Home     Contact Us    
Main Board Job Seeker's Board Job Wanted Board Resume Bank Company Board Word Help Medquist New MTs Classifieds Offshore Concerns VR/Speech Recognition Tech Help Coding/Medical Billing
Gab Board Politics Comedy Stop Health Issues
ADVERTISEMENT




Serving Over 20,000 US Medical Transcriptionists

MT: 24 years. Same company: 11 years same co. after buyout.

Posted By: Same account: 12 years - know it inside and out an on 2008-03-14
In Reply to: MT Poll... - mtr

x


Complete Discussion Below: marks the location of current message within thread

The messages you are viewing are archived/old.
To view latest messages and participate in discussions, select the boards given in left menu


Other related messages found in our database

22 years, same company 10 years nm
nm
I had been with a company for 5 years and
asked for a raise. Well, they said we have to audit you and we will see. I said okay (been doin the SAME doctor for years with a QA of 100%). They come back with "im sorry we are going to have to decrease your pay and put you on probation you only scored 92%. Really on the same ones i recieve 100%? I quit!! OH and if you want to know which company RIU.
14 years was not enough for her company!!!
Wow - I wonder what they ARE looking for! ha ha
18 years, 14 with one company
nm
16+ years, 14 with same company
And about to change.....but soooo scared to do it !!!
13 cpl, 26 years exp, also not telling name of company.. nm
.
I work for a company in NY and they had to do this a few years ago. I think sm
that most will need to do this as the IRS does not think that MTs are eligible to be ICs.

The company that I work for had to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines because of it all.

For insurance, for professional liability insurance, I was told that you have to be incorporated. I don't have a problem with this. If I hired someone to build an addition for me, I would want him/her to have insurance. Why should medical records be any different?

I actually make more as an employee. I still take my deductions as unreimbursed employee expenses (per my CPA), take home office expense and do not have to pay the 7+ % for SS match that the employer usually does.
I have been at the same company for 6 years, prior to this job

was at the same company for 8 years.  I left company #1 because they lost the account to MQ and the company only had clinic work after that and I do acute care and didn't want to do clinic.  While searching for another job I tested and was offered positions by 6 companies.  I took PT positions with 3 of them.   I had been using a C-phone with a small local and really had no clue about other companies.   One job I kept for 1 year until they got rid of my account because they were such a pain.   I quit one after 4 months. 


I know someone who had 7 jobs in 1 year and that was only about 8 months into the year.   She was a CMT and wanted the whole world to know it and treat her special, but the quality of her work was very poor.  I don't know if she voluntarily left all those positions or was let go.   When I was testing I was trying to get a feel for what was out there and thinking that company #2 might offer me better than what company #1 was paying.   While this wasn't that long ago, it was when you could still get a decent line rate and I never heard of offshoring.  


 


 


No, and I've been with the company 3 years. sm
If you're having problems e-mail me and maybe I can make some suggestions.
Well, with 8 years at the same company I was up to 11 and some change.
I always thought it was a terrible wage.
12 cpl, 24 years experience. I am not giving name of company.
x
Well in my company, nobody's work was checked for many years~!
x
Maybe your company wants it that way? I've used it for years and Never had it check
s
Average pay to start with a company after being an MT for 5+ years FT?
I am new to the job marked (have worked on my own for 5 years) and am looking at some of the MT positions.  Can anyone tell me (I realize all places pay differently) on an average your best guess at what a decent 65 character line rate would be to start?  I had been offered 7.5 cents at one place and I thought that was pretty low.  Would appreciate any opinions.  Thank you!
58, AHP/self-taught, trained at hospital 5 years, now with 2 of my own accounts for 10 years, employ
Also worn out 2 keyboards in 4 years. I will never retire. DH will come home some day from work and I'll be slumped over my keyboard. I put in 14 hours a day 7 days a week.
I make 0.725 cents per line after 5 years with the same company - nm
I make 0.725 cents per line after 5 years with the same company - NM
Pack years = packs smoked per day x years of smoking - sm
25 pack-years = 25 years of 1 pack a day, or 12-1/2 years of 2 packs a day.

I don't think pack-years applies to someone who smokes only cigars. But I don't know for sure.
I worked for Cbay for 3 years. I was also part of their lay off back many years ago. sm
Even though I got stuck in a lay off era, I still love the company. They paid well then. The people were nice (exception of 1 person) and if I had the opportunity I would go back again. Fortunately (or unfortunately - depending on how u look at it), I have a great paying job right now, so I am not looking for a change. I do know that at one time, they asked management to accept late paychecks, but never sure of the reason why. My check was never late.
I've worked weekends for 10 years, now I want to move onto a company
that does not require at least one weekend day.  I realize hospitals are open 24/7 but you would think that companies seeking good MTs would be more willing to offer a M-F shift.   
I've never come close to earning $20 in years of doing this. Troubles with every company, usually
s
I know it used to be 5-10 years back, but the laws changed within the last 2 years. They can only g
x
6 years legal then switched to medical 17+ years ago. sm

I don't mind doing legal and will do it now from time to time, but be prepared to be totally bored out of your mind.


