town hall meeting
Posted By: unhappy webber on 2008-10-21
In Reply to: Webmedx town hall mtg ?? (sm) - Curious
I agree. This is very much a listening meeting, basically a pep rally about how great Webmedx is and how they put the employees first. Unfortunately this is not the case demonstrated by the amount of posts here and the lack of work for those of us who have given so much to this company. Now we sit with nary a thing to do.
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Just got an E-mail about a Webmedx town hall meeting
Just got an E-mail about a Webmedx town hall meeting coming up. Those are NEVER good news. FYI.
I predict they will announce that, due to tough economic times, they will cut the VR rate. You know it is going to happen.
Webmedx town hall mtg ?? (sm)
This upcoming one is the first I have heard of since I came on board (about 3 months ago). Used to work for MQ and these were often a prelude to us getting s*&^*^d. Please tell me this is just an informative type how-do-you-do thing. So far everything about this company has been great, I just have recurring nightmares about the past couple of years I spent with MQ. Thanks.
Town hall conference call was very impressive. sm
I'm glad to be working for Webmedx.
Four Seasons and the infamous Ms. Hall. nm
nm
They had "town hall" meetings today
Just to take questions about any concerns from people, etc. They spun the reasoning behind the new rules for holiday pay. Said OSi was growing. A lot of what I heard seemed a bit condescending, that they needed the MTs to be on there and working instead of everyone always wanting off and taking advantage of holiday pay, etc. Also several questions asked I felt were not directly answered but just kind of stepped around or given a we'll have to check into that. Not very informative. Left a bad taste in my mouth.
Robin Hall/Four Seasons - Whereabouts??? sm
Wondering if anybody knows what happened to Robin and/or Four Season Transcription?? Her website is down and email bounces back. I just received a 1099 from her for 2008 and I haven't worked for her since 2007. She didn't pay me what she owed me in 2007, much less anything in 2008. Has anybody been in contact with her lately??? Thanks!!!
Update on Four Seasons Transcription/Robin Hall. sm
Well, the update is there is no update. She still has not paid me the money she owes me and refuses to answer emails, etc. I've heard she's suing me for making slanderous and libelous statements. She obviously has not looked up the definitions of slander or libel. I've not made one FALSE statement. I've had mutual acquaintances forward me emails/instant messages from her where she's making outrageous claims like she's mailed me my money by certified mail and I've failed to pick them up and she's emailed me but I refuse to answer her. Totally nonsensical garbage. I hear that she's advertising on guru.com these days. I really need to know where these unethical imposters get off thinking they can just steal our services and get away with it. I guess because they can. Boy, how I wish some hospital would stiff her like she's stiffed me. Thanks for all your kind words of encouragement.
If Four Seasons Transcription/Robin Hall owes you money...sm
please email me. I am receiving emails from new victims of her's almost weekly. Hopefully we can something done together since none of us seem to be getting anywhere individually. It's became blatantly obvious that lying, conning, and stealing from us is just the way she runs her business. Upon comparing notes, the common thread seems to be her excuses, i.e., her clients not paying her, our banks, and her accountant. The payroll company is another of her favorites. She even uses some of the exact same wording. (She must have created templates for these excuse emails) I finally quit when she owed me 4 invoices. Her newest maneuver is firing people whose production has gone down solely for the reason that they're not being paid. SHE MUST BE STOPPED. As we speak, she is probably sitting at her black-hearted little computer shooting out her excuse templates right and left. The post below by just passing through is kind of baffling. I'd sure like more details about that situation. Robin can sue me until the cows come home, I did NOTHING wrong. I did get a reply from the BBB, and they said they didn't handle complaints of this nature. Guru.com said they're keeping a close eye on her. I feel our best bet is to pool our resources, hire an attorney, supply him/her with all the evidence we've collected, and let a court handle it. Even if we cannot recover any of the money she already owes all of us, perhaps we can prevent her from ever doing this to others in the future. Please email me if you're interested in joining forces against this rogue MTSO.
