You probably aren't paid for templates.
Posted By: jj on 2009-09-17
In Reply to: Method of counting lines with ETrans Plus - Bonnie Coffey
Ask your supervisor. And I hope you aren't using your real name. Good luck. I hope you find your answer :)
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Yes, we are paid for templates.
NM
You get paid for the templates too
NM
You do get paid for things in templates...sm
Please e-mail me who told you otherwise. Thank you.
MT SHOULD be paid for templates. Horrible MDI
x
Here, here, I agree. At one time, I was even accussed of holding MY templates hostage. Templates
L
You aren't getting paid? nm
x
Job ad posts are free. We aren't being paid for them, so
because no money is being given. Administrator
Well, whatever floats your boat, but you aren't getting paid
unless you charge extra for those tasks or incorporate them in your line rate, which is terribly difficult for a new MTSO to calculate when they have no idea how much time they will spend. I'm guessing you haven't been an MTSO for very long. I don't know many long-time MTSOs that don't get annoyed at the endless stream of staff requests, but anyway, to each his/her own. You usually aren't that jaded until you've done it for 10 years or so. lol
Either that or if you do end up with a lot of business, maybe subcontract all your transcription so you can handle only the business angle or find an assistant to do those things. In any event you must charge or you're working those hours on your own dime, and there are plenty of hours involved in those tasks if you build up a decent clientele. (Not even mentioning the time you spend if you want to subcontract work, filtering through resumes and training.)
That's only honesty and not a rose-colored glasses view. I said before it has its own set of perks, but there are also some cons to running your own service and I feel it's only fair to state those as well. Knowing those upfront might help you formulate a plan for when those things crop up instead of being surprised by them later. JMHO, of course.
Yeah but we aren't doctors and we don't get paid a lot so there nm
mmmldskfjsladkjaf
Do you think all the headers and footers aren't getting counted? Lots of places aren't giving
s
Templates
The way I handle it is I try to figure out lines I type per an actual document minus the template part. Then I would adjust my line rate downward to compensate, e.g., if my normal rate is 15 cpl, I would charge them 13-14 cpl OR instead of my usual count including spaces, tabs, etc., I would would try to figure it without counting them. I make clear to the client that there is no way to segregate the pre-printed lines and the lower than usual rate is a way of compensating them for it. Another way to do it is how some hospitals and other MT companies are doing it - if you're using digital, charge by the dictated minute rather than the line.
Spaces or Templates/Pay or No Pay
Interested in learning what companies out there do not pay for spaces and/or what companies charge per report regardless of line length for use/nonuse of their crappy template? For those of you who have worked for a company that charges for templates, was that information disclosed to you by the recruiter and/or contained in your contract? Any info (and opinions) in this regard would be appreciated. Thanks.
Normals/templates
I let my IC's use them especially in my psych accounts. However there was a time that one of the gals forgot to change the name on the header and I was gone and it went to the doctor directly with the incorrect name on the Header and big, big HIPAA violation and the doctor almost pulled the account since he did not catch it either. So I understand where your MTSO is coming from but again, I would not keep the help that made these mistakes rather than make the other MT's pay for the incompetent ones and be unable to use their autorcorrect, ShortHand or whatever normals/expanders that they use. The account stayed with me but we do watch the names closely now. Why make all suffer for the mistakes of a few.
We can make templates
In Meditech you use the F keys for every little other thing, including their canned text which you have to hit, I think, F4, to pull it up. All the F keys have some laborious function but you can get used to it. As for templates, we do indeed create our own templates for the different dictators. The downside is that once you create one and it's there, you can't go back and edit it or change it, like when the doctor changes some wording and you want to edit it.
Mainly what I'm saying is, ask IT about the MT's creating their own canned text entries for templates. Use ShortHand or whatever Expander for everything else.
Our system used to crash a lot, too, but you could do a Recover and get it back. However, they've fixed that. Meditech doesn't have to be a pain, you can work it.
Good Luck...
With the use of expander and templates sm
basically all the prep work it's definitely possible.
Reports with a lot of templates...
and very fast dictators. Also, the MTSO counts lines in an honest manner, i.e., caps, bold, underline, headers, footers, templates, etc.
Read this about VR, templates, etc.
Ok, our profession has been threatened and outright replaced by voice recognition and/or templates which is fill in the blank type forms. Here's what I have found upon interviewing the people at these various places.
Bottom line is by going with VR, you can get rid of the MTs but they are replaced with approximately 1.5 FTE in IT help. So fire 5 MTs, hire 7 ITs. They need people to babysit the computer generated reports with which they have chose to replace us. Same for templates. So if there is any medical provider out there reading this, just beware. You will spend more money by going with VR or templates than you ever dreamed you could save. I hope this does some good but please don't be fooled by these slick salesmen who sell you this VR or templatesoftware and charge a fortune for it. Not only does it take up more time from your physicians, but you will spend more money babysitting the computers and software than ever before.
