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additional info

Posted By: agj on 2005-09-22
In Reply to: ergonomic advice - jw

Hope this helps.

http://ergo.human.cornell.edu/ergoguide.html


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additional info
Not sure about the driving yet.  She said she had a computer guy that might can get me set up from home.  She wants me to type into her computerized chart instead of just on paper if possible.  I have 17 years experience, it's clinic notes for the most part, maybe some letters here and there.  I was going to go with 65 count line including spaces and headers.  I am in Tennessee in a rural area, just a small doc's office.  I
Additional info on SS taxes

As above post says, you do have to pay the employer and employee portion of the SS taxes.  BUT, you then deduct the employer portion of those taxes on your 1040 at the end of the year.  It's a pain because you have to shell the money out up front, but you get the deduction for it.


So, really, there's no difference in the taxes.  It's just a difference in how and when you pay them.


3 additional?
Not too bad. I've seen the help wanted postings and wondered about them. I'd love to do the VR but have a bad back and can't sit 8 solid hours.
additional thought
well, and I was having red flags pop up in my mind as well because on their website www.unitedtran.com, there isn't even a physical address if someone wanted to inquire through an alternate route, they leave no phone numbers to contact, only general email addresses. So, I really appreciate all the input tonight! Thanks!
Some additional thoughts SM
I'm curious about what you've decided and agree with Searching's excellent post; but for whoever else is reading, it's inspired me to emphasize a couple of things I'd have liked someone to point out to me.

One, the future of this field is editing, not transcribing, emphasizing a different set of talents and skills. Just what the differences are I don't know as it's not discussed nearly enough, but they're there. Fewer people will handle more reports, getting in and out of them very quickly. Anyone thinking of entering the field should try to assess as quickly as possible whether the abilities to read fast and edit grammar and punctuation on the fly are there. Don't transcribe for two years before finding out.

Second, some are going to disagree with me, no doubt, but school is much, much less valuable than the same weeks spent actually working full-time. This is definitely one of those learn-by-doing jobs, so examine why you're going to school. If it's to get a credential to show an employer you're ready to start learning, okay, just definitely don't turn down a chance to actually spend hours with headphones and a keyboard for it. Buy a set of med terminology flashcards.

Regarding what else one might look to school for, though, trainees should bring a pretty good understanding of grammar and punctuation to the table with them and not need school for that. If more than a quick brush-up of basic "rules" is needed, that could be an warning sign that talents lie elsewhere. Or maybe not, but be aware. Similarly, not reading very much could be another since reading imprints written language patterns in a way spoken language doesn't.

Last, more and more people are paid by production, not the hour. $0.0425 per line edited, or whatever. Do 300 lines per hour for a total of 3 hours actually spent working, be prepared to gross $38 that day. Do 850 lines per hour for 8 hours, gross $290. So although being a demon typist will always be extremely valuable, also be prepared to use every advantage technology offers to get as fast as possible. Get a word Expander and use it. A lot. Learn to write macros. And so on. Best wishes.

What the other reasons might be for some people tearing their hair out over low pay and others feeling basically satisfied with their incomes I also don't know, but the ones mentioned are very important.
Once again --- IC taxes - YOU only pay 7.5% SS additional
The only ADDITIONAL taxes you pay is the 7.5 for the SS tax.  When you are an employee all OTHER taxes are withheld by your employer.  As an IC you control the withholding of your taxes as you are the employer.   You can find many deductions that you can take as an IC to make up that extra 7.5%.   It just makes my teeth grind when someone says that now as an IC you must pay your own taxes, no employer pays your taxes except for half of the social security tax.  All rest is deducted from your pay.   My first and second year I did see a CPA but now I use Turbo Tax and do it myself.  But keep track of any and all expenses related to your business so you get the NET income down as far as you can,  going to the bank, buying of supplies, telephone, internet, mileage.  I find that I have more usable income having my own business than if I were an employee.  But again, everyone look at your paycheck stubs and see how much you made before your employer PAID your taxes and afterwards -- gee is someone seems that the taxes came out of YOUR check and they did not pay them out of theirs.   It hurts to see that 15% taken away but just get your net income down as much as you can.   So if at 10 cpl you were an employee you would need to add approximately .0075 cents or after deductions about 1/2 of a cent to pay for your 7.5 percent social security tax.   Anyway that is my math for a Saturday. 
Did your computer come with a packet of additional
software?   I have an HP computer, about 4 years old, that came with several disks of extras, one of which was WORD 2000. 
Thanks for the clarification and additional information.
x
My computer has additional ports on the sm
front. Maybe yours does, too. Odd that you only have one on the back but maybe I'm not getting the picture.
WordzXpress gave additional pay for more difficult
adf
I agree with you - 1000 lines is wonderful additional help! sm
It is too bad you have hooked up with a person who does not value family. I always put family first. I used to not do that, and I regret those years.

