Home     Contact Us    
Main Board Job Seeker's Board Job Wanted Board Resume Bank Company Board Word Help Medquist New MTs Classifieds Offshore Concerns VR/Speech Recognition Tech Help Coding/Medical Billing
Gab Board Politics Comedy Stop Health Issues
ADVERTISEMENT




Serving Over 20,000 US Medical Transcriptionists

agree! see inside for my experience

Posted By: anon on 2009-02-19
In Reply to: I worked for them for a few months. - sm-Twitters

One thing - they are a GLOBAL company and not American.

For me IT was the pits. the set-up person was here but 'new' at it all and had to depend on another outside the country who - if he didn't see it happen - you were lying and it was fixed! {fill out service tickie pwease, for my inwoice. ahem, you're actually charging for this?)

After 3 weeks of problems and not even getting to the work - I quit. My computer crashed and had to be totally reloaded.

they really should stay outside the USA.


Complete Discussion Below: marks the location of current message within thread

The messages you are viewing are archived/old.
To view latest messages and participate in discussions, select the boards given in left menu


Other related messages found in our database

agree with you, see inside

How about we stick to bashing those with no work, that send the work to India, who do not pay their employees, who offer 3cpl, who have ugly QA, who cheat on line counts?  THOSE are the companies that DESERVE to be bashed. 


Boy, can I relate to this statement well.


Here are some of the companies that I have had the above experiences with -- there are a lot that do that sort of thing out there.  Here are some:  Transcend, T C Transcription, CyMed/SPi, Transcription Services, LLC of North Carolina, Opti-Script of State College, PA, Synthescribe, OSi, and on and on and on.  Let me reiterate here, I was never fired from them, but quit due to their stuff that goes on every day at these places. 


Have to agree with FBI thing...see inside
My brother-in-law is an engineer at Lockheed-Martin. He is part of a group making equipment for the U.S. government. They went to EVERYBODY before this, including neighbors and old friends. We live in a very small town, so the neighbors found it funny yet interesting. It happens in every business if you're working in any type of capacity with the government.
Agree. Although my experience with them SM
was pretty bad, I am certain they no longer offshore. 
I agree. I have had this experience with her as well (sm)
Getting an upfront and honest answer from her about anything without having to sell your soul is next to impossible. She treats you like a redheaded stepchild. If that is how the potential employees are treated, then I have no desire to know what comes after that.
I agree. Unfortunately, this has been my experience, too.
To me, it does not matter why our US MTs are delivering such poor quality - they simply are.

And our US MTs are utter nightmares to deal with when it comes to giving feedback.

I can't help how many years they have been transcribing, they obviously were never rated on quality or under a poorly constructed quality program. I'm talking blatant, glaring medical terminology and pharmacology errorso. They say they want feedback but when you give it to them they try to scalp you. It doesn't matter if I simply provide the corrections, or if I provide the corrections and where/how to reference, or even am very, very nice and positive, trying to teach them - they are offended to the core.

The Indian MTs are very accepting of the feedback and PUT IT TO USE!

Our US MTs - they never read it or never put it to use. Probably don't read it because most aren't paid to do it and, my goodness, it would be a sin and a crime for them to do something they are not paid to do - even if it is helps secure their own job!

My experience has really changed my perspective on the US vs international job market. It isn't that US jobs are just be so-called lost to international markets...its that our quality is just that substandard.

And don't even get me started about the bloated American ideal that no one has to work when they don't want to! Or on an account they won't make the best money on! OH MY!

they used to pay for experience. not now. agree with sm below
x
Same experience, I agree
I agree with your posting - I think MTs with less years of experience, even as many as 10, may not realize the changes someone who has been at this another 10 or 15 or 20 years has actually seen and LIVED through. We know the difference between back then and back now. I do not agree that many other jobs or industries are like this upside down one, where pay stagnates and goes down and does not increase in any way, shape, or form - other than working more and more and more hours along with decreasing quality of life - and how we did have great paying jobs whether hourly or cpl, along with all of the other benefits, as you describe. MTs who got into it later than some of us with 20 to 40 years of experience may well not realize this. So, do hear that many of us with more years have seen this happen, and it is disheartening, and it is demoralizing.

