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Serving Over 20,000 US Medical Transcriptionists

you raised a point I've been thinking about

Posted By: moon1010 on 2008-10-07
In Reply to: He's trying to take away my ability to give myself raises - EB

With the use of Expanders becoming the norm now - at least from our end of things - I can't help but wonder if eventually that could really backfire on us.

It wouldn't surprise me one bit if a lot of docs, hospitals, etc. really don't have a clue that a lot of the line counts they're being charged for really weren't transcribed -- and when/if they do find out, I wonder how many will have the same reaction as your doctor.

I know expanders are necessary to meet line count quotas, but where are we going to be if the clients decide they only want to pay for actual keystrokes.


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My client was thinking about going EMR at one point...sm..

I was told it would cut back on their need for transcriptionists but it wouldn't cut out the need altogether.  They haven't implemented it yet.  Also, my PCP used EMR, and they still have transcriptionists.  I'm not sure how it works but it doesn't cut out the need for transcriptionists altogether, just cuts down on how much work you'll get. 


I would suggest start now looking for another part-time account somewhere.


I've been thinking about you all day

I know you must be really conflicted but I really wouldn't be confrontive towards her (your mileage may vary).  If you get confrontive, you just validate the continuation of the issue and help to keep it going.  It is HER issue to be friends with that person, not yours.  You say your marriage is the strongest that it has ever been.   If that is so, then I hope you can share your feelings of betrayal with your husband.  See, if you confront her, you are going to be pushing for HIM or HER to take sides and maybe he needs your strength to find his feet and be able to pull towards you instead of towards her.  I have always thought that in laws (and own family, actually) should only know a limited amount about your personsal relationship with your spose for this very reason.  They feel they need to fix it and with all her "advice" it sounds like she was maybe trying to fix your faults and blame you for making your husband want to stray.


Take away her power over your relationship.  Work it out with your husband.  It wasn't until I got to the point where I really did not care AT ALL what my MIL thought about me that she started respecting me and treating me better (still didn't stop her from gossiping behind my back!); however, when she tried to give advice, I would cut her off at the knees and refuse to be a part in it.  When she tried to manipulate, I suddenly found things to end the conversation, leave, get off the phone, ask if she needed help with cleaning her bathroom with my nose curled up, whatever it took to send the message I had no interest in giving her any power over me.  Sometimes she wouldn't talk to me for 2 or 3 months at a time, and those were blessed months  


Walk off that anger, clean out the bathrooms and talk WITH your spouse.


I've been thinking about you too, please let us know how you are.

I've been thinking about this..
How about if they start asking patients when they are admitted to the hospital if they consent to their medical information being sent to another country???? Surely the patients should be made aware of this fact and make that decision, no?
I've been thinking of doing that myself - sm
I would think you would need the wireless software for your keyboard and mouse installed on both computers, then also the adaptor/transmitter on both CPUs. I am just about to buy a new CPU myself and do this, figured I have to go to a regular keyboard and mouse though, which is fine though I will miss the freedom of no wires.
I've been thinking about this lately

There is a big difference between old-timers and newbies.


Those of us who have been doing this for a while got into the field because the work interested us and matched our natural skill (grammar nerds and liked to type and naturally curious and would research stuff in big medical books just because we were intrigued) set well.


It seems like the newbs get into this TO WORK FROM HOME.  Doesn't matter what the work is, they just want to work from home.  I hear newbs say things like, "I don't like English," or "I'm not good at punctuation." (!!)  This is the job, people!!


I actually knew a woman who was going back to school to be an MT.  She was deaf (literally--had bilateral hearing aids), had a back injury that made it so she wouldn't be able to sit for long periods, and couldn't string together a sentence on paper if her life depended on it.  What are these people thinking??!!  Mercifully, she dropped out after receiving marks in the 30s and 40s on her first several tests.


 


 


 


 


 


Yeah, I've been thinking about that lately.
We just had a new Starbucks open up here, but it's 10 miles away from my house.  No way am I going to drive that far.  They only pay their managers $8 an hour.  As it is, both times I've been in there, they've messed up my order and the drink wasn't even hot.  Yuck.  Lukewarm mocha latte.
I've been thinking of getting my own accts but
I'm worried about not being able to find coverage when I want to take a vacation.

How do you handle this with all the accounts that you have or do you have to take your work with you?
I've been thinking a lot about coding
but I'm curious about the future of coding, mainly on the basis of outsourcing for not only MTs, but also so many other professions. I honestly think I would love coding, but worry that anything I can do at home (whether I do it or not) could also be done overseas, and I worry about getting a job (from what I've read, it seems as difficult as MT to get into), so just have been very reluctant to make the change.

