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Serving Over 20,000 US Medical Transcriptionists

Yeah, right. Then check with the IRS for national averages.

Posted By: nm on 2006-02-10
In Reply to: 90%? I think THAT is an inflated statement! - your choice to do earn a pittance- NM

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Oh yeah...and check this out!

As my father in law was fiddling with the pedal, my mother in law was calling the transcription supervisor at the hospital where she works as a nurse.  She didn't know the supervisor at all, but yet she offered to let me come down there and rummage through their old equipment storage room and take (and keep!) anything I wanted.  That just about made me cry, it was so nice of her.


CPL rate averages
I'm looking for some opinions from more "seasoned" MTs concerning line rates. At my current place of employment I am getting 8 cpl and I have been an MT for about 4 years. I've just been getting so discouraged lately because I feel like I should be making more than I am. What's the average cpl to be made and is it really possible to get higher cpl rates, and what do you have to do to get there? Trying to stay positive here! Thanks in advanced!!!
My line count averages

I have started at a new company, about 1-1/2 ago.  I am finding that with their platform I can average around 1000-1100 lines in 4 or 4-1/2 hours.  That is still with taking a quick break here and there for drink and bathroom, with kids home for the summer.  I am very excited about this because my goal is to do 2000 lines or close to it a day.  Unfortunately, my account is slow right now.  However, when it picks up I am hoping to become a high producer. 


It can be done, many MTs do it.  At my other job, I was taking 180 minutes and up a day and getting it done betwee 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. with breaks, etc.  We all have off days, but I think that with persistence, any MT can achieve their goals. 


I really hate it when I see that people don't believe that someone can type 300 to 400 lines in an hour or someone can make 60,000 and up a year doing MT.  Believe me, I plan on making the bucks here in about a month or so myself!!!!!


I am an IC who averages about 120 minutes of dictation per day. SM
I am quite familiar with my accounts, and only have to look up occasional words, e.g. new devices, and the dreaded address for the referring physician that the dictator does not bother to take the extra five seconds to give you when the information is directly in front of him! I use no Expanders as the doctors who I transcribe for are not repetitious with their reports. It takes me about 6 hours per day to do 2 hours worth of dictation. I have to be pretty disciplined, but take frequent quick breaks (probably 5-10 minute breaks 5 times) to just stretch, get a drink or grab a bite to eat. Unless you would work a 24-hour stretch and are extremely quick, I don't think 300 minutes is very realistic. I have been doing this for over 20 years, and I can't imagine how your client or company could possibly expect this time frame? Did they just give you the work or have you had it for a while? Good luck. However, without having the actual dictation in front of me, I cannot say for sure. Some doctors can stretch a lot of "BS" out to consume a lot of dictation time, when in reality maybe they only dictated several pages. Speaking for myself, my doctors usually productively dictate for 2 hours worth of typing. I don't know your situation however.
That averages out to 21 to 25 dollars an hour

for radiology.  I earn more than that per hour on acute care, but I don't work that many hours a week.  How do you keep your arms healthy?


 


 


You have to understand though this site averages only around 100 online
users at any given time whereas most companies especially nationals have thousands of employees and/or ICs.

So statistically speaking, these comments (good and bad)represent a very small amount of the national MT population. To me, it seems like the same folks over and over.

I use this site as a guide NEVER as a Bible.

I wouldn't trade being an at-home full-time MT for anything. There are just too many positives that outweigh the negatives.
A small national is a national company that is smaller
than a big national.  There are a few "big" nationals, where they have hundreds, if not thousands of employees.   I work for what I call a small national, only has about 30 employees.    An MTSO could also be considered a small national. 
I went from national to small back to national
My large national has all the resources and money to operate successfully and have decent platform, etc., to work on, the small company did not, and I went back to the national.
Check at a local nursery/garden center for varieties that are bred for your area, then check online
s
Check the connections from where the cable originates to wear it comes into the house. Also check t
had a similar issue with TWC and they had done some upgrades and the modem I had was no longer compatible.  The tech knew what the problem was the minute he saw the modem, only it took me about 3 months and threatening to cancel for them to get out here. 
Yeah, yeah, that should be "your work..."

