years... sm
I've worked on site, at home, for small MTSOs, for nationals, for hospitals. I've been paid per line, per minute, and per hour. I've been an MT and a QA. I have ALWAYS worked weekends and ALWAYS worked nights for the shift differential because MTs can't survive on 6 or 7 cents a line. At least I can't and I type 105 wpm.

I've BEEN dedicated from day 1, sister, so you are barking up the wrong tree.
15,000 lines per pay period. 8 years with KS, 6 years on this account! nm
Not going anywhere else!
30 years - this WAS my career. The last few years you guys have ruined it.
You work 9-5? Big deal. I work more than you do. I bet I work harder too. Treat US with respect, lady!

Don't talk to us like that and don't expect us to kiss your feet. Kiss ours for a change!
See if you'll be producing more after 30 years of MT'ing and at 50+ years old.
I don't think so. My income increased every year also, until I reached age 50 and 30 years of MT'g, been downhill ever since.
It wasn't tough 5 years ago. Or 10 years ago, yet
How to you spell
G-R-E-E-D ???

All the shifty, dishonest, greedy pigs in this country belong in JAIL.
TransTech and Medware, are these companies considered large, medium-sized or small companies? (sm)
TIA
Yikes.. That is only inline with companies like Focus and such. "Real" companies pay their MTs
decent rate.  I make over 5 cpl editing. So, if I got that slap in the face, I'd be outta there.
Do the research...most companies, and not just MT companies, do not pay for maternity leave...
we get time off but not paid...and I really don't even understand the point of you posting this...
How do you know which companies are Nationals and which are smaller companies.
Is there a list somewhere? I'm new to this.
By "most of the companies", I meant MORE than MT companies.
clarification
Sten-Tel is the platform. Different companies use it, pay and how companies run are different. nm
:P
Did MTfor 10 years; QA for 2 years and now
doing editing of speech/voice recognition.  I find all three to be very different.  MT you start with a blank page or a template, QA you have the whole document and you need to give a good quick read and check for correct name, MRN, formatting, and all blanks, etc., and if you know the MT you do not necessarily need to give the whole document voice to typed - editing is a whole 'nother thing.  From what I have seen so far - you have a document and you cannot count on anything being correct - you need to change almost everything in some cases - which is more difficult than a blank sheet as there is a lot of deleting and it is confusing.  It can be helpful because some of the medical words are in there and some of the drugs can be correct - and although I have found easier on the wrists some days - still very, very difficult.  You must match exactly voice to type because you cannot count on anything to be correct - JMHO
I think it just boils down to years and years of
If you kick a dog often enough, it's going to not only turn on you, but other dogs as well. Even though I made more money as an in-house MT, our managers were the worst. All greedy, self-serving women who lied, cheated, and made their way up the management ladder by stepping on those of us who worked under them. They created hostility, distrust and ill will in the office by pitting MT against MT (I suppose they figured it would keep the MT's from turning on THEM!), and the suspicion it bred created a hostile workplace like no other. I finally couldn't take it anymore and quit to work at home, for less than half the money. I'm lucky - I have an employer that at least treats me well, even though the pay stinks. But from what I've read here, that isn't the norm at all. So it's little wonder so many at-home MT's are ready to chew someone's head off. They're tired of being lied-to, cheated on line counts, disrespected, and at the same time expected to produce more and more work, with little to no mistakes. So it's little wonder we're all a mite cranky.
Some of us have been at MDI for years and years. Why should we have to start all the way at the bot
x
Nobody said MT companies were not for profit companies. (sm)....
As MTs we are an important segment of what it takes for the company to thrive, but we are still just part of the whole structure.

Not trying to be argumentative, just think sometimes we get that "I'm the quarterback" attitude and forget that we can't get anywhere without our line men.
Companies that outsource to other companies?
Anyone know of any reliable companies that will outsource to American companies and pay a decent line rate? I am amazed at what the companies charge and then want to offer in this business anymore.


2 years ago
I worked as a statutory employee about 2 years ago and quit after about 6 months or so because I got a better offer. The people were nice but I ran out of work a lot. Also they still have me on their mailing list as a stat employee. Obviously they still don't realize that I haven't worked there in almost 2 years!
4-1/2 years for me too nm
 
9 years.
Nmsg
Over 7 years, OTI
x
18 years.
I have no idea what is happening for others or new plans or anything.

