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Serving Over 20,000 US Medical Transcriptionists

No, it certainly is not cheap. Overpriced IMO & not takes quite some

Posted By: time to get used to. I don't like it at all. P on 2006-05-29
In Reply to: Expander - SKO

gggg


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Me absolutely! Always overpriced for things I
nm
Yes, Speedtype is overpriced retail version of Shorthand.
They are the exact same program except that Speedtype charges you for every list you want to import. Shorthand gives you the same conversion file with the program. The Productivity Talk forum has super tips for using Shorthand and other expanders. http://www.productivitytalk.com/forums/index.php
No, you are not being cheap.
I spend what I can afford. No more, no less.
They got her cheap
Quality is on the downswing and hiring cheap people is up but that's ridiculous.
Yes, cheap. NM
no message
that is cheap
I have done seminars and meetings and still charge by the line and have made about $100 per 60 minute tape.  
Its because they are too cheap

to upgrade to the latest technology.  I remember using DOS forever and WP 5.1 forever because the MTSOs were too cheap to invest any money in state of the art technology.


There are services that use Vista, but harder to find.


Cheap docs

They absolutely don't care about quality or any of that jazz, which is why I have always wondered why we as an industry keep beating each other up over issues that doctors couldn't care less about. Not that I think we should all just transcribe any old way we want, but it seems like we act like the slaves out in the mud pit slapping each other around about how much or how little straw to use for the bricks while the slavedriver sits on the side line with the whip completely content with end product either way.


I suppose the answer most would give is that we should take pride in the quality of our work whether they (the doctors) do or not, but I can't get passed the notion that these are the same individuals that the powers that be seem so intent on pleasing and are also the same individuals who would see us all in the soup lines tomorrow looking for the next homeless shelter to sleep in if they had their way. They (the medical profession) will not think twice about putting all transcriptionists out of business at their first opportunity, and yet we as an industry continue to bow to their ridiculous and uninformed demands concerning how to do what we do or their complaints about how much we charge or that we shouldn't charge for line count generated by short forms or macros, etc. They have no clue how many times their butts get saved by transcriptionists on a daily basis.


I've never met a transcriptionist who wouldn't readily agree with the notion that we are part of the health care team, and yet many of us continue to act like we still work for the doctors instead of the patient. Oh well, go figure.


Just venting as well.


Cheap doctors
I remember one specialist many years back who complained when the hospital I worked for put in a new dictation system which required pushing the buttons on the phone to put in patient ID, etc.  He came to the department in person, ranting and raving because "now he would have to pay to have a push button phone installed" in his office.  This same doc came in the department on a Sunday afternoon and was using the hospital department copy machine to copy EACH AND EVERY PAGE his JAMA because he had DROPPED IT IN HIS POOL at home.  Can you say, "cheep, cheep, cheep"???? 
No, its cheap labor.
x
That's cheap.....electrolysis......sm

the plastic surgeon charges $400 per session no matter what part of the body, mine was the chin and one brown spot, oh and in between the eyebrows (which the dr who didn't own the practice charged me HALF that).  That doctor is more experienced in laser than the doctor who owns the practice (who wouldn't have charged me at all *lol*).


Someday when I am rich (hey, I can dream, now can't I???  *LOL*) I will go back and have the chin done over and over again *lol*


 


 


The reason they are so cheap
I think it's a bit of hyprocrisy on MLSs who are so anti-offshoring but love their computers from a company that offshores a lot of its jobs and there are plans to do even more.
Onesuite.com cheap, not
unlimited but very cheap, under 3 cents a minute.  Lots bells and whistles.  It's for regular phone not internet. 
Cheap tickets.com
I got two round trip tickets for less than 500 on cheap tickets.com
Talk is cheap and I don't believe it
I have a feeling you make a lot of sloppy errors and that's why you are hostile to QA who is in the same boat as you struggling to make pennies for each line. Grow up and go to charm school.
Maybe it's a new, CHEAP way to lower their
Could happen..........
is this doctor cheap or what?

