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I have a 100% discount for you. Don't take the test! It's worthless as is the association be

Posted By: Tinks on 2006-12-18
In Reply to: CMT application questions - Chris




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Not MT association, but a TRANSCRIPTION association.
This includes general transcriptionists, legal transcriptionists, etc. I did sign up because it was free for now. I am curious to see where this goes.
How is it that my opinion is worthless
and yours is always the only opinion that is right? Everyone has a right to say what they want. If you don't like it, then don't respond. People could say the same about your 2 cents. You think you know everything, but you sound like a Fat Sajak most of the time. See ya later B-town.
You are so right - it's basically worthless
nm
Many of us agree that it is worthless...

Very few companies pay more for being a CMT.  The so-called "credential" is not valued nor recognized by MOST healthcare facilities as well as individual doctors.  This is not just an opinion, but it is a FACT based on research with which I am currently involved.  (Whether a CMT differential is paid is only one small bit of information collected).


Also, you said, "...The name change came to be to allow others who work in the industry access to the association should it be their wish to join.  Previously those people had been excluded."


Those wishing to join who had previously "been excluded" are not American MTs.  It is common knowledge that the AAMT will collect a dollar wherever they can, including from off-shore MTs that are running the industry into the ground through both poor quality and accepting sub-par pay.


Taking "American" out of the name is very fitting. 


The AAMT had NEVER been a true representative of American MTs.  Even the BOS is simply a money maker.  It could be very useful.  However, arbitrarily changing some of the most basic rules of grammar by putting those new "rules" in a book is ridiculous.  By what authority does someone just CHANGE grammar rules???  Now that two editions of the BOS are published, you can be sure someone is working on changing more rules to enable a third edition to come out.


Hogwash!  AAMT, BOS...all pure HOGWASH. 


Maybe some here should get together, form an MT organization, decide to publish a book with our own new set of grammar and other rules, make up a test (and even charge to take the beta version), and issue a "credential" to those who pass. 


That would be exactly what the AAMT has done. 


Unfortunately, some online schools push the CMT until all their new grads think it is the coolest thing on wheels.  Only when they get a bit of real-world experience do they realize (hopefully) that they wasted their money.  Oh, and now while they wiat two years before they can sit for the CMT, they have the RMT (equally useless) so they can donate to the AAMT early on.


AAMT/worthless
Once upon a time....I was a cheerleader for this organization. I was a local and state chapter board member, committee chairperson, worked in the ranks. We went to meetings in other states to support out colleagues. We held big symposiums that took a lot of planning and attendees gained CECs. The national group from AAMT was never supportive of the local or state chapters -- it was all about their presence and money. They never listened to our members' concerns or delegates/members views. National had an agenda and the rank and file were not a part of their plans.
Take note that many many productive chapters have folded over the years. There was a time when AAMT was very anti on-line presence.
AAMT sold us down the river, as someone else said. Previous national board members were very involved with training and providing work off-shore, under cutting bids for work, at a time when they were hiding these facts. Many of them were never in the trenches and they were more concerned with corporate politics than the working MTs.
As for the CMT credential, that's a personal choice, but most of us never saw any benefit, and it was not cost effective. It's another way for AAMT to make money.
.... and the list goes on.
If you are already an MT, school is worthless
I have been an MT for nearly 10 years, OJT for me, as well, and I can tell you, I have never felt the need to go to school to get a piece of paper that tells people what I already know... I'm good at my job. The only thing that might possibly get you a better paying job is certification. If I was going to waste a year on studying something I already know, it would be for that. If I owned an MTSO, I would take a veteran MT who had OJT over a newly-schooled MT anyday. Give yourself some credit!
TL is a do nothing, worthless added layer of
management to make some people think they are more important than they really are.  Most of them know jack-sh** about anything, are just company pets and get paid to be a PITA.  
It's a test in progress to measure what MTs know and what type of test to give for the SM
different levels of MTs.  It's over $90.  That's a lot of money to pay to someone who is giving these tests for research as to what type of testing should be done for the different levels of MT.  The AAMT will probably take the results and make a test that they can give in India or the Phillipines or some other foreign country. 
tuning fork test: Is it about a hearing test? .See inside
A whisper is about 20 dB
Loud music (some concerts) is around 80 to 120 dB
A jet engine is about 140 to 180 dB

Hope I could help
Money is worthless in that kind of disaster.
i
Then that makes the "wonderful" features of IT worthless.

IT takes so long to get used to using that increase is production you may eventually get is not enough to cover for the money you lose while trying to learn the program.  If you have to memorize everything, you might as well use Autocorrect. 


Shorthand is much better and easier to use. 


 


This kind of post is worthless without reasons. nm
:l
Forget the worthless AAMT certification
It will help you a lot more in the long run.
If you want to sue, you MUST have damages to sue for. GO to the DOCTOR or a suit is worthless.

