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

Researching lap tops. Sorry about all the questions. sm

Posted By: searching on 2007-09-11
In Reply to:

I keep looking at lap tops, but I don't understand a lot of the language.  Just computer challenged, I guess.


What is the difference between AMD Sempron, AMD Athlon and Intel Core processors?  These are the ones I find on Dell that still have Windows XP.  What is the difference between the SDRAM size at 533 MHz and 667 MHz. Hard drive speed 5400 RPM and 7200 RPM (I have a vague idea about that)?  What is considered acceptable for doing MT work?  How do you tell the speed of the processor, and does this mean the surfing speed and the speed work can be uploaded and downloaded?  I really feel lost here!!!  TIA.




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

I bet this tops them all

The worst case I had was when my sister and I were in business together - I happened to get a dictation for a man who had molested my sister when she was younger.  I had called the office and asked that if this particular patient had ever come into the office again that they please be sure to notify me (I would split the work up between me and her), so that I would be sure to get the tape and not her.  The administrator told me that this was not possible and I feared that my sis would end up with his reports.  I eventually gave up the account for this reason.


Another time I had gotten my uncles report and he was seeing the doctor for Viagra.....i just wanted to die!!!


Researching....

Hey all....


I'm inquiring about a company called "Trans am Associates, Inc." based in Florida.  Does anyone have any information on this company?  Are they legit?  I'm being offered training and a 'guarenteed' job, but it has a price tag and I'd rather confirm prior to shelling money out.


Thanks!


Michele


Tops dollar? 3,4,5,6,7,8,9 etc MTs sm

 line expectations/requirements up to 1800 a day, the QA/editors I saw expectations 3000 a day, 2,3,4 cents a line. 


What do you suppose this comes out to hourly, say 4 pages an hour, 35 lines/page times 140 lines an hour, say 6,7,8,9. And, now what are the requirements.


.I see where they expect/require the MTs to pay for just everything, THEIR costs to do business.  Recently saw -- need 3 phone lines, provide at your cost, long distance plan buy this and that. Nonsense. .


After all this output who knows if in 30 days either side wants to continue relationship and look at all the money and equipment, Lanier $250 footpedal, thousands on some type of Lanier equipment LX something, 500 deposit to return in 6 months, this is nothing more than free interest loan for the business to fund their equipment purchase. 


There is a lot of anger, frustration and disrespect out there, you can tell by the ads posted, a slave-like attitude toward the MTs.


Frustration/anger fosters errors.


AND, look at what the MTs have to put up with in terms of dictation, if we can't hear how to make production and accuracy. It is, anything goes, take a deep gulp and see if you can finish report before you need to take another breath.  Dictate at live football games and "whisper" Intentional speed dictation because they don't want to say it again, no matter how many times yuu rewind, can't make out the dictation.  Anything goes, just dictate dear doctor, just dictate, we expect/require 99.5% accuracy.


Yep, I too am frustrated and saddened.


What could be done is--- nicely state on ads, be sure and run a spell check, "smile"---- problem solved ----instead of the disrespect you feel..


I am also in the process of researching this. So far, (sm)
I have learned that the Core Duo is the best for running the new Vista. As far as brand names, I have never been happy with HP with their desktops, so I think I will just skip over their laptops. I love Dell products and have always had good luck with them and their customer service (I know some have not, but I have). However, both Toshiba and Sony Vaio have been recommended to me and I am looking into them right now.

Please post anything you might come across, as I am very interested in the responses to your question.

Have a great day!
Thanks, I've been researching it too,
it does seem like it is very treatable and is also very rare and slow-growing. It looks very promising. I have printed out a bunch of stuff for mom and she is feeling much, much better with just that. :)
While you're researching your options
it might be helpful to you to approach things from the other direction. Try to determine the outcome you hope to achieve and then work backwards to come up with different possibilities to achieve your goal. Maybe after your son has had his depression addressed with appropriate couseling or medication, you could involve him in the decision-making process. He sounds like a bright kid; he may come up with ideas you hadn't considered. In any event, I wish you the best. It's tough enough to be 15 without health issues. He's lucky to have such a caring mom.
So: it's ok for MTs to lose time/$ on researching,
Sounds akin to a DOUBLE STANDARD to me.

