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don't cancel ADVANCE subscriptions - just send an email or letter

Posted By: sm on 2005-07-18
In Reply to:

detailing how disgusted you are with the fact that they are promoting offshore training and offshoring transcription.  This is the third article on this sort of topic that the magazine has done in a year. 


I find this particularly offensive because so many hospitals/medical record departments get the magazine and if they see this, then companies like Spheris, CBay, Healthscribe, and others will be getting called to come do their transcription!


 


So please, don't cancel your subscription, just voice your opinion and comments.  Thank you.




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If we cancel our subscriptions, Advance won't be able to
sell as much advertising.  THAT is where they make their money, not by promoting offshoring.  If they can't distribute XX numbers of copies per month, the advertisers will go elsewhere.  Boycott ADVANCE and spread the word.  Shut the traitors down.
Letter to Editor-Advance

I will  write a letter...


Anyone read Letter to Editor in ADVANCE see message
 February 26, 2007 issue?  Two letters regarding MT and AAMT.
Advance magazine? Anyone notice the letter to the editor?
It's on page 5 entitled Does Walmart or Home Depot pay better?......Gee, I wonder what company this person is talking about?  Okay, which one of you sent this in? hahaha!

 

Well, while everything the writer of this letter says is true about the company, I think we all know most of us make a bit more than 8 to 10 bux an hour.  For myself, it's about twice that.  If I really were only making that for what I'm doing, I WOULD head over the the Walmart or Target.  I would NOT do this for 10 bux an hour NO WAY in HE double toothpicks!

Idea in letter to Editor in Advance magazine (sm)
Just last night I read a letter in the Advance for Health Information Professionals from a former MR who is now a cancer registrar and loves it. I had looked into that myself a few years ago, although I chose to stay with MT. At the time there were on-line courses through community colleges.

What about coding? I have a friend who works now for a local hospital at home doing ambulatory coding.

Just some thoughts.

BTW, the letter to Advance can probably be found on-line at advanceweb.com/him. It's the Nov 5 issue.
There was an excellent letter to the editor in Advance Magazine last month sm

that spelled how why, but here are some of my reasons:


1. In all their years in existence, the AAMT has yet to make life easier for the AMERICAN MT.  In fact, the state of MT in this country is worse than I have seen it in a very long time. 


2.  The AAMT chose to align themselves with MTIA whose board of directors is largely composed of Indians.  They also support offshoring and have adopted the motto "work smarter" which to them means pay hundreds of dollars for a CMT that most companies will not even acknowledge and then hundreds more dollars to join AAMT yearly to get their crappy publications.


3.  They are now certifying offshore MTs.  Yes, nothing like opening the cover of the AMERICAN Association for Medical Transcription and seeing the names of the Indians who have received their CMT. 


4. I get less pay than I did 20 years ago and offshoring is the main reason.  So pardon me if I am a little testy that I just paid so much money to an organization who stabbed me in the back.


5. I certainly think they SHOULD change their name to something else.  How about the I SOLD THE AMERICAN MT DOWN THE RIVER ASSOCIATION FOR MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTION.  Bitter?  You bet.  Gosh, they made so many promises and all they did was take our money for a piece of paper rarely recognized by anyone at the same time extending a hand to the reason I am making less money than I did 20 years ago!  


6.  It's a bloated association full of lots of people who "do things."  Everything except stick up for the American MT. 


7. Oh yes, and the BOS is ridiculous.


Sombeody actually wrote a really good letter to Advance a few issues back. sm
It was in the Jan. 12, 2009, issue, letter to the Editor titled, "What Good is Change for MTs?" by Wendy Keller. She does attack AHDI in a very intelligently written letter.
I sent Advance magazine an email
I think if enough people did, then maybe they will stop glamourizing the overseas work. This is the third article in a year's time that they have done. A few months back Advance actually interviewed an Indian owner, picture and all, about his company!!!


