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I wasn't clear. I guess patients' names is what irks me the most. SM

Posted By: Becky on 2006-01-04
In Reply to: some doctors dont think that is trivial. They expect doctor's name to be spelled right - no name

and you know how famous they are for dictating "Krenazcyssky, Jane, that's J-A-N-E.




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I'l asked before, but guess I wasn't clear ... sm

Does anyone know -- is there some type of attachment or whatever you can get for your cell phone that allows you to plug in your C-phone and make calls that way?


 


Thanks so much!


I wasn't clear about that - what I mean was that - sm
more likely than not, they'll get ripped off on their minute-counts, dinged for nonexistent 'mistakes', or have some of their pay 'skimmed', as has been complained about in so very many posts throughout this website, and by too many companies to count. I suppose the truly honest employers in MT can probably be counted on half the fingers of one hand.

You're right about 'weighted' dictators, and it's actually a good thing. I think if a doctor is a difficult dictator to transcribe, he should be weighted, and in addition to paying the MT more to type him, the hospital should be charged more to transcribe him. If it cost them more to have the garbage-work transcribed, maybe somewhere down the road all those ESL doctors right off the boat from somewhere else won't look like such a good deal, after all.
Thinking I wasn't clear...sm
I totally agree with you...see my first post.  I too have been in the business for a long, long time and think its ridiculous to worry about that stuff.  I was questioning why we see this so much.  Who is it that is pushing this stuff....and are those MT's really being forced to adhere to all that c___!?? 
Thank you...that's what I thought, but it wasn't clear to me!! nm
x
Well poop, I thought it was 1 entry per giveaway. Wasn't clear. nm
x
guess it wasn't sm after all. LOL......
x
It wasn't one of those "where were you? moments for me, I guess
nm
Nope, I guess I wasn't. Was I missing out on something good?
I didn't even know there WAS a favorites list;-)
Oh. It's well wishes. Guess with the posts here on the subject that wasn't apparent. nm
nm
Well it irks me to no end when this happens
I don't have time, nor do I want to spend the time, listening to them yak.  Nothing ticks me off worse than when they are so ignorant to send a voice file containing an office conversation or phone call.  As a matter of fact, I sent one office who's always sending me and my subs junk like this notifying them next month, I'll be charging them in ten-minute increments the time it take me/us to listen to this nonsense and erase it.  That should take care of that and if they don't like it, they can find someone else who has nothing better to do than sit back and listen to their conversations and think it's a LOL matter.   
That just irks me to death.
I worked for a national that had two QA people on my account.  The one QA person did it one way, and the other one did it another way.  One pushed for combining forms, the other one said NO.  I never knew who was working from one day to the next.  I finally sent an email to both QA people, the account manager and the owner of the company with quotes from each of their corrections contradicting each other.  I asked which way I should do it because I couldn't do it both ways.  It took forever to sort out.
The thing that really irks me about this whole situation -
is that I pretty much put all my eggs into the MT basket 30 years ago, when I still had the time and the youth to have pursued something else. But back then most jobs I tried were a really poor fit. I finally just coasted along doing office-temp work and odd jobs, and then found out about MT. I had the typing speed, English skills (minored in it in Jr. College), and back then all it took was 20 weeks of night school (2 or 3 nights per week, if I recall) to be able to get a job. I LOVED it. No "front office" dress required, no "perky personality" required, just do the work. And I thought I had found the key to independence. And I had, for a number of years.

I first noticed the winds of change blowing when the administrative letters I was typing for a large facility began to talk about "managed care". Once that facility jumped on the bandwagon, things began to change. Only those employees who actually "brought in money" were treated well. They got whatever they wanted. Those of us who SUPPORTED THEM, however, were swept further and further under the rug, until such time that we were nothing but numbers that some suit in HR crunched in his computer, and it was decided that we were an "unnecesary expense", and we were expendable.

Soon all they ever talked about was voice-recognition, and how long it would be 'til they got rid of all of us MT "lowlifes". We were told almost daily how "lucky we were to even HAVE a job", and were treated worse, and paid less, all the while having to suffer through all the annoyances, computer meltdowns, rule-changes, and QA nit-picking that became part of their changeover to new computer platforms and VR software. I lost count of how many VR programs they tried, failed. But were we ever ONCE given credit for helping to "train" the software, even though they ended up abandoning it? NO. Now that it became obvious that they needed live MTs, were we paid & treated better? NOPE.

