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Serving Over 20,000 US Medical Transcriptionists

Been undercut, after 4 years, losing account, I am sure.

Posted By: MTSO on 2006-01-24
In Reply to:

I am a small MTSO and have had this physician group for 4 years since I started my service. I have always charged them just a flat rate per 65 character line, which in the North East I feel is reasonable - 14 cents per line. Never charged them extra for reprinting reports they have lost (which have been many over the years) and I always did the printing and delivering daily for them. Now some other vendor comes in and says they only charge 11 cents per line. This group comes back to me and says that their "final offer is 12 cents per line".... I told them, no way....MY final offer is 13 cents and NO PRINTING! Did I do the right thing?


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Losing account--please help
Hi...I am an IC who has been doing several doctors from a hospital account by way of picking up tapes.   I just found out yesterday that the hospital account I have been doing has decided to have the doctor dictate into their system and have a MT service do those accounts.   Is there any way I can propose to keep those accounts as what would I need to access their system so that I can still ....I need help fast......and just need to know what to do.  Thank  you anyone that can share some insight into this....... 
Losing account

I am so sorry about your situation.  I just recently lost my hospital job on Monday.  What a way to start a Monday.  They laid me off due to shortage of work.  I have only been there for 5 months.  I do not know what is happening with this industry.  They are always thinking they are going to find it for a cheaper rate and sacrifice quality.  It seems like the Docs do not care anymore and it is a shame because these are people's important documents and it should not be compromised.  I am calling all the Docs that I did at the hospital and see if they are in need of a transcriptionist.  I probably will run into your situation also.


Good Luck. When God closes a door, he opens a window and I believe everything is for a reason. You may not see it but we will down the road.




 


 


 


 


losing account
I wish you didn't have to back through the interviewing again....but you'll be just fine! Who knows, maybe you'll work for the service that the hospital hires! On a side note, how did you find that picture of my boyfriend, Dr. Christian whats-his-name on NipTuck?
Losing account to EMR

So I am losing 2 accounts to EMR December 1. Anyone know exactly HOW the EMR works.  I'm wondering is there still a way for the MT to be involved without losing the account?  I'm sure there are different EMR programs, but has anyone had experience with EMR?? 


 


Yup, if you don't mind losing the account and/or
can afford it. I can relate - have been in the same boat. Its a cut-throat business. Chances are if they go with the new service, they'll be back calling on you when they find the quality of service lacking. But then again, they may not. Its hard, and I'm sorry for your situation.
To DepressedMT who is losing an account ... SM

I just saw your post from several days ago.  I hope you see this message.  It is not difficult at all to start transcribing .wav files, and you'll love it.  Express Scribe is a transcription program that plays many types of digital voice files, and it's a free download at http://www.nch.com.au/scribe/.  You'll only have to buy a foot pedal for it for around $75.  Digital voice files are so much clearer than tapes.  Once you change over to it, you'll wish you'd done it long ago. 


If you need any help or have questions, please feel free to post back here to email me.  I don't come here often, but I'll try to remember to check back often because of this thread.  In fact, I rarely ever came before, but I really like the new management/ownership and definitely will try to visit more often.  Let me know if I can help with this. 


I have had the same account for six years - sm
One of the doctors hates using tapes ... so he decided that he would dictate over the internet. Guess what? He hated it.

Then he decided that the whole office should use a transcription service. Guess what? He found out with each transcription service that if you wanted a stat letter done it cost him about $35!! $35 for a two page letter!! And he was angry because none of the companies would print the letters. They wanted to send them back by email and have his staff print them out! They also charged various line rates for various letters, which was totally ridiculous.

I charge $5.00/page to transcribe the doctors letters, they fed ex me my tapes no matter where I am (and they pay for the fed ex). Guess what? I'm still more cost effective than the transcription services. I manage a same day to 48 hour turnaround time. My bill averages around $600-800 month and I have never worked more than 20 hours a month for the group.