Four Seasons Transcription and Robin Hall...a tale of deception and duplicity. sm
I went to work for this company in November. I was assigned two large hospital accounts in Canada. After a few months, she lost one of them. She had to let go all of the MTs and editors she had hired to work on that account but asked me to stay because she said I was her best Editor and highest producer. I did. Everything rocked along for a few months without a hitch. Then my paycheck starting arriving late, at first a week, maybe 10 days late. But I was cool with that and didn't complain. Then one paycheck was weeks late. I contacted Robin and she told me that my bank was rejecting my direct deposit because my account had been closed. So I argued with the bank back and forth for weeks. They maintained that no deposits had been attempted. By then I was 2-3 paychecks behind. She continued to insist my bank was rejecting the direct deposits. I asked her for proof from her payroll company (rejection notices) but of course they never materialized. By August 1st, she still owed me 4 paychecks and I told her I could no longer donate my time and services to her cause. Throughout this time, she steadfastly stuck to her story that the hospital had not paid her, ergo she could not pay me. I've been in contact with a few of her current employees and know she's paying them (though late). As far as I'm concerned, this woman is nothing but a common thief. She stole my time, my experience, my talent, and my trust. I'm posting this because I'd like to save some other trusting soul from this same fate. I have no idea how this woman can lay her head on a pillow every night and actually go to sleep. A pox on her!!!
The town that I live in is
Stillwell, in Georgia. The Stillwell is for the town, MTC is Medical Transcriptionist Coder. :)
thanks for the info though.
The town that I live in is
Stillwell, in Georgia. The Stillwell is for the town, MTC is Medical Transcriptionist Coder. :)
thanks for the info though.
Wow, they have a town named after me! LOL. nm
x
Get out of town!!Wow how wonderful! I will look you up there.
I am wiseoldowl2000 and have been on there since 1992, though my exhusband had been on since 2000. The night my son was born he overbid on something he already had he was so excited. But I was not yet in the E=bay world. I will definitely look you up. We should have an e bay board here, I don't know about anyone else, but I am more addicted to e bay than I am transcribing! LOL. :)
I do VR for a hospital in my town
My company in another state does work for the hospital. I know the head person over transcription at the hospital and there is absolutely no way this manager at the hospital lets just anything fly through. She has all power and you better believe if you don’t do a decent job, your job is not there. From the company we get memos from the hospital about this or that. I am glad to be on VR and I range in line count on VR anywhere from the high 400s to 700s per hour. I also have intermixed with that straight sometimes.
Town Cryer
Totally agree with you. Just typed a report, pt w/brain glioma, needed surgery but had to postpone because her OUP (out-of-pocket) after insurance kicked in over $100k.
Not ALL work will be offshore. We need better schooling and job placement policies to keep more MT jobs here in good 'ol USA.
Go to the library in your local town. I do.
nm
In our town, we have a little local pharmacy or many
I tried to stick with my little local pharmacy, but started having problem with insurance issues, which miraculously didn't happen at CVS. Something about CareMark is my insurer for meds. So, I switched to CVS primarily due to these glitchy insurance problems with my scrips. All went well for a month or two, though I felt bad ditching the little local guy. Well, then I started having all sorts of medication errors from CVS - wrong med being given in my bag, wrong dosing, etc. When I started complaining, I realized that CVS and CareMark are basically one and the same - another mass merger thing. So, I believe that CareMark deliberately gave me problems when I used anyone but CVS, and it turns out it was true. I have gone back to my local pharmacy, and he confirmed what I thought had been happening. Its like conspiracy theories everywhere these days. He said he couldn't say a word, though, as he had been threatened by lawyers not to make the connection for people - we had to figure it out on our own. Well, me with my big mouth, I'm telling everyone I know!! LOL. So, no, not impressed with CVS either, and no, they don't care about their mistakes - locally or corporate. We're all humans, after all, though some have jobs that could kill fellow humans. LOL.
The hospital in the town where my daughter
goes to college sends their x-rays to Australia to be read.
