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

MTIA...we want you certified, or you won't work. That's what it boils down to.

Posted By: A cold day in August on 2008-08-31
In Reply to:

PRESS RELEASE:


 **** Please post URLs, not actual copyrighted materials. ****




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

Boils down to this

It boils down to the fact that they don't mind the mess, the chaos and they know you will pick it up and make it nice.  Going on strike only helps if it takes away something that they like,  but if all it does is create more of a mess or chaos, you will suffer that much more.  You really have to talk to everyone, this is a common problem.   They just know from years of experience that you will finally give up, they can continue to surf the net, play video games, watch movies and not lift a finger and they will still be taken to games, dance lession, have their meals cooked, their clothes washed, etc.  Why should they change, it is great for them right now.  You have to make it change by not having it great for them now and when they pitch in and help they get rewards.   Like Dr. Phil says, take away everything except for the bare necessities, a mattress on the floor, food on the table and they earn the extras by doing things and being a family member and all working as a team.   Also praise them when they do something, though it is not 100% great, remember how you felt when you worked so hard at cleaning and your Mom said, it was just all right and okay.  I used to shut off the TV and we all took however long it took  to completely pick everything up at night so that when we went to bed and got back up at least the house started out pretty picked up.  That helped a lot.  Soon after repetition they got in the habit of putting things away as it meant not so much to pick up at night and it did not take away that last 30 minute of the show that they were watching.  But I enforced it and they knew it.  They also had chores that needed to be done especially on vacation and if they were not done, they lost a favorite TV show or something and had to do it during that time.   And, yes I worked at home.  It took a lot on my part in the beginning but it did pay off.  But it takes consistency and not being somewhat strict at first.  Now daughter in laws and son in laws and roommates thank me for it.  It was just simple little things but sure helped to keep things up. 


Basically, it boils down to this....
Back in the day, we were seduced!

Now we're being raped.
ditto. too much water boils the meat.
read recipes for crock pots.
Who is/are MTIA?
I never even heard of this organization before. It was always AAMT which is now AHDI. Has MTIA been around long and how did I miss them? Been an MT for 30 years!
Can anyone tell me anything about them and are they actually a significant voice in the MT workforce?
MTIA
MTIA = Medical Transcription Industry Association.   The MTSOs belong to this and AHDI is partnered with it.
check out MTIA.com
seems to be a website for MTSOs, not MTs - may have some info you are looking for
MTIA **is** AHDI
see "driving directions" in post below.
MTIA's statement on credentialing
x
Re: AHDI / MTIA address -- (sm)

I read the posts below about AHDI & MTIA having the same address.  So I looked each of them up online and YES, it's true.  Right down to the suite number.  Obvioiusly these "two" companies are one and the same.  AHDI probably fabricated the newer MTIA to "recommend" a CMT "title" for all MTs in order to up it's dwindling U.S. membership.   And since it would be obvious to all if AHDI "recommended" its own certification title, they came up with this bogus "other company" to do the recommending, since it's doubtful that any hospitals/MTSO's/Indian MT companies, etc. would bother to scrutinize the addresses of the two.


It's especially sad for me, a Californian, to see that these are Modesto, California "companies".   Not long ago there was a bill in California to ban offshoring of American medical records, and it was voted down by "Ah-nold".  (The "Governator" of California.)   Hmmm.  How much do ya wanna bet there was quite a bit of lobbying from AHDI/MTIA, and a large bit of cash moving about under the table?


They are required to be licensed by the state. MTIA is a private sm
organization and has no standing of any kind with the govt. If they want to press for credentialing by a government organization, and not themselves, to fill their pockets, I am all for it. They are NOTHING.
should I get certified?

I'm fairly new to this site, and all of you seem to have so much knowledge and experience.  Next month, I will be eligible to take the CMT exam.  Currently I work in-house at a hospital.  Certification is not a requirement, and I am not even sure if it is recognized.  I'm considering certification because of the possible benefit to me if I do need a job elsewhere.  In your opinion/experience, is it worth it? 


Becoming Certified??
I'm wondering how hard it is to get your certification and what the positives are to becoming certified?  Is the pay better?  Do you have more opportunites, etc?
Do editors have to be certified? - nm
--
Bad transcriptionsts can get certified,
just like bad teachers.  It is just a title.
I agree. I am not certified.

organization that says I am is the answer.  I feel if the organization is for MTs, then the test should be free for anyone who wants to take it.  I think the fee is all part of the money making scheme set forth by any and all organizations aimed at certain professions. 