I've seen enough Judge Judy (I love her, too!) to know this. If you have no damages, you get no money. With no PROOF of damages, you basically have no damages.


You would need to take pictures of any scrapes and bruises that you have as a result of being dragged, falling, the leash pulling you, etc. You also need a doctor's report.  A judge won't just take your word that you were hurt. Good luck!


Never heard of RMT. In my experience, CMT is worthless in the job market.
x
...counter not working... does that make them worthless?
Thanks DeeAnn, that link helped confirm what I thought. Neither of the counters are working on these two machines. Everything else is (tone,speed, etc. adjustments), peddle, power and headsets are all fine. Just no counters. Out of curiosity, do the counters not working tremendously devalue them? The neighbor was offering to give me one of three machines if I'd sell the two remaining ones, hence my involvement and interest. I've wondered about getting into MT (lord knows I can't handle full-scale court reporting school but am quick to learn, fast on keyboard and diligent though I need to sharpen grammar and proofing a bit). I was going to ebay these but with broken counters not sure what they are potentially worth, if too low then he may not want to part with anything. Otherwise, I'd go ahead... Refurbs are outrageously expensive but say around $50 each unit - is that asking too much? Opinions?
Not a medical typing test but this website can test you..

It's called www.typingtest.com


Atleast it will give you an idea.. Sadly, I had to take it twice before I passed it LOL


Why would they do a microalbumin test when she has the period? A lot of test s will come out wrong
Why would they do a microalbumin test when she has the period? A lot of tests will come out wrong.
Neer's test is a shoulder impingement test

Don't think that has to do with the knee.  How about "bucket handle tear" of the knee?  Never heard of Neer having anything to do with the knee. 


Discount
Yeah, it is a discount plan, which means no pre-existing conditions, no claim forms. I didn't sign up for the medical part of it, which is available here in Tennessee. I just signed up to get the dental benefits. I needed a lot of work done on my teeth (3 crowns, 1 filling, a bridge, and a root canal) and it has saved me a ton of money using AmeriPlan.

I mainly just wanted to make people aware, especially Transcriptionist like myself, that if you don't have insurance, this could be an option. Or if you do have insurance, you could still use it and save even more money.
Discount
If you go to the link I posted it says in big letters that it is not insurance, that it is a discount program. I'm not trying to fool anyone. I signed up for it myself through my father-in-law. It may not be available in all states. You can go to www.ameriplanusa.com or www.ameriplanhealth.com to find a provider near you. I live in Tennesse and have a regular dentist that accepts it and my husband and son go to an eye doctor that accepts it.

Discount
You don't have to give me your email address.

Here's the website, go check it out for yourself. I am a member myself, but somebody has got to sell it, right? It really is a good benefit.

www.everyonebenefits.com/BradfordInc

Thanks.
Discount -from below
I charge a decent price, I make VERY good money, have had my accounts for 5 to 18+ years, have never had a bounced check, am always paid within 48 hours of receipt of invoice,they NEVER question my line counts so if it costs me 1% per month - to me it is worth it.  They also give me free medical care, medication samples which more than makes up for the small discount that I give.  So though many of you disagree - it works for me.  I can pay my bills on time because I can COUNT on the checks to pay them.  No hassle at all.  I get it back in different ways.  One antibotic prescription per year makes up for it.
There is an association whom I believe has
a whole guideline of QA scoring on their website. I do know that having 2 critical errors in one job is NOT good, though, no matter the company. One critical error really brings down your percentage - can't imagine two.
I wouldn't discount sm
on-line dating but there are so many weirdos out there these days that I would be EXTREMELY careful and follow all the precautions that have ever been written on the subject.  In addition to meeting in a public place, hopefully with someone with you, I would be extremely careful that I wasn't being followed when I left the date.  From what I've read many, if not most, of the mass murderers came across as being very nice guys but then you really don't know anyone when you first meet them no matter where you meet them.  I recall at least one of the infamous mass murderers was well-educated, well-liked and apparently well-respected in his community.   I don't think I would ever go for the internet dating myself but apparently there are quite a few people who  have been successful in finding their mate that way; I just don't happen to know any personally.  I don't think probably it would be any worse than any other way of meeting people, you'd have probably a 50/50 chance of meeting someone you would want to spend your life with and a 50/50 chance is about the best we're gonna get in this life no matter what we're gambling on; we only have a 50/50 chance of making it through this day.
They probably got a discount since they are outdated.
 
CMT (Indian MTs have discount)
Sadly, I am slowly moving from lower middle class to poverty level since pay cuts as a full-time MT.

After numerous requests for some kind of help toward paying for the certification, I am told by AHDI (AAMT) discounts are not even being considered in the near future.