Even if we're both paid the same way, it seems that since you merely have to LISTEN, then fill in a few words, even if you have to look them up, you haven't spent NEARLY as much time per report as those of us who actually had to PRODUCE them. You're only researching the blanks that you're not sure of. We have usually researched several other terms in the report that we found the answer to, and are then correctly typed. You don't have to do a thing about those. So how can you be supposedly losing more than we do every time you have to take your foot off the pedal to fill in blank? We have to do the same thing, only more often.

The only way you could be losing more money than we are is that you probably make more to begin with.
You seem full of yourself, what makes you think you are tops
of much anything. I am with the rest, I top over 3000 lines a day, make few mistakes, have been at this for 3x as long as you and I never had anyone bow down before me. I think your attitude is bad.
top of "each" arm or tops of both arms.
nm
Need Advice On Researching Possible Line
Okay. Not sure if this is correct forum, but I hope it is.  I have worked for a company for 3 months, just passed my probation with flying colors. Problem is that my line counts are terrible, to me. I am used to transcribing 200 to 250 lines an hour and have done so for 10 years until I started this new company.  I am just as fast, use the same Expander as my old job - both are Word platforms so  just copied my old Word expanders.  I am making half of what I used to make and what I need to make as I support my family.  My team lead keeps telling me its just me and not to worry, I'll get better. But I am going full speed and am fine.  Still, I thought it was me. Then I coincidentally started a part-time job to supplement the full-time one, as many of us are doing. I have been at this job only 2 days, and in 2 days I am back to typing 250 to 300 now per hour.  I am shocked and mad as a hornet, as now I think I see what may be going on with job #1. I know these are very serious allegations, but have no idea how to prove this, yet to me there is no other explanation. The old walks like a duck, smell like a duck, its a duck thing.  I basically type more lines on a brand-new job with new accounts and new doctors in 2 hours than I do in 5 hours on my other job.  Anybody have any suggestions?  Other than the obvious that job #2 should be my primary job, is there anything I can do to check line counts definitively? Both pay per 65 character lines, including spaces and headers.  Both do not pay for any demographics. 
You could color the tops of those keys with a Sharpie, too. nm
s
Spent 20 min. researching with very little info, and at the end, Dr. said 'Just take that part ou

I hate it when I spend so much time looking up things I do not know (terms or medications, or even a referring or copied doctor's name and address) and then the doctor changes his/her mind and says to just take that back out.


                              


Or, you spend all that time looking things up and researching, then at the end they say 'Oh, by the way, here's all the information you just wasted your time looking up.'


Ggggrrrrrrrrrrr. 


I'll be back to rant more later because this has REALLY been getting on my nerves lately, and seems to be happening a lot more often.


5 minutes tops; if not tend to waste too much time - sm
google what you think it may be, or key terms in the phrase and usually you can figure it out that way pretty quickly.

Search for EFT techniques for pain control. Haven't tried myself, just researching now. Might hav
s
I wear comfy thermal pants and tank tops. sm

see no need to look professional, feel professional, in the privacy of my home.  My work is professional, and that is what they get.


Even when I am what would be considered unkempt, I make a terrific line count.


I do love those younger gals though, the always pudgy ones in hip riders and too too tight tops.
so attractive with the roll hanging out.
My hubby will always be the bread winner - I am close, but his salary tops mine. sm
My hubby works for one of the top Oil Companies in USA - with overtime - $150K a year for him. He has all the bennies, pension, 401K, profit sharing, etc. I am about 50K shy of his salary.
My computer crashed and I lost ALL my bookmarks for researching, please share your favorites. Thx.
x
Meditech questions and Cerner questions. Any input is appreciated. SM

I just recently went back to work in the office at a local hospital. We type in both Meditech and Cerner, depending on what you are typing, i.e. Medical Records reports versus Radiology.  We are currently typing blindly in Meditech, meaning we do not have access to our line counts and must depend on management to give us our totals.  In Cerner, we are able to run a line count report and print out a hard copy of our line counts at the end of the day.