I really would love to see a followup from you about how you make out, and wish you much luck with both the exam and your coding career!
I've been seriously thinking about it. I actually like my company this year.
However, I have no money because work is slow and my kids and bills come first. I've been thinking about baking cookies and candies to mail. The people I would like to give the gift to work at home anyway, so sending it to corporate HQ wouldn't accomplish gifting those I want to thank. I can't afford to send individual gifts to each of them. Plus, a little part of me considers buying things for your supervisor to be brown-nosing.
I've been thinking about a job change recently

I've only been in this biz for about 13 years, but now that my last one is off to school, I'm also thinking about a career change.  I live in a very rural area as well, so I understand completely what you mean about people thinking $8 an hour is a good wage. 


One thing I'd like to suggest is looking into a state job.  We have 2 state prisons in my area (about a 20-minute commute) and both hire medical transcriptionists as well as medical records personnel.  These jobs generally start out at about $12 to $15 an hour plus state benefits, which in my state are the best bennies anywhere.  The jobs that require coding certification pay even more.  I would highly recommend that you look on the internet for state civil service jobs in your state.  You'd be surprised at the opportunities in the medical field. 


I'm considering this option myself but want to wait until next fall, after I have the summer to spend with my kids (and so I don't start out "in the hole" because of babysitting expenses) and to have time to look into getting my coding cert.  I graduated from a business school with an Associate's in medical secretarial and did a lot of coding prior to working from home.  I used to do billing for a very large rehab facility, so I don't think it will be too hard to brush up on my skills.


Anyway, good luck and let me know if this (a state job) pans out for you.  Most people have no idea these kinds of jobs are even out there (I didn't).


You've got a point there.

I went to college and set a goal for myself to have a certain job.  My husband did the same.  However, once we got into those industries, it was not what we wanted for our lives.  Both environments were completely negative.  The company was doing things to the other employees that I didn't agree with ethically.  We both were putting in long hours and had overnight trips at least monthly.  My oldest kid wound up babysitting all summer long, for which I paid, but the kids couldn't have anyone over or go anywhere that often.  It wasn't worth it.  Someone here slammed me before because I made the comment that we gave up having a bigger house and a Cadillac Escalade to simplify our lives.  I also got slammed for doing MT instead of my old career field.  People just don't understand.  The rat race isn't worth it.  No amount of money in the world is worth sacrificing your happiness or your family.  I'd rather work parttime, putter around the house, have my hobbies, and be the Mom than to have money.  We make it on 1/3rd of what we used to make, and that's "enough".


You've never gotten my point. "A friend" was
THAT IS STUPID, DANGEROUS, IRRESPONSIBLE.


You've missed the entire point!
Duh!  It's the docs who don't want to pay my dear. You're really expecting to get blood out of a turnip, aren't you?  Quit blaming the MTSOs and look at the entity who's calling the shots - The doctors/clinics who hire the MTSO.
Okay, Amanda, you've made your point..sm
How about giving it a break and get on something else?  Other would like to be heard, too!
You've made my point with your inspid argument
And clearly if all you are doing is "correcting doctors spelling" you are not a transcriptionist..not sure what you are doing. I stand by my demand for appropriate compensation. Ya'll be happy being categorized as typists and making your $8.00 to 11.00 an hour. Unbelievable you would justify this...simply unbelievable.
You've got a point there. I haven't had a problem since I deleted Norton
and installed a different program.
Good point. I've never done the Cobra because it was outrageous. I also did what you call a "b
overlapsed. I liked a cheap individual policy up ($7500 deducticle) before I lost my coverage..and kept the cheap policy until the new kicked in..
Right on! I agree with you. It is exactly how I was raised -
and I am a mess when it comes to self-esteem, haha! In fact, the man I am with was raised so full of confidence and self-worth, he has taught me a lot.

He still has a union on his job, but you know what? He works with mostly women. They can not agree on anything. All management has to do is get them arguing about little petty stuff (which seems quite easy, I am afraid), and when it comes to any big decisions, the employees lose out because they are too busy in-fighting.

They even go against the union and do extra work WITHOUT getting paid, and then sort of 'bully' people into doing the same. A huge no-no - there should be NO sympathy for the 'corporation' or 'companies' because they in turn only take away more benefits, more money from employees.

No matter how he tries, though, he can NOT get these women to stand up for themselves in a united way, no sir, no way, uh uh.
Our cat was raised an indoor cat - she has never been out except once -sm
when I "walked" her. She was terrified to be out as she is not used to it. We have her set up with some tables/shelves by all the front windows and she has fun watching the birds and squirrels. She has a nice scratching post too and has never scratched the furniture. She also has spots she can hide out in --trundle under a bed and the upper bunk bed--so she can get way from the dogs and kids---one dog wants to eat her so we have to be real careful. We keep her in the bedroom at night in case the dogs get out of the rooms they stay in at night. But in the morning (i.e. 6 a.m.) she is meowing and scratching the door to get out of the bedroom, annoying to say the least...I expect you will hear a lot of that. I guess just try to have all the stuff I mentioned above and a lot of patience.
Hand raised...
I too tell my teens to get off the phone, bed by 10:30 usually, curfew and such. It's hard because her friends don't have curfews and she does. It's very difficult to be the "party pooper" but somebody has to.
I raised my children being an

having had their mom home. They are grown now and have their own children. I still work at home as an MT and am able to watch my granddaughter. She does not go to daycare, she goes to grandma's and says she is so much happier here.