And yet, we remain dedicated to the work we do.


I agree to disagree - my experience ...SM
I'm from the NE, living in SE so I have a totally opposite experience than you seem to have.  It's cool, no problem here! :)  It probably differs depending on what part of the country one is from. :)
I so agree, in my experience some of the absolute worst MTs
were the ones with all the so-called experience! Obviously that says a lot for where they had worked. I have heard too often many companies do not do any type of random evaluations or spot checks on the MTs or that the QA department is short-staffed or not so great themselves...so there's a couple of possible reasons.
I agree on all fronts! Same experience, but 3 different companies. All
b
agree,the pay is going to vary based on individual experience
nm
Agree. You can't fake experience with OPs and special procedures.
It's much better to be honest but tell them how much you want to learn & ask them to give you a chance.
I agree with Tasha...I am having a wonderful experience at Keystrokes...plenty of work...
nm
Agree.. What is up with Spheris..They hire new grads yet I have over 14 years experience in acute
care, multiple specialities, yet..they said I didnt meet the qualifications. WHAT???? Why arent they honest and tell the truth. Do not tell me I am not qualified when I have worked for two hospitals doing all work types including radiology for all those years. Their ad said at least one year of experience. I guess 14 did not count for anything. The funny thing was that the hospital I was working for at the time had just signed them on to do our overflow, having switched from MedQuist. I just find it ironic that they were hired by our hospital which I worked for and had experience at, yet, I was not qualified enough. What a joke!!
Here, here. Exactly my experience also, even down to the 10 year work experience. nm
:+
see inside
As I mentioned before, the best thing to do would be to send a resume directly to the medical records director. If they are in need of a transcriptionist, chances are they are going to walk that resume right down to HR and have them get in touch with you for an interview. And it also lets the MR Director know that "hey, there are people in the area, and we don't have to outsource overseas or out of the hospital."

I can't say it enough - I wish I had lived in St. Louis because I would have taken the job in a heartbeat. Some people did work at home and others worked on site.
See inside...
I love the fact that there is always work (except on a few occasions around holidays, etc). I love that I can generally get an answer to a question when I ask it. I love that my pay is always on time (as the previous person said). I love that they do not outsource to India. I agree, there have been some changes, but I really love MDI.

There are some minuses too, but I have worked for a few other nationals after working at a hospital, and really, MDI is the best I have seen.
sm inside
I was in a simlar situation once.  I didn't want to burn my bridges, just in case the other job didn't work out so I told them I could not commit to full time as some personal issues came up but that I would be able to help them out 1 day a week.  They allowed me to do this, and it ended up that I went full time with them later, as I actually made more money in the long run... better dicators, etc...
Look inside for what
Rolling On The Floor Scaring The Cat Laughing My @$$ And Other
Body Parts Off.  Teresa, they may have an opening at OSi or SoftScript for you.
Thank you!!!! Please sm inside
Thanks for all the information!  Did you feel that you were able to get yourself on some sort of 'schedule'?  I just left somewhere because I had no idea from day to day when I would get work or how much and ended up waiting around all day long sometimes and either getting very little to nothing or too much at once for the TAT.  Did it seem pretty manageable?  (I would also rather work during the daytime hours...)  Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again for your help!  
see inside

I worked for them recently (within a year). They had software changes earlier to that, so if you see negatives about technology problems, it was before that. Evidently they did have lots of problems back before they were on their current system. Still some occasional bugs.

IC only. Good accounts. Put you on one account, and you stay on that account. If you have a similar experience to mine, you won't run out of work on your account.

Software getting dated. Not written by/for MTs or with requests for MT input. Hence, you have the programmer(s) doing really strange Keystrokes that are not productivity-friendly. They fix one thing and break three others. Need to fire the programmers and invest a bit more in getting decent programmers.

Office staff--THE best, hands down. QA will leave you alone unless there's a problem. You don't get QA scores sent to you or nitpicking. You either have good quality or they'll be contacting you about it.

Hours--THE best, once again. You have a quota to get in every week, and you give them a weekend day. Other than that, you're free to get that time in when you can.
OTI is also the company in my experience that's come closest to actually treating ICs as ICs.