Don't fret it. I have found over the years that doctors will always try to find a cheaper alternative to getting things done, but I have never ever been let go because of bad transcription, and whenever this has happened, I can guarantee you this .... they will call you back!!! I can almost promise you that!

My doctors have come to rely on the fact that they have been able to call me on my cell phone and ask me if I could call them back before the end of the day because they have a stat letter that needs to be done. I tell them what time I will call, transcribe the letter, email it to them, or print it from where I am and mail it to where it needs to go. Now keep in mind that they don't do this all the time, but I would probably say on the average of about 4-5 times a day. They will never find that with a transcription service.

I have never raised my rates. I take my time off around the main doctor's schedule. I have even tried to find a replacement a couple of times for them for when I really needed the time off - and it all comes back to this - I am a perfect fit for my doctors, and they now know that.

So cheer up. You'll be surprised - they will call you back.
The key here is 1 account for many, many years.
How many dictators? I made that good before DQS, and of course, MQ lost the accounts. Now on an account that you never get the same dictator twice in a shift. Makes it extremely difficult. Happy for you, hope it continues.
I had my own account years ago
transcribing for an office of 4 docs. They all admitted they were were terrible at grammar and such and it was my job to make them look good on paper, but they were paying me very well for this at $25 an hour. Just a few years ago another account I had with 2 docs it was the same thing at 15 cents per line. Unfortunately, all these accounts went to an MTSO at less than half of what they paid me.

Now I am with one of the major companies as employee and it is the same as you are saying, QA inconsistent and always getting dinged for fixing things and dinged if you don't, at slave wages compared to what it used to be.
Yeah, QT. Same account for 4 years. nm
nm
Same for me, I made more 10 years ago. It depends so much on account, SM
work type(for me), and expanders. I find it hard to stay motivated when report after report is ESL and a work type I can't make money on. The above poster likes radiology, I like OPs. It is easier to stay motivated when you have that.
I've had a Hotmail account for years
They are updating it to "Windows Live Hotmail" which is much more like Outlook Express. You have 2 gigs of free storage space if you need it. I only use a fraction of that - it is the address I use when I'm ordering something online so I won't get tons of spam in my "regular" email.
Undercut
I have been on both sides.  An account was taken away and I have gotten a couple due to my lower cpl and they have stayed with me for over 10 years.  It all depends on what you feel is a decent profit.  To me because they are clinic notes, I type faster- have more normals, templates, etc. and so I am able to make $35 to $45 per hour at 11 to 12 cpl which I feel is very adequate.  I would not sit around though and wait for the account to come back as there is a chance that they might not.  Just because someone charges less does not mean that they are inadequate or poor quality.   I am constantly being told on this board and by others that I don't charge enough but to me I do. You just have to push on and get another account.   You are in a different location than I am so we can't really compare cpl's as I am out in Oregon and you are back east. 
Undercut

When you speak to your client - nicely ask them if the other company will be charging on a 65-character line or lower?  I have found that several companies never get that they are being charged at a lower rate per line based on a 50 or 55 character line count which when you do the math - means they are paying the same or more.......investigate and know what you charge for and then present that to them.  Do you charge for spaces, headers, footers, bolding, etc.....


If they are smart - they will check - if they say that they do not care - you can always go to a 55-character line too.


 


I've lost a local account today that I have had for five years......

I cannot believe that this happened to me today.  I went into one of my doctor's offices this afternoon to pick up his tape for today.   I was given a tape and told that his wife, who is the office manager, wanted to see me in her office.  I thought nothing of it because she sometimes has extra things that she wants me to type up for her and we talk quite often also.  


She tells me that she just has not gotten around to talking with me yet, but  "tomorrow we will start dictating through a company over the internet".  I was blown away!  She said she wanted to give me a break and that if it does not work out she will let me know.   The whole time she was tell me this she was writing me a check as I had just turned in an invoice.   