No brainer here. Stop payment on first check before you issue 2nd check.
:+
I have had a check bounce over a boo-boo in the check book...NOT A DEADBEAT!!
c
DID you check with Social Security& does your son receive a check???

Go to SSA.gov and research the payee options.  You may have to use the search engine, but your answer to this particular issue should be there.


I am disabled and while my kids were minors, I had to fill out a form each year on how I, as the payee spent each and every penny of the money they received.  I don't see how his mother can justify how she spent his money for things that you normally would pay.


That said, he is getting Social Security right?  Is your son receiving a dependent check?  Under law, if a parent is disabled and has minor children, each and every one of those children also receive a check until they turn 18 or graduate from high school, which ever comes first.


The check is a percentage of your husbands, so for 800.00, your son should receive at least 350.00.  If you have not been getting this, they would pro-rate it back to when your husbands disability started and that in itself, could solve a lot of your financial problems.  You can also find this out on their website,  HTH


no - don't check out wildblue. check out hughesnet. sm
i was on wildblue. i absolutely HATED it. i paid $400 for install and equipment and bill was $51.51 a month for smallest plan. no bills, had to be direct debit from credit card or bank. wasn't a lot faster than dial up and i frequently went over my download limit so i had to upgrade to the $80/mo plan. speed was no faster on their "fastest plan". they had a 1-yr contract and only 1-yr warranty. well 20 days (kid you not) out of warranty my tria (the eye on the dish) went out and it cost me a total of $275 for replacement and tech call (had to wait a week and a half before tech could come and then he no showed and rescheduled for the next day stating he didn't have the equipment he needed to fix me and the repair order had been in for over a week by that time. no call to say he wasn't coming either, just no showed). they TRIED to sell me the entire package all over again to get me locked into another 1-yr contract and i declined. it was best in their book so your warranty and equipment would be "new". i had to tell them for 5 months to change which credit card to debit from, never could get it right. had to tell them for 3 months when my phone number changed. i could not wait until the day my 1-yr contract was over. have heard really good things about hughesnet. i think it is a tad more a month, but supposedly a lot faster than wildblue and not near as many problems from what i have heard from others. wildblue was down for an entire week at one point throughout the year i was on it. always got lost signals and page cannot be found multiple, multiple times throughout the day. i used wildblue with VPN (with transtech) and could not keep a connection enough to get a decent line count as i was dropping signals too much and it did slow it way down. i finally got clinic work rather than acute care where time and speed wasn't a factor. research message boards for complaints about wildblue and hughesnet before deciding. also hughesnet i think told me a 2-yr warranty rather than only the 1-yr with wildblue.
Check the classified board here and check
E-bay.  Some companies will provide them for free or a small rental fee. 
(1) Don't work for a national. (2) Don't work for a national. (3) Don't work for a nation

If you still want to stay in MTing, which is a dying job, go to a hospital and apply to do radiology.  They sometimes hire people just out of transcription schools.


But don't work at home thinking you will make any money at all - even with 20 years of experience - the nationals have wrecked that. 


Be under the umbrella of protection at a hospital.  That way when your computer breaks, the weather is bad, you are sick, there is no work - you will not be without a paycheck. 


The nationals are selling a line of BULL.  Gradually they have taken what used to be our built-it benefits------------> and moved it over to their pockets and called it their PROFIT.  They are not brilliant - but they are unethical thieves.



Yeah, baby, yeah.
We are here for the long haul.
have you tried another national?

It seems you may have worked for one national, have you tried any others?  There are a few good ones.  I found a great one, but am keeping my fingers crossed because every time I find one, they start growing and changing (for the worst, in my opinion). 


Unfortunately, it seems to be the trend in our profession.  It could be we will all be out of jobs one day, just all at once in a heartbeat. 