I have worked for many nationals, and OTI remains my best overall experience. I had to leave because of needing benefits. That's the only reason I left. I would recommend them to anybody who's got at least five years of acute care experience in the Basic 4.


See inside. sm

SoftScript pays up to 10.5 cents a line with full benefits.


JLG, I believe, pays up to 9.5 with benefits (or at least they used to). 


Be sure and watch the job boards for hospitals hiring for at home workers.  Good pay and full benefits at a great price.  Don't settle without checking all options and best of luck to you.


See inside. sm
Their ad on MTJobs says 7 to 9 cents a line. 
see inside
I used to work for them.  Is this transcription or editing? Is the patient name not there, or are you having problems getting the template?  Is there a button with three dots near the patient info on the screen?  If the patient name is not there you need to listen first and then input the first and last name on the screen.  It is hard to know exactly where you are.  Hope this could help some.
See inside
Pay rate - range is 0.7-0.9 depending on a lot of factors (for clinic). Includes spaces.

Flexible - for clinic and ortho - YES!!!!

Weekends - I do my Friday work on Saturday but not sure if required.

Word - some accounts yes, some no. I type in Scribe, which is Word-based and very easy.

In fact, flexible has hurt me today. I have not started yet. Queen of the game shows today!
No. Inside is what you said in your OP.
I just completed an interview process with JLG. The owner presents herself as an MT who understands our situations

You are wacked and definitely not someone that any co would want
See inside
Then I guess Scribes/Nightingale lowering their rates (without notice) from $1.05/minute to $.80 or $.85/minute sucks even worse than I thought.
Please see inside.

This is my first time doing IC work.  I imagine it will eat up some of my profit, but I am just having my other job hold out a little more.


You only do as much as you want.  She will send an e-mail out to the P.R.N. pool of transcriptionists stating, I have 60 minutes of Dr. Mickey Mouse available.  His speciality is ENT.  It is due back by noon tomorrow (Pacific standard time).  Does anyone want all or part of this?  Then (based on whoever responds first) she will assign the work.  Let's say you want 30 minutes of it--you would e-mail her and state, May I have 30 minutes of Dr. Mickey Mouse's work?  If you're the first to ask, she will assign it to you. 


You don't have to take work...only e-mail her when you want it.  There is not that much work.  She e-mails maybe 1 to 3 times a day.  So the work volume is pretty minimal, but it is something to fill in slow periods with another job.


Hope this has been helpful.


Chickadee


see inside
I usually get what I need.
inside
www.advancedtx.com
See inside.

SPi Transcription - web site is:   


http://www.spi-bpo.com/web/spi/text_page.jsp?fldr_id=199


I read some of the MT Stars archives entries that gave the impression they were now an American company. 


After reading more, you may be right.  I think they may be foreign-based.  They acquired an American-based MT company several years ago and set up their corporate office in Nashville, TN but sounds like they are still pretty much an overseas company.  Kind of confusing.  Anyway, check out the web site for more info. 


 


Oh, OK - see inside
I work for Cymed (now SPi) and no change at all as of yet.  Hopefully this will continue.
See inside.
It's an Indian company, run by (India) Indians, but they hire Americans and the accounts are American hospitals/doctors.

They have both straight transcription and voice recognition editing, I believe you have to do both. Mostly hire ICs.
What they did was ... (see inside)
Suddenly, with no warning, cut people's salary by a huge amount. I had worked there for almost 3 years, and the cut took me back to the starting pay they had given me when I was fresh out of school. This was despite being able to do absolutely any kind of work they had, plus working on weekends and holidays with no extra pay or compensation.

They were originally Scribes Data, bought out by Nightingale. We were assured absolutely nothing would change regarding the MTs with the buyout, but they lied.

I really miss some of the doctors I transcribed for there, but I couldn't take a huge cut like that, especially without notice, it was a real slap in the face, in my opinion.

I did learn an awful lot working there (acute care of all types).
See inside...
The present job may be sending you tons of work, but if they're not paying you, you're not making any money.

I would do minimal work for them, and maximum for the new place. Old place can't complain about you not working if they're not paying. And the only way to see if new place will work out is to try it.