At least that's the way I feel.  I love to transcribe, learned legal in college, went on to get my paralegal degree, etc., etc., but I did temp work when the kids were younger, which was about 90% medical and I would never go back to legal except for once in a while.


Booooooring.


 


 


Only 3 years away from reaching total years for retirement
but if I had to do this and raise a family, would feel exactly like you do. The pay is terrible compared to what I used to make. I work 32 hours a week, hope to be able to continue even after full retirement age. I have worked on VR now and unless places get to where they really do not care about how their reports look, think they will need MTs. I very seldom do a report and it is 100%, just cannot remember 1 like that and most take a lot more editing. Working now because want to, not have to anymore, thank goodness!!
I dumped my ex 20 years ago, but got lucky 13 years ago

It would take me all night and pages and pages to describe what a bad person my ex-husband was.  After six years of putting up with his OCD, verbal abuse and alcohol, I left him the house, took the kids (5 and 1) and didn't look back. That was 20 years ago.


I wasn't looking to get married again, but I did.  After 13 years I only complain when hubby doesn't see things my way. :) 


My older kids, who were 5 and 1 when I left, are married and have kids of their own now.  My husband gets the Father's Day cards.  Their "real" father sits alone in the perfect little house I left behind and let him have and he drinks himself into oblivion every night because nobody is "perfect" enough, including his kids and his grandkids that he never sees. 


Sad, but true.  So glad I smartened up and got  out of there when I did.


We have been supporting other countries for years and years now.
What is the big deal.  Look at your clothes, cars, items in your house.  You will see mostly China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan etc., etc.  We have not supported our own people like we should have for years now!!!!
Only 2 in 13 years for me. First Edix for 8 and now Webmedx for nearly 5 years. nm
.
When I trained, back years and years ago
We did not have spell checking nor the internet (Google for instantaneous help). OMG, how did we do it? We used Correcting Selectrics with the lift-off tape to correct errors- you only had dictionaries, both English and medical, to look up things so yes we did have to learn to spell all those big longgggggggggg words.
Grammar Question: 9 years' ago or 9 years ago? *sm*
I have a terrible time trying to remember this rule! HELP!
Worked inhouse for years and years
Inhouse transcription from 1973 to approximately 1992 and we had no downtime for answering the phones and when the physicians came into the room (or others) needing some assistance, just part of the job. I did not feel bad about doing it then and I dont see why you would either. You don’t realize that probably you are making right now more than if you are outsourced, right? You have hourly salary plus incentive. Guess how many of us have that now? Probably inevitable about outsourcing so I would say just enjoy while you can. The pay our here now sinks further and further. I make, for instance, 4 cents a line for voice recognition and 8 for straight. Now, more complaining?
19 years old...married 26 years. nm
n
they've been doing this for years and years (nm)

IMHO


People have been saying that for years and years - SM

however, I am working fewer hours and making more money. I think maybe the answer here is working as an IC for a one-owner company. MTSO was an MT for many years and she knows the secret to making lots of $ is putting your MTs doing what they do best and leaving them alone.


I don't think it is the "national" part of services that hurts. I think the low wages can be gauged by the number of suits in the company. More suits = less $.


And why pay QA? Just hire people experienced/good enough to do the work correctly the first time.


I have been doing Radiology only the last two years after several years (sm)
of acute care. I love it and find it easier although not as interesting as acute care. I was told by those who hired me that a good medical Transcriptionist will be able to do Radiology even with no experience in it. There are some specialized terms but easy to learn. I would never go back to acute care unless there were very good dictators and good sound quality.
30 (!) years; OTJ (don't think there were schools 30 years ago) nm
:)
Years ago it was 7 years. Not certain as to status now.

10 years here, too, and making 8.4....same as i was 5 years ago. nm
f
Shame on me.. Am I the only one with 4+ in 2 years, but with my last one 2 years.

Lots of little "stints" in between, just trying to keep my head above water.


24 years MT, 7.5 years with the same hospital nm.
x
32 years, longest was 28 years at same co. (nm)
*
28 years, 9 years at 1 hospital..sm

9 years at one hospital, 8 years with 2 services, then went out on my own (11 years ago) and got a bunch of surgeons and I moonlight on weekends for a national (9 years with national). 