Experience is the gravy in this main meal.  Once you've got it, you pretty much have it in the bag and do not need initials after your name to make you look good. 


I would not advise a new MT in this day and age to go straight to online work for a national.  Go in-house at least part-time and learn all that you can.  That is by far more favorable than initials after your name, for sure, all in my opinion, of course! 


yes sent a certified letter ...(sm)
which was an invoice/demand for payment. Then waited 10 days to file in small claims court. This happened in California. I'm not sure how much you're owed, but check with the court to see what their limit is and GO GET YOUR MONEY :D

Good luck to you :D
Certified MT, Is it worth getting??
nt
send a certified letter
to the company, and make sure you put a CC: to an esquire with an address - if you have to, just make up a name, they never check.

Put in the letter that you are sending a CERTIFIED written notice giving them such and such number of days to respond to the letter from the time it is signed for receipt to pay the amount that is owed to you. Notify them in your letter that you will be contacting small claims court to file a suit (which can be done out of state), as well as contacting their state attorney general's office of illegal business practices. Make sure you put down who their state attorney general is so that the company knows you are not kidding around.


You don't need to check out those schools. I am a certified
medical assistant who fell into transcription after only 5 years of doing clinical work.  I started doing transcription at home for the same physicians I was working for as an MA.  I had the ability to type fast and obviously the knowledge and terminology because of my experience as an MA.  After that, I had no trouble whatsoever finding a position with a national.  I have since had NO problems AT ALL finding positions without going to a school to learn how to be an MT because of my experience in the field as a medical assistant and the ability to type.  If you have 30 years of nursing experience and can type, I would think you shouldn't have a problem finding a position if I didn't. 
Question re: certified mail

I wasnt home today when the mail arrived, but the mailman left a postcard that my husband has a piece of certified mail to p/u. The sender is listed as from the Clerk of Courts... What do you think it could be? Nothing good I am sure!!!


Registered/Certified does not get you any more money
in the real world.

I'm a CMA (certified medical assistant)...
and can give injections with a doctor's order, so I assume a CNA would be allowed to also. Not sure about Florida rules though.
No reason to become certified. You will not be paid well enough to
compensate for the annual dues, seminars you must attend, etc. to maintain your certification. Not worth it. You do not need it to work as a medical transcriptionist. The AAMT, now ADHI, has been our downfall and a hindrance, not our advocate.
A physician won't care if you're certified and neither will his... SM

office manager.  When will MTs learn that certification means absolutely, positively nothing? 


Butr I digress.  I would make the rounds if I were you.  Handout business cards, talk to office managers, have brochures ready, and follow up conversations with a letter of thank you and "please keep me in mind."  It's hard to say exactly what a physician is looking for regarding transcription.  I have found it depends a lot on the age of the doctor.  Older doctors are more old school and like the control of having an in-house person typing for them.  Younger doctors are technology driven and like the idea of an electronic record and having an MT type outside the office and electronically transfer it in.


Another thing I do is always carry business cards with me to doctor's appointments.  One of my accounts is a dermatology practice.  I was referred for a mole removal and got to talking to the physician about what I do for a living and she asked me to leave a card with the receptionist on my way out because they were needing more help with their transcription.  I did and then sent a letter with another card praising her bedside manner and her office staff and then reminded her that I had left my card and if she ever decided to get some extra help, to please give me a call.  She had her office manager call me and it is my main money maker. 


Good Luck to you!


Start with a Certified Mail letter.
Make sure you send your letter Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested. They will have to sign saying that they received the letter. You should detail the exactly amount you are owed, a date you expect payment by and what your next step will be should they not pay you by that date. Typically, your next step would be Small Claims Court, usually administered by a local District Justice/Justice of the Peace. Be sure that you state in your letter that they would be responsible for any costs incurred should you need to go to the DJ/JP.
Step one, send a Certified Letter...