Especially if you use a lot of expanders and templates.
Then, VR is definitely NOT WORTH YOUR TIME. If you type 5 lines an hour or something, yeah, I could see it working out for you. However, if you are a good MT, not so much.
How about 0.03 per line for templates?
what templates, ones I make or their's. BS
And no pay for headers you type or templates they add
/
Templates and word expanders
Figure out which abbreviations trigger an easy memory response. For instance, I've seen people put pn for pneumonia, but that just seemed to trip up my brain and so I put pne. Do you have doctors that use the same phrase over and over? For instance, nothing to indicate; that's nti. intrinsically and extrinsically is iae. no acute disease noted is nadn. You get more lines by typing (in the above example) 4 letters and getting paid for 22 (with spaces). I organized my templates by first 4 letters of last name and first 2 letters of first name - i.e., John Brown is browjo. (This habit started when I had a large hospital with 2000 doctors and this was the only way to keep them straight.) Then, if it's an H&P, it's browjohp; or discharge is browjods, etc. Seems complicated and you may find an easier way to catogorize, but once it's set in your brain, huge masses of data can easily be sorted through, accessed, appear on your screen, and half your typing is done for you.
companies that have lots of templates
Are there any companies that provide lots of templates and normals and a good rate per line? This is my dream job, to find this company!
Templates are created by the IT people or
The MT usually does not have access to these things. In my day, we had to put in a request and hope to heck they got it right. Plus, we had to wait a while. I think they're called dictionaries (templates) believe it or not. It has been about a year, and I don't miss that system at all. Clunky, slow, and lost many of reports due to it going down in the middle of typing. Grrrr.....
Keystrokes and templates question (sm)
I see Keystrokes has an ad up on the job board. I presently work for a company who fills in every possible heading that the doctor MAY dictate throughout the report and calls it their template for each work type. They do not pay for any of these lines. In some cases we are expected to delete headings if not dictated. These deleted headings are now subtracted from the total line counts because they take the total number of lines in the template and subtract that number off the top of the line count. Any missing lines would actually be subtracted from lines that the MT typed. It would be so much easier for all involved to just let the MT type what the doctor says, headings and all. I'm wondering how Keystrokes handles headings and templates? Do they include them as part of the template or do they just let the MT type as the doctor dictates them? If they are part of the template already, how are they counted or not counted?
Also, what platform do they use and is it MT friendly?
TIA
The built-in templates for the ones you create
nm
lower pay rate for templates
Hi folks, Has anyone heard of getting a lower pay rate for templates? The company I work for is lowering their pay rates for what comes up as templates to 2 cents per line and say they will continue to pay the 8 cents per line for what we actually type? I have not heard of this before and was wondering if this was a common practice? Thanks for any feedback you might have.
Elizabeth MT since 2001
I worked for one company that did not pay for any templates.
The client had many templates. When I started I received pages of templates with the codes. It was after my first paycheck that I was informed that the company did not pay for any templates. You know they were charging the client full price and guess who was pocketing the profit?? 
Anyone know of a company that uses a very easy platform with templates...
and lots of fill in the blanks? I am trying to find part-time work that doesn't require a whole lot of typing because I have pregnancy-induced carpal tunnel syndrome. I still have several months of pregnancy left and I still need to work, so my only option is to find work that requires a lot less typing! I am just happy that this CTS is usually only temporary! I do wear wrist splints and take frequent breaks during my shift but this provides little relief. If you know of companies that use easy platforms with templates, fill in the blanks, cut and paste, etc - please let me know! Thanks in Advance!
Line count involving templates
I need advice!! I am typing in a template that consists of 205 gross lines before any typing is done in it. The client isn't questioning the body of the template where we add the meds, past history, etc., but there is an area of a preprinted form that is added that consists of about 85 lines. The client doesn't want to be charged for this, as this is not part of the typing. How can I bill for this exclulding this preprinted form? I would have to get the total number of characters for the entire document including the form and divide by 65? Help!!
I don't know if this can be asked or not, but how does Keystrokes handle templates? (sm)
Are they prefilled by the platform and if so are they paid to the MT as having been typed by the MT or does the system subtract for the template?
I have no problem not being paid for template characters; however, I have found (with a couple of services that I have worked for) that the platform (or client or maybe even the service) will fill in absolutely every heading that MIGHT possibly be dictated by the doctor. We, as the MT, have then had to bounce up and down the template looking for the heading that is being dictated and in some cases, having to modify the template by extracting words to fit how the doctor is dictating that heading. In both cases, the line counter was set up to deduct the characters from the ORIGINAL template (which we were not paid for). If the doctor dictates a shorter heading than was prefilled by the system, we are essentially losing lines. (I hope that wasn't too confusing.)
