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Serving Over 20,000 US Medical Transcriptionists

Now you know the local job market and my

Posted By: Oh, yeah. on 2005-07-18
In Reply to: i wasn't yelling or picking one person - please don't pat yourself on the back - sm

home situation better than I do.  For your information, I make more working parttime at home doing MT than I would working fulltime for any of the local advertising agencies.  Plus, I don't have to travel or put my kids in daycare.   Thank you so much for your concern about my employment situation, though.  And please, get off your


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the market will pay what the market will bear...sm

just the fact that jobs are posted for this pay means people are taking it. You have to remember - we are in a global marketplace now. We are competing against people from India, Thailand, Cambodia for these jobs. If the Mexicans could figure it out, we would be competing against them too. It's like washing dishes. Washing dishes isn't easy. Why does washing dishes only pay $5.50 an hour? Because they can find people to wash dishes for $5.50 an hour. Not only that, but MT work was getting cost prohibitive for a lot of people. That's why some other really, really smart people said, "let's find a way to make computers do this! Then we can sell the programs so docs can buy programs instead of paying MT's." Then some other really really smart people said, "let's not even have docs dictate. Let's have them point and click!" And so MT's are also competing against VR and EMR.


You may say ..."If a company offers me 7 to 9 cpl, I let them know that it is an insult to expect an experienced, highly skilled Transcriptionist to be offered such low pay and I refuse to work for them." But if your current job goes bye-bye, and you're scrambling out in the market and that's all that's out there....well, you get the picture. If you want the job, you take the job for that pay. Otherwise, yes, it's get a job at WallyWorld. Your choice.


 


Buy local. The local stores pay taxes to support your city and state. (SM)
Using online and catalogues does nothing to promote the local economy.  We complain about outsourcing and about the big companies gobbling up all the work so the jobs at local hospitals are gone, yet we do the same thing when we buy on ebay, catalog, and these web sites that may be located any place in the world as their primary business location. 
I went local. Great local tech support, they know what I do and were able to set it up just for me
:)
In the market for a new computer -

I will not buy MS Vista - I hear it's a nightmare. TIA


 


When you market your services with a
business name and a business license, it shows the doctors or hospitals that you are representing yourself as a professional business and are not just a homemaker or housewife trying to make a few extra bucks. They will treat you with more respect and take you more seriously, and in turn will be willing to pay you a fair rate as a respectable businesswoman. Think about any business in your community or town. They all first procure a business name and a business license before they open their doors. You may be working from home, but you can will present yourself in this fashion. I would also suggest obtaining a P.O. Box to use as your business address instead of using your home address. Believe me, this works. I have been running a successful small MT business from home for over 20 years now, and I support my entire family on my earnings.
job market update
If your skills are excellent and your experience and references speak well of you, then I believe the job market is pretty good.

But!!!!

You have to look carefully at the prospective jobs.

Please, I beg of you, for the good of ALL OF US, please please please do not take a job for less than 8.5 cpl! Please!
It's a very tough market right now...sm.
I have 8 years experience and have been testing left and right for the last 3 months. I have passed several tests only to hear about the company being put on a hiring freeze and I am added to their waiting list. I have also tested and done very well and not heard anything back. I finally made the decision that I am going to go to nursing school but right now is not a good time either (my husband has been out of work since April of 2008). He finished his degree and STILL cannot find a job.

Keep faith..it will come through. Maybe instead of having to drive into town, you could send your resume to all the local doctors, dentists, veterinarians, eye doctors, anyone who maybe has been thinking they are too busy to do their own notes. I have heard that this has worked for many people. It is always worth the effort. If you are a good general Transcriptionist too, don't just stop at medical. Send you resume to insurance businesses, lawyers, whatever might be there.

Good Luck and God Bless.
Money Market accounts
MM accounts do have checks, but you are limited to the number of checks that you can write per month - no more than 3 checks to a third party. Rates are usually tiered based on your balance - the more you have deposited, the more interest you will earn.