With the future so bleak for the future of MT, I am not sure why I should put out all that money. I am bringing home less than $300/week after taxes and health care...? How do I justify the $287 or so cost, when I have my utilities threatened to be shut off every other month for simply just not having the money...

For me, I do not have a partner who supports me. Am I the only one in this boat?
go with a discount plan, sm
you can use YOUR dentist, not just anyone on a list - ask at your dentist's office what discount plans they accept and look them up on the web. just like insurance, they all cover differently. Similar, tho.

the main reason I went this way is because there is no hot-shot company of office workers on the other side of the country playing doctor and denying claims. They are doing that more often in these days. I was shocked when it happened to me with a cracked tooth - then EVERYONE told me they went through the same thing with their companies.

you don't need any suprises like that - to the tune of thousands of dollars.
Homeowners' Association
Most neighborhoods around here have a homeowner's association. I think at our townhouse we used to have we got approval for landscaping, but now we have a single-family house with a yard. We were supposed to check before changing the color of the house, but we just changed it from a faded cream-yellow to a very subtle, hard-to-describe yellow/green/beige. It's very easy on the eyes, so I knew they wouldn't take notice. I also had a carpenter add some extra trim over the windows and garage door. It looks a little less plain with more white trimwork. We also took out many small trees and big bushes and put in other trees and bushes, and have had no complaints. But I see somebody in the neighborhood painted their house a bright blue-green, similar to my Stedman's Equipment Words book. It's hideous, even if there is some brick on the front of the house to tone it down a little. Now they should be fined. I pity their next-door neighbors.
Do you have a homeowner's association where you are? If you do maybe you could
mention it to them or the landlord or someone else that will handle it.  She will probably know it is you, but at least you won't have the stress of having to deal with it.   I have a neighbor I have similar issues with and I told him off in not such nice language and told him I wasn't going to put up with it and since then things have been a lot better.   Our association as a newsletter and they were going to put an article in it talking about property line issues and respecting your neighbor, maintaining you property, etc.   We've been here 34 years and he has been here 10 years.  I keep hoping he will move as one daughter is getting married this summer and another graduating high school (unless she flunks again), but he keeps doing repairs to his house, keeps adding on to the deck, etc. so I don't think he is going anywhere soon.  
Need an association who gets back to being for MTs!
I wish somehow we could start a new group from the bottom up, like AAMT did way back when - with a new mission that takes into account all the changes, as well as how AHDI has taken the MTs back so far in pay and other issues.

Anyone think it's possible?
Don't discount ops. That's how I make my big production. SM
There are SO many phrases you can shortcut. They're all the same! I insist on working where I only type ops.
So do you think gas stations should discount gas for us pumping our own gas?
I'd rather scan and bag items I am purchasing, folding them the way I want to and separating them then pump gas out in the cold with the smell of gasoline on my hands.
Not to discount your fear right now, but didn't her doc

advise her that the risks involved with surgery would include perforation of organs, and other complications, including death. Medicine is unfortunately an inexact science, and doctors are, after all, only human. May not be a clear cut case of malpractice, may "merely" be an unfortunate complication.


I've seen many people rush into a lawsuit, only to have their lives and money consumed by them, to find out they don't understand legal concept of malpractice and even if malpractice, if the insurance company has a better lawyer, you can lose anyway.


For now, I would focus my energy on praying rather than suing...


 


 


Students get a hefty discount
If you're in continuing education, could you still call yourself a student?  I don't know, but when I bought it, I just had to tell them I was a student and I got a discount.
Discount - sorry long message
I do offer my docs a 1% discount if they pay within 3 days and especially if their account does go over $1000 I get my check the next day.  One of my newest accounts did not apply their discount to their second bill and I was told "You work hard,  the work is returned on time, good quality, Dr. C______ is not the easiest person to work for and I did not take off your discount because you deserve every penny of your invoice."   He is a dermatologist, has lots of Op notes, good gross line count and he is really not that hard to do, lots of shortcuts but he does have an irritating habit of clearing his throat about every 5th line but you get used to it.  But again I have been luck, all accounts pay within 3 days at the longest, never a bounced check and never a question on my line counts.  But along my 15 to 18 years of doing this, I have had my share of poor ones but for the past 7-8 years I cannot complain.  I have older docs who will probably retire in the next 10 years but then so will I.  They are stand alone, 1-2 in a practice and so don't know if they will ever go EMR or even digital but will continue as I have.   The accounts are out there you just have to look and perhaps go through several before you find one that appreciates you. 
I do give a discount - some ideas
I do give a discount and my accounts pay usually the next day and in one account the doctor actually writes the check to me.  I would call back and talk again with her explaining that you are a small business and need to have a check by a certain time in order to pay your mortgage, etc.  Ask if you submit them the invoice by the 25th to 27th if you can count on a check by the 1st or if you submit on the 1st you can have a check by the 5th.  So if you need your  check by the 1st, I would give them the invoice by the 25th to 27th depending on what day of the week it is and put a note on it stating "per our conversation payment is due to me no later than the 30th."  or whatever date you agree upon.  I have found that offices do not like bi-monthly billings and like to pay only once a month.  I have 4 accounts for invoicing and payment by the 1st and 2 for the 15th and payment by the 18th so I have cash flow throughout the month.   But try talking to them as people and see if it works. 
Am going for an interview for in-house RAD MT for association
in Austin, Texas. Can anyone give me an idea of the pay scale for this market--probably hourly? I've never worked in-house in a large city. I'd really appreciate any advice.
If they just add an E, they can be the East Asian Association for MT. nm
x
AAMT's new name: Association for Integrity of

