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Focus Infomatics hires transcriptionists with NO experience on the Escription platform? Anyone else

Posted By: dinosaur? on 2007-05-20
In Reply to: Escription/Focus - Sue

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Focus Infomatics Inc.

This company has offered me a job.  I have never heard of them before.  Anybody have any info on them??? Good/Bad.. Thanks.


Focus Infomatics

 Can anybody tell me anything at all about Focus  I heard they are a good service to work for.  Anybody   ??


 


Focus Infomatics
Has anyone else had trouble collecting their paychecks from this company?
Focus Infomatics QA?
I was just hired by Focus Infomatics for QA. I'm coming from an entry-level job where I make a lovely, lovely 2 cents a line, whereas I've been told that with proper accuracy and shift differential I'll be making 7-8 cents a line at Focus. Any other QA for Focus? What's your average paycheck like? How's the workload?

Thanks so much.
Avoid Focus Infomatics!
I worked for Focus for a couple of months, and I absolutely hated it! They offshore their QA and tech support to India, and you can never understand a work they are saying when they call you to train you on their software, which is the worst program that I have ever transcribed in. It was always freezing up, losing connection to the VPN, and it cost me so much money because I kept losing work that I had done. Their tech support would take forever to respond when I IM'd them, and they were hardly ever very helpful at all. It is also true that they deduct pay for mistakes. I now work full-time for Cymed, and I am so much happier!
Focus Infomatics Job Posting
I thought I read something on this board at one time that a job ad for Focus was taken off because they are headquartered in India.  Just curious because I saw they have a new job posting on the Job Seeker's Board. 
Focus Infomatics has another ad on the jobs board

again


Anybody know anything about Focus Infomatics training period?
I received an offer for an internship of 2-3 weeks from Focus Infomatics....just wondering if anyone has worked for them and what I should expect?
Focus Infomatics - they assign work or you pick from database

I wanted to know from anyone who works at Focus if you are able to download work when you want to or is it assigned to you? I thought I heard that you can go onto the site and grab dictations when you wanted to instead of being assigned.


If anyone knows I would greatly appreciate !!


I hate to admit this, but the one good thing I learned Focus Infomatics
was the Escription platform. Trust me, that is the only good to come of it. I think even if you get a few months under your belt, you'd be better off for it.
Escription/Focus
I also work for Focus with Escription and I love it. I started as a newbie with them and I have received great training and because I have never been a super fast typist, I prefer VR over full transcribing, so I have a mix of both. My experience with Focus has always been good; there was low work volume at first, but there was a limit to the accounts I could do since I was a newbie. Now I have some experience under my belt and there are plenty of accounts to train on and they do not constantly switch you like some companies do. I still have the main clinic account I trained on a year ago, along with picking up some acute care accounts. I plan to stay with Focus/Escription for a long time.
Who hires with 2 years' experience?
I want to get back into MT work, but everything seems to be acute care/hospital dictation. I have some experience in that area but not 2-3 years' worth. Anyone have ideas?
Softscript hires people with satellite, Vista and your experience. sm
I will not argue with anyone over this, but here is my 2 cents. I have been with SoftScript for a pretty good length of time. They are overall a good company. I know in the past there has been management problems, but that has been solved for many, many months. If you want to, give them a try.
Escription platform - sm

Does anyone know what this platform is like. Is it MT friendly??


Thanks


 


Sorry, but do you like eScription platform?

Question about eScription platform
There are a lot of posts on the job seeker's board looking for eScription MTs and editors. eScription claims they don't offer their platform to MT companies, so how are these companies using this system? Seems strange.
eScription is a great platform
Easy and picks up the doctors like you would not believe- even ESLs good on this platform. I am so glad don’t have the other ASR that is talked about all the time.
Is EditScript and Escription the same platform? sm
I am only familiar with Dictaphone EXText, EXSpeech, and now EXEditor, but have heard that escription is even better than these platforms. I want to get my fact straight (the difference, if any, between EditScript and Escription) before applying for companies using those platforms. TIA!
Are all Escription accounts EditScript? I could not use this platform. sm
I see so many people that use Escription and like it.  Are there other Escription platforms, or are they all EditScript?
What platform? eScription Edit Script?