Good luck!
Sad see inside...

First let me say I am not paid by the line, but by the report.  Secondly, my lead has been wonderful.  I keep in close communication with her.  I also let her know that if extra help is needed I am available.  I honestly feel like me keeping busy is related to the two accounts that I have as well as my lead.  I was adamant about getting a second account.


I am sorry that your best day this pay period has been 175 lines, but you really have to question the variables surrounding this.  Do you work on a large account, what about your scheduled times.  I know that with radiology, usually the doctors are very active first thing in the morning taking care of the films from the night before.  This is a good fit for me and I will continue to voice that.  Even if things were really bad, I would be ringing the phone off the hook with my lead and the office trying to get resolution.  Jumping ship is not always the answer as we change and find ourselves sinking. 


In the past I left one company that I had been with for 6 years and it took going through 3 other companies before I found one worthwhile, which was not KS.  I hope things work out for you and you can pick up more work because no one can survive on 175 lines per day.  Good luck!!!


Looking for a job? See inside, please

MTStars provides the most extensive listing of job opportunities anywhere.  Our Job Seekers forum is free and the job advertisements are usually very descriptive.


We also offer a free resume bank for you to post your resume on. 


If you have questions about a specific company, please ask here on the Company board.


Please:  Do not post job-wanted posts.  Do not ask what are good companies. 


Otherwise, you will have to search for your position through the job ads and the application process like everyone else. 


If you have questions, feel free to email me.


Goldbird


See inside
Granted, there are many, many Americans who do not use the language properly even a little bit, but these people typically do not become MTs either!

Oh, if only this were true! Some of the work from India I have seen is MUCH better than some of the American work. Way too many poorly-trained Americans with terrible grammar skills, and many of them can't even spell grammar!
More inside ....
I know now that they pay by production and that the minimum per day is 1350.

I'd have to go in house for training but only until I'm comfortable with the system (it's a new platform for me) and they are comfortable with letting me go. The transcription manager told me it would probably only be a few days. The hospital is about 45-50 miles from my house so I'd want to come home just as soon as I could.

All their employee MTs work at home except the manager, and she has been there for I think 13 years herself.

The other thing that I didn't mention is that I have done work for this hospital before, but I usually do ops and I probably wouldn't get those from the hospital as obviously they send those out.

I guess I'm just not sure whether to jump ship now since this particular new position is open (if I could get it), or wait until I actually have no job.
Inside...

Do a search in the Company Board forum (make sure that's what is selected) for Focus and/or Focus Infomatics.  That should give you plenty of resources.


Their pay is 8 cpl standard transcription and 4 cpl edited.


Amanda


Look inside....sm
They require everybody to be at least 20 hours a week. I work 25 a week and make the 6000 minimum line count (for part time) in the 2-week pay period. I'm usually at least 1000 above that so I could probably work less than 25 hours a week and still make it. I have been working at least 30 now with extra hours during the time they need extra help, so I'm easily beyond and don't have to worry. The account instructions aren't so bad if you stick to your primary most of the time. It's just flipping back and forth that makes you pause and think it through when you come to something that you know can go either way. They are awfully picky on some things. For the demos, a lot of things fill in but not all, so you have to take some time to do that, depending on the particular account. It's not hard, just time-consuming.

It's like any job...some good...some bad...but overall it has been fine for me and I'm glad I tried it out. Of course I don't have any other national to compare it to since I've only been with local clinics before.
see inside
1. No longer treated as professionals. **********I have never experienced this. I am always treated as a professional business owner. Maybe it is the way you carry yourself??

2. Just got offered 14.00 to 16.00 per hour to write a transcription training program for company in India. (yea, for that amount... it is not going to happen). ***********I would not accept $14-16 either. Is that the maximum you can get these days. I have been fortunate enough to have good accounts so the per-hour-figure has been good for me and others from what I hear.


3. I truly feel SOME MTs do not take the work as seriously as it was several years ago so therefore the more need for QA (added cost for companies) *********Not sure about that either. The work is now outsourced where as before it was done in the hospital, and the doctor could just pop in the department and ask for a correction (that drove me nuts but they did it). Services have to offer some sort of guarantee (second review by QA if necessary) to be competitive don't they??