Start here:
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/rate/mmmf_home.asp

Are you worried about possible MT job market glut then? I am...
nm
My family went to a flea market that is mostly run and
attended by Hispanics.  There were several vendors selling leather goods, such as wallets, belts, shoes, etc.  DH needed a new wallet so he picked one he liked and opened it up only to find a tag that said "MADE IN INDIA."   (He didn't buy it.)  We didn't look at any of the other leather goods, but found it very ironic that the Hispanics are now importing their "handmade" goods from India.  
yeah, in today's job market, the
middle class is supposed to be happy we even have a job.  Forget any idea of getting any appreciation for hardwork, reliability, knowledge, or any of that good stuff, just be "happy" to be working... in my next life, maybe!
So what? 8 cpl is what the market will bear. If you don't want 8, don't take a job that pays
x
Instead, if I had $345, I'd put it in a money-market acct. - sm
and watch it grow, rather than putting it towards a bunch of fake 'certification' letters after my name, and seeing that money fly away and earn me nothing.
Sixe of MTSO Market
Does anyone know the size of the MTSO market (how many service providers, how many software co's etc. or a good source for this info?
Going back on the market -- any advice?

Hi y'all,


Three weeks ago I began a new job doing acute care at a local hospital (part of CHS). On Friday they told us that our work would be outsourced beginning in April.... Previously I worked at another local hospital for 9 years transcribing Rad and ER notes, echos, etc. I left there because I need expensive orthognathic surgery and their insurance plan has a blanket exclusion against it. Plus I wanted to brush up on my "big four" skills.


Now I am looking for work. Boy have things changed!  I really prefer to work for a hospital or start up my own company again but would work for a service as a last resort. After reading the informative posts here, I have begun compiling a list of "good" and "bad" services so I can avoid certain ones.


Does anyone here have any advice for me? Not general advice about job hunting, but more specific advice about the services -- what to watch out for, etc. I have never done editing/VRT, but apparently that pays less anyway so I don't think I will be doing that.


Thanks.


Really? Hmmmm...you wouldn't know the stock market if it bit you.
Run a stock analysis on MQ under any search engine.  Yahoo stock analysts are the ones I use personally.  There are advisories and analyses of MQ and Philips in the data base EVERY DAY.  There have been "hold" advisories, "sell" advisories, and "buy" advisories any given day.  Sorry to disappoint your disillusioned mind. Obviously NASDAQ and regular trade is better, but they are STILL in the ball game, sorry to disappoint you. And you SHOULD be happy at that if you care about the 1000s of MQ employees who have stocks, etc.  But, gee, sounds like you're just a disgruntled werker!
Does anyone know any basics on money market accounts?
nm
If you're an overseas vendor here's how to market....sm

Go by medical offices and talk to them in your native tongue.  They just LOVE hearing it.   When visiting in places like Florida be sure to ask about the last snow storm they had last winter - that's very impressive!   In the northern states talk about the warm sunny 70 degrees in February in their state and ask if they're ready for that this year.  


Be sure to take brochures showing the fabulous quality of work you do.   Be sure you include impressive sentences such as:  "Dr. Jones said he would eat ketchup with the patient to review his lab work."   After all they don't find it cute to type it like it was dictated.... "Dr. Jones said he would catch up with the patient to review his lab work." 


Lastly don't forget to give them laminated card including all 25 digits they will have to use to call your native country.  Be sure they're aware that all of your employees in your native country have new names.... Ben, Mary, Thomas and Amy are of course popular choices.   Potential clients like getting a warm fuzzy feeling by talking to "Mary" who has a very heavy accent to the point that they can't understand her talking.  But hey - she has an American name (woo-hoo!) so all is forgiven!


Be sure to investigate the housing market in your area
In my area as well as most of the U.S., the housing prices are SKY HIGH! Some say there is sure to be an 'adjustment' (downward) of housing prices in the near future. If the prices have skyrocketed in your area also, you might want to take a wait and see attitude for a year or two and see what happens? Just a thought.

I don't know your circumstances, and there may be reasons you need to buy a house right now, but a waiting period would also give you a chance to straighten up or clean up whatever is wrong with the credit.

I feel sad for my two sons, (one of whom is a store manager, but single income), as I don't see any possibility of either of them being able to buy a house at the outrageous prices nowdays.

My husband and I got lucky (MANY years ago) and bought our first house from an elderly fellow who carried the contract himself and gave us a STEAL of a price! He assumed we would default like all the other renters had and he would repossess the house. Ha Ha, not so with us!

