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Serving Over 20,000 US Medical Transcriptionists

Rates for working, paid more for stat?

Posted By: SS on 2009-05-20
In Reply to: Question for ICs - Giblet

Maybe others but I think mine are probably the average, 8 cents per line for straight and 4 cents per line for VR. My standard 4 are considered history and physicals, operative notes, discharge summaries and consults. A transfer, I think, would be a discharge summary. No extra pay for experience or lack thereof.


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Other related messages found in our database

2 hr 30 min stat psych eval -- MD paid double rate :) NM
x
Maybe a stat stat because patient is going to surgery or being transferred somewhere immediately? nm
s
Oh, that's hilarious - a STAT STAT! Never heard THAT one before!!! Heheheheh

well, we ARE on production. And paid according to what the account pays. Have rates gone up? sm
You (supposedly) get a percetage of what the account pays.
Just read whole thread. Yes. Working for a service is okay because line rates
actually have gone down. Just make sure they pay for spaces, headers, footers.
Working for 9 cpl, not paid for spaces
Does anybody else think this is not good?  Working same account I used to do paid for spaces and working harder for same pay.  Thinking of moving on.
Working at Home/Getting Paid Hourly

I sent in this info to an MT head hunter:


I am looking for a work-at-home MT position that is employee-based, not independent contractor, paying hourly instead of per line or per page, where I could work Tuesday through Friday, 32 hours a week, no weekends, no nights or holidays.


I was told this was a "TALL ORDER," and that I would never be able to find it.  I don't think that I am asking for too much, and that there has to be an MT company out there that is willing to pay highly skilled and experienced MTs what they are worth.  I know there are plenty of MTs out there who say, "Oh, if you work hard enough, you can make just as much per line as by hour,"   but it's been my experience, having worked three MT jobs from home, that that would entail cranking out btetween 1,500-2,000 lines per day...provided there is work available and provided you are getting paid more than 0.12 per line  I've been working 12 YEARS as an MT, but most companies still want to pay me between 0.05-0.12 cents per line.  FIVE CENTS A LINE FOR AN MT WITH 12 YEARS IN THE BUSINESS.  What is wrong with this picture???????? 


If there is a company willing to pay an experienced MT at least $16+ per hour to work at home, please e-mail me!


Re: Working At Home/Getting Paid Hourly
Perhaps. Don't get me wrong, I like where I work and how much I'm making, and this company acdtually has two MTs working at home; however, they are not offering this option to any other MTs at this time, if ever. The at-home MTs from this company are getting paid per hour and have full benefits, but that's only because they've been working in-house at the company for many years. *Sigh*....
Working at Home/Getting Paid Hourly
Sounds like nice work if ya can get it. :) I wouldn't mind picking up tapes, provided that the pick up/drop-off site wasn't too far.
Working at Home/Getting Paid Hourly
THAT SUCKS. You should be making FAR more than 9 cents a line. UGH. And there are still companies offering experienced MTs 5 cents a line.
My DH paid every dime of his bachelor's degree working....
36 hours a week and going to school.  How did he do it?  He didn't get involved in serious relationships because knee he would get sidetracked and wouldn't have the time to devote to school.  It also helped that he lived in California where state college tuition is reasonable.  For his master's degree, he borrowed the money from  his father (only about 4,000) and paid every cent back right away (this was after we were married and had 2 kids). 
Not a good deal! I get paid 20/hr employee for working with new MTs
x
Yes. Three months paid training? That's just ridiculous unless you're working
in the office.  What service can afford to pay an MT for three months of training?
Made 60K last year working 50 hours a week being paid on gross line
nm
Has anyone kept a list of line rates, report rates, benefits, etc for sm

the different companies out there?  I feel lost and confused.  It seems like everything is changing daily, and I am not being organized enough to keep up.  I am about to actively look for full time employment again but if there was a list, I would be able to sort through a lot more quickly. 


Can anyone help?  I am going to start keeping a chart myself in case anyone needs this in the future.


Line rates in the Northeast - can anyone advise as to what the going rates are in the NE part of the
country? Specifically Connecticut. I want to make sure I am on target here. Thanks.
For QA consulting I'm paid per hour; QA instructing (college) paid salary, QA editing paid per li
I am an IC and work for two different MTSOs as well as instruct at a business college.
How about....a STAT that's hot?? SM....
Ya' know, Paris Hilton's always saying, "THAT'S HOT!!" Maybe your boss is trying to be a Paris wannabe and figures if she says "HOT STAT!" that's her way of being "HOT!"
Ugh! A STAT, no doubt!
When I used to do hospital dictation, there was one MD whose dictations were always in the 20- to 30- minute range. What was worse was that he was the kind with long pauses followed by speed-dictated phrases. That's my least-favorite style. And he'd have the audacity to mark many dictations STAT. I think there should be a rule that 9 minutes is the longest a STAT report can go on, so the Transcriptionist has time to do the other, real STATs!