Instead, now all the talk was about how CHEAPLY the same work could get done overseas, by people who spoke English, but because it was their 2nd language, would NEVER grasp all the inflections and nuances that even though of us who grew up speaking English struggle with. At first they told us we'd become editors, and that the pay would be substantially higher than MT, without all the work-related injuries. HAH!!! What a load of cow-dung THAT turned out to be!

So, eventually I left inhouse transcription for working at home for an MTSO. Although I'm treated 100% better by them, and still love the work, the pay scale seems to be geared to whatever part of the U.S. has the absolute lowest income needed in order to survive. It all but makes doing MT for the single city-dweller impossible.

I could understand if all the money they're supposedly saving by chintzing-out on their transcription expenses were going back into providing quality healthcare. But of course, we all know the answer to THAT one, too. Healthcare and insurance coverage continues to get worse and worse, (most countries in the world have better healthcare coverage than the U.S. does), and even if you have insurance, heaven help you if you ever get sick and need to use it.

Meanwhile, the CEOs and upper management folks are buying that second home in Aspen, taking months-long "sabbaticals" (i.e., taking a cruise around the world, or an extended ski-trip to the Alps), and those of us who don't actually bring in the healthcare industry's profits, but still support them so that they're ABLE to bring in the money, are all but forgotten.

Someday it's all going to come back and bite all those in the 'ol boys' club in the gluteus maximus, and for me it can't be soon enough.
QA's lack of knowledge really irks me.
Most of the time, they say the exact opposite the next day, anyway.
When people use last names for first names.
You can't tell what sex the person is, and it just sounds so pretentious and stupid.

Hunter, Tyler, Taylor, Cameron, Morgan, Parker, Porter.

Really soap-operaish and annoying.
we should just once, as patients (sm)
go to the dr's office and waste THEIR time!!! Let them know how it feels for a change. But then again, the doc wouldn't wait two seconds on a patient, now would they? Wow, whatta double standard!
Patients
On a really bad day, I feel like a vampire for making money off of other people's misfortunes.

Maybe sometimes we have too much time to think! I don't know.
Just because 2 patients have the
same dx does not mean they are treated the same and symtoms are the same in many dxs. Do you have your degree?
Well, too bad that they have 30 patients - sm

to see so they don't want to spell things out.  Do they cut corners on patient care, as well, when they have 30 patients to see - or is that reserved for us peon MTs?  So they're "frustrated" with 30 patients - well, cut your patient load!  We're not paid to "guess" or have to look up everything they don't feel like spelling, especially other doc's names.  Just won't do it. 


By the way, I wonder if they know how many documents we have to type a day (30 maybe?) to even eke out simple minimal wage - but that's OK, I suppose, compared to their 5 or 6-figure salaries.


Just give everybody the bum's rush because you have 30 patients.  Suppose we did the same? 


A party for our patients...
Every year, the staff in our clinic takes it on ourselves to throw a party for our patients. We all cook finger food, make snack trays, cookies, baked good, cheezes, bread, meat trays, the works. We have breakfast foods and lunch foods. We decorate tables in our lobby to spread this out on. We usually do this one day a week for the four weeks before Christmas so many patients will get to enjoy it. We have coffee, hot chocolate, orange juice, cokes and punch. We have fruits and dips....something for everyone, even diabetics. The patients are touched that we go to the trouble and we are touched by how much they love it! These patients have gone through enough suffering with their diseases and some are elderly and don't have family members. Some tell us this is their only Christmas!  We have been doing this several years now and the patients are beginning to tell us to be sure we appoint them to return on the days we are having our "Christmas spread." I just thought I'd share the Christmas party that means the most to me... and this is definitely it! Just the look on their faces as they are enjoying it is Christmas to me.
It is not our job to judges the patients sm
or why or where they seek treatment.  It is our job to transcribe the dictated reports.  If you don't like the healthcare system, then go out and change it.
Just how many lives do YOUR patients have?

Apparently mine have more than one because I have one dictator who likes to use the following phrase:  Patient was told that he might have death and loss of current life. 


Now we have to insist patients
being treated are actually examined before treatment is rendered?