Hey, maybe you could try advertising for a house with owner financing. Might be easier to qualify. Good luck!
This is not a new market. Is being done with all offshore companies I have ever worked for. nm
:+
you should be setting your rates according to what the market will bear...
not what you feel like getting. If you like the account, you're familiar with it and able to make good money off of it, you might want to stay at the rate you are at. As a service owner, I used to plan to hire at 7 but bring everyone eventually up to 10 cpl by 0.5 increases every six months. I also used to be able to raise the rates from the hospital, clinic or physician office every 2 years. Nowadays if I bid on a new account, I am regularly outbid at 11 cpl, with 24 TAT. I have discussed it with my IC MT's. If they want a raise, I can try to negotiate a raise from the hospital...but it jeopardizes our account. Every time you raise your rates, it's a signal for them to start shopping around. So I would say, based on what the market will bear, don't expect to be getting raises. Ever.
Never heard of RMT. In my experience, CMT is worthless in the job market.
x
It's called competition in a buyer's market (sm)
 or vendor's (hospital's) market, not low-balling. 
Here are two free market listings. You can google search for
freelance writing or editing market/job listings, too.

Writers Write market database
http://www.writerswrite.com/paying/

Writers Weekly market listing
http://www.writersweekly.com/markets_and_jobs/003118_11302005.html
Yeah, but are these other companies trying to put stores in every market in the country?
I think that is what makes Wal-Mart so "evil" and scares me so badly.  Soon we won't have ANYONE left to buy our goods from because they force all the other competitors out of business (particularly the small business owners) and then we are FORCED to buy everything from overseas countries/Wal-Mart. 
Various analysts are predicting the housing market will collapse soon. sm
Cannot be sustained at the level it is presently at.
No I don't think so. Everytime I see postings about the MT market failing it gets pegged as "n
that's what I think OP is referring to, postings about the dismal future of MT.
You are in a global market now Darlene. If she doesn't do it, someone overseas will.
x
You're asking for part of their market! It'll be a competition
You go ahead though. Keep us all informed.


In the market for a new ergonomic keyboard. I would love some suggestions!!! What are you using??
Right now I'm looking at the Comfort Keyboard ($289) and Ergoflex ($179) that are on e-bay. If you haven't seen them, they basically look like a regular keyboard, just in two halves. I've also been looking at the Microsoft Curve Comfort and the Logitech Wave. I HATE the big, bulky ergonomic split keyboards like the Microsoft Elite. I cannot use them at all. I also tried the Kinesis Classic and after a month, couldn't get used to it either.

Right now I'm using the A-tech AntiRSI keyboard. It's okay, nothing great.

I would appreciate ANY suggestions. Price really is a factor even though the ones I listed are outrageous. I'd rather not spend a ton, but will if I have to.

THANKS!!
Does anyone have any good ideas for back and hip pain from sitting all day? Anything on the market?
Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!
local
I am in a small town in Florida and I had one set up by a local one person company, cost me about 500 and he gave me a 5 year parts and labor warranty, I had a minor problem with it, I took it to his store and was back home in an hour - didn't have to have it shipped to me, didn't have to wait for "rebates" and would do it again any time.
would the local
mental health center be able to help? (if a child psychiatrist is not affordable) Might Social Services have a referral, or a crisis hot line possibly have referral information?

I think this child probably either has been exposed to visual porn in some form or is mentally ill.

Pray for them all too.
I have a local ISP (sm)
I have a local ISP so unless you live in the State of Michigan I am afraid this won't be much help to you. :) Here is the link anyway, just in case. :)

http://glis.usonline.com/
I would take the local job. sm
what is so nice about the local job is that you have the same dictators over and over.  You can use your expander/templates/macros, etc to get really fast on a local account and work less and make more.  Good luck.  The local jobs are the best IMO.
I do both. Go local. Luv my local job. nm
nm
local ic
Hi there! If I did a local account for a hospital, would I still need a license? I know for the state I am in I would need one if I had accounts of my own. Thank you so much! 
Need to look for something local, like
a small clinic or doctor's office to get your foot in the door and get some experience. Most larger places require experience, but some only a year or so, so see what you can find locally, even if PT, and start there.
I went back to local. sm
Local companies are popping back up because people are getting fed up and going back to local.

I had horrible trouble with downtime with Adelphia, so I switched. Last time I talked to Adelphia I talked to a "rep" who was obviously in India, who asked if I was enjoying the snow.

Arst uz enjozinz' snowz!

It was May!