4. People that work at home do not work the schedule they agree to. (this is a job).************ It is a job, but for some a subcontractor's job. That means work the hours you choose. If I agree to a schedule I'll work it, but I'm not sure what others have agreed to work and either are you. How can you presume??

5. I can't be grateful for not having to purchase clothes for work. I still have to have clothing to wear and that same clothing is what I can work in. ********Can't speak for everyone, but I am definitely not transcribing in heels :)

6. More and nmore people look at this job as a way to take care of young children at home. i.e avoid the cost of daycare, etc. Please!! It is still a job!! You have to work! **********It has been exactly that for me. I have been able to raise my children and earn a great living. I do my job so well I can do both. Sorry you feel you have not been able to or others like you could not achieve that.

7. Absolute thing worst about working at home..... there is no difference from being at work and at home. *********I don't know any other job where I could throw a load of laundry in, start the dishwasher, run an errand, or work at 3 in the morning if I could not sleep.

Sorry for the typos, but I am so tired of seeing/reading how great it is to work from home. It would be great if people took it seriously, but they do not! *********Maybe all don't take it as serious as they should, but honestly is isn't it that way everywhere?

5. ********Just my humble opinions :)



See inside please
Since when does a Transcriptionist have a college degree? Well I have had my degree for eight years now. And yes it is a degree from our local college, and yes it is in medical transcription thank you very much.
see inside
be a high producer, be able to cover every work type on your account, be able to work more than one account -- and be very consistent in meeting line counts! My raises were for bribes to get my line counts higher. I've been on start up teams for several new accounts because of the versatility in adapting to different account specifics.

In other words, make yourself invaluable and the money will come.
see inside
Dan,
I just read your post and I think it is great that you so openly willing to discuss your business, mistakes, strengths, etc. If only more business owners were like you who realize that everyone is human and mistakes do happen and would accept constructive critism. You sound like you would be a great person to work for!
See inside
It usually costs $15-$20 to do so and I would definitely charge you more, if I were them.

It takes time to process the info for FedEx or UPS deliveries and, if you've missed the pickup deadline, you have to go out to a dropbox, etc.

I'd definitely charge you past the cost.


See inside
Genius, what I said was the problem with your statement that a credit check tells how responsible you are. It DOES NOT tell how responsible you are - it reflects your financial situation, which is controlled by many, many outside sources.

You sound like a spoiled little princess who has a husband who gives her everything she wants and you work for extra money to spend on yourself.

Maybe one day you'll face a divorce, death of a spouse, prolonged illness, legal problems for yourself or a family members, that will tarnish your credit rating and then you'll see how real people have to face consequences that are not always a result of their own actions. What a little snit you are.
See inside

First highlight the text that you would like to copy to Shorthand.  Once highlighted, hit cntrl and insert twice to copy the text.  ShortHand entry box will pop up, add keyword and hit okay.  You may have to do it twice for it to work.  The text will populate into the text to type box when successful.  I have added plenty of entries using this method and have had no problems.  Hope this helps.  By the way, I work for KS, so I know this method works with Meditech and Shorthand.


Yes, see inside

Put in your keyword and go to text to type box.  Click on tags, keystroke, then message comes up the next key typed will be the key assigned to the shortcut.  Hit your backspace button, click okay, save and this should take care of it. 


Don't go with either of them...see inside
I have worked for both...don't do it! I have been helping a new company out recently called MagnaDoc Solutions. Everyone is so nice and the pay is always on time and very flexible. If you are interested their e-mail is magnadoc_solutions@yahoo.com. JMHO. Hope that helps.
look inside
Pregnancy complicates health insurance options. Federal law bars pregnancy from being considered a preexisting condition, which means if you change health plans while you're pregnant, your new insurer can't deny claims related to your pregnancy. But a variety of loopholes means pregnant women could still lack insurance coverage for their prenatal care if they don't do some careful planning.

Under a law known as HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, health insurers cannot consider pregnancy a preexisting condition. So, unlike illnesses such as diabetes, they can't deny you coverage when you go from one job to another and switch health plans.


Sorry not sure of a good company for better insurance for you