Return Receipt Requested (CLRRR). Keep the signed receipt as proof that they have received the letter. Your letter to them should outline what service you performed for them and what is owed for that service, the time by which you expect to recieve payment, the form that payment should be in, and what the next step(s) you take will be should they not pay up. Also, if the CLRRR is returned to you, keep it to show that you tried to contact them and go to Step Two, which would be to file a Small Claims judgement against them. Depending on where you live, this can be done at a District Justice's office and does not require the services of a lawyer. If you have to go to that step, make sure that you include the cost of filing that judgement in what you are owed. Just showing that you're smart enough to know what to do and how to get it done should be enough motivation for them to pay up. Good luck!


Purina! ACCHH!! Purina grinds up and boils the

dead dogs and cats, complete with flea collars, tags, anything - from the kill shelters and labs! Google dog food and ingredients - you might be shocked, or else you know and don't mind. I am assuming you aren't aware, as you posted it in response to boycotting Iams. Any pet food producers save for the ones who specifically use holistic ingredients, use recycled dead animals, road kill, slaughter house rejected sick or down animals, etc. This is why so many of our dogs have allergies and illnesses. For instance, if a dog gets euthanized at a vet cause its sick and dying, and it was on thyroid meds til its death - those bodies get saved - if the owners don't take the dog home and bury it - these bodies are all collected by processors, who then melt them down in a chemical vat - flea collars, leashes, medicines in their blood stream, whatever. Then when all these animals, a.k.a. ingredients are liquid ooze, they make them into kibbles. The companies like Purina, etc., then coat some with special enticing flavors, like Gravy Train, which are really more liquified animals, and there ya go! A complete cycle of food/dog/food/dog. This is not maniacal rumor - if interested, just read up on the articles by vets, etc. My dogs LOVE Purina - don't get me wrong, but I can't bring myself to feed it to them anymore. Its such an evil industry - just like so many others in the USA - greedy and not up front. If we all knew for sure what we were giving our beloved pets, we'd never even put the bag in our car! I feed my dogs Wellness or Merricks', or Blue Buffalo, and the difference in their health, energy, allergies is AMAZING. I have yellow labs prone to ear things and hot spots - all gone since the garbage dog food. All these allergies and skin things are suposed to be the toxins from this horrible dog food working their way out of the dog's system. And, by the way, each batch of regular dog food is different - because each batch of dead animal ingredients is different - think about Mad Cow - same start, really. Gotta go! Bye!


My jury duty papers didn't come in certified. sm
They were just left in the mailbox.
You don't get certified taking a program. You test & pass your
s
Send him a certified letter with bill demanding payment within
within five days from receipt (make it RRR). You have your proof that you notified him. If it is not picked up or signed for, you have your proof that occurred to. All these things go in your favor when trying to collect money. that's just a starter. I would never have let him get away with it this long. Once would have been it.
I agree. MTIA is not a government organization. Credentialing comes from state government and

sometimes at the federal level.  This mandatory credentialing is ludicrous and a scheme to make money, in my humble opinion.


I have to agree with the other poster, if not having CMT after my name after 25 years of experience prevents me from being employable, I have a very good lawyer who will take up my cause!!!


Yes a SCAM, huge email fraud..they would notify you CERTIFIED MAIL or lawyer would call
   I get 2-5 of them a day...ALL FOREIGN using yahoo or hotmail.
I get my work from an FTP site that they load the work to, however I don't have pool work so to
speak, but I tell them how many minutes a day I want.  The work is generally put in my box by 5 pm every day, then I have until 10 am the following day for some priority work, or 3:30 pm for the rest, so TAT is not too bad. I would like to work less at night though, but I working on that. My downside is I do not get the same dictators day to day, there are a few I do on a semi-regular basis though, some generate great lines but take longer to do that other doc's and are not "money-makers", I also do not get paid for spaces so that hurts a bit too.  This is WP5.1 too.....so very antiquated but that is what the hospital uses, so not much choice there. But I understand what you mean about the C-phone. I was just doing another job with C-phone recently...they incidentally did not tell me how to get off of the system, which was very simple.  I'd finish a job, then hit stop and hangup if I wanted to get off or quit working.  That is what you need to do if you want to sleep, eat, etc.  Don't feel guilty, do what you signed up for, believe me they watch the pools and will get others to do the work you don't finish.  If they get on your case remind them that you are only PT and only want 500 lines a day, etc.  It's not worth killing yourself over.  Good Luck.
You go by your schedule and have no work. Everytime I get on to work, there is always work.
x
Then you would have no life at all except work, work, work if you did that. I wouldn't do it. nm
.
Same thing with nationals. You work all the time to keep the account caught up when others dont work
and then when they decide to put a whole lot of extra people on your accounts and run you out they could care less about how much you worked.
Have a hospital I work for and they consistently change work types and do line counts. (sm)
Management just doesn't understand in order to crank out the work you need to be proficient by typing the same accounts. Go figure, they just don't get it ??
Usually work "live" on a Cphone, while connected. There are ways to record & work off line, bu
s
steady work...gearing up to start new account....but there was no work on Tues as it was a holiday
Be patient with your eyes open....
I work for Warminster at MQ and I am sick to death of being jerked around with no work all the time.
I would like a job where I can depend on the work and it does not seem to be in this office of MQ.
Speaking of offshoring MT work, who does not directly send work offshore?
Just curious.  Has anyone got a list of companies who do not send work offshore?  Precyse?  MQ?  Spheris? 
Becky you work in a great place. With no one hovering, I bet you get a lot more work done w/o agoniz
wants what. The only people qualified to do QA on my reports are the dictating doctors and the rest is just pure waste of money and time. If I have a question fine. But this random QA bites and hurts everyone. BTW, I don't have random QA for those who seem to think I may have an ax to grind. No dog in this fight. Just common sense.
Good. Why dont you send some our way. What office do you work for so I can call and get your work.
:
Before needing to work, I did volunteer work through the Junior League where I am from in Texas. lm