Like the age of automation, didn't people lose jobs and become 'displaced' like all at once? 


I hate to say this, really, because I respect your feelings, but a lot of us lately are running out of work with our nationals.  Complete flipside - I have been running out almost daily, even on 3, 4 accounts.  I just ran out now and am waiting to get some work because I really need the money...


There seem to be no easy answers.  We are all at the mercy of our employers and whatever they decide to do.  Seems there are no laws for people like us...we are like slave labor. 


I hope you find your answers, and I think your Sparkle paper towels are giving some great advice!  (smile)


$36.5K, national and


For national MTs: how many different...

accounts does your national have you on...just curious.


I started with one and now am up to three and they're trying to shove two more accounts on me for a total of five. Simply hate it...would love to have just one primary account again with just one back-up.


As soon as I pick up momentum on the account I'm on at the moment, I get switched over to help out on another.


And yes...I have complained to them already...just wondering if this is the norm nowadays.


what national?
At home work or office work?  How long did it take you to finish the program?  What did you do or say to get hired before graduation?
Does that mean I should keep my job with a national?

Most definitely. Not MQ, another national. sm
I've been going on-line from dawn to midnight to get my hours in.  You know, this has happened with every service I ever worked for between Thanksgiving and mid January, so I'm not hysterical YET! 
my national because she is very....sm

Only ONE out of plenty I am sure do I like because she is communicative, will email you your qa'd reports if you want, and will even call you at home if you request.....I have NEVER met another QA person like her and I nominated her for QA of the month (year if they offered that but they do not - *lol*)


To me, it's all about COMMUNICATION!! 


 


A national,
Can anyone help me out?

Thanks!
national
!
I'm an IC with a national
and transcribe for a hospital. My TAT is normally 24 hours. Also, they hired me right out of school for 8 cpl.
the BIG national........LOL.....nm

for the national now on DQS...sm

but privately, which is my main source of income,  (4 MDs), having them for a long time, I do about 300-400 LPH with a 68-72 character line in a DOS program with ShortCuts expansion program.


I used to type 250-300 LPH for the national before they went on DQS 3 years ago.  That's been sliced in half.


best of luck to you!!!!! 


7 CPL for a national for VR.....nm
.
I got 9 cpl with a national
at their mercy as well.  I'll take the 8 cpl with freedom to work when I want thank you very much and not be at anyone's mercy ESPECIALLY as an independent contractor like some folk do for these companies.  I'll take the 8 cpl, but if I don't feel like working then I don't; end of story.  I have my own accounts that I make the rules and the line rate, not some MTSO spoon feeding it to me.  If I need more money then I'll just go out and get my own accounts.  Not getting rich off the companies online that's for sure.  Funny thing is whoever thinks that they are going to make top dollar on an account someone else (like a national or even a small MTSO) really has their head in the clouds.  If you are good at what you do, you can go and get your own accounts and make 13 cpl or even more...  go figure right????  Good luck my fellow MT's.  Nationals are not for me.....
I have only tried one national and that was

I have even tried a small MTSO and they didn't want to pay squat either.  I had no trouble at all with the dictators, but they still only wanted to pay 7 cpl as an IC and wanted to run my life, quick turnaround, yada, yada, yada.  I would have been better off taking the morning shift at Bob Evans restaurant or better yet, the Dunkin Donuts (Indian-run) would probably pay me better than that.  I say try your best to gain an account on your own even if it is only just one.  You are better off with a small MTSO, but.....they lose accounts too even faster than the nationals, so then what?  Put your efforts into finding an account on your own.  There have been some suggestions on this board regarding such and someone was even going to hire a business consultant to get her business going.  The other option is, if possible, try an on-site job especially at a hospital even if that is only to network.  Make sure all of your friends know that you are a medical Transcriptionist with a great worth ethic.  Word gets around and you would be surprised what can fall into your lap.  Good luck.  I do not like the way the nationals or even small MTSOs operate as far as pay and how they treat you especially when you are an IC. 