"HOT" STAT please ?
  Supervisor keeps referring to a "hot" STAT.  What the heck is she trying to elucidate?? 
HOT STAT TO "MTme"
To MTme:   I'm perfectly aware that I can ask the person this question.  HOWEVER, perhaps you cannot understand that I only broached the question here in this FORUM to inquire whether or not ANYBODY else IN THE GENERAL MT WORLD had ever heard of this phrase.  Do you have some kind of problem with my asking this question?    Get over it!!!!
STAT dictations

Re:  Stat dictations.  Does anyone out there charge extra for STAT dictations that come in during the day so that we have to put aside what we are working on and type a STAT letter/document and send in?  This sort of thing can keep one behind in Turn Around Time if it happens on a regular basis.  If anyone charges extra for STAT dictations coming in, what would be a good fee to charge for these besides the line count?


 


Ginny


IC STAT work
We generally find out when our ICs will be working on our accounts and ask that they be available for STAT work. If they are not available within one hour of the request, we have one of our editors pick it up.
After typing the STAT, do you have to
take it to them the next morning also???? When I worked for a doctor as an IC who used tapes, I charged double when I had to scan a tape. It wasn't much, but they did not call too often for them; and I did not have to take the report in. I just e-mailed it to them and they waited for the original to get there.

If you have to then drive it over to them out of your normal time to do so, I would charge them mileage at least and double the rate you charge per line/report, whatever.

However, if this is a constant thing, I agree with the other poster, charge them by the hour to look for the dictation.

P.S. As an IC, you are allowed to set your hours. They cannot force you to work when you don't want, unless it is in your contract that you are on call 24/7.
Stat reports

Since they are still on tapes and it is an office and not an entire hospital, can they que the tapes for surgical patients, or can they put next day surgical patients on a seperate tape?  It might take some training on their part but I worked for a group of 11 Radiologists and we did get them trained to use a different tape for in-patient vs outpatient reports.  Seems like if they want you to get the reports to you for the next days surgery that they need to implement a procedure in the office for identifying where those patients are on a tape.  If they were on a different type of system it would be a different story.


How much easier it would be for to to have one that that is nothing but next day surgeries that need to be transcribed stat, beats searching all through a bunch of tapes.


STAT reports

Right - the MT profession has changed a lot since the inception of offshore outsourcing, VR, salaries going down instead of up, and sadly there are those MTSOs taking advantage of the situation, especially with today's economy and in effect saying, "Like it or lump it, you're lucky to have a job." and whom I would tell likewise, "So are you."  So its often hard to draw the line, and it is often a fine line, between bending over backwards to do your job and feeling exploited. 


As for refusing to do a STAT job on maybe the weekend, well, this should be made clear up front before hire ... will you or won't you?  I agree with the former poster re. family ... when my late husband was still around, and he was essentially bedridden and required care 24/7... he came first, even though I had a full-time schedule to maintain with production requirement.  But if my supe should call me for a rare STAT job to be done, he/she must have had a reason.  One Christmas, a supe from my company (whom I did not know) asked me to do a STAT radiology job (I wasn't even on the radiology account) bec. a patient was waiting to go to surgery and they needed the MRI report before they could do the rather urgent surgery.  While I don't defend all of a company's actions all of the time, if a supervisor calls me in the middle of the night for a STAT report, I know there must be a good reason for it.


 


"Pay for stat work"
What is the "going rate" for stat transcription?  I work for a hospital and get calls for stat work at all hours but do not get paid for this extra service.  Would love to hear from other MTs as to what they are paid for this service.  Really getting tired of it, but it is my largest account - still it's not worth sitting by the PC or phone all day just in case they might have a stat!
try a dermatologist! and/or internist stat.
x
Going rate for stat notes

I was wondering if anybody had any information on what the going rate for stat reports currently is?  On MTJobs there is a posting for 14 cents per line for stat work and I was wondering if this is the norm.