I've just gotten started. I didn't ask about any of that -- I just know what I was given.
Been with them 8 years
9 cents a line - NO RAISE
A little over 3 years. (NM)
..
been with MQ for eight years and
never heard of such a thing, is this new/old/specific to your office ????
Doing this for 20 years
I had one hospital in Florida I worked for and they started out at 15.00 per hour, but the more you typed, the more you made. Their line counts though were based on 55 characters with spaces so it was very easy. If you typed 2000 lines per day, you got 20.00 per hour, and then for any after that they paid 8 cpl bonus, so the average monthly bonus was 1500.00. I made 65,000 for the first 9 months I worked there. There are still hospitals paying 12-21.00 for in-house work. In-house would be really the best way to make any money. I went to working at home because of illness. I made last year just under 50,000 but it nearly killed me because it was 7-days a week and up to 18 hour days. Now, I have seen ads for LPNs (1 year of study) making 15-20 per hour, and in most cases the admissions employees in hospitals make more than we do transcribing. Salaries for at home people have gone way way down since I started working at home in 2000. I've seen ads for 6 cpl for people with over 10 years experience and as long as people continue to take those jobs, the other companies won't pay us more either. Used to be we got overtime as well, but now they are going to lines per week basis and will let you work extra, but with no change in the line rate. It's really rather sad how the trend has been.
I get 10 cpl but have known them for years
/
About 4 years ago...
problems getting paid. Not sure if things have changed since then
I have been with OSi for just under 2 years

 


OSi isn't the most popular national around, which is basically why I just keep my opinions to myself, but . . .


I have a very simple account (lots of normals) as my main account.  While it isn't really challenging, even at 7.6 cpl as statutory I make plenty of money.  I have run out of work on my main account a number of times, but I have 2 backup accounts.


I am never hassled by QA or my coordinator.  I pretty much work when I want, have no line requirements or day or time issues to deal with. 


I have been very happy there.  There are bonuses at least monthly, and that adds to bottom line.


Go for it. 


IC MT with 8 years exp.
I have been working an account for the local ER for about a year now at 12 per line.  Now they have over-hired in house, and I am only called when they get behind.  I am looking for part-time or p.r.n. work that will either pay this or at least get pretty close.  Any ideas? 
YES for 6 years now.
My dear friend, if a person is mad, they can express themselves on whatever grammar they want to express themselves. Since there are rules and regulations in this forum i am not using any foul words to hit these very evil people. You can rant whatever you want but the things in my Post is always the truth.
Wow, 14 years. They must be doing something right! NM
xx
I also have been doing this for 25 years and all

Accounts Payable.  All my accounts are large teaching hospitals.  Maybe a small hospital would work with you, but a large teaching hospital doesn't have time to mess with that.  It doesn't matter if you tack on a charge for paying later than your invoices says, or whether you offer a discount for paying early, they STILL pay on their own schedule.  Which is fine - I know how it works.  I just go ahead and make my invoices net 30 days because I know that's how they pay anyway.


Now a doctor's office - that's a different situation and yes, they will be more accommodating.  But I prefer acute care myself, and I prefer a teaching hospital, not someplace that does appendectomies and delivers babies and that's about it. 


18+ years
she probably thought you might get her preferred job.
OTJ - 19 years. nm
 
OJT - 28 years.
x
OJT - 15 years
*
Been there for a few years..
and I like it. There is always lots of work with few slow times, usually just around the holidays. Pay is direct deposit and always on time. As an SE I get no pay raises but line rates are structured to higher line counts bring you higher line rates. I really have no complaints as they pretty much leave me alone to do my work. Hope this helps!
It's actually been going on for years
Posts crop up pretty frequently about them not paying actually.  Personally, I worked for them about 3 years ago and had great difficulty getting paid.  Many others were having trouble at that same time as well.  Again, over the past 3 years, most of the posts I've seen about them on this board are about them not paying.  I can't remember now what exactly their e-mail to me said, but it was along the lines of as an IC, I would get paid when they were ready to pay me and that there was nothing that said when they had to pay me.  Of course, I had stopped working a few days after the paycheck didn't show up. I think it took about 3 months or so, maybe 4, to finally get paid.
6 years?
I thought they had only been around since 2001. 
6 years?
My guess is that she means she's been doing medical transcription (not necessarily for FutureNet) for 6 years.
I did that years ago along with the law. They said
they would take it under consideration and never did it. The state now knows and they are going to sock it to them.
I did both for 4 years
I made MUCH more as an MT. I was paid $20 an hour, but that does not mean much when you have a few MTs who are sloppy, lazy, do not have a clue what they are doing, or the ESL dictator is practically speaking in their native tongue on some days! I had to literally retype parts of many reports at times. Too tedious. I would rather just type my own work and be done with it! To each his own. :-)