We are finding that 800 lines in Cerner equals about 500 lines in Meditech.  We are not paid per line nor do we have an incentive plan, but we have a new HIM Director who would like to institute an incentive plan and the administrator over our department has laid down the law and decreed that all transcriptionists not making minimum in the department will be written up.  Problem is according to Meditech line totals that we have been given, that would be about half the department.

The transcription supervisor has taken our concerns to the new director who told the MT Supervisor to hold off on writing people and has taken home all the line counts from the last month and she is going over them with a fine tooth comb this weekend.

I am not a very trusting soul by nature, so I am doing a little research on my own.  I've been in this business for about 15 years.  I started out in a hospital and have worked for a few services at home and am now back in the hospital setting.  So I know a few things about line count and I consider myself to be pretty well informed on trends and technology in the industry.   I would like to walk into our next department meeting armed with as much knowledge as possible.  So I have come up with some questions that I would like some fellow MTs to answer, give opinions, and maybe even direct me to websites or individuals who could give me a better understanding of Meditech and Cerner.  Here are my questions:

 


  1. Is it possible for an MT to have access to her line count in Meditech or is strictly a management function?  Any MTs that work in Meditech on this board, do you currently have access to your line counts and if so, how do you check them?  Is it an option on the main menu after you log into Meditech?

  2. How is a line defined in Meditech?  (i.e. 65 cpl, with spaces, without spaces)

  3. How is a line defined in Cerner?

  4. What abbreviation Expanders work with both Meditech and Cerner?

  5. Examples of incentive plans (if anyone would like to share that with me that would be great, if not I completely understand).

  6. Measuring productivity by minutes of dictation versus typed lines.


    1. What would be the minimum minutes required for an 8-hour day?

    2. How would one structure an incentive program based on minutes?

I was thinking of presenting the idea that we keep track of productivity using minutes instead of lines since there is such a discrepancy in Meditech.  I also worry that if an incentive plan is put into place and we are still typing blind into Meditech, what's to keep management from shaving off a few lines here and there?


Feel free to email me or post here any responses.  Either is fine.  I really appreciate any input, comments, or just plain old supportive posts would be nice too! 




Stedman's Ortho and Rehab words. You'll keep researching screws & pins as long as you do
s
Your ankle won't be healed in 3 weeks?? I have sprained my ankle before and usually a week tops
granted I don't know the "circumstances" but I really find it hard to believe you can still work (footpedal) but cannot drive in 3 weeks. If you are still in so much pain and on crutches then, then you have much more than a sprain.
re questions
yes i drink green tea, but prefer black tea. No, i've never had any such symptoms from it though and have no idea why it would happen, unless there are other things in that brand of tea that might irritate the colon?
questions

i am very interested in taking courses on mt and would like some help in guiding me in the right direction....can someone help me on that


 


Questions about VR
I am getting ready to train on VR and I am wondering if this is part of the latest, newest technology in our industry that I have been hearing about.  Are just some companies going to use this or is this something that is going to be required in the future from us throughout the industry? 
Questions....

If a person takes a job and finds out they aren't happy and then looks for another job, what happens if the recruiter overpromised?  Do they find another job?  And if they find another job and that one is running out of work all the time, do they start the search again? 


Final question....if they do all this, why do so many people on the boards call people who complain about companies good-for-nothing job hoppers who are never happy?


Looking for a new job. What are some questions...sm
I should ask besides pay, benefits, and hours to make sure I don't miss anything and then find out I've been screwed later?  Should I get pay in writing to make sure they pay me what they tell me. I never worked for a National, so I am unsure how a lot of things work with them.  Thanks.
IC Questions
Hi. I just accepted my first job as an IC and I am nervous!  Did I do a stupid thing by going IC instead of employee?  They are paying 8.5 for 65-char line including spaces and returns.  Does this sound reasonable?  How do I pay my taxes?  What about social sec? HELP!
Any questions to MQ

you can be an employee and ask, what will be my new


pay under the new plan.......NOBODY KNOWS.


you can ask what do you pay to be an Editor of voice recognition....


NOBODY KNOWS


But at the same time they want people to work for them.


Now you are saying there's a new mystery something?  This is


hilarious.


