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They think they don't care how we get the work as long as SM

Posted By: Becky on 2005-12-19
In Reply to: ATTENTION all MTSO and hospital...please get 1-800 numbers...UNLIMITED LONG DISTANCE is being canned - Concerned MT

it gets done and doesn't cost them anything. That's what they think. If you can't do it, they'll get somebody who will.


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As long as TAT is met, why should she care
x
My "quess" is Drs. dont care as long as there is
x
MQ has a long way to go with the ASR believe me for critical care. Not great by any means so maybe
didnt pan out as well as expected either.
I completely agree. I don't care how long it's been a 'tradition'.
It's pure senseless slaughter in the purest form.  Maybe they should have "running of the Spaniards" and see how they like it! 
Drs dont care as long as report in folder. They
x
IC sets their own hours. As long as the work is done by the deadline, you decide when to work.

Don't these MTs even care about their work?
I'm blown away...how do we stay in business as MTs when this is being sent to hospitals?
Do you really think they care who does the work
or basically how it is done? I don’t think the physicians care at all.
I take pride in my work. I always take care, as if the
aa
very refreshing to see someone care about their work - sm
I only wish that the service that was transcribing our hospital's work did the same. Their work is beyond horrible and the account manager that we have to deal with is a b**** on a good day!! She has every excuse for every request or correction we send back to her. Oh... I'm getting off track.

Anyways, the service that our hospital uses has transcriptionists that cannot punctuate if their life depended on it. The sentences run on and on and on and on. The doctors even say the punctuation and a couple of transcribers STILL WON'T PUNCTUATE!!

Oooohhh that feels better just getting it off my chest and fingers!
Acute care work goes by
work type. Consults are a work type, discharge summaries are a work type, OPs are a work type, H&Ps are a work type. They might also have ER, cardiac procedures, neurology procedures, and others, but the bigger hospitals may have other, possibly in-house, MTs doing procedures and ER, so it mostly refers to the Big 4 work types.
I also work for acute care and we are
x
XMTSO doesnt care where you are going to work or what they
;
Not sure if this will work, but hit control shift 8. This might take care of it.
Hope it helps
Do you use child care so you can work? Write
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Clinic work to acute care
You are on the right track but it's just that no one has given you the break. Most MTs start with clinic notes and then wait for a break into the Big 4 doing acute care. Don't get discouraged. Yes by all means, test away and you might just get lucky. Take any job you can doing acute care even if the pay and hours are bad just to get experience under your belt.

It's not easy making a go of it these days even with tons of experience. Ya gotta be a little clever and have a game plan. Look at it as a challenge and keep at it. Best of luck to you.
I am sorry, where I work we are swamped. It is acute care, though sm
I worked clinic for my first 8 years. From September until March it used to be slim, very slim. That was half the flipping year! In acute care there is less ebb and flow, in my opinion. It gets lean around spring break time, and again when school starts. How long it is slow can vary. I can't even believe how swamped we are at this point. I can see the number of reports are awaiting transcription and it has doubled every 4 hours all weekend AND people have been working all weekend.