If I knew what I know today, with how the MT business has gone down $$-wise for us over 20+ years, if I had my druthers and could start over again, I would have stayed with CODING/BILLING instead of MT work (though I love MT work) as billing/coding is still lucrative in this country....


just my 3 cents


32 years, 18 years at hospital...
7 at Medquist, 7 at Spheris. Starting at Transtech Medical tomorrow.
Do you need to have 2 years full time experience or just 2 years' experience? nm
..
MQ buyout
Do you think that Philips will grow tire of this situation with MQ and offer the compnay up for a buyout, for example to Spheris. Don't forget, I think MQ makes up 1 percent of the Philips Corp. so it's loss will amount to nothing in regards to Philips, obviously the impact would be great upon us if that did happen. Millions are going out the door for the lawsuits and golden hand shake buyouts for upper employees and I don't know how many office closings and offices employees being let go can make up for this difference especailly when they clearly state that they will continue to lose money for the rest of the year due to the above and lost contracts and lower rates being charged to the accounts that they do have. It is too bad when greed gets into the way of a good company and of course the people that get hurt by all this, is the transcriptionist. I really hope that I am wrong about all this because I know too many people out there that depend upon this company for their living and many of us are the sole support of our families
Not sure about how this litigation impacts a buyout.
:
49 years old/self taught/daughter 20 years old/self taught. I'm a CMT, and daughter is studying t
take the test soon.
I know I'm old - 30+ years as well
but I do remember specifically being told "double".  Maybe there is something to the reason being that they used to "talk good."
I'm going on 35 years of doing this

and I try to keep my goals realistic dealing with rheumatoid arthritis, etc.  I don't like to see a minimum of 200 lines/hour; occasionally can reach nearly 300 lph but depends on the dictators.  Seems the account I do now mostly has dictators from India, the ones I dislike the most.  I love Russians, Japanese, Germans, French, etc., etc., but for some reason I find the Indian accent very difficult!!!! 


I, like you, do not use expanders or "normals" etc., mostly because I'm from the old school and I type every word.  I'm sure if I used some of the crutches I could easily reach 275 to 350 lines/hour, maybe more who knows!  I keep telling myself one day I'll relearn how to do all that but right now, I don't care....when the time is right I'll know.  Mainly I just keep trying not to stress myself out too much.  I've put in my time and paid my dues and do a great job.  I'm not a young chick anymore and don't expct myself to produce these huge line counts, but believe me, I know I could if that was my wish!!!  Don't worry.....Be happy!


My Dad is gone now 10 years....
The last present he brought for me was an anniversary clock which I placed on my fireplace mantel in the center....Well that's Dad's spot because whenever I move that clock to any other spot it stops working, but the moment I place it in "the spot" it works immediately.  My youngest daughter was almost 2 when my Dad died.   After his death she would wake up and tell me "Grandpop was here last night"....I know my Dad comes around many times.  
18 years.
nm
As an MT for 25+ years
I wouldn't recommend this profession in this day of voice recognition being on the horizon. Most of us who are doing MT are 40+ years old and there's a reason for that. Most community colleges and junior colleges no longer teach this skill. There's a reason for that. It's soon to be a thing of the past, whether one chooses to accept that fact or not, it is.

Second, this is a great job for awhile. But if you notice that over time people start to get nutzo when they've been out of social circulation too long and start to get a mean, angry edge to them. This is not a healthy way to live, sitting by yourself all day with no contact with the outside world except over the anonymous internet.

This is a great part-time job if you want or need to earn some extra income, but if you're thinking of going to school and have the time and means to do so, I suggest earning a bachelor's degree, which will open your options to many, many different possibilities rather than winding up limiting yourself to being a one-trick pony in a dying field.

I'm leaving this field within the next week - hopefully forever. I have accepted a position that's totally unrelated to MT and want to start building a resume in a profession that has a future. I've also completed my bachelor's degree, at age 48.

I'm not going to paint myself into a corner and wonder what hit me five years from now when this profession no longer exists. I respectfully suggest that you take that into consideration as well.

Best of luck to you in whatever you decide to do, but so allow yourself as many options as you can and don't lose touch with the outside world.

I was a MT for 15 years before going....sm

into a supervisory role.  My current day consists of such things as:


Teaching new physicians at hospitals/clinics how to dictate and the information we need to provide a complete medical record for them.


Keeping up with information to assist clients and employees with current 5 different platforms as well as staying aware of changes these platforms foresee coming in the future.  Yes, I'm always learning new things.


Answer questions about various accounts that arise.  Some of these answers are by the MTs who don't look at the written information we give them on an account but the majority of the questions are "one time" incident items for an account. 


Answer questions about turn around times, process stat requests, vacation requests, schedule changes, questions about bills and all sorts of other things during the day from clients as well as employees.


Answer inquiries and provide insight to senior management about things going on with a current client, which of course means I'm talking to the current clients frequently to ensure there aren't any problems not being resolved as well as looking for future additional business with the client. 


I also transcribe when needed, usually averaging transcribing between 1000-5000 lines a month while filling in for the accounts having peaks or  MTs out for various reasons (including, like Dano said, the one whose grandmother has died 6 times.).   I currently have 1 employee who has I presume about 8 grandmothers in nursing homes on feeding tubes in 8 different states and of course all of these grandmothers happen to develop "potentially life-ending" medical crises 1-2 days before a holiday.   I do "wonder" how this employee is going to handle it when all 8 of these grandmothers do die if they die at the same time!  


I do love what I do, even when I get a phone call from a hospital waking me at 2:30 a.m. stating that the entire hospital computer system is down for maintenance and they forgot to tell me it was scheduled previously and that is why our transcriptionists can't get in to work).