No legit company every does business this way.


two questions
I am also single and 50K is what I am thinking as well. I have very minimal bills. My only "dependents" are my 3 kitties and bird. To be honest, I got into medical transcription after my first year in college. I wanted to be a veterinarian. As much as I love animals, I really love what I do and honestly cannot say what else I would want to do.
Ok, I do have some questions...
Is it possible to speak to you via private messages or something? This board is a bit awkward to use and I have a few questions for you.

Thank you both... I have a few more questions...

Is this something that will happen on a regular basis?  How often do bipolar people get like this?  Is this the worst of it?  We both watch each other's kids a lot, and my kids absolutely love her.  But I'm a little worried now that it might not be safe. 


I'm also concerned for her as she just started a new job and is working on her master's degree.  I'm afraid that she may fail at both if she doesn't get this under control.  Is there anything I can do to help her? 


ok, so you have 2 questions?
1. i'd think that is great money.

2. i gross about $1200 weekly in 40 hours as an employee.

More questions

Do you find their work flow to be consistent - you don't run out or anything? It is really hard for me to decide to make a move - am not happy where I am at and want to come back home, but have really good insurance for family - I know there is no perfect place to work, but I would just like to enjoy getting up and working again without all the office politics. Thank you for being so open in talking - I find this board much easier to talk on than the previous one I was on - more open answers. Also, what kind of platform is used. Do you have to type in demographics and if so, do you get paid for them? Do you have a good word Expander and macros? It is so hard to make changes and want to know as many specifics as I can before I apply.


Thank you so much.


more questions

Do you charge more for printing?  How did you know the price range to charge? I live in a rural area and I have no idea what people are paying for this and I would feel stupid asking them what they are paying.  Did you go to the office in person and sell yourself or did you do mailings?  I don't know anyone in my area that is doing this so I am kinda walking bling here. I am sure I can do the work, it is just sollicting the accounts that I fear.  THanks to all that responded


Have all the same questions
you do. Also does anyone have a used c phone for sale?
your questions--sm
There are no connection problems with this voice player, as you are not on the internet while you use it. You type into Word and then connect to the internet to return the files. As far as the quality of the voice file goes, the digital player has nothing to do with that either. It depends on how the file was recorded from the company you are receiving it from. my files come from a call-in service on my employers server. If the docs use the telephone connection, like they are supposed to, the quality is great. If they use a speaker phone, cell phone, or head set, it can have more *interference* on it. I have one doc who dictates onto a tape recorder, then calls in on the *system* and plays the whole 30 minute tape. He uses the tape over and over again, so it degrades with time, but I have learned to understand him anyway. I have another doc who also uses a tape recorder, but likes to do it while he is waiting for a train at a depot and while on the train. I mostly hear the background noise, which is awful, but I can still make out what he says...most of the time. so, the file is only as good as the person recording the dictation. you have good ones and bad ones, just like any other dictationists. anything else, just let me know. relax, it will be fine.
questions
good day to everyone.  i have just finished my medical transcription course.  however, i have questions regarding how to put negative points on errors on my transcription. how would you rate the gravity of an error in punctuation marks as against an error in the MEDICATIONS SECTION of the report.  for example, my punctuation error was given a negative point of .5.  in the same manner that the dictated KCl (potassium chloride) was transcribed as KCL.  would you also give the latter a negative point of .5?  if not, how many negative point would you give? thanks a lot and i hope you could help me.
More Questions

To those of you who so kindly gave me advice on working from home:


What kind of equipment should I invest in?  Do most companies us the internet. One company I talked with still has clients that us Lanier equipment.


#1 I would think would be a wav pedal and headset but what about an LX-219?


What do you use?