Wasn't it bad enough medicine when ER docs would proclaim a diagnosis before exam, only to have to backpedal after taking a look?? I guess if they are going to do things in that order, doing physical exams is going to result in their looking stuupid, so their solution is not to do that part.

Big grrrr.
If the patients were aware of that, they could
nm
Do any of you ever feel sad for the patients?
Maybe it is because I am on my period and am more emotional than usual, but today typing all these terminal cancer reports is making me want to cry.  I feel so sad for the patient and their families.  I just cannot imagine being told that I only have a few months left of my life.  And the doctors sound so cold about it.  I know they are very used to it....I just know that I could never be a doctor.  I could never get used to telling someone they are going to die.
A question regarding patients' rights
I was just wondering this. My mother was recently sent to a "liver specialist" who is local gastrointestinal doctor because of concern over persistently elevated liver function tests. He drew a LOT of blood work on her and only told her that it looks like she might have a fatty liver. He set her up to come back in six weeks to "get the results of her lab tests."  SIX WEEKS!  With her being  very concerned, of course, we immediately searched the net and found out that fatty liver occurs in patients 1). who drink alcohol (she never has), 2). Patients who are overweight (she is not) or 3). Patients with diabetes (she hasn't got that, either). It says that a liver biopsy is how they find this out. He never mentioned doing one of those. My question is.. would a physician want to wait 6 weeks to find out lab results? You know it doesn't take 6 weeks to get the results back, they probably had them back within a day or two. In the meantime, she is stressing big time about what could be wrong.
Not sure when doctors graduate their patients but
I have boys and we stopped when my oldest was 11 because they always made them strip down to their undies for checkups and checked their privates and I didn't feel that was necessary and my boys hated it. 
No thanks. Anorexic geriatrics patients don't do it for me.
x
Very true, but a list of patients?

An invoice by the patient?  Some clients need to do their own book keeping.  It is bad enough you have to worry about the content of the reports.  To have to retype a patient name into an invoice with the line count is utterly ridiculous especially as an IC.  IC's get taken advantage of.  As an IC, yes you should be charging for "everything".  If you're an employee, they can put it under "other duties as needed".  Business is business.  If it takes more time, that takes more money.  End of story.  Don't do nothing for nothing.  Your clients sure do not.  They go all this time with this Transcriptionist with her invoicing and then all of a sudden decide they want each patient name and line count?  Cut me a break.  You don't think there should be a charge for that?  You can work for free, but I certainly WILL NOT!  To make statements like be paid to walk to the computer is really being a bit of a smarty pants in my opinion.  Keep it to yourself if you want to work for free, most people don't!  Have a great day making nothing to do A LOT! 


I read it... does it mean US patients would have to travel - nm
.
A lot of physicians refer to their patients
as heterosexual or having same sex partners, it is very relevant in some aspects, as in exposure to AIDS/HIV, etc.
New Doctor, some patients already typed
I got a new doctor.  They girl who had been working for him left him in a big mess, undone dictations, etc.  The office gave me a flashdrive to do with about 30 patients on it over the holiday weekend.  Today they've told me ten patients had already been typed, how did I want to handle that?  It seems they don't want to pay me for these.  My husband says to bite the bullet and not charge them, since this is a new account and I'd like to keep it, is possible.  What do you think?  I know it's a land of confusion there from what is done to what is not done.  Thanks!
It's called BEING FAIR TO PATIENTS
. Why should patient care suffer?! The patients haven't done anything wrong, even if management sucks. I thought that's what MTs were ultimately hired to benefit, the patients.
How does outsourcing dictation allow doctors to see more patients?
In an article in the MT News section, it states this.  Do they really need to see more patients?  Most of them herd them in and out like cows.
And that is because the GYN forgets to tell his patients that when changing pills you have to use an
alternate method of birth control for a month until the new level of hormones in the pills kick in, whether higher or lower.  That is how come so many get pregnant on the "pill."  The facts...my cousin is GYN and he tells all of his patients that.
Just wondering, for you MTSOs, about how many patients/reports per day...

For, say, an orthopedic surgeon, or  a family practice doctor.  Or, maybe, how many minutes of transcription on average per day. 