They can send an email that goes to all MTs in one shot. I think she just means a courtesy email
would be nice. MQ is not getting any easier. My account has been picked over thoroughly when it went on DQS by ASR and I get all the remains because they only have a core group doing ASR which I think is wrong because you get all the bad dictators and it would be nice to be acknowledged that at least you know the person you can discuss problems with as they crop up. This is a big one and we have no manager anymore and no one to discuss this with at all in my office so you just sit here very day doing this work and no way to vent to someone that could offer some suggestions on this and other issues that come up to help relieve some of the stress of working this way.
Just send an email to the email link inside the post.
/
If it were me, I'd send a letter to all MTs sm
with a new policy whereby if any work was not returned within TAT, that work would be assigned to another MT, who will be the only one getting paid for that work.

The work has to keep moving.
Send a letter
Send a very nice letter to the head of the Human Resources and Medical Records Dept and tell them what you are looking for and if they use a service ask them if they would get back to you either via fax, mail or E-mail (include a self stamped envelope) so that you could contact that service.  It is hard for me to believe that all the hospitals in Colorodo use services -- guess Oregon is very slow as our hospitals in the Portland area only use for overflow and still employ large staffs and some at home.   But if they use a service it could be one of the larger ones and if you go with that service does not mean you will get that hospital account.  Where are you located if you are calling long distance to work at the hospital and yet are willing go go in-house?  Just curious.  Also see if there is a local chapter of AAMT's in the city you want to work and see if you can network through them.  Good luck.   Patti
did you send a letter first?
or just file in Small Claims Court. I live in a different state than her, but I believe I can file in my state because I did the work here.

I just happened to be checking my post right now when you posted reply. Weird!
send a certified letter
to the company, and make sure you put a CC: to an esquire with an address - if you have to, just make up a name, they never check.

Put in the letter that you are sending a CERTIFIED written notice giving them such and such number of days to respond to the letter from the time it is signed for receipt to pay the amount that is owed to you. Notify them in your letter that you will be contacting small claims court to file a suit (which can be done out of state), as well as contacting their state attorney general's office of illegal business practices. Make sure you put down who their state attorney general is so that the company knows you are not kidding around.


write a letter and send it to the higher ups.
Also, I think PC Magazine and other websites have complaint areas where you can turn businesses in for crummy customer service.  The company would rather satisfy the customer than get bad press.  Also, complain to the BBB or the FTC.  You can make yourself heard. 
Dud you send a demand payment letter? sm
You can find a sample one by Googling.

If you do win in small claims court, the judgement will give you legal ways to collect. For example, having the sheriff put liens on bank accounts, using a collection agency, etc.

Good luck to you. I have been in your shoes and, fortunately, the demand payment letter worked for me.
Send a very nice letter, thanking them for
the job, but your situation has changed and you can't pass up this opportunity you have right now. Say you will be happy to work out a 2-week notice if they need you. Then you're leaving on good terms but they can tell that you don't need to work 2 more weeks if they don't need you.
Step one, send a Certified Letter...

Return Receipt Requested (CLRRR). Keep the signed receipt as proof that they have received the letter. Your letter to them should outline what service you performed for them and what is owed for that service, the time by which you expect to recieve payment, the form that payment should be in, and what the next step(s) you take will be should they not pay up. Also, if the CLRRR is returned to you, keep it to show that you tried to contact them and go to Step Two, which would be to file a Small Claims judgement against them. Depending on where you live, this can be done at a District Justice's office and does not require the services of a lawyer. If you have to go to that step, make sure that you include the cost of filing that judgement in what you are owed. Just showing that you're smart enough to know what to do and how to get it done should be enough motivation for them to pay up. Good luck!