My first inclination was to throw that #@%$ tape at her and say "do it yourself", but I knew that wasn't the "professional thing" to do.  I was thinking how could she do this to me, not even a 24 hour notice.  She handed the check to me, I snatched it and walked out. 


I have had this account for five years exactly (began August 1, 2000).   I have never took a day off, never raised my rates, never asked anything of them, and my work has always been the best possible quality.  I have been the most dependable person they have could had.   I have passed up other accounts because of them, and I always put them first.   Thank goodness I have other accounts to fall back on.   In our town, there is only one other transcriptionist besides myself, and we both have more work than we can handle most of the time.


Just thought I'd remind all those other MTs out there that no matter how good we are and no matter how much we try to please everyone we are still not appreciated.  I will never be fooled again.  No one will ever receive the attention from me that I gave them.  


You might check with valuationbroker. Don't undercut yourself
as that is what people who buy businesses regularly look for.  They look for people who are not educated at selling businesses.  See the link below.
3-1/2 years experience, type cardio only on clinic account, and make 9 cpl nm
nm
Lost account of 28 years to Dictaphone because hospital believes it will eliminate all transcription
Curious if any of you are working for Dictaphone or Infomatics and doing an account out of Miami with mainly ESL dictators?  I was convinced I would not lose the account after a few days with VR. However Dictaphone is not using VR right away and will transcribe reports the regular way until they have a database. I am certain this hospital will never be done by VR. I posted a job on here about a year ago offering 18 cents per line to help with this account and not one person  accepted after hearing the ESL doctors we have. They are that bad.  Anyone else have this happen to them? Losing to Dictaphone  And we have had to do most of the work for over a month since they supposedly took over because their system is not working.          
MQ's "daddy" underwrites them so they can undercut competition. They aren't

And if you aren't MQ Rosie then I guess I'm not calling you stupid now am I?


 


She probably undercut your rate. Just like India MTs. Another reason for union.
dd
You undercut yourself, which drives prices down industry-wide. sm
For a hospital, NEVER go under $0.16 per line to start. Most will want to negotiate and the lowest should be 0.14 per line.
What is the difference between an acute care account and a multispecialty account??..nm
nm
I've never had a problem switching from account to account.
The problem I had was being switched too soon. If I don't get one account spec solidly in my memory with QA feedback on mistakes before starting another, I get confused. The other problem I had with former jobs was inconsistent QA. One person tells you one thing, another person tells you another.

Lately, I don't have a problem with it. Right now, my binder has 8 account specs (some I've never had to use) and I'm picking up a new weekend job for a while. The terminology and report formats stay basically the same. It's just all those little preferences. LOL
Losing 500 lbs

Thanks for being so blunt.  You're right, I haven't been respecting myself by staying in this situation and I only have myself to blame. Every day I feel more and more drained, physically, mentally and emotionally. It is a very unhealthy situation.  I was stupid and had those rose-colored glasses on when I made a hasty decision to marry him last year. I don't respect anyone who is content with just lounging around watching TV and the like, does not contribute to the responsibilities of the household or to society at large and sucks taxpayer's money dry by being on bogus disability.


Losing Mind
I guess about now after five weeks, I would be losing my mind too, seeing that the father was let go, even though he told those boys, no body, no crime, and the other two boys are let go.  What lawyer father would tell his son no body, no crime and then not wonder what is going on?  Of course, he knows what went down.  Any law abiding father, when he sees that a girl is missing and his son, who was with her the night before asked about no body, no crime would go to the police.  You think Natalees mother is acting like she lost her mind, I would be much worse.  I would be protesting in front of the rich kids house, I would be speaking out every chance I got, shame the police into doing their job, which they obviously are not doing too well.
Losing battle, Huh?
By the way, I have never even had my ears pierced, and now I'm too old to care.
Losing hearing
Does anybody else feel that over time their hearing has deteriorated due to the constant noise from wearing headphones?
Might be growth not losing MTs. xx
xx
losing lines
I work for a company, shall remain nameless but has been on this board, and is now, tons. They STEAL our lines and think we are so dumb and do not realize it. Do not even ask where your lines go, line count different from day to day as to what one has typed the previous day, and you will get no response. The money goes to the CEOs. There was an article today that stated CEOs average pay is 350,000 a year, while their employee salary is 28,000. That BITES big time. We slave, they gain. That is where the money goes.
Losing lines
Soon the only jobs that will not be outsourced will be manual labor jobs. We are losing our jobs constantly to cheaper labor. Imagine how much money these CEOs save by sending our work? That is what sickens me to death. My friend's husband is in manual labor and has to work out of time due to lack of work in his own state. This is a sad, sad world we live in.
Are they losing accts? Do