Junior League was like a full-time job sometimes, but I loved it. Now that I have to work, even though it is from home, I still volunteer through my son's school.  I am a school teacher in my previous (pre-MT) life, so I volunteer my tutoring services for children who need the help beyond what the schools are able to provide but whose parents cannot afford to pay for private tutoring. I also know how you felt about being afraid.  I was strangely afraid before I joined the Junior League.  It was just the unknown. But I was SO blessed by being able to help.  Honestly, I am sure that it helped me just as much, if not more, than I helped others.  Go for it.  You won't be sorry.  (Just remember that you have to say NO when you have to say no, okay?  Remember that and you will be richly blessed by the experience!)


nm would you mind if I asked where you work and what type of work hosp, clinic ?
x
All I know is it caused the company I work for to be unable to do all work due today and the rest
:+
Just return the work, submit your bill, the scurry and find more work elsewhere. sm
They will never meet with you before next week. It is Thursday, already. Be prepared to sue for payment, because you will probably need to. But, most of all, find other work elsewhere, because I have a feeling this final payment will be a long time coming.
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.
IC sets their own hours. As long as the work is done by the deadline, you decide when to work.

Glad I work somewhere where you cannot cherrypick....our work is divvied out by minutes and - sm

the office manager (who does not normally transcribe) dishes out the work, so some days are easy, others are a mix.  So no cherrypicking is possible.  You type up what is given to you, period.  She will alternate the tough one's out so no one person gets him/her all the time unless they want him/her and are used to that doc, or everyone gets a little piece, etc. There are days when I ask for easy work (tired, chemo day, Jen sick, or a lot going on, etc.) but not often, generally I get a mix but they all get easier the more you do them.  I am not working as much as I should be of course, every week is different here so I adjust my limited work schedule accordingly, so sometimes it hard to get better at certain docs.  I used to have a lot of blanks with the Trauma ER unit, but I have been doing that a lot lately and now and very good at it, still a time consuming account but at least I am improving. -----------------------  But I believe the OP was stating she did it to clear out the log, not to make more lines, and only when she was asked to do so.  At an old job I had #s meant everything, everyday we would get report (2=4 x a day) of the backlog, and emails pleading us to work, work, work.  The QA rules sucked  (MQ probably is basing their new plan loosly on this one), however we did not get penalized, just chewed out if you sent in too much work to QA (over 5%, and was 80% ESL), I would imagine eventually fired if you continued to do it. They were a great place to work for until they re-organized....it all went downhill from there.  This is why I prefer smaller MTSOs, it's not all about the #s, yes, they want production too but at least it's not so cut-throat. 


i used to work for a company that divided the work types up and i loved it. sm
there were only 4 of us working a major teaching hospital. someone was assigned surgery, different assigned discharges, different admits, etc. we all had the backup work type in case the original assignee wasn't available and were cross trained. it made us much more efficient, ability to get used to dictators, set macros, and in the long run we were all much happier.