The platform is escription....and sorry about the typos in my previous post...

I was hired with no Escription experience... it really isn't hard to learn. sm
I don't know all the short keys yet and still use the mouse at times, but I'm getting used to it.
Escriptionists - how did you get experience on the platform? (sm)
As you can probably tell from my "name" I've been doing this a  l o n g  time.  I would like to learn the Escription platform, in particular because of my on and off carpal tunnel syndrome.  It has left me unable to type as much as I would like and my bottom line (paycheck) is showing it!  I still need to pay bills, however!  So, I'd like to switch over to editing as well as performing transcription.  Having had my own transcription company in the past I've done Q&A for years too!  But like everything else there's a "Catch 22" (anyone remember that book?).  You can't get the work until you know the system.  You can't learn the system if you don't get the work!  Is there a company out there that will teach (or let you learn on your own) the Escription platform? 
Anyone have any experience with the GEMMS platform? sm

I apparently will be using it soon, and I just wondered if anyone had any experience with it and it it is considered to be user friendly.


 


Thanks in advance.


I work on Escription platform and the adapter didnt work for me. I tried it on my laptop though
and the foot pedal would just not play correctly with the adapter. I think others have tried it and done it but it just didnt work for me.
deduct for errors, infomatics
thatnks for your response. it's in the contract i got from them sat. i am supposed to start training tomorrow. my friend works for them and loves it. i'm a little bit more skeptical i guess. all type never called me back and that was me. i have applied to lots of cos. this weekend and will probably hear from some tomorrow. i had my own service and am technologically deprived. we had tapes and c phones, no internet voice. this is all new to me. infomatics does say they pay ins. now if you are full time.
deduct for errors, infomatics
Just curious but where did you obtain this information? I've heard there is another company, (who will deny it but the MTs swear it happens) who deducts for errors. I do not know this firsthand, however.

Did you take the job with Infomatics?

When I spoke with them about a year ago they were at 8 cpl and just in case - they do not have insurance coverage, which is something I must have.

Also, did you make a post earlier about a company All Type and the recruiter didn't call you back? If that is you, did they finally call you - would you consider working for them at this point?

I have always tried to research any company I think I would like to apply to, prior to applying. I even go so far as to check their Dunn & Bradstreet scores, because I want to know how financially stable they are or are not, if they pay bills on time, etc. But I'm a little OCD and AR...LOL

Well, I've rambled enough...BUT,,,,Please let us know what you decide and BEST OF LUCK :-)
DEDUCT FOR ERRORS, INFOMATICS
Do all big co. deduct for less than 989% accuracy.  They deduct 5%  Really leary of this company and am supposed to train tomorrow.  Seems it stays at 8 cents forever with no differentials or anything.
Sorry this is for MQ new hires.

:


Amphion hires PT. nm

newbie hires
Listen, I don't know if this is going to help, but it is worth a try. I used to work for this company called TSI which is Transcription South, Inc here in Clearwater. I am a FL MT. The only reason I quit them was because they got into a bad partnership with a big nation company and ran out of work, and the big company renigned on their part of the partnership (and I am not allowed to say the other company), but that was a long time ago, and it was not TSI's fault. Otherwise, TSI is a good company. They have a website. (Transcription South, Inc, Clearwater, FL. What I am telling you is that the owner of the company used to take on newbies and his wife is a CMT. They run the company as husband and wife and they have family members working there. They used to have a mentoring program for newbies, His wife (a CMT) is active in the company as well as AAMT. She is wonderful; she takes in newbies. When I was with them, I transcribed, did QA and mentored newbies also. It is worth a try. It is a wonderful company and family operated. You can e-mail me and I will do what I can to help you. There are no guarantees, but I will help you all I can.
Who Hires M-Tec grads?
I just finished my coursework at M-TEC.  I can't wait for my test to be graded...and I'm itching to find a job.  Before my test, I was 95%.  I'm wondering if anyone knows what companies routinly hire from M-Tec so I can go looking now and not have to wait till I am able to access the COC on M-TEC's website?
Our company never, ever hires
They only hire for MT positions. One test and a few interviews are not really enough to assure that someone applying for a QA position has the skills and knowledge to hit the ground running on multiple accounts. I have seen applicants that previously held QA positions for other companies and professed to have immense amount of knowledge in a wide variety of specialties and acute be completely unable to pass audits as an MT on accounts that are not at all difficult. Also, QA personnel has to become familiar with the intricacies of each account and the individual dictators, not just the account guidelines. The best way to do that is to transcribe on the account or accounts that you will QA for. It is also the best way to judge whether the knowledge and skill you profess to possess is as thorough as you think it is.

That said, the people hired for an MT-to-QA opportunity who prove to be qualified usually spend less than 2 weeks working as an MT before moving to a strictly QA position.


MTSO with platform versus no platform (big message)

If a MTSO advertises that the MT works in MS Word and sends dictation by FTP, does this usually mean there will be no demographic/doctor database and the demographics will not be autopopulated?


 


I got into a mess with a small company (got out real quickly too).  I was required to print out daily email copies of the doctors' office patient schedules (which were barely legible) and type in all information.  I spent more time hunting for the correct patient through pages and pages of these schedules.  Then I had about 25 pages worth of doctor's names that I would have to go through to find the attending, referring, etc.  A total waste of time as I didn’t get paid for that. 


 


I wish MTSO would give more information as to what platform they use (if any).  Proprietary software is such a generic, totally useless description.  Would they buy a new car that listed, "Car has gasoline operated motor?" 


 


And for Pete's sakes, why so secretive about the pay?  Give a ballpark figure.  Just say, pay is between 7-12 cpl depending on skill, testing, etc. Tell me if you pay for spaces, headers, etc.  It would save them time because I wouldn’t even apply for a 7 cpl job. 


 


Before I spend an hour or two testing, I need more information from a company to be sure it is compatible for my needs.  If the MTSO would spend a little time on their website detailing their platform, how they send/receive files, pay rates,  how line rate is determined (spaces/no spaces) employee/IC/SE status, minimal line count, whether work pools consist of 100s of doctors, or smaller pools with 25-50 doctors etc.   Having all this information on their website would save them time and the MTs time.   Phoenix Medcom has a really good layout describing pretty much everything an MT would want to know before testing with them.  I am just tired of testing with a company and then finding out the job wasn’t exactly suited to my needs. 


Amphion hires coders, too.
Don't know about the prospects of looking for a job.  I don't know how much you make doing transcription of what you consider similar.  I think coders probably start out in the mid-20s per year up to 40s with some experience.  There are not as many billing jobs at home as there are remote coding opportunities.  Hope that helps. 
the manager hires three monkeys to do your job

True - although when an employer hires
someone with the understanding that we work holidays and that person then refuses, that's really dishonest on the employee's part.

I know several MTs who were hired on with the company that I work for, got set up, worked a few weeks or months, then when the holidays roll around they say that the employer KNEW that they would not work holidays or, in a few cases, weekends.

I completely write them off at that point. I don't offer them help anymore, NOTHING. That's playing dirty if you ask me.

The employer is put on the spot, has gone to the expense of setting them up at home, all of it, then to have the employee refuse to work any further holidays or weekends. Just dirty.

What really burns me is when someone makes the comment (more like whining) that they have kids at home and don't want to work when the kids are home. Spring break, Christmas, Thanksgiving...

As if NONE of the rest of us do!