The work has dried up.   Again I won't make a full paycheck.  Others are saying the same thing.  I think you may be right.  Especially if you are an employee.  But wasn't that their plan from the start?


I can't imagine what this package is they are sending out. 


Unless they are going to offer to provide equipment, sufficient work/or a plan to give me lines (like on-call pay) for sitting with nothing to do IN WRITING, and a raise of 5 cents a line, the package will probably go in the round file right here beside me.


That is so sad. I hate to think about losing our pup

He's 4, but he's still our pup. Just a mutt, but he's a sweetie.


Tell your mom that a bunch of Mainers are sorry for her loss.


Losing faith...

Well every year I think things can't be any worse than the last.  This year dealing with disturbing financial woes, working too much and a rebellious daughter. How do people some people go through all this and still keep their faith in God and life in general.  Sometimes I just want to throw my hands up in the air and just forget it. 


 


Sorry, just got more bad news and here alone working and needed to vent. 


losing weight sm
I lost 105.5 pounds total and have kept it off for a year (gained 10 pounds back with this pregnancy, but I am 32 weeks along).  I had to follow a more structured plan to actually lose weight.  I used the Weight Watchers calculator and books to lose weight, but I did not go to meetings.  I went from 235.5 to 130 on a 5 foot 5 frame.  I don't follow the program now, but I have learned how to eat.  I used to eat because I was bored, tired, etc.  Not anymore! 
Losing a client
You have my empathy.
This happens with the big companies too. The MT is the last to know that client whose account they have worked on will not renew a contract. I worked 60 days in a row on an account to help catch it up not knowing the Co. was losing the account. I felt betrayed because during that time I could have been trained for something else. I was on a C-phone at the time, and others had already been trained on newer systems. Things really can be quite thoughtless/heartless when regarding the MTs feelings. Makes one feel like just a number. Or as they say a "Human Resource" I that that word..... it sounds like an entity that uses-up, wads-up, and then discards. What ever happened to personnel? Once again, you have my empathy.
MTs losing jobs

I'm sorry to hear about you losing your job. One comment said that MTs are losing jobs all over the place. Could someone tell me more about this ... the loss of MT jobs. I'm new and I'm trying to decide whether to train as an MT or not. Thanks for all your help. I am soooooo undecided.


amelia 


losing business
Obviously, you have secure accounts.  I recently have lost 1/3 of my income due to VR, and I am sitting out in the middle of no where where we cannot get DSL.  Wireless may be a possibility, but have been working on this for over a year.  So, yes modern technology is great, but when the rest of your income has been limited with no overtime, and you count on that side job, modern technology hurts.
losing MT jobs

Transcription jobs are becoming very slim in Central Minnesota.  One hospital outsourced to India, and two hospitals send to a service company.  Our hospital may end up going VR which will most likely put half of us out of work too.  Either way you look at it, it is a dying profession.  Like someone said, you have to work twice as many hours to make enough money to live on - so don't talk about those poor poverty stricken people overseas.  Without jobs here, we are going to be all poverty striken as well.  How do we make a house payment and pay our taxes so they can send the money to these countries! 


Possibly losing my job due to VR...