I would establish borders with her - sounds like she needs it.
Depends on each company, but usually incentive pay is only on the additional lines. Ask to be sure.
s
The help file tells you how to create additional dictionaries and, yes, they do get full. nm
xx
Need additional cardiac reference - have Stedmans - need something more detailed about heart caths,
nm
demographic info is not the only info ...sm
protected by HIPAA, as we all know. I saw that ad too and was surprised to see it. Any identifying info is considered Protected Health Information, including diagnoses, tests, etc. This MTSO should have known better than to ask for that.
thanks for the info
Wanted to make sure it was okay to maybe start early or late some days, can't stand such a rigid schedule when i work at home. Understand about making sure to produce enough first though.
Thanks for all the info....
It saddens me to know that this is a problem with internet companies, I knew it happened at hospitals.
A little info
My sister graduated from nursing school in 1988 and had been working in nursing, until I became an at-home MT and she decided to take a coding course because she wanted to work at home, too. She took the course and took an in-house position. Some months later, she took and passed her certification. Now, she is having a really hard time finding an at-home position. I don't know if it's a typical story, but I do know she's been pursuing it pretty heavily and is having a hard time.
Thanks for that info (sm)
I was contemplating getting a second HSI provider. As it turns out, I am back on now. But, yes, started my day off all wrong. The stress from this is exhausting in itself. I will call BellSouth Fast and get the info. Hope it is available in Calif. If not, will find some sort of remedy with a backup connection using high speed internet, that is for sure. This cost me money.

Thanks for your response!
thank you for the info...sm


I'm considering asking for a trial at it, wish me luck!


appreciate the info
I think animals need a voice and things like PETA, no kill shelters, animal wildlife preserve are very important in our day and age of technology.  We need them as much as they need us. 
I think they all have the same info....sm

Because MT is a tiny community and we share the misery well.


I understand what you're saying (and it sucks to be in the situations you were in) but I do believe that if we are adequately vigilant we'll know what we need to.  OTOH, then there's me, and I don't care what they do as long as there's work.  So I get where you're coming from.


I just would like to see an end to the destructionist thinking about MTSOs and MT in general.  :)


Good discussion!


Have you tried looking for the info
on QNET? Might be available there.
I have info on them...
I didn't work for them because a family emergency came up when i was just finished with their training. The lady is really nice, but their training modules are a bit silly. You have to learn their platform to use it to train and then why bother doing the training because you just figured it out on your own..silly.
thanks for the info
nm
info
Hello.  My name is Chris.  I am getting ready to take my final exam for medical transcriptioning.  Does anyone have any advice for me?  How is it to actually get paid for doing this?  I have been studying for this for so long I don't know what I'll do if I ever get a job where I do get paid for it.  Thanks for any ideas.
Where do you get your info?
Are you in the banking business?  Where do you get your info?  Last year I was approved for a $30,000 home equity loan with no prob.  (Btw, got the loan for "just in case" what with daughter going to college, etc.  I used about $5,000 of that last year and paid it back within a couple of months).  3 years ago, when DH lost his business, we refinanced the house to assume what debt was left from the business with no prob, and btw, his FICO score is excellent too. It is hard for me to think i should "fix what isn't broken."
Thanks for this info...sm
Well, as much as I have enjoyed using Carnival, they have lost my business. I hope the person who thought up that response gets fired.

I'd love to see the link, so I'll Goggle it.

I wonder if Carnival is the only U.S. owned cruise line. Shame on them.

On CNN, I heard that other countries have been donating money. Why doesn't the person taking the calls from other countries ask if they could send nearby cruise ships instead of money (in a diplomatic way, of course)?

Thanks for letting me know that cruise ships was at least thought of.

You know, I want to help so bad, and I just know there's an answer to all this suffering that someone hasn't thought of. It's too much pain for anyone to bear.
Need some info! Help!!!
Hello!  I am going to test for a new job next week.  This will involve op notes, H&P, consults and discharge summaries.  I have about 6 years exp in Radiology and about 8 months doing H&P, office notes, consults and very minimal in-office op notes.  Where can I get practice tapes or anything else that will give me a chance of passing this test?  Please help! 
Thanks for info ... sm
on what they'll do when they catch me using it for transcription. I had posted earlier that I signed up for unlimited LD with Bell South as part of a package for $20/month. I told the call-center lady from India why I needed it, and she said that was no problem. A few days later, Bell South sent me a brochure advertising all the good things about the service and, in smaller print, I read "voice to voice only". It's good to know that I won't be hauled off to jail, so thanks for sharing what they said to you. If they called me on this, I was going to blame it on the call-center lady (she really should know the rules and regs on what she is selling; after all, she called me).

It's interesting, though, that when Bell South sent the brochure, they also sent an "agreement" outlining the billing and legal stuff. You need a magnifying glass to read it, but I've gone over it a few times, and it doesn't mention anything about voice-to-voice. You'd think they mention that in the agreement instead of on the brochure. I think I remember Vonage being a little expensive, so I'll probably go back to Qwest, and get their small business plan for $25/mo.
thanks for the info
Thanks for the explanation. I took the training for ASR but afterwards never received any of the work (even though a couple of my accounts are using it for some of the dictators). Still doing the MT'ing.
Thanks for the info dd

=
A bit of info (sm)

I've never worked for Accuscribe, but I did meet the owner once and felt she was incredibly nice.  We had a long talk at a convention.  I liked the idea that she said she paid premiums to MTs who most helped out their coworkers. 