I know someone who has an account that she's had for about 3+ years.  This practice recently went through some changes; one of the main partners retired, they hired another one or two new docs, and now the other partner who was left behind has slashed costs every which way, even to the point of not purchasing letterhead anymore.  They expect their MT to now print their letterhead (oh, and she has to buy the paper now too!!!), and she is consequently using a lot more ink than normal.  She was already printing their letters and not charging them for the ink (on their letterhead that they furnished), but now she has to use their letterhead template on plain white paper, which is going through ink like crazy, not to mention the now added cost of paper on top of that.  How rude is this?  Do you believe it?  I told her she needs to speak up.  She is pretty angry about it, but she is so afraid to say something for fear they'll get rid of her too!  And, in all the years she's been doing their dictation she has not gone up on the price, not one penny.  Any advice out there?   


To those with cheap headsets

Just wondering if any of you have tried the "quality" sets?  I only ask because if you have not compared, you might not know what you are missing.


I keep bugging you all because it seems when I make investments that are supposed to help, it is about a 50/50 success.  Some help; some were not worth the money.


I need to get faster.  I am okay with certain accounts, but others slow me way down, so I need to make every improvement I can to make the slow accounts a moot point (at least).


Thanks again for all the help! 


what spell check do u use? Looking for something cheap... sm
Just starting out and need a spell check program that will do drug names also. I am looking for something that will cover the basics for now and then when I get some pay checks under my belt I can get one of the big ones like spellex. My current employer states there are literally hundreds of medical spell checkers on the market and I should be able to find one that covers some drug names also...does anyone have any ideas or can name a few?? thanks
need a cheap word expander

hoping to find a decent one at a reasonable price.  Please post if you have one for sale or have a good web site.


Thanks!


Cheap Word Expander
I have Instatype and I have never used it - brand new but have had the program for a couple of years. If you will pay postage I don't think you will find one any cheaper.
A4 Tech not great, but cheap -5/10 nm
nm
Hee hee not for my daughter it wasn't cheap. Zak is 3 now. lol. nm
x
waxing- its pretty cheap & the best way to go
x
I use it and have for years. It's reliable and cheap
at least in my area. I can call anywhere in the country and talk for as long as I want for around $50 a month. I have two phones and just forward calls from one phone to the other when I'm typing an account that uses the phone.
try walmart mail in. very cheap.
x
Urgently need some cheap headphones, as in
nm
Need cheap health insurance
I'm paying $475 a month for COBRA since I went part-time a few months ago.  Does anyone know of any options for me?  I've already been turned down by Blue Cross.
Cheap pair of Lanier
I have a cheap pair of Lanier that I have been using for over 10 years that work just great.  Keep thinking about buying a new set but I never replace something that continues to work.   Do replace the spongy ear pads once in a while.  Think that they cost me $20 somewhere between 10 and 15 years ago.  
Thanks. I'll look again, didn't see that cheap
before. 
You can buy USB touch pads on E-Bay, usually cheap.
x
Good luck -- it is not cheap
I had a job offer that required it too. They didn't offer me enough per line to even afford it. I spoke with a lawyer and he said the company should carry that-- not the MT. You cannot get it just from your local insuracne person, you have to go to a speciality company like a doctor or nurse would use. I think you can buy it from AAMT.
I bought OEM MS Word 2002 for cheap too! (nm)

Does anyone have recommendation of a good treadmill? My cheap one..sm
just threw me off for the second time in about a month (the belt slips when going over 2.6 MPH).  I have treadmill burns down both shins, one hand and an ugly bruise.  I was not able to grab the "safety cord" in time to shut if off.  I know good ones are quite expensive and have looked on Consumer Reports but would like to have personal recommendations if possible.  TIA!
I'll bet you can find one on Ebay cheap.
I've been buying up the antique kitchen gadgets because they work better and cost less than the newfangled junk.
He's cheap to make you drive. Be glad you are
rid of him but take him to the cleaners with the discrimination issue.
Medical transcription is not cheap to start up
Besides acquiring a good education (not a 6-month program over the Internet), you will need to purchase a lot of expensive equipment, hire a computer tech most likely, going through a learning curve where you are not making enough money to even pay overhead for quite some time (that is if you can find someone willing to hire a newbie), and then when you are up and running and have spent several thousands of dollars, have that account go offshore or EMR where they are generating their own reports. Did I mention our wages have fallen at least 50% just in the last two years. Then there are the doctors who dictate next to an ambulance with the sirens running and the EMTs shouting, eating, putting their recorder in their pocket instead of next to their mouth, dictating in a noisy room or cafeteria, or worse, on a cell phone with a lousy connection. This field is not something you just buy a computer and go straight to work, making $50,000 a year from the start as advertised. Please do some research first.
free or cheap linecount software

Just bought a new computer and need to load a linecounting software program.  Used to have MTCount which was free but now it has changed to MTTools and is no longer that way.  Any suggestions?