Thanks


Your IC Questions
You are responsible for your taxes. I recommend w/each paycheck, you put 20% in a savings account so when you file taxes, you don't have to scrounge up the money to pay IRS - or you could do like others and file taxes quarterly. You will have a 1099 instead of W2/W4. You don't establish yourself...as an MT you are either an employee with insurance benefits, 401K and taxes withheld or not.
Questions about DQS
Good morning, I am about to start with a company that uses DocQScribe and I understand that MQ uses it also. Since there is a specific MQ board here I thought I might get some answers here. I really like Stedman's Spellchecker, and want to know if it is compatible with DQS? Also use ShortHand for Windows, wondering about that. I have used built-in spellcheckers in other platforms, and just don't care for them, they just don't seem to be as good as Stedman's. And in general, your opinions about the DocQscribe platform itself. Thank you.
VR Questions

I have an office going to EMR with voice recognition software.  The OM tells me I will still have this account because there is no way the VR will work for their Indian doctor and another doctor that mumbles horribly.  Is there anyone that has experienced this?  Also, will editing of the VR be needed?  The OM mentioned that if it does work, she will need me to edit reports.  How much does one make per line for editing VR?


I know I have lots of questions, but this is my largest account and with a disabled hubby and three kids, I'm a panicked breadwinner right now.


Thanks!


More questions
Does he hold out your taxes?  Do you have benefts?  Do you get paid the same amount no matter how much or how little you transcribe or if you take time off?   Have you figured out how much you get paid per cpl or hour?  I would figure out how much I am making per cpl or hour and go from there.  Be sure to figure in the time you are not working and getting paid.  That is a little unusual to be an IC and paid monthly and not on production. 
Questions
Are you using an Expander along with the keyboard? (I sometimes mess up by assigning F keys to things that I shouldn't).  I've linked an article from Computer Hope that might help.  If it were me, I'd just go out and buy a new keyboard.  Nothing more frustrating than a semi-functioning keyboard (except perhaps a semi-functioning toilet).
asking questions

I get the feeling that many MTSO do not liked to be asked questions.  If I am looking to make a switch I am just looking out for myself.  Mind you, I send in the resume and THEY call me. While I may get some that offer 3 insights to the job right off the bat, if I ask if there is a chance to make more of a base pay I either don't hear from them or they think I should look into something else.  I have run across 1 company that was very very informative without me asking too much, but they didn't have direct deposit, and they were on the other side of the country from where I am and was just not too keen on the thought of a check by mail. I guess I'm just kind of feeling not to happy right now with all of this.  Thanks for listening. 


 


Questions

You have several hundred addresses typed out, but are they in a table format or free style?  If table, then keep the doc open, then go to Tools, Envelopes and Labels, select the label you are going to use under options (refer to the Avery label sheet for label number).  Then you click New Document.  Go to the doc where you have the addresses, select all and copy and paste.  You may have to copy and paste by table row, to make it work correctly.


If you are trying to integrate them into a Word Mail Merge doc/letter, I can explain but Word help does a much better job.  Look in Help, Mail Merge, data source, show data source, or something like that.


two more questions....

What companies do you use and what were the up-front costs?  I believe the monthly fee is around 50 dollars from what I've seen.  Thanks in advance.


I did ask those questions!!!!!!!!!!!
I did ask those friggin questions!!! My company did what a LOT of companies do--they tell you one thing in the interview and then when you actually work the job, they change it! There is no reason under the sun that I shouldn't be able to work a split shift. One of the women who has been there 30+ years said it's possible.

I know what I was told in the interview and it was that women with small kids are their "ideal candidates". Certainly they don't think an ideal situation would be to have toddlers running around while you are trying to type.

Give me a break.
FTP questions...

I work for a small doctor’s office and the time has come for us to have outside transcriptionists working as independent contractors.  How do I set this up for them to send me their completed work via FTP? Help!! The only thing I understand about the FTP is you can transfer files from computer to computer securely – the rest I am totally lost about.  How do I set it up? How/where do I log on to get the work? How/where do they deliver the work? 


While I am asking questions
the voice file is coming from a service out of Oregon who posted a job position on MTStars.  She did not give her company name, but I found it on the Internet.  It is BMT Office, or Bassel Medical Transcription.  Has anyone heard of it?
Two Questions

Does anyone sit on an exercise ball while working?  I am wondering if it would be too difficult to balance because of the foot movement and the typing. 


Also, about running enrichment (from previous posts) ... can anything similar be done in MedRite?  That would be awesome if I could search out the common phrases used!


Thanks for any input! 


If I can help with any questions...sm
feel fee to email me!