Send him a certified letter with bill demanding payment within
within five days from receipt (make it RRR). You have your proof that you notified him. If it is not picked up or signed for, you have your proof that occurred to. All these things go in your favor when trying to collect money. that's just a starter. I would never have let him get away with it this long. Once would have been it.
Send a letter of demand payment (check Nolo Law websites) - sm
to find any legalese you may want to include on it), and send it via Registered Mail, so that she must sign for it and you will get a receipt proving she received it. If she doesn't pay by your demand date, file a claim at Small Claims Court. Very inexpensive, and if she doesn't pay, and doesn't show up at court (in your state), you win by default. If still no payment, you can return to Small Claims and put a lien on her car, her house, anything you want, which can be forcibly confiscated by the Sheriff and then you can sell it to recoup the money owed to you.
Email me and I will send you one in .pdf
x
I may be with the same... send an email...
x
Send me an email
And I may be able to help a little.  I'm working with a man who is branching off of his parent's MT service in Florida who has done the research, and is now working on finding the doctors interested in upgrading from tape to digital for their service.
Too big to send by email

I actually need advice on two matters:


1.  My doctor's office received a file that is too big to send by email - and I only have dial up, so even worse.  They are planning to send this to me by USB flashdrive.  I need advice on how to work with this when it comes.  How will I get it into Express Scribe so that the foot pedal will work?


2.  I am starting my planning to set up my laptop for traveling.  I have a desk PC now and will be using both, depending upon where I am at.  What do I need to do to get Express Scribe, etc. to accommodate this.  Any details are greatly appreciated. 


TIA


Send me an email, probably know why
n
Do you normally send your work each day as 1 email ? - sm
If that is the case, then make sure you save all the sent emails (I save it all) and then all you have to do is bring up her email address, select all the appropriate emails that were all ready sent, hit forward for all of them and enter in her email. Should take you less than 5 minutes to do all this and be relatively painless. --- if this does not work, yes, go for the billing route, she should be saving the work or at least keeping a backup copy of it for a min. of 3 months. I could see a file now and then but not all the time as she is doing. Very disorganized. Good luck.
It is fair to send email sm

ask then via email, if they would mind sharing what is the lowest to the highest line rate offered, prior to test taking, resume and interview as this will save valuable time on both sides.   This is what I do, won't continue to waste my time (takes a lot of time) and end up with some ridiculous offer.  NOPE.


A few months ago, without knowing I was being hired to voice recognition until after the fact, was offered 5.7 for voice recognition and 9 for straight typing.  Of course, there was only a dribble of regular MTing, , so it averaged out making 6.7 cents a line.   It comes in as combo into the platform so 90+ was voice recognition and is broken down on the line count log.


So say had a total of 200 lines - and 90 percent (80 lines) was VR at 5.7 cents a line.= $4.56.   I bet some get even less VR rate too..


That leaves 20 percent (20 lines)  at 9 cent a line= $1.80. 


(get about a third of what you could get making no less than say 8.5/line) They want to dump the stuff into a computer to see how it reads it and you unscramble, need to put in the account specifics, it does not recognize beginning and ending of sentences correctly.  Ugh


Say you made at LEAST 8.5 a line somewhere for 200 lines= $17.00 and deserve more for sure,  One is reconstructing the ENTIRE report, could type it faster and it was exhausting (arms and shoulders, wrists, rwith all the extra key strokes to do it and of course not paid for this part.  Just an inexpensive way for them to unscramble the junk, insist on 98+ accuracy, so and so line count.  NOT ME .


 


Why can't you send the notes back by email
them in the hospital?  That's what I used to do.  Zipped and encrypted the files and they received and printed them at the hospital.
Please feel free to send me an email regarding...
your post. My response is far too long to post here, and could possibly be deleted if I provide names.


Anyone can send an email by clicking on your posts
and clicking reply by email. They won't see your email address unless you respond to them, but they can send and email. Anyone. You have to report the email to MTStars admin as spam. There is a link to click in any email that comes through our servers. If you don't notify admin, they can't block the email address. Please, please, please report them and do not respond. If you respond, you are freely showing them your email address.
They'll send an email out when they need extra work done.
The bonuses are tied to taking on extra work on top of your regular workload, not production or longevity.  It's per extra shift or per extra report on backlogged accounts.  Call and talk to them if you have any questions.
post your email address and I will send links to you (nm).