If you do clinic, I wish I had an suggestion of how to break into acute care and I don't. I went from clinic only, to a surgical center doing all OPs, which was HARD HARD way to do it. I ended up in an enormous teaching hospital because I had OP note experience. Mine was sheer luck. I'll pray you have such a neat opportunity and can make that switch.
I work 2 jobs, one FT that takes care of
my taxes (I have extra held out), and also as an IC.
Be honest - the only people who care where the work is done are the MTs! nm
x
getting paid is showing appreciation for my work. that's all i care about.
who cares if some supervisor "appreciates" me?  i'm in it for the money not for someone to "appreciate" me. 
Try to work w/o distractions, if the cost of day-care is an issue -sm
then you will have to learn to work when your kids are sleeping basically. That is what I did. It is hard and you do not sleep much...I generally worked at night until 2am and got up at 8am before they were old enough for preschool, and squeezed in work here and there during the day. The younger they are though the easier it is to work I think. But you can do it, but you better be determined if you want to do it that way. I still work at night but not that late anymore since I have 7 hours during the day to myself now. It's still very hard to work when they are home (5&7) but my DH watches them a lot and takes care of them when I do have to work and they are home, so good home support helps too. I have 2 jobs so must still work crazy hours but I do what needs to be done.
Soft tissue work with chiropractic care
Moving/manipulating the skeletal system without addressing muscle/tendons/ligaments is useless because the bones will misalign again if adhesions, etc. in muscles (from previous injuries, bad biomechanics, gravity's effects on our up-right postures,etc.) are not dealt with. I'm in my late 40's so I speak from experience. Muscles are often the culprits that pull bones out of proper alignment. Stretching muscles with adhesions is moot. Consider most of the time we are bending forward in our daily lives; psoas muscles get stronger but back muscles (S.I. ligaments) do not.
Soft-tissue work is essential. Chiropractic care alone doesn't complete the job, hence, need for repeated visits over months/years.
Hope this helps.
You can't take care of an infant all day and work full time.
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We may care what our work looks like & how correct it is, but many clients don't. They want words
j
Clinic work or acute care question....sm
If you were offered a job by two different companies, the benefits were the same, line rate was the same, everything was the same except one was exclusively acute care and the other was clinic, which would you choose and why?  I have two offers and everything is even except for the type of work.  I would think clinic work you could get more lines, but then it is not as marketable later if I have to switch companies as staying acute care would be.  Any input? 
I have 3 jobs, 1 FT doing acute care, and 2 PT doing clinic work. sm
It can be a challenge juggling things, and I really do not have much of a social life, but for now it works.  It not only keeps the wolf away from the door but allows me to build up a little nest egg and save for a mega vacation I have planned in November to celebrate turning 50.  Having goals definitely helps me get through it all. 
I started on Acute care, then went to clinic work, - sm
and then back again. I found clinic work to be more challenging, plus it often included radiology. I think it's more a matter of just getting familiar with each institution's way of doing things, along with new doctors, and getting familiar with a few new terms (which don't we all do every single day, anyway?) than it is one being easier or harder than the other.
Would anyone care to share where you work? I love OPs, but do CONS and DS all day.YUCK! nm
x
Hey honey, you can work at home and no one will care about your physical appearance. sm
I actually hired a girl one time who was overweight. She could not BELIEVE I would hire her. I told her I did not care if she weighed 1000 pounds, if she could do the work, she was okay by me.
...that's as long as you do this work. nm
s
How long do you need to work as an MT...
to be considered "seasoned"...my Editor called me seasoned and I have been at it since October of 2006.  I cracked up!!!
As long as QA is up to par, that could work - sm
but in past experience I've had to deal with some pretty shady QA people. In one case, the *rules* changed almost daily, so you were damned if you did, and damned if you didn't: a lose-lose situation. With regard to TAT, I've been given warnings about work being out of TAT, when it was already out of TAT when it was given to me. So even though the reports were typed within minutes, I was still *warned* about being out of TAT. Finally, I've had QA people *correct* words, changing them from being spelled correctly, to being spelled incorrectly, and we had no way to appeal this. Then, when review time rolled around, we'd see the *mistake* (made by QA, not by ourselves) reflected in our reviews & our pay scale. Worst of all, we had one QA-person once that used to arbitrarily add or remove ENTIRE SENTENCES from reports that we had typed correctly, or change punctuation in such a way that it changed the meaning. We had no recourse against that, either. Since those QA problems directly affected my ability to get a bonus, or even to earn a living, needless to say, I left. So if *punishment* is going to go along with what QA finds on reports, then QA has to be almost above reproach. With the peanuts that editors & QA are being paid these days (along with the rest of us!), getting top-quality people can't be easy. Also, in order to keep QA *honest*, and not promote greed on their part (at the expense of MT wages), the QA people should probably be paid on salary or hourly, NOT on production.
how long did you work for them?
I have never had any problems with her.
As long as the work gets done, and . . .
all MTs have enough work, I don't see whay anyone, including the MTSO OR the other MTs, would care.
Could your hubs become a patient of a home health care agency and then you could work for them
s
How long would you continue to do work for someone sm
when your check didn't come when it was supposed to?  It is a week late now, saying it was mailed when supposed to be mailed to the correct address but i have not received it yet.  I now already have 2 weeks worth of pay supposed to be on next check.  At what point would you not do any more work until receiving payment?  I have worked for this small MTSO for about 10 months now and never a problem before.  Just leiry as the more I type, the more income i am wondering if i will receive.  Not idea if it truly wasn't mailed or if lost somewhere in the mail. 
Not long ago nothing but complaints about no work at MDI-FL.
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How long ago was this? I know MPWord to work quite well for me.

k


you won't be working until you die. You won't have work that long.
x
If you work for a bad company long enough, believe me
.
I agree. As long as you have the work
option to give work to another IC.  I has a client that used other ICs.  Just because I transcribed for one physician didn't mean I could expect to receive all of their work.  Being an IC is being your own boss, not your client's boss to tell them who the can and cannot contract with.  JMO.
your computer will work as long sm
as your generator is running. High speed cable would work if you have that outlet hooked up to the generator. Usually a generator is not hooked up to the whole house unless you have a "whole house" automatic generator. If the power is on and the cable is not out, you can work.
I work for both ... my comparison (LONG READ):
HOURS/CLASSIFICATION:
MQ: You have a choice of FT with full benefits -- 39-40 hours producing average of 150 lines/hour minimum; FT with limited benefits -- 39-40 hours with less than 150 lines/hour average but more than 100 lines/hour; PT with limited benefits for 8-16-24 hour schedules all averaging 100 lines/hour.

Spheris: FT is 37 to 40 hours a week, with 10,200 lines required by payperiod's end. PT is 20 to 36 hours a week, production is 5100 lines/payperiod minimum.

OVERTIME:
Both companies structure overtime the same way; averaged in the same manner; requires approval, must be in addition to 40 hours WORKED (PTO, DT do not count).

SCHEDULES:
Both require a schedule with the offer of "flexibility".

TIME:
MQ: Time sheets are used; MTs fill them in manually and submit.