They will accept a broader sector healthcare professionals involved in healthcare documentation.


 


Hmmmm.


 


Are these abbreviations taken? I'm seriously considering starting my OWN association sm

and calling it AMTS: AMERICAN Medical Transcription Society and leave the AAMT or whatever their new name is, to the transcription WORLD.


 


My "society" would be kind of like them but the only difference is that absolutely NO oversea members would be allowed; only those American MTs working in other countries who could prove to the society or association that they are, in fact, American Born and Bred.


What do you say? I would charge a minimal amount per year and begin local chapters.....by contacting local colleges and tech schools and employers telling them about our local networking, American, society or association.


I would periodically work with large MT companies and large hospitals telling them of our highly skilled MTs and DEMANDING that pay be increased and showing them why American MTs are the way to go......Doesn't that sound like fun?  It wouldn't be anything like a union, as I don't believe in unions, but a UNION of MTs around this great country I call MY AMERICA!


 


GOD BLESS AMERICA AND GOD BLESS YOU!!!!! Allah and Buddha could bless the AAMT all they want, but I just don't think they will do that.


Try the National Association for the Self-Employed. SM
They have lots of options. 
Someone should call AAMT out on its association with (sm)
Indian transcription. Also, maybe medical facilities should be provided with lists of MTSOs - those that offshore, and those that don't, and the reasons why they shouldn't send their business to the latter. Might at least open their eyes. If someone's personal medical record goes offshore I think whoever in a medical organization that allows it should be held accountable and liable in case something happens to adversely affect the patient's identity, credit, or healthcare. Food for thought for the Fat-Cats.
Association for Healthcare Documentation
"As a patient, I worry less about WHERE my records are being transcribed, and more about WHO is doing the transcription. I would opt for a qualified CMT in India handling my records over an unqualified individual transcribing from their dining room table with little experience and no security - where anyone could walk into their "home office" and access my information."

That's a laugh. She'd rather have a "qualified CMT in India" (where there is no HIPAA or anything like it) than an "unqualified individual transcribing from their dining room table..." Why am I supposed to assume that this picture of a dining room slacker is the opposite of an Indian MT?

How about another option, Ms. Fox: (Lemme guess: Karen Fox???) How about entrusting your records to a highly qualified American MT with professional standards & work ethic & who would do her/his best to protect the confidentiality of your records even if there were no laws against doing so, whose native language is American English, but who hasn't bothered to take some bogus test thought up by the chicks in Modesto to fund themselves, self-appointed guardians of all things MT? Now there's a novel idea.

Apparently she hasn't read the publication
http://mtindia.info/news/latest/heartland-information-services-spryance-inc.-merge.html

which would beg to differ with her contention that Indian MTs don't get any special pricing.

Well heck. My workload was cut to less than half after the hospital I work for began offshoring to people AHDI credentialed, people who have a cost of living that is a small fraction of mine & who can do the work I do for a small fraction of what I can do it for. I feel so much better knowing that at least they don't get a lapel pin.
happens quite often i would test again or go see your GYN for blood test which is more accurate
nm
Your personal creditors may not discount amounts due, but
commercial entities often do. In doing the books for numerous local businesses, I was required to pay ASAP to take advantage of discounts. For example, "terms 2/10 net 30" means you get a 2% discount if you pay within 10 days, otherwise, it's the full (net) amount due within 30 days to avoid a late charge.
I agree with you. Why would we give a discount for being paid what
we're legitimately owed? Some businesses do it to encourage prompt payment, though.
U.S. offers them medical school at a discount
if they remain in the country and practice in out of the way places for a period of time before returning to their country or to a higher wage earning position within the medical establishment.
J &R Electronics discount 83.00 with free shipping. sm
Not a bad deal.  just wondering about quality with just voice and not music. 
National Mental Health Association
has a web page with some good information on bipolar FAQs, symptoms, treatment, etc. Here is their address: www.nmha.org/bipolar/public/signs/cfm.

My daughter is totally fine on medications. The most important thing for her to do is get back to the doctor and get back on or have her medications adjusted.


"American" Association - yet they are encouraging outsourcing?
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