I live in a very small town that won't allow chain-
.
small town dweller too, but my thinking has
oh yeah, when I first came out of the hospital systems, started seriously working in a remote way, I saw many posts about shipping our jobs overseas, and esp as regards to MQ doing so. But I thought, hey, they treat me well, pay me decent, give me benefits and I wasn't feeling impacted by this. Over time, observing the world around me vis networking, I began to see the picture differently. It became acutely different when MQ started removing more and more benefits and emphasizing our ILPs (international labor partners) and all the propaganda that came with it. I moved on to MDI and thought I'd be happy the rest of my MTing days. They made promises they have already broken, and I see the same pattern evolving. You can sit in your small town thinking, and I mean this in the metaphorical sense, and deny that there is anything wrong with it. But down the road when it bites you in the behind, and shakes your world, and in the larger sense, when more and more people in the once great USofA are unemployed and the backs of the middle class are hunched over from trying to bear that financial burden of putting so many on the public rolls, YOU TOO may begin to see the damage of shipping work overseas. Not to mention your wages going DOWN to keep your employer competitive.... It WILL eventually touch you too, or your kids or your grandkids, but in some way WILL reach you too.
what town are you in? if you don't want to be that specific then maybe county/state info
nm
12/cpl, hsi, no travel time, no paper/products. Small town.
dd
Small town Missouri girl very happy at Transcend
I’ve been sitting here in my little corner of Missouri wondering if I could diplomatically address any of your concerns. At first I was compelled to simply set the record straight and now I’m just compelled to show my support not only for my country…but also my company! That’s right…bold statement, huh?! No, I’m not a SUIT, (and BTW neither is Stephanie Campbell) but a humble MLS who was promoted to a TL (Team Leader) and now again to a QAS within MY company. You see, Transcend loves their MLS and treats them with the respect and the recognition they deserve. If you want to excel in this industry, Transcend is the only company you should be looking at. Oh, and by the way, I had the opportunity to travel to Atlanta and meet some of the SUITS of the company and they’re just like me…patriotic, family-loving, hard-working everyday human beings. AND they care about my opinion; what works for my region and why other things don’t!
I worked for a large hospital facility in Nebraska before coming to Transcend and loved it dearly, but honestly technology-wise I didn’t realize how far behind they were. Since being with Transcend I’ve had the opportunity to see firsthand how they continually upgrade, enhance and automate processes for their MLS; always trying to make things easier and time efficient for their employees. Who wouldn’t want to be on the leading edge of technology in our industry?
As for sending work overseas…. Transcend does in fact outsource on occasion a very small percentage of it’s volume, but only when there are gaps in turnaround time coverage and ONLY when the customer approves it. If there are American MLS willing and able to take some of that work from overseas workers, we are more than happy to provide it to them. That’s why we need your help to keep this company going strong as an AMERICAN company. Every single day I’m thankful for my job with Transcend and have grown to love the tight-knit family I work with. Each day we talk and keep each other inspired! We cover for each other in time of crisis and give each other a pep talk when we need it. I can confidently say that my life has changed for the better since I came on board. I really do love it. Transcend is where it’s at if you want to work at home.
Me in my little corner of Missouri will get off my soap box and let you ponder this: Perhaps if a small town girl from Missouri can make a CAREER with Transcend maybe you can too?! The possibilities with Transcend are out there, attainable….you just have to reach for it!
I am in exactly the same boat, 10 miles from small rural town, don't know any local
MTs even after 12 years in this community. I need to find something with decent pay and the same kind of flexible scheduling. I too had planned to stay with MDI through retirement and this has really thrown me for a loop. I would just look for a new career right now if not for the fact my kids are still young enough that I would like to still be at home/available, especially when one has a chronic illness and his needs can change on a dime.
It is just a ra-ra meeting,,,
Nothing will be discussed, I was in the corporate meeting on Friay, and they basically blew smoke up our a$$
please let us know what happens at the meeting!!
x
Bet that meeting never happens now
She probably wanted to get that meeting out of the way before the pay cuts, or as she likes to call it 'leveling' - yeah it really levels you to get whacked like that - so now it will probably never get rescheduled. She wanted to say a bunch of stuff like how hard we work and how much she appreciates it and how valuable we are and don't let the door hit ya and then two days later . . . wham! Pay cuts for all!