In the past 4 years or so, the only bad thing I've heard is that they don't pay for spaces and that they require noncompete agreements, etc., before they will test MTs.  If you are applying for IC work, then a noncompete agreement is dodgy legally; you might want to consult your attorney and accountant to look over the paperwork before deciding.  [If you don't have an attorney and an accountant,  you have no business being an IC, IMHO.]


As far as I know, they still use DocQScribe as they were the company that first field-tested it when it was developed.  (MQ bought it from the software company.)  As you've probably already found out, there are those who love and those who hate DQS.  It's a nice platform when the demographics import feature works well; otherwise you end up entering a lot of data that you're not paid for.  Even with demo importing, you'll still end up losing lots of lines for things like date of service/admission/discharge, referring/requesting physician names, and names/addresses for the courtesy copies, all stuff we used to get paid for as recently as 2-3 years ago. 


Perhaps you'll post your experience if you go further with this company? 


Thanks for the info! (nm)
x
Wow, thanks very much for the info!...nm
nm
More info please sm
Can you give a little more information?  What else does he talk about?  Where is he inserting the scope?
More info
Nothing on ALMA.  What does the rest of the report indicate?
More Info
I don't have any medical background. There is a local Tech school offering a Certificate in Medical Transcriptionist. It costs $1560, but includes everything you need for the course. The info said you can do the work at your own pace. Some people finish in 5 months some in 9. How much do most people make to start off with?
Wow , thanks for the info....
that sounds like way too much work and not enough pay.
TMI (too much info)
YUK
Thank you for that info
I was planning to use a small electric heater in my home office and turn our furnace way down (that runs on propane) during the day as I spend all day in my office anyway (a third bedroom). There was some program on TV recently that said it would actually be more economical to do it this way if you were just heating one small room. Now, I don't know.... I am sure the electric prices per unit are going to rise as well so I may be no further ahead in any event. We are at least "locked in" on our propane price for this season and on a budget plan. Of course, it will depend on our winter how much we end up using obviously too.

I also bought me one of those "cuddle wraps" that zip & snap around you that I thought I could wear while working. I also bought me several pairs of thermal underwear and sweats. I should still be able to turn the thermostat down a couple extra degrees if I bundle up. :)

Oh, we also use a humidifier in the winter and it does help a lot as the moist heat makes you certainly feel warmer.
Any other info? NM
x
Thanks 4 the info! nm

Info
I work for DSG out of Atlanta and am very happy! I have been there for nearly 2 years now and do not have 1 complaint about them! I only have compliments for the job and management, always there to answer questions, give positive feedback (which is uncommon for most companies). I also had a friend who works for Greenlight in Oregon and she is very happy with them. She says Suzanne is great!
Does anyone have info about
x
tax info
They can't easily 1099 you if they don't have your tax info.... If it were me, I'd wait till they called me (and they probably will!) and I'd just say, "gee, papers?  what papers?  Didn't get them.  You can't correctly 1099 me yet anyway because I have not been paid in full.  Send me another set with my final paycheck and I'll get them back to you as soon as the check clears."   Till then, I'd flush 'em.  If you already filled them out at beginning of your employment, then their loss of paperwork is not really your responsibility. 
Thanks for the info...sm
When I first started there, it was the first time I tried IC status, so I guess I didn't know enough about it and should have researched first!
some more info

Concerning yo:  In the old versions of Word, I think 2000 and older, you could type 90yo and it would come out correctly.  With the updated versions it comes out with the space like you stated.  The only solution I have found is to type 90-yo and put year-old in the auto correct.  Maybe someone else has a better suggestion, but that's what I figured out.


I also agree with above about using Auto Text in addition to Auto Correct.  I use Auto Text for longer expansions, such as whole operative reports or physical exams.  You will find that Auto Correct will only allow so many characters in its expansions.   Hope this helps.  


 


some more info
Julia, stay where you are at. Do not go to work for Spheris. I just left them after almost 3 years of employment. They did not pay me for my last 3 work days (24 hours) because they must "approve" your hours/lines worked. I transcribed for a difficult account/s! Only not to get paid!! Spheris obviously thinks they can get away with this because their MTs/employees work from home! The CEO/president of this company is a very nice man. But obviously that doesn't trickle down to the rest of the staff. If the moderator has a problem with this post and/or deletes it, then the message needs to be sent out LOUD AND CLEAR that these companies are treating these hard working, loyal MTs like garbage who are GETTING THEIR WORK DONE FOR THEM and MAKING THEM LOOK GOOD by getting TAT BACK IN GOOD TIME. I hate this company. I can't believe you can be treated this way by a larger company. Edix was a decent company. Spheris is NOT.
Here is some info and a fix
http://isc.sans.org/

NOT THEN INFO... SORRY.
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