 


Testing, where to get a foot pedal cheap?

Ebay?  Which pedal is universal?  I'm a little confused here.  I've downloaded express scribe, but I have no idea if that's what I'll use once I get a job. 


I'm going from a micro dictator and finding that there is no adaptor for my existing pedal (bummer!).  It's hard to transcribe without a pedal, so I'm putting off testing until I can find a pedal, so I need to find one quick!


Keyboards are cheap; you can pick 1 up for around 20.00; a not a chinsey 1 either

On-site employee status is not cheap either.
Oh well!
is not giving her time/money away cheap, why
x
got this once, thought it was a cute, cheap idea
My lawn service was leaving little packets of M&Ms with notices - bad idea to put in mailboxes (ants), but I thought that was an excellent idea for getting clients. Also, pens with your name on them. You can get them fairly cheap. Good luck!
I have an MS 2000, too, and really like it. It's pretty quiet and was cheap ($20). I like it
nm
Cheap and easy call in system? - sm

I have one account not through my MTSO that still uses microcassette tapes. It is 1 doctor (who's near retirement age, not quite yet but he's no spring chicken!) and dictates literally about 200 lines or less per day, often much less. But his office manager would like to get him to do digital files where I don't have to print and deliver. But I look at call in systems (if that's even the right thing?) and there several thousand dollars! I told the O.M. I'd help and see how doc's dictate to wav files and the whole FTP system works. I guess I don't even know if that's what he needs or if there's something relatively inexpensive to dictate to, that I can grab off the internet and send back electronically.


Any direction would help...I don't mind doing the research, I just don't even know what direction I'm going. Thanks so much!


Digital handhelds easiest, or a cheap
You can buy digital handheld recorders at decent prices. If dr. is computer literate, dr. or staff connect to PC and send you files from recorder either through encrypted e-mail or secure FTP site (you'll probably have to set up). Or you could look for a cheap call-in system. Dr. calls it, dictates, and you can transcribe using Express Scribe or another player. A lot of docs like those 'cause they are used to them. You may need a new pedal if yours only works with your current co's platform. Check ebay first or classifieds here even, maybe you can get deal on used equipment to see what dr. prefers.
CHEAP recorder, awesome sound!
My doctor uses an Olympus ws110, which he paid less than $70.00 for. He dictates, it comes apart and has a USB connector inside. It plugs into his computer, he downloads the dictations, and he e-mails them to me. I type them, e-mail them back. You can get digital signatures in e-mail for around $20 each (one for you, one for her) and no one can open the e-mails but you two. I love the whole set up! Best of luck to you.
Advice on free or cheap MT software, please

I need a software program similar to GearPlayer, free or cheap. Is there one that anyone can recommend? I want one that would work with the GearPlayer footpedal I have or with easy keyboard commands to start, stop, rewind, etc.   


I ran across a site months ago that had older versions of Stedman's spellchecker for $30 or so. If anyone knows that site, or one similar, please share that info, as well.


I also need WordPerfect, as new a version as I can get, but as inexpensive as I can get, also.


Thanks!


Check ebay, there's a lot of them pretty cheap.
Some people buy them and then don't like them as much as they thought they would, so you can get some that are practically brand new for next to nothing.
I just ordered a cheap tower with XP on it. See inside
Vista Premium Down Grade Transactional Desktop
Inspiron 530s,Intel Pentium Conroe Dual Core Processor E5200(2.5GHz,800FSB) with 2MB cache

This was 390.00. Had to get it as Vista has deemed my laptop useless to me.

I really do think Microsoft should refund all of us for this useless program.

Good luck.
Does anyone know of a good, but cheap spell check program? sm
Just did an upgrade to XP and have lost my "free" Spellex that I got with my schooling on my old computer. I have a new job but cant afford to buy the Spellex program yet. Any good ones that do both medical and drug names that is CHEAP? I plan to buy the spellex again when I get a few paychecks, but for now I need something. It is getting really tiring looking up so many drug names!