Becky, email me and let me know what print it was and I'll send you out another one.
admin@mtstars.com
It is not a breech of privacy to send unencrpyted email...

the healthcare provider , i.e. the doc, establishes the standards for protecting privacy of records. You (or your service) is the Business Associate who COMPLIES with whatever standards the doctor sets. Some docs send files by email, some want encryption. Hospitals, obviously, generally do more locking down on their stuff, as they are more open to lawsuits. All YOU have to do to be HIPAA compliant is to COMPLY witih the standards the doc sets. It is not up to you to set them. Also what you and everyone else forgets about HIPAA is it is a two part process. Not only does the patient's medical records have to be disclosed BUT the patient must also suffer a loss because of the disclosure. So even if your doc stands out on the street and tells passers-by about Mrs. So and So and her athlete's foot, unless she incurs a loss from that, it's not a HIPAA violation. Remember this whole thing came about because a pharmacy tech went home and told her high school son that another classmate's father was coming in for HIV drugs...get the picture? Something private was disclosed inappropriately and that's how the girl found out her father was HIV positive.


 


Microsoft Outlet will send encrypted email...sm...
Click tools, options, security, encrypt outgoing messages.
I use Abacus and send by email/WinZip encrypted. nm

Always! When emailing my resume, my email acts as my cover letter and when faxing, I always have a
Your cover letter says much more about you than your resume ever can.  Your resume lists your education, your jobs, and highlights your skills.  In your cover letter, you have an opportunity to sum up how many years total experience you have and get specific about certain things you've accomplished at certain jobs.
I just sent Bill O'Reilly a copy of letter I sent to President Obama. Anyone who can, email him
while the topic is fresh from his recent show. I do think Bill O'Reilly can at least get this offshoring debate out there, and right now we need publicity and basic facts to reach the viewers.
I have a call in system and also use tapes. We send completed reports via encrypted email.
I use MPCount, which is a free line counting program that you can download and it works great.
Becky, I found your email. I will send out another Crow's Gift tomorrow morning. It will be seale

I think that those with subscriptions should...sm
write a letter and state WHY they're cancelling, and then doing so. Magazines don't care as much about letters as they do about subscriptions.  Money talks!
Click on Subscriptions above.
Choose daily digest from the options.
Please leave an email or email me at my address....click the email button. Thanks...nm
x
Why did you have to cancel?
Isn't IC the pits?  They expect you to be at their beck and call, and can't guarantee a steady income.
so I did what you said, I tried hitting cancel

and it the upgrade icon just sits on my taskbar......I will never get rid of it.....so I went back and disabled all updates....until tech tells me how to handle this....


thanks for helping though!!!  *S*  Much appreciated :)


You say you can't cancel it - does that mean you can't delete it?

Have you tried using both the delete button on your keyboard and the delete icon in Outlook Express?


If your camera came with any kind of software, you should be able to reduce the size of the pictures so that this won't happen again. A lot of times I will do a test email and send the picture to myself to be sure it isn't too large.


If your camera didn't come with software and you don't have Photoshop (and don't want to spend the bucks for Photoshop), there are lots of freeware/shareware downloads for basic photo editing software. Just Google it and I'm sure you will find something that fits your needs.


are these the ones that cancel out outside noise?nm
x
If it's a business letter you use a colon. if it's a personal letter you use a comma. nm

:


Had to cancel my plans again today to do MT (sm)

Although these doctors pay pretty well they are a pain in the neck.  I am about ready to give this up altogether.


I have tried other services and they only pay about half of what these guys do.  What next?  See items on E-Bay?


CANCEL THAT-- It was MedRite that was not very good. SM
I worked on MedRite by Crescendo. Not Meditech. I don't have experience on Meditech. Sorry, I had the name wrong.
Cancel please. Question answered.
nm