Not at a national, but it was (sm)
most definitely there when previously working in-house.
Is this a national..which one?..

Just curious because I did hear of 1 co that wouldn't let you check your counts, and it seemed to be causing a lot of issues with the MTs of course.  It ranged from some MTs feeling they were cheated out of lines to other MTs just wanting to know where they stood as far as their progress for the day. 


The thing is, I can't remember the name of that company for the life of me.  I thought maybe if I heard it, it would sound familiar if it was the same company. 


I have 5 accounts with a national and still run out.

$18,000+, small national. nm
 
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 work for a national
and I have a ton of doctors (clinic and hospital).  I type 1000 lines in 3 to 4  hours.  I don't have a lot of normals.  There are some but don't use them on a daily basis.  I just put my nose to the grind stone and make myself sit there for a certain amount of reports before I let myself get up.  It can be done.
Old MT can't adjust to National sm
I am so very aggravated.  I started with a medium sized national about a month ago....and today I counted my lines.   I made $30 for 7 days of aggravation and a big headache.   How am I supposed to make any money when I get a bunch of choppy little reports, followed by a letter - have to spent 15 minutes or so searching through a big database for what sounds like what doc is saying for a name.  Then each file gets saved individually, followed by the number of the voice file, and the doctors name.   If I have any questions, I must notify QA and see if they can help figure out the problem, but must put # and place in sound file in email, wait for a response, then fill in the blank.   Needless to say, I've had it.....I am a good transcriptionist, but I can't get ahead this way, spending all my time on searching up addresses...and other than a few piddly reports, the rest is letters!  Yuk....what would you do????   Thank you......
You will not find a National who will
appreciate you; however, if you worked for MQ for 8 years, you might be able to tolerate Spheris. I personally did not like them but hey you might. Transcend is a good company. I have several friends who work there but also have several who work at Spheris. I would just research as many as possible. Personally, I have never heard anything good about Medware. Good luck to you!
do you work for a national?
Then why do you work for them if they are a bunch of crooks stealing from you?  That is the only alternative to my theory, if they do not offer benefits, make you test even when you are seasoned, do not give raises, with no good reason other than they are greedy thieves?  It doesn't make sense to me. 
never a client from a national, but...sm

A client approached me AFTER both HE and I had quit working for this one particular MTSO...I worked for him, she found out and tried to sue ME for $20K.


I sent her back a play $20K bill and told her that was about as much as her "lawsuit" was worth. Never heard another word from her.


Saying Buh Bye to national company

I got hired FT with a local large hospital today, working from HOME. I was PT with them and got the go ahead today that I am now FT. Yeaaaaa! 


Just had to share.


Saying Good-bye to Nat'l that I work PT for. That will be nice. WIll only have 2 jobs instead of 3!


With the national I just left,

you need to basically double your production in order to break even with what you earned before by transcribing.  And they're doing VR with the better dictators so only the worst dictators are left.  And yes, they overhire, as well.


I'll never go with a national again.  Was the worst experience I ever had.  Give me a smaller company any day.  They seem to treat people better. 


should have said that this is for a small national not
an individual. We are trying to put some new things in place and want to make sure that we put the right things in place.
Go to National. You are in one poopy
z
National Certification for MTs

Can someone refer me to a website or something so I can get certified.  Finished my course with a college and they don't of course deal with the National Certification.  Anyone out there done the certification part.  Please help.  Thanks


More than $35 an hour for a national? I don't believe it. nm
s
National responses
Don't feel bad, I was led to a test site that I wasn't ready to go to, since I was updating my equipment. They also snuck in some crazy anatomy chart and did not specify whether they wanted bone, joint, muscle, etc., and when I got to the end of the written (without transcribing, mind you) they said I didn't pass the test! I've been doing this forever, so glad I am not involved with these knuckleheads!!! Another told me I was "outstanding" and that I would "here" from them.
Small national. nm
x