Kay :)


Did you type that stat report? What did you say
x
Yes I did type the STAT. It is not the patient's
evening.  You have to understand that I am a professional.  I will not refuse to do work as that adds fuel to the fire.  I'll get my money in due time.  This field is full of pay-laters!  I'm not the only one waiting for my check, I'm sure. 
rate for stat reports
Hey, does anyone on here charge extra for stat reports.  I receive work in the evenings and the doctors need some stats done before the next morning for surgery.  I wanted to know what the going rate for stats are, as I have to stop what I am doing, work in the evenings, plus, they are on tapes so I have to search the entire tapes looking for the stat reports to type.  It is very time consuming and wondered if anyone charges extra for those, more per line, or a flat rate, etc.  Any information would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks!
So, if you were dying in the bed and needed a STAT
You wouldn't mind that the person behind the document only cared about the money? You wouldn't care they put a post on this board like "why does anybody do this?"
Patient would feel slapped in the face.
That would be dying you slapped in the face.
I am really shocked and saddened to see who we serve is forgotten for the sake of money. Yes, we have to survive, and we do well. I have 3 jobs, am exhausted, but proud to say I am behind the document to help a very sick child or dying person, or recovering person, or person who was saved from suicide. I guess the idea of self rather than others is prominent around here, but not where I come from. After 27 years in the business I am proud to say I work behind the scenes and give the best I can for the patient, the doc, the nurse, my boss, the patient's family and so forth. After all, I would expect the same for me and my little boy.
Were STAT reports addressed in contract? sm
I had a doctor that did this same exact thing. He would procrastinate on doing reports, or just overbook himself so he never had time to dictate, and then when someone called wanting a report, he'd call me to see if I could do it ASAP. Of course, he didn't want to pay extra for this service, though. He would also call me night or day and expect me to drop whatever I was doing for other (better-paying) clients and do his "urgent" report. I go by the old saying that poor planning on his part does not make it an emergency on my part. I will do it for them IF I have the time and IF they pay a higher rate. Otherwise, I will not cater to this behavior because the poster above is right - they will continue to do it as long as you oblige. You have to be the one to set the boundaries. Get voice mail and caller ID if you don't already have and screen your calls. I found that sometimes just waiting a few hours before calling them back allowed them to calm down and realize it's not the end of the world, and they'd then say it was okay to get in by the next day or whatever. Sometimes it's not so much that it's a stat report in terms of the patient's need but that they need it to get paid, in which case they'll sometimes back down if you quote a higher rate or tell them you simply cannot fit it in right then. Same doc would pile me up with a week's worth of dictation and expect it all back in 12 hours, too, so it was an overall mentality with him that he wanted everything done NOW. It wasn't even humanly possible most of the time but try getting them to see that. You should have no social life, after all, and live to work! LOL

Good luck with that. I got rid of the client that did it to me. He felt I should be at his beck and call but argued the rate at every turn, and it wasn't that much to begin with so it wasn't worth the aggravation! Seems like the most demanding ones are usually the biggest cheapskates, too.
rate for STAT reports after hours

I currently work for a group doing transcription all day as an IC.  I am delivered my work at night by the office for the next day's work.  But, often they have a need for me to do STAT reports that night for surgery the next morning.  I work all day full time for them and then have these to do in the evenings too.  They also use tapes still and I have to spend and hour or two searching the tapes looking for the dictation to transcribe.  It is so frustrating and time consuming on my part and I am making NOTHING for the time I am spending on this, 2-4 bucks tops for an hour or two of work.    I just wondered if anyone knew of a good line rate, flat rate, etc. to charge for this turnaround time and the time I have to waste searching through these tapes!!!!!  They will not go digital, which would be so much better.  Any thoughts????  Thanks in advance. 


stat report. Under PMH: (female) vesiculopublic sling.

Off topic but need STAT ADVISE on deviled eggs

Hi,


I need help as I don't want to make anyone sick LOL.  Baby shower tomorrow night, my co-host who was making the deviled eggs along with other things broke her wrist this morning...soooo, I am in a time crunch and would like to know if I can make these things tonight (36), just boil them tonight, maybe do the prep just fill them tomorrow??  I usually make them & take them or serve them, but don't know about preparing them this 24 hrs ahead of time.


Thank any of you experts in advance for your opinions..this is so much easier than trying to call Betty Crocker


You need to charge for this extra service. Stat reports should be charged at a higher rate or per r
Never lose money. I have unlimited long distance and when my docs what things faxed, etc, I charge them per report to fax the document as well as charging them to transcribe it.
if mt paid 9, editor paid 4 or 5...how can company charge 14 and make it..sm

I know the going rate in our area is 14 cents per line.  As MTs most companies here pay us 8 or 9 cents a line.  Now add in the Editor rate at 4 or 5 per line..you are paying OUT more than you can charge a line.  How would companies stay in biz?