SPHERIS: Galaxy is used -- you clock in and the system punches your time for you. Day's end, you see how much you've worked and allocate your time accordingly (productive time, PTO, meeting with mgrs, etc.).

BENEFITS:
MQ: You see the benefits in the Harmonization booklet. The employee's cost of insurance benefits is assigned by the state you live in (as well as which/if coverages are available to you).

SPHERIS: Med/Den/Vision are offered. Employees all pay the same amount for amount of coverages (EX: All employees wanting EMPLOYEE ONLY coverage pay the same; all wanting EMPLOYEE+ONE CHILD pay the same). It is available to all employees. Cost is not region-specific.

EQUIPMENT:
MQ: Use your own or they will provide. The current rental charges will no longer be effective in January; as well, the internet reimbursements will not either. I don't know if there will be a deposit for those just coming into the company after Jan 1.

SPHERIS: Must use their computers. No rental fee but there is a refundable deposit. You can pay it at once or have it taken out in 6 paychecks. Refunds to you when equipment is returned in good working order.

PTO:
MQ: You see the new PTO offered in the plan and can read online the PTO calculation formula.

SPHERIS: Same type of calculation formula; averaged quarterly and you receive a notice of what your new downtime/PTO rate is and what period it covers. Limit is $20 an hour tops for PTO. Lowest is $7.50. Amount of PTO depends on status and length of service and ranges for FT from 11 days to 21 days a year and PT 2.5 to 7.5 days a year.

HOLIDAYS:
MQ: You can read in the Harmonization booklet.

SPHERIS: Thanksgiving and Christmas are designated holidays. If you are scheduled to work on it, you can take PTO instead. If you work it you will earn double lines those days.

QUALITY:
Both require 98%.

PAY CYCLES:
MQ: Pay WEEK is Su-Sat; pay PERIOD is bimonthly 1-15th and 16th-end of month with paydates on 10th and 25th. Direct deposit available.

SPHERIS: Pay weeks are same as pay periods and are Su-Sat with every other Fridya as paydates. Direct deposit available.

BASE RATE:
MQ: With the new plan, you have your current base rate and it is the same on all work (unless you do part radiology or ASR).

SPHERIS: Your base rate depends on the level of the account you type on. If you type on a really easy account, you will get less pay; more difficult accounts, more pay. Each account level has a new-hire hourly associated with it. Levels go from level 3 to 10 with line rates 0.065 to 0.102. With Spheris, if your production earnings do not add up to at least minimum wage for the hours you worked, they will pay you minimum wage. However, you will not stay with them long if you cannot produce enough to keep you off the minimum wage payments.

INCENTIVE:
MQ: We know that incentive is achieved on a daily basis -- after you produce 1200 lines. Tiered so that you earn incentive ONLY on the lines produced AFTER 1200. It barely puts change in your pocket for mid-range producers. Only rewards high producers.

SPHERIS: Incentive is base on each week's production (Sun-Sat). So you can have a really bad week and only get your base and then next week have a great week and get incentive. Once earned, incentive applies to ALL lines typed and ranges depending on FT or PT status. FT: 5200 lines start at 0.002 and increases up to 7000+ lines getting 0.015 cpl incentive. PT: 2700 lines = 0.001 and increases up to 7000+ lines = 0.015 cpl. Whatever incentive you earn that week is applied to ALL LINES PRODUCED THAT WEEK. Spheris also has special teams that pay higher base rates.

SHIFT DIFF:
MQ: 11pm-7am = 0.01 and 3pm-11pm = 0.005

SPHERIS: 4pm-8am CST daily = 0.005.

NO WORK AVAILABLE:
MQ: This is not specifically addressed per se; however it is not listed under downtime definitions at all. I doubt MQ ever pays for no work situations.

SPHERIS: Has a policy: "MTs will not receive compensation for "No WOrk Available" situations. If an MT runs out of work, the MT should immediately notify their Supervisor or follow th eout of work situation guidelines for their team."

Hope that helps.
Psychiatric work or long reports
Does anyone work for/know of any companies that are hiring for psych work or any other long reports like memory disorders, or compensations? I have three years working with these and acute care. I would like to find long reports to do all the time.
Please write to my e-mail address
Thanks!
Oh well, as long as it gets our work out of India and back to us
I would go back to the office in a second for decent money and affordable benefits. 
I did work three jobs for quite a long time. Then it dawned on me that

(1) I was always tired (2) I was never finished working (3) It wasn't worth it.


I quit EDiX, and I quit my hospital job, and I've never looked back. I usually have what money I need. I work about 5 hours a day plus a small weekend job recently that's no more than 10 op notes.


I'm a long-time Monrovian. Wouldn't work anywhere else. nm
nm
Will DQS work with dial-up (short-term). How long
nm
I won't work for a company that requires me to pay long distance
After getting reamed over by one MTSO who verbally promised to pay my unlimited long distance bill and didn't. I have no use for long distance because I use an inexpensive calling card or the Internet.
LOTS of work here, playing catchup all day long and still not there.
x
At least 1 whole POT OF COFFEE daily if not 2. Work long hours. nm
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