My notes from the meeting - s/m
Apparently Acusis started in India, not the US. It's not very old - only 6 years. The CEO seems to know alot about business & making money, but not much about MT-ing. Says he's learning. They apparently have aspirations to be THE largest MT company not only in the US, but globally. He thought he could do it from India, but found he couldn't, partly because of the fact that some US medical institutions don't want offshored work. Others will allow PART of their work offshore (like radiology, etc.), but not other work. So instead this would be what he called a Hybrid US+India company. Hmmm.
So, according to what he said, he feels the best way to grow the company FAST is to also have a US MT force, so clients have a choice. They will have to pay more for US transcription, though he assures us the Indians are also good. (Yeah, RIGHT!) Initially the two-tiered business platform made sense to me. But other comments made later in the meeting made me wonder about what the REAL truth might be. Among other things, they plan to buy many other US MT companies, as well. DRC is just the first. He seems to think bigger is better. Having worked at PAMC since it was smaller, and seeing how nasty it got when it was bigger, I certainly don't agree.
Someone asked the question about the less-skilled, or even the accurate, but slower transcribers' role there. For now he seems to want only top-notch people, but later says how having a plan for bringing less-skilled MTs up to speed would be a good thing. Some questions sounded slightly hedged or evaded, and sometimes had the words for now thrown in, like maybe we weren't going to notice them or something. This had to do mainly with questions about change as it affected us. Red flag.
When asked about all the extra management people after the merge, he said that for now there was a seat for everyone on the bus. But he also allowed as how his company has always tended to have more execs than they really needed. Well, that certainly is one of the problems at PAMC, and it seems to cause them to continually find fault with the MTs, if for no other reason than to make themselves look good. So that was another rather loud warning-bell I heard.....it's a management-heavy company.
Re: Pay/Benefits - He says so far it'll remain the same. He wants it well above average, but doesn't specifically say whether or not MTs are part of that plan. He does say that by improving the software, etc., they can make the MTs more productive, and thus enable them to make more money. I didn't particularly like that part, either.
One thing that DID sound good was that although we would have to change over to Acusis' 401K (and who knows how good it is.....), he says they'll match it with 3%. Well, to me that isn't exactly MATCHING.... but I guess if you put in $100, they put in another $3.
Their company goals were:
- Global world-class customer satisfaction (sounds kinda' generic, but whatever...)
- Service flexibility & choice of options (the Hybrid-thing).
- Create the strongest organization (so they can gobble up & digest the competition?)
- Have the best technology (boys do like their toys.....)
I guess we'll lose the nice DRC software we're using now. He says he wants to have a new, blended software platform that will be called AcuSuite 3.0. It is supposed to have enhanced user-friendliness (hard to believe, if it's not written by someone who knows a LOT about MT!). He also mentions back-end speech-recognition.
He also mentioned that he was a leader in his church. (Oh, pul-eeeze! Not more holy-rollers trying to take over the healthcare industry!?!?) Definitely a red flag in my book.
The Future Plans are:
- To acquire more MT companies.
- To develop a repetitive model to acquire and integrate future acquisitions.
Again, all this talk about growing, merging, acquiring -- has nothing to do with the nuts & bolts of MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTION. He talked about MONEY, a LOT. But not MTs making money - but instead about his goal of having this be the world's BIGGEST and WEALTHIEST MT company. I don't think anyone can have those kind of aspirations and stay honest or have their employee's best interests at heart for very long.
One person brought up the fact that the Chief Officer of Acusis-India desires India to dominate the medical information field worldwide, and wanted to know if he intended to convert the clients from US-transcribed to Indian-transcribed. His answer was very ODD, and most certainly got me wondering: It was that it was his belief until 55 minutes ago. (Whaaaat?) He tried to clarify that by saying he used to think domination of the MT industry could be done solely through India, and that now he believes it cannot. But, either way, all this domination talk makes me uneasy.