That was her - raised a red flag for me too - I wish I had said something at the time nm

i'm shy too, raised an only child, like my independence
Others do judge that, but i'm tired of justifying it to be quite honest. 
Unfortunately we as women tend to be raised to think that
our lives aren't complete unless we "have a man". Men, on the other hand, are raised to value their careers, educations and be as financially successful and independent as they can be. Therein lies the problem. We're supposed to dream of a big wedding, they're supposed to dream of being president of a huge corporation.

Moms, raise your daughters to be independent, educated and successful and if someone fits into their lives after they are, that's great; and if not, so what?
I was raised in a union family.
I'm not anti-union at all. BUT, we don't have any leverage present for unionization. Between speech recognition and offshoring practices, there is no leverage for us.

I see it as a much bigger issue than just forcing MTSOs to pay more and keep work here in the US. We would have to drive down healthcare costs for hospitals and clinics and physicians all over. This is just one small piece of the pie.

As another poster down the page pointed out, unions usually start within a company. The workers of a company unionize and then grow from there.

Having been raised in a union environment and with my father having held positions in that union several years, I agree with his advice: A company will do anything to stop you from unionizing. They would fire every single one of you. They can. They have the backup to get the work done. It is not in your best interest to try to do this with your industry.

His advice when we talked about this was to just join current unions as individuals.

I agree with him.


And I thank the mothers of boys who have raised them to respect women.
dd
Die hard Eagles fan - PhillyGirl, born and raised!
Born in South Philly, now live in NorthEast Philly.
Speaking of Kenny Chesney, is anyone thinking what I am thinking? see message
When I hear the words, "annulment" and "fraud" in the same sentence, I can only think of one thing.  Anybody else thinking the same thing?
in the old days, most animals raised for consumption at least got a life while they were alive.
not anymore.

Not only are they treated with unbelieveable barbarity, the producers are destroying irreplaceable GOVERNMENT (meaning, it's OURS) owned forests and range for feed - more and more each year...not to mention the absolute filth rampant in the industry - they have them so crowded and unclean that it's a wonder MORE e.coli and other diseases aren't pandemic.

Go visit a slaughter house - any slaughter house. Yep, it's not that hard to give up meat. It is totally unnecessary in anybody's diet.

I have to admit though, when the neighbors are barbecuing a slab of pork, my mouth waters and my brain goes into DESIRE!!!
I'll ditto that! Born/raised SFL. Living near Gville now
c
From what I read, his real mother was off the scene very very early on. Stepmom raised him
x
I didn't apply, so that's a moot point. The point I was making is that
she's ranting here about something that doesn't even pertain to most of us. You can't come to a MT message board railing at MTs without getting a response. That's why it's not called MTSOstars. Also, it's unprofessional of a business owner to let her emotions overrule her common sense. As for the newbies, they'll learn. We were all newbies at one time or another. None of us was born perfect, not even the MTSO.
You missed my point. My point wasn't perks but prestige...nm
nm
The point wasn't that it was copyrighted. The point the poster tried to make
:(
That's not my point. My point is previous owner hired
nm
I use EXText with my current job and I've used at a couple of other jobs I've had. I've ne

used DocQscribe, but I have used Meditech, Cerner, Vianeta, the Precyse platform (I can't remember the name), Dolbey, and  Lanier platform I think was called Cequence (?). 


Out of all the different platforms I have typed on, I have liked EXText the best.  In my opinion, it's very user friendly, easy to learn, and I really like ESP which is the built in abbreviation expander.  Plus it is very easy to create your own normals which I love.  My fingers literally never leave the keyboard because there are macro keys for everything.  You can use your mouse if you prefer or learn the function macros.  I love it.  I think I'm more productive on EXText than with any other platform.


not my point, actually. My point was the bigotry is the same.
The bigotry's always there. Not all "Mexicans" are Mexican, nor are they all illegal. My point is, though, people used to make remarks about cabbage smell about the Irish just like comments are made now about how nasty Mexicans are.

Every time somebody says something about "those people," something bigoted is coming out. That's all I'm saying.
Spell as best you can or blank them and keep going. I've passed many tests when I've left blan
s
As you can already see, you've come to the wrong board! By using the word professional, you've
excluded about 99% of the population of "whatever" it is that hangs on these boards. Certainly not professional for sure! But you sure are doing a good thing for someone! Its the thought that counts. Sorry you met the dregs right at