Unless all work is sent by the company overseas at pennies per line, this would not pay for a company.


just curious how this works out


But how much are the US EDs gonna be paid? Typically this work is paid at 2-3 cpl. nm
:+
You don't get paid an hourly rate you get paid by line - sm
so because of how you are paid (not an hourly rate) you don't get OT, especially if you are an IC.
I would move on. I think it is so unfair not to be paid for spaces! I think we should get paid

per keystroke, but that'll never happen.  I just think that these national companies are going to keep finding ways to cheat us.  I found a job working for a hospital as an employee, paid hourly plus incentive, and they let us expand everything!  Somebody's gonna have to kill me to make me give up this job.  I will never go back to the national's again.


I feel for you though.  I know that for us MTs those good jobs are few and far between and some have little choice but to work for the nationals.  I just happened to luck into the job I have now.  I just applied at the right time. 


Good luck to you whatever you decide.


If those companies paid a fair wage, and paid more
all came out equal, people wouldn't feel the need to try to make up the deficit by going for the good stuff. I actually prefer the harder, juicier reports. But I can't make a living doing only that, because the pay is not commensurate with the difficulty. So even though I prefer not to, sometimes I have to pick up some of the easier, more boring 'line-o-matic' reports just to make ends meet. Tell your MTSO to make it work their while, and MTs will stop taking all the easy work away that you obviously would prefer to keep for yourself.
You wont show UE being paid because it is employer paid -
the employee will never have to pay this.
What you "should" be paid and what you "are" paid

sadly are two very different things.  Good luck on demanding more..because someone else will just come along and take it for what they offer and they know it. 


You get more working the evening or night shifts and working w/o benefits. And producing like a mad
,
10$ late if invoice is not paid within 10 days. At day 15 work stops until invoice is paid. Hardly
xx
Ditto....granted I am not working much these days, but am currently trying out a new way of working
when I do work which seems to be helping.  I am timing myself and keeping a log of how long it takes to to type however many minutes.  I am averaging anywhere from 13-18 minutes of dictation an hour now doing this.  Granted the time fluctuates between who I am typing, and if I have to look up names, addresses, etc., just depends on the division I am doing at the time.  But work that used to take me 3 hours to do is now taking me under 2 hours, I am also trying to put in more macros as I go along, which slows me down initially but pays off in the long run of course.  I was working "all the time" before but took forever to get done since I was not applying myself. This new "attitude" has helped me a lot.  My goal, in the Fall, is to do 90 minutes a day consistently at 6 hours, and then maybe get up to 120 minutes a day at 8 hours, still while having at least half of the day free (do 60 minutes at night, and the other 60 by Noon).  Thereby doing 1200-1400 lines a day.  I have never really buckled down and done more than 8000 lines per pay period, so it will be a nice change.  Maybe you can do something like that and have a specific knock off time as was suggested below. 
Working holidays? Out shopping in stores where someone IS working

that holiday you refuse to work?  Grocery stores, food joints & seems any store is open on holidays and you expect them to be fully staffed, so why shouldn't we?


Yes, I took off for the first time on Christmas day, in 18 years and it was great, but I worked Christmas eve and this whole past weekend.


Someone has to do it!


???going rates
Help!!! just been offered an OB/GYN doctor account.  What should I charge?
Rates
I am out here in Oregon.  I will be completely honest but have been told on this board that I am too low and do too much for my docs but they have been very loyal to me, all have been with me from 5 to 18 years, pay on time -- 48 hours recepit of invoice, no questions asked about line count, etc., never a bounced check, etc.  I have  just raising my rates to 0.115   for my larger accounts and 0.125 for a small account that I have that does less than 1500 lines per month.  Oh yea, my psych account is still at 0.11 cpl but he is not 24 hour turn around and going digital.But I do charge gross line, 65 charaters per line.  I pick up and deliver, provide the sticky paper, cut apart the chart notes, do envelopes.  I make about $3200 to $3500 per month depending on whether all docs are in all month or not, (6 docs) and since I have been doing them so long, I put in 25 to 28 hours per week with printing, pick-up delivery, etc.  And yes, they appreciate me and give me Christmas bonus, birthday gifts, extra time when I have a crisis, etc.   Had been working at a clinic doing about 20 hours per week in addition for the past year  but just paid off my last attorney fee from a ugly divorce and so am qutting there as of next month and taking three months to do just my own  accounts and have some fun this summer.   I had a resume from a company out here that wanted my clinic account and charged 0.18 cpl but to me that is way too high.  I feel that I average 30 to 40 per hour and to me that is more than fair.   And yes I provide my own insurance, own my own home, put $500 to $800 aside for retirement.   Patti