THANKS.


these are the docs that I don't think care about their patients. my opinion. nm
ss
The clock does play into how much time is spent with patients
The way the CPT codes bill insurance have guidelines for the physicians built into them that give amounts of time spent with the patient (in addition to certain information covered in the ROS/PE), especially in consultations (whether inpatient or out), hospital discharge codes and critical care time (inpatient or out).

Yes, that computer is in fact billing the insurance company because it not only saves not having to pay an MT, it bypasses a billing clerk (eliminating that salary), and if the doctor's office space is paid for by a hospital, that file is sent to the hospital's database where a *scrubber* compares what the MD submits versus coding guidelines. If it is an independent office, the MD can upload all that day's billing before he walks out the door and leave it unattended to update patient accounts and reconcile the days money intake.

In a nut shell, your doctor is no longer just practicing medicine. Your MD is doing the documentation and billing and saving money on two warm bodies.

I understand your concern as I see it more and more in today's medical care, but yes, this is the way things are going. I am fortunate that my MD has been very computer literate for a long time, so the amount of time he spends with his laptop is minimal. Once he enters the info, he kicks his shoes back and we chat and get into a deeper discussion both professionally and personally (we've known each other a long time). Give your MD a chance to play catch up to what he or she is doing with that computer and you should see a more relaxed physician soon.

Good luck.
We need actual examples of patients harmed by outsourcing
to take to the media. Then we could probably get enough interest for someone to do an expose on it.
I do reports all the time where patients have asthma, COPD, emphysema, and

even cancer and continue to smoke.  In our local paper they are following a woman in her battle with cancer.  She continues to smoke, as does her husband.  They were broke before the cancer diagnosis, having to borrow daughter's babysitting money to pay bills.  Just think how much money they've blown on cigarettes.


I've even known one man with a trach who smoked through his trach.  


 


neat web site 'chemo angels'. Help cancer patients
http://www.chemoangels.com/
Doctors patrolling themselves? What a joke! They barely have time to see ALL their patients....

Doctors today are totally incompetent for the most part.  YOU cannot worry about it when it comes to transcribing their gawd awful reports.  THAT is between the patient and the doc.  Just knock the report out as fast as you can and make sure it's accurate and then after that, forget about it. 


The docs make the big bucks - you don't!  Let THEM worry about things that will eventually catch up with them, one of which is called the Karma bug, and that little bug ALWAYS bites those who don't deal fairly right in the butt!  And big time, too!  


My nurse said most patients make calls with their cell, no problem
x
can we clear this up once and for all?

What does pulling number XX mean ?  I noticed now it also says "click on the reply by email link" whereas before it said "click on the blue link" which had me confused also.  There were quite a few blue words but no blue link except back to Main Board. 


 


Just to be clear
I have been using NCMT as my screen name on this site for quite some time. I don't know who the other NCMT is that made the post above, but it wasn't me. I personally do not care for Kikki and her negative outlook on everything.
Since it is very clear--sm
That the beloved Ms. Kikki is back and really trying to cause havoc again on this board with her rude comments to everyone, I can only suggest that we do not take her bait and give her fuel for fire.  She seems to have it is for a select few on this board and also seems to love to  attack what people eat.  Maybe if we do not acknowledge her rude comments, she will get tired of it and go away again.  Either that, or we all stop posting anything for a day or two and she will have nothing to make rude nasty comments on.  Just a thought.  If we stick together, maybe we can get her to leave.
yes there are some that don't even try to be clear

and you can get really fed up sometimes. On the other hand, there are plenty of native speaker doctors who make me mad too!  Some of the ESLs are really good. Better a good ESL doc than an American mumbler


Also, was it not clear that...
the site was resold again to someone else?  This is old news...
Well that;s clear as mud. nm

Clear something up for me, please...sm
Do you mean editing as in QA, or editing voice/speech recognition work?  I thought QA positions were paid hourly.  Someone correct me if this is wrong.  If you mean editing voice recognition work, then that pay is too low.  Actually, it is too low for QA, too, IMO. 
You are not clear at all. Look around for what?
She is looking for a macro and you're telling her "it's" a setting somewhere in options or customize. ????? Before you get your dander up again, you might try explaining exactly what she should be looking for.
What are you talking about? Be a bit more clear.
IC?  New pay?  QA?  WTF?