Then these same people are the first ones to jump on board on their scheduled days off when an incentive is offered and completely drain the work from those of us who were already scheduled to work that day.


Nothing wrong with saying "new hires" sm
You "hire" a plumber, even though it's not your "employee," so I see no problem with someone saying an IC was a "new hire." The word hire means to engage for service under term of contract - that doesn't cross any line, IMHO.

Yes, the MTSO you contract with can be considered your client. All ICs are self employed, so yes, you are your own boss. However, the client is still your "boss," in the sense that they do have the control of your workflow. IOW, if you don't meet their expectations, they can choose not to use you anymore and find someone else who will. Be cautious how far you take that "not-my-boss" attitude because it can backfire on you is all I'm saying.

As far as stating your rates, absolutely. You can tell the MTSO what you charge as an IC. The MTSO also has the option of saying no thanks. Just like if a plumber charges more than what you are willing to pay, you can move on to the next plumber. If the MTSO tells you what they are willing to pay and it's not what you desire, you have the option to say no thanks, too. However, I do not think an MTSO is crossing any line by saying "this is what we are willing to pay." If you go to a physician's office, they are going to do the same and tell you what they are willing to pay. You absolutely have the right to say "Well, this is what I charge," and they can then decide if they want to continue to do business with you or find another service that is within their price range.
I believe TT hires part time. Try them.
nm
Ad for new hires 2 weeks ago, no work last week or this :(

No work for basically 2 weeks on either my main account or backup.  Can't help but wonder how many new hires have plenty.  I've been sitting here with absolutely nothin' for nearly 10 days and even tried on the weekend.  I love the account, but a girl's gotta eat!


Anybody else, or just my accounts?


Diskriter only hires FULL TIME - sorry
no message
I believe fantastic transcripts only hires locals - sm
But I am not sure. If that is the company out in Burbank/LA - I thought they only hire within 30 minutes of the area. I could be wrong.
Ascend is Idian owned and hires newbies -
NM
Platform versus non-platform (templates)?

I've been working for MTSOs for years now, using their templates which sometimes cause productivity problems (macro issues, etc). I'm wondering if productivity is increased when working on a structured platform, such as one that a national company provides for its transcriptionists?  I've never used a platform, but it would seem that all one needs to do is straight type onto the screen and the platform program takes care of margins, page breaks, etc?


Any thoughts (as well as companies who are hiring who use platforms) would be appreciated.  Thanks


I am extremely curious as to what new hires do when they find out they have not work. Do they quit,
do they get transferred, what happens to them.
I don't know of any store in my area that hires people full-time.
That includes Walmart, K-mart, grocery stores, etc. So I guess it's all slave labor. In fact, any transcription company that does not hire employees must also be the same. They certainly save themselves a lot of money under the guise of Independent Contractors, don't they?
We see that you only focus

On the negatives!  What about the children who were born into this poverty through no choice of their own?


You take the negatives only in this tragedy, what a very closed mind you have


Anything to help you focus?
I am very distracted by everything while I work.  I don't think I have ADD.  I hope not anyway.  I just cannot focus for more than 20-30 minutes at a time.  Is there an herb or over-the-counter medication to help you focus?  I have tried Ginko and it seems to help a little.  I just want to be more productive during the day rather than going back and forth to the Internet and taking breaks constantly.  Thanks.
Focus

I have worked at Focus for just over a year now as an IC and I really like it there.  Everyone is very pleasant and helpful.  Any problems or concerns that I may have are addressed right away.  I have plenty of work to keep me busy.  They offer benefits if you are employee status, but you can also choose to be an IC.  They also have direct deposit.  I do transcription only, but they also have VR if you want to do that (you don't have to if you don't want to).  I work on the Dictaphone ExText platform but I know they have other platforms as well.


The bottom line is that they are a great fit for me.  I have had a really great experience with them.  No complaints at all.   


FOCUS-sm
  Thanks very much for the info. 
LOL!! Focus, focus, focus!! nm