It's just so much easier to type as the doctor is dictating and use my expansion program rather than jumping up and down a template. I'm wondering how Keystrokes handles their templates. TIA
Shine templates take too long to load sm
Isn't too bad if you can go straight into it and start typing, but the account I do you have to go in and fill/fix the template after it loads before you can start typing, so it can be time consuming. 
The majority of places have you use templates and software platforms. Maybe someone can suggest a
s
Training on the system, not paid, but if you are physically typing reports then you are getting paid
nm
Oh, yea -- PAID, too. Grandmother PAID LEAVE would be a great drawing card to TT !!
Just love that PAID TIME OFF !!
Any company that makes you wait to get paid until they get paid by the client
is not a company you want to get involved with. That's part of being an MTSO, figuring out how to cover your payroll while waiting to get paid. I would stay away!
Is this a live count of lines paid for or same as CTRL I that we do not get paid for ?? nm
m
Me too.. the outsourced company was paid for and paid me for headers, but OSI does/did not.
x
I have always paid yearly and have never paid or been assessed a penaltly. nm
nm
Be glad you get paid tomorrow. We are paid on the 1st and the 15th, so sm
since the 1st is on a weekend, we don't get paid until Monday. It will happen again on the 15th of August …sigh. It is the only thing I do not like about the company, though, so I guess a few weekends of poverty a year is not too much.
Lori never paid me and now ETC has not paid my friend.
What is WRONG with these companies? 
Is it still being paid on time if you are paid on the 1st and 15th.....
and if the 15th falls on a Saturday getting paid on the 17th? My bank is open and posts on Saturday that means I am not being paid on the 15th doesn't? This has happened a lot lately.
At least you get paid, I would rather be paid late than not at all. Just my 2 cents.
nm
Yea, at least u got paid. Everyone who worked for TSI is STILL waiting to be paid
I don't understand how Jayne cannot pay us. We have christmas coming up. I bet her family has a fantastic Christmas because she is using OUR money to pay for it. I worked so hard for her and I know the other girls did too. How insulting that she will not return phone calls or emails or PAY us. How does she look at herself in the mirror knowing that the MTs who did all the work FOR her did not get paid. She even sent me an email saying I give you my word HAHAHA her word is nothing, obviously. Well, I will call the attorney for the THIRD time and see what is going on.
To the poster, at least you got paid even if it was late. I sincerely hope you get your last check.
You aren't the only one, believe me. NM
x
Aren't they the ones who are
supposedly looking into buying Heartland?
aren't they all going to be
under regional supervisors within a year??? If you can get yourself under the northeast regional supervisor, do it. She's great.
Oh MY aren't you a gas
Why would you care. Bitter? I got a great job by not being hired by them with innumerable benefits and assigned to a nice a/c with great potential.
Don't get my way - do you mean expecting to be paid on time is being bitter and spoiled? What planet do you come from? LOL
And yes SD is said - it's not my fault they auto cap it - boy do you have issues!!!! sd is standard shorthand for said my friend. can't imagine even noticing something like that.
Uh, no. They aren't doing that
The letter I received a few months ago when I cancelled my membership said something quite different. It had nothing to do with keeping the jobs US based. It was all about quality healthcare documentation which is important; don't get me wrong there. However, there was NOTHING in there stating anything about keeping this work here at all. Instead it was all about the global marketplace and a cop-out.
I personally feel that the bulk of the healthcare industry knows cheaper doesn't necessarily mean better or even close to what is expected. I don't think all of the jobs are going to disappear.
I have written, called and probably annoyed my senator and any other government official in my state about outsourcing private healthcare information. India, for example, does not have stringent laws about private information like we do.
We do have a personal responsibility though. I have brought this up on other boards, but we need to ask our healthcare providers if their back office is handled here. If not, choose another provider if possible. Of course avoiding purchase of everything that comes from somewhere else is virtually impossible, but there are lots of other things. This may also sound mean, but if I get on the phone with customer service somewhere and realize the person I am speaking with is offshore, I have my call transferred. Nothing against the person, but I am not discussing my personal account information with someone who is not 100% required by law to protect that information. Period. If enough people take the intiative (not saying in this particular way), the gov't and other organizations won't have a choice but to listen.
Outsourcing globally is not the trend right now. I really think pulling together can stop it from becoming so.
Aren't they like about $40,000 ???
My car's OLD - only kind I can afford.
And just because you aren't a fan sm
doesn't mean it is a bad company for everyone.
Aren't we all?
nm
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