I was told that the clinic I MT for is considering an expensive VR program.  The person that told me works for them too and said that it is about 98% accurate.  She also said it might be something I should consider in order for my IC business to grow.  Hello?  Why would I invest in something I know the medical field would pay for in substitution for hiring an MT?  She told me that this VR program costs about $4,000 but she did not know the product make.  Is there really a VR product that accurate for that amount of money?  If so, then I think it is time for me to get out before I am no longer needed.       


Topic is now losing by 2%
Please go vote so others in this country might be made a little more aware of the problems outsourcing is causing this country!
losing acct

Hello Patty,


I lost an acct about two yrs ago and it hurt, but I wasn't backing down.  The OM of one clinic knew the OM of another clinic I typed for and they mentioned to each other how much they were paying me per line.  The OM from the higher paying clinic called me and asked why I was charging her clinic more.  I told her first of all it wasn't really any of her business, but the other acct I had had for 10 yrs and I billed them 50,000 lines/mth, plus I picked up tapes every day.  Her particular clinic I only had about 6 mth., billed about 3000 - 5000 lines/mth, and didn't get tapes every day.  Needless to say, I never picked up another tape from that clinic, but that's the way it goes sometimes. 


Are you snoozing and losing?
Maybe you ought to check for the good stuff too!  Just a thought...
You are surely losing a lot
doing this. Why not check as you are doing and spell check at end. It seems like you are shooting yourself in the foot by rereading each report. I never do and just got my quarterly report yesterday and had a 99.9% accuracy.
Yes . . . I know, but I am afraid of losing my job if I do.
nm
losing internet connection off and on

Losing internet connection happened quite a bit for me.  I kept calling Comcast, they said to reboot.  I had a computer tech out to look at the computer and they deleted a bunch of junk and it ended up my cable modem was bad.  It was 3 years old.  I got a new one and it works great now.


She ended up losing the baby and she did tell him about it.
xx
MTs are not the only ones losing jobs to over seas
Businesses May Move Health Care Overseas

Published: 11/2/06, 7:47 AM EDT
By MALCOLM FOSTER and MARGIE MASON






























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NEW DELHI, India (AP) - Businesses and insurance companies are starting to eye the potential savings of outsourcing health care from the world's richest country to the developing world.


"It's just one of the many ways in which our world is flattening," said Arnold Milstein, chief physician at New York-based Mercer Health & Benefits, who's researching the feasibility of outsourcing medical care for three Fortune 500 corporations. "Many companies see it as a natural extension of the competition they've faced in other aspects of their business."


With an estimated 45 million uninsured Americans, some 500,000 trekked overseas last year for medical treatment, according to the National Coalition on Health Care. Asian hospitals in Thailand, India and Singapore have long been swarmed by medical tourists looking for tummy tucks and face lifts, but many glitzy, marble-floored facilities are now gaining reputations for big-ticket procedures including heart surgery, knee and back operations.


Some American hospitals already rely on places like India for X-ray readings and other diagnostics, while also importing foreign doctors and nurses. But the U.S. health care industry has been largely immune to overseas competition - just one reason behind soaring costs.


Premiums for employer-sponsored health coverage have surged 87 percent over the past six years, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, putting a huge burden on both companies and employees. Family health coverage now runs about $11,500 annually, with workers themselves forking out nearly $3,000.


But just as shipping U.S. manufacturing to China and call centers


It is so good to know I'm not just losing my mind!
Just out of curiosity, what does the 'sticky key feature' do? What benefit is there in using it?
oops... I'm 46.. and obviously losing my mind slowly.. nm
.
Used to be a MENSA candidate but because I'm getting older, I'm losing it, only 140
x
Treadmill is best for losing fat, done in the morning before breakfast. sm
If you do it before you eat, you will burn fat instead of glycogen. This may take a bit of getting used to at first, but it also makes your day go better because once your body gets use to it, it provides a lot of energy. Do this every other day for about 30-45 minutes, but no more than that.

Everybody has a sixpack - just a matter of getting down to it.