Another question was How do US clients view the above statement by the C.O.O.? He admits it was viewed with skepticism. He also says hes been trying to take our clients for a long time, now. (What???) (I guess he tried from India, couldn't do it, and so now has come onshore.)
When asked about accrued vacation time, and would the MTs be able to keep it, the answer was YES. (Though said he doesn't yet understand DRCs system of accrual of vacation time according to Keystrokes typed, or how much can be carried.
In the first 100 days they plan to:
- Integrate talent, IT, Processes, Benefits.
- Establish performance goals, alignment.
- Retain only high customer satisfaction performers who get results. (Does this pertain to management? MTs? Everyone? What exactly does this mean? This wasn't clear).
- Continue to have quarterly conference calls. (Jeez .... even semi-annually would be more than I could stand.)
Later he says the MTs are where the rubber meets the road. (Good analogy, but will Acusis follow through on their statement that they consider the US-based MTs to be a valuable part of the company?) I wonder if he is aware of how many people are ready to walk out RIGHT NOW, just based on their strong ties with India?
Well, anyway, that was my take on everything, from all the notes I took. I don't plan to do anything rash.... and will instead just keep on typin' and see what develops. If I like it I'll stay, if I don't, then I guess I'll leave. But I won't cross that bridge 'til I come to it, as it's still too early to tell how the takeover will ultimately go. What we were told could be the truth, or it could all just be smoke and mirrors.
Anybody at TT have trouble meeting
I work days so I am wondering if the system is just plain bogged down. 
What kind of meeting? nm
nm
Supervisor meeting...
nm
I believe it was actually a big meeting of suits,
ya know, the real thinkers and shakers, at some annual meeting or something. I know of one manager who had to slink back to the office - there were offices in those days - with his tail between his legs, as the word beat of the monkeys beat him back to the office. It was horrible. Happened probably a good 10 years ago, though, so its been their mentality for a long time.
I had the pleasure of meeting D several years ago
when you actually had to fly to Maryland to train before you worked for Signal. To say I was impressed is an understatement. I liked her immediately. D is one of those people that you meet and feel like you have known your entire life; the kind of person everyone wants to be around. Her personality comes across over the phone as well. D genuinely cares. I'm sure others know her far better than I do, but how could anyone have ANY interaction with her and not know she cares? What other company can you email or call the head honcho, as busy as they are, and have them actually talk to you and address your concerns? When I see someone being critical of D, all I can think is that person must not know her at all.
Carlotta, thanks for the positive post and for putting things in perspective. Sometimes we (me included) focus on what is wrong instead of what is right. I feel sheepish for doing that. I have worked in a hospital, for MDI, for other companies and had my own accounts and in not one of those situations was there always, or even usually, a happy medium in regard to work flow. Too much or too little, feast or famine. I should know that by now, and yet I have at times let myself forget it and slip into a negative attitude.
Those of us at MDI-MD really do have a good thing. Maybe we should appreciate it more and complain less (me included).
I wasn't asking for the meeting minutes.
I wasn't even asking what is said. I wanted to know if they were sold. I DO NOT want to get hired into that company if they are off-shoring, plain and simple. A simple e-mail would have sufficed instead of attacking a simple question. You think they would have told this potential hire that information BEFORE I entered the company? No worries, I am not jumping onto that boat anyway. Will take 2nd choice.
Easy! I was invited to the meeting...
...and it's an account I work on. Everyone else who works on this account was also invited to the meeting. Otherwise why would it matter to the casual passer-by? Clients are not to be named on this board... or did I get that wrong, too?
Looks like poster anon was at the meeting too.
And you jumped down her neck as well. Are we in need of some Midol?
What meeting? I just left but would sure love to know
what is going on with OSI. I was there for four years. TIA
meeting line counts
I guess I am confused as I have not actually worked for Amphion, but my sister works there, is constantly changing accounts and having to do 2nd and 3rd account to get her lines, and consistently meets 2000 lines a day in about 6-1/2 hours. I don't understand how you could not meet their minimum line count...