Now I can call and say "Yo, Eric, hows it going? Having a little trouble here."

I went to wireless and I have toooooo many trees. They trimmed branches for free and they also gave me free dial up backup, just in case, so I won't lose any money.

I have had them since May and I haven't lost a dime. I've lost the wireless on occasion, but I have the dialup to back me up.

With Adelphia, I had downtime sometimes for days. Still had to pay the ridiculous bill though!!!
I like my national (PT) but my local is the best.

With my local I know exactly what I'm in for and how long it's going to take me.  With my national, I can work hard at it and do the extra or just meet the requirement.


My local has picked up a ton of accounts so I may be able to find a national that doesn't have a "schedule requirement," i.e. 3 hours 4 days a week and one weekend day.


With my local, I can say, "Hey kids, not much work, let's go get ice cream?"  They like that, but they hate "Mom's gotta burn the midnight oil."


It's a trade off. I'm not complaining.  I burned my nylons in the fireplace last October and I don't miss them! 


I have one local account that does that (sm)

I've gotten used to the fact that he'll do a 2 page report on an established who is being seen for a an earache.  He has to go through all of the other medical problems, review of systems, etc., instead of just saying something like medical history is in patient's chart.


The other doctor in the same practice will just do: Chief complaint: ear pain. Examination:  Left ear is red.  Assessment:  Otitis media.  Plan:  Amoxicillin.


The hospital and the practice have tried to get him to cut his notes down, but apparently he likes to hear himself talk.


No skin off my nose, I see that I have a tape for him and I sing, "I'm in the money!"


thank you, that is great to know...how do you know it is local?
what is the best way to tell?  we have a (small) butcher shop here, but I see the trucks pull in from all over, and they even have told me their meat is just ordered from all over. 

Do you from a farm?  I live in WNY, and there are plenty of dairy and cow farms, but was not sure they would sell direct...

Any information would be greatly appreciated! 

I still will not eat meat, but my boyfriend does, and I have to make it every day...would feel much better if it was local...
I get it all the time. I have a local guy
who is amusing.  He addresses every report to me personally because he knows I'll be typing it.  Then he adds commentary and personal opinions.  "I don't what this yahoo was thinking.  G.D. idiot.  blah, blah  If you can figure this out, let me know."
Maybe get local accounts
I was lucky enough several years ago to hook up with a urology office that was expanding its practice. I did this at home for a long time. The pay was excellent and, of couse, only 5 doctors, so I got very used to doing them which increases your speed. Also, there was not all this looking up doctors from huge databases which really slows one down. Maybe you can check around your local city and find something like that. It doesn't hurt to try.  Good luck to you both!
If local co can be trusted, then go with them, but SM

will probably be more expensive. Again, they can probably customize it for you.


On the other hand, I just bought a Dell.


Get a local acct (sm)
The middle man is making money on your work. Cut out the middle man and you'll make more than $15 an hour.
I do not see how you can get around this with local accounts.
You are always going to run across patients that you know.  That is why confidentiality is so important.  Yes, I know things about people that sometimes I wish I did not know.  However, the people who work in my physician' s office know things about me that I wish they did not know.  My physician is a client of the service I work for, so I do not see any way around it.  In my opinion, typing reports is no different that actually working in the office with the patients.  You just have to keep your mouth shut. 
Buying local ....
Unfortunately, some of us don't live in areas that have a lot of choice. My town is tiny and we have a teensy WalMart that has items that (I really think this!) have been there waiting to be sold since the day it opened years ago! I buy from JC Penney's from a catalog outlet here in town (if they're open) or online, sometimes I shop in one of the larger neighboring cities. Frankly, unless I'm buying cotton or watermelon, it ain't happening here :-).

However, in defense of your statement, when I lived in a larger city and had variety (and choices!) I did shop in town more often than not. I miss those days LOL.
Try "Airborne," an OTC from your local RX.
nm
Call your local MD!
find a medical care provider, whomever is on call for your local MD, and do what they say. Once something lke this involves the head/neck/face, it can get hairy. And if it begins affecting his airway, there's hell to pay. Find someone medical to give you advice right away. Otherwise, he could end up on the floor, and you on the fone with 9-1-1.
You have 911. There are local hospitals
with free nurse referral lines. That's just for starters.

You just take the cake for stupidity with your original question and now your silly offended replies.