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They gave advance notice to those that will likely

Posted By: lose their jobs, which was nice of them. on 2007-11-01
In Reply to: Acusis/DRC - devastated

Shows they care about their MTs.


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I once gave my notice when I was in a non-MT position, gave

2 weeks, but the person I was supposed to train felt like she knew my job better than I did (although she knew squat) and was a pain to deal with, never on time, etc. so I only worked about a week of my notice before I left and told the person I was supposed to train that since she knew more than I did have at it.  Anyway the owner wouldn't pay me for vacation.  I filed a complaint with the labor board and they were more than happy to get my money for me.


Breitner can threaten all they want to.  If you can document that you are owed monies, if Breitner can't prove that you aren't owed monies the labor board will be glad to collect your money.  I would also file a complaint with the Attorney General .   I have heard several people have had payment issues with them while the still worked for them.  If people are willing to let them get away with it by just chalking it up to experience, then they will continue to try to get away with it.  I'd contact the IRS too.   I don't know what Breitner thinks they can do to you - let them threaten all they want to.  A word of advice - DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT.  


I gave them my notice. I was looking

for a job when I found them so I'm not worried. Good luck to you. You might need it.


Well I gave notice, had no production
or quality warnings, worked my shift plus lots of OT. Had a great supervisor when starting and a not so good one when I left, reason for which I left. She was aware of that so because of her I can't get rehired! She just didn't like me. It happens but as far as my work ethic and quality, no issues there. It doesn't matter anyway, it was a lapse in judgement on my part when I re-applied.
Was this because you gave your notice or while you were still working for them that they did this to
@@
Yep. I gave a notice, thinking they would do the
right thing.  They immediately locked me out of their system.  I wouldn't give notice until you have another job and are working. 
A friend who just gave her notice...
from the same place I quit sent me the email my ex-boss sent her and in that she made that claim. I was mainly just confirming that she was lying and did not want to alarm anyone.

We are both looking for companies with a few positives. Losing benefits is always a negative. It is more likely, I believe, my former employer just spreading rumors to justify her own bad treatment of longtime employees.
Newsflash... I just gave notice and
They told me stop working right away. I asked if I could be given a higher rate and if not, then I would like to find a typing job. I offered 2 weeks notice and they said seeya and what's more annoying is that she doesn't believe it is because of VR. She thinks it is because I wanted to work on a different account.



Gave my 2 weeks' notice yesterday SM

I was so nervous because I really like the company I'm working for and was afraid they would be upset with me, but they were wonderful.  They said that I was a wonderful Transcriptionist and that they would miss me a lot.  She thanked me for giving them notice.  Even told me about another national that offers benefits as I explained to them that I needed benefits.  I told her I already accepted a position with a company that offers benefits, but I was really touched that she cared enough to recommend other companies to me.  Wow!  How cool is that?


The company I'm leaving pays very well (I am in the middle range and get about 9.75 per line), you are an employee, have until midnight to get your lines done (at least 80 minutes per day), only have to work Monday through Friday and don't have to work holidays.  You work in WordPerfect 5.1.  They have Smartype for DOS as their word expander.  They have direct deposit and provide the computer and foot pedal (no monitor).  The only draw back (for me) was that they do not offer benefits.  I don't know if I am allowed to post their name on this board, but I will ask my supervisor.  If she gives permission, I will post the info as I know that some of you do not need benefits and this probably sounds perfect.


Hope you're all having a great night.


Chickadee


I worked for a small mom & pop too and they gave me a 30-day notice

that they had lost the account.  They asked that I stay through the 30 days, which I did, and I appreciated the fact that they told me ahead of time.   I'm not going to starve or lose my house if I'm out of work a week, but there are many MTs who would be in a real bind if they lost a week of work.  There are lots of companies hiring so getting another job isn't the issue.  You have to submit a resume, go through an interview and testing, and then if you are hired you have to get setup and go through training, and they may end up having to take the first job that comes along because they need a job.  If we are expected to give a 2-week notice, why can't we expect the same from the company.  


I didn't believe the rumors either, but stopping DD is a red flag that something is going on.    


I gave 2 wks notice as IC and I had to work to the very last minute. It sucked.

I accepted their offer and gave a 2-week notice
Keeping my fingers crossed on this one. It really can't be worse than my present job.
I gave a couple of days notice, just til September 1st...
The day the merger actually occurred. It was about 3-4 days' notice.


Honestly, I gave notice during the training and was called back to MQ.
I wouldn't worry about it.
OMG I feel so giddy, just gave my 2 weeks notice at Spheris SM
and feel so liberated! I am totally getting out of MT - tired of being tied to the computer waiting for work to come in! So tired of hearing with this platform or that platform you will earn more. Good luck to all.
I gave notice and was told had to work final weeks in order to be eligible for rehire. Had no
:[
Notice is a courtesy, not a rule and they don't give you notice when they fire you
Giving a 2-week notice is common courtesy, and in most all my jobs, I have given them that courtesy; however, a company never gives someone notice when they are firing them. In my opinion, if a company does not treat their employees right, they do not deserve to get any notice at all.

As a matter of fact, I just left a company without notice. I felt horrible about doing it to my team but not to the company. While they never messed up on my pay, I was under constant stress. They treated several other people horribly and also changed all the terms of my employment contract within months of hiring me, which was going to cost me $800 a paycheck. I am the major breadwinner for a family of five and couldn't hang around a second longer losing that kind of money.

The only reason you would not want to quit without notice is if you want to use them as a reference and/or want the chance to go back to them in the future. I was advised by a recruiter that you should never put anything on your resume that is less than a year, so you really don't want to use them as a reference anyway, and you certainly don't want to go back to them.

Messing with someone's money is a big NO-NO, especially when they are costing you $400 for a second time. Heck no, I wouldn't give these people notice. There are some great companies out there hiring right now.

Feel free to contact me by email if you would like some more detailed information about the companies I narrowed my search down to. I was very sceptical about trusting another company with the bad luck I've had (just as you have) in the last few years, but I think I finally found somewhere I can be happy at for a long, long time (of course only time will tell, but I'm feeling very optimistic).

:) Best of luck to you!
Advance
Any info on this company? 
They do not tell their MTs much in advance.
They just started VR with a few accounts.  They do not tell their MTs ANYTHING that is going on.  No one even knows how much they will be paid once they finish training on VR.   In the past, they have lost accounts and the only way anyone knew was that there was no work coming in.   Not a good way to win the confidence of the employees, but they know everyone hates having to find another job once you are hired. 
SAW IN ADVANCE MAGAZINE
They are advertising for statutory employees, so I don't think they are doing away with us as this is a new ad.
Advance Transcription
Who are these people? I did a search and got nothing. TIA.
Advance Transcription
I worked for them for awhile.  I left because their part-time was too full-time for me since I had a full-time account.  They are a good company - no complaints.  They were in the middle of changing formats when I left so I don't know about that part.  They like instant messanging and require it. 
GLAD in advance!!
Thank you, thank you, thank you. Started to take a job with Diskriter in October, but couldn't because a family emergency came up. Thanks from the heart of my bottom!
Advance Transcript

Does anyone know anything about Advance Transcript? Any information about the company and what they are like to work for would be greatly appreciated.


Thanks, RadMT


Anyone read Advance
Overall medical transcription services organization ratings.... performance scores went to Encompass, Focus Infomatics and Sten-Tel.
Advance MTSO
Well, Encompass and Sten-Tel got all of the work from the medical group that I used to work for. The medical group used to employ lots of award-winning MTs. Everyone went to work for these companies, including myself. I went to work for one of them (will not point any fingers as to which one), and all 4 of my paychecks that I received before I quit were short. I had so many problems there. I didn't get paid headers/footers, and I only got paid for 1 space after periods. I was working on the exact same work from the medical group, and my line count was only about half of what it was at the medical group. I am sure that they did have wonderful performance scores, because they have MTs now that know more about certain accounts than the actual company knows.
Advance any good 4 radiology?
Pay ok? Lots 'o work? Nice place?
oh, my. TIA means "thanks in advance"
xx
Any info on Advance Transcription, NJ???
Anybody know what they're like to work for?
One question about TASpeed, thanks in advance
Is it possible to utilize MS Word's autocorrect while in TAe? Would I need to import them into TASpeed, or would it just automatically use them in conjunction with it? It does go into that in detail in the manual.
Med-Tech had job posted in Advance
xx
Anyone have info on NJPR in NJ? Thanks in advance.
nm
You can go to a "Payday Advance" type
of place in your area and they will advance you up to $200.00/$300.00, maybe more and then you pay them back on a monthly basis.  It helps when a crisis comes up, and if you don't or can't use a credit card.  Hope this helps.  Sorry to hear about this.
They had a long-running ad in Advance Magazine. sm
I called on the job.  It was really excellent pay, got to work at home if you lived in the surrounding area and they paid relocation expenses. I really wanted that job but my husband did not want to relocate.  I haven't seen their ad in some time though. 
Any current information on Smartmed? Thanks in advance. NM
NM
Correct, But don't write checks in advance b/c
if you write them Friday, chances are the bank is going to post them 1 minute before midnight and the paycheck hits the bank midnight. You will look for some nasty overdraft fees. Although the check is dd like clockwork and the bank knows it, naughty naughty to write checks in advance. Bad lesson to learn the hard way!
Maybe the company you work for would give you an advance? sm

Depending upon where you work, how long you have been there, size of the company, etc., that might be a consideration.  Also, maybe other temporary work, like Kelly Girls (if they even have that anymore).  I know we used to have temps in our office that were paid every week. 


The pawn shop idea might be a good one.  I think if you don't have the money in 30 days, you can just pay the interest or whatever.  You wouldn't lose the instruments.  If you are willing to part with someone, ebay and Craigslist can provide some quick cash.  Good luck to you.  I am my sole support, and I have been in tight situations before and know how scary that can be.  My heart goes out to you. 


Any info. on Rapid Transcript, Inc? Thanks in advance for your time!

Hi, I would greatly appreciate any information on Rapid Transcript, Inc., i.e. line rates, paycheck accuracy, benefits, etc.   Thank you kindly!! 


I agree with youl, but be smart enough to ask for this compensation in advance!
x
I need info on Oracle Transcription. I did an archive search and found nothing. Thanks in advance.nm
x
Article in Advance says CBay just took on 1500 accts. and there was no employment ad in that issue,
b
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.



Appreciate those of you that gave
helpful responses
Well you just gave yourself away on who you are.
You really need to try and hold it in
Yep but many of us gave above and beyond for that
company and to be lied to and treated like we were in the end is a disgrace.  If you're happy good for up, but with their ethics I wouldn't work for them again. 
You are not alone. Me, I gave up. nm.
x
before they gave my job away to
India last year, I was in-house, hourly, but we had to justify time-loss the last 5 or 6 years because people were always coming in, even at night when I was alone, and interrupting your work flow. I will say we had a service helping, and everybody was first-in, first-out, except for x-rays and path, so we all got our share of horribles to contend with.
Me too. But, I gave up. Although I got
responses back from my resume and or testing they were interested (several), never heard back from any so I just increased workload to help on weekends at regular IC job. Oh, well. Guess they got busy with so many resumes, or the scare of the economic down-turn. Hope you all hear back. It is tough to wait for an interview, because bill collectors do not understand about these things LOL.
I gave MQ a set schedule as an SE but
I have the power to change it myself. I simply call (and followup with an email, always) and let them know as soon as I can that I will not be working. I always try to tell them when I will be making that time up or what my alternative plans are. I haven't had any problem.

I don't have a problem with them having a schedule to know when I am expecting to work routinely but I don't have to get approval or get someone saying, "Gee, I wish you wouldn't take off tomorow." I just make my own decision.

I almost gave up the first year--
I was lucky if I made $10,000 that first year. I worked for a small company with low pay and not much work, but they were willing to train a newbie. Now I make $30,000-35,000 and I'm happy with that.
hey, the OP gave her a little info but she can't take the
lol
Went through the same thing and gave up. nm
nm