I was counseled about not meeting my lines
when I had some personal issues that were making me very unreliable over several pay periods in a row...not just a day here or there, but I was only meeting about 60% of my lines for about 6-7 weeks.
I got a professional email offering to place me on a p.r.n. basis at a lower line rate, or get my act together and keep my promise by being reliable.
I looked at what was keeping me from making my lines, straightened out my issues (including having an outpatient surgery for something that had been dragging me down). After making my lines for 2 paychecks, I was sent another email thanking me for getting things fixed and patting me on the back for being the MT the person writing believed me to be.
They never dropped my pay. In fact, a few months later when I was able to increase my lines even more, I got a raise.
The point was that I committed to lines that I wasn't meeting (not due to lack of work) and they counseled me before giving up on me. If I hadn't pulled myself together, we would have parted ways. I needed that kick in the bum. I feel it made me a better MT and it made me feel better about myself in general. No one has ever said a word to me about not meeting my lines for lack of work...in fact, I usually get emails where they acknowledge the issue and reassure the team everything will be okay.
I think they are very professional, but they do have high expectations, which is why the best of the best work there.
I was told that it was going to be brought up at their next meeting...
hopefully something like that will be set up because I think it would be beneficial...
SPI account managers meeting
Well, Well....The account managers are at a conference in Nashville once again...I have heard rumors that some of them are going to fight for the MTs to get paid for headers/footers once again!!! GOOD LUCK TO THEM!! The last time they had a big account managers meeting like this (sometime last year) both my account manager and senior account manager left the next week!!!! Wonder how many they are going to lose this time??? I heard there is plenty of work now, but the problem is there isn't anyone left to type it, so they are trying to work to death the ones that are left...what a mess!!!
Do you have any problems meeting production?
What's "out of work" for you? Are you meeting your
minimum line count or barely scraping by?
Any comments on the Acusis/DRC meeting?
Sometimes change can be a good thing, BUT...I have to say that I wasn't feeling too warm and fuzzy by the end of the call. What's with letting go of key people? Or maybe I haven't been with Acusis long enough to know that it happens all the time, just part of the business.
Also not feeling too thrilled about the change from KS to LPH. I thought I'd lucked out and found a company who understood the nitty gritty of production and paid fairly, but now they're switching to how everyone else does it. I'll wait and see how it shakes out (once they get it together and figure out the magic conversion formula) but why am I thinking it's going to be downhill from here? Or maybe it's just a mild case of paranoia...like MQ deja vu all over again.
Raises were not the purpose of the meeting.... sm
Did you not hear it said that prices are down 25% overall in the industry over the last few years? How can a company give you a ____ cent-per-line increase if the industry prices are down?
Did you not hear about the technology they are implementing to help the MTs increase productivity?
Increased Productivity = Increased Paycheck.
Overall, I came away from the meeting with a very good feeling. I'm sorry if it was not the same for you.
Precyse MTs - Big meeting tomorrow
The big MT conference call meeting for all Precyse MTs is tomorrow. Anybody know what this might all be about?
also dock your pay for not meeting QA standards..nm
xx
You're welcome! Likewise to you! Nice meeting you!
Maybe I'll see ya in MQ world!! 
I haven't had the pleasure of meeting her or any of the liaisons, sm
but I do look forward to the part of the new forum with photos and profiles posted. It will be interesting to see if my mental pictures match the real thing.
I'm like you ... I do tend to fret and worry when work is slow, even though I know that ups and downs tend to be the nature of the business. I do believe, though, that everyone at MDI does the best they can to look out for us. It still doesn't stop me from worrying when I run out of work, but I do not feel angry or blameful ... just sometimes wonder if I can find an electric pole to plug my computer into if I become homeless (smile).
Thanks to you, C, and D for the positive posts. 
You are so correct! Years ago at an AAMT meeting, sm
we asked a local risk management physician lecture us. He stated, Your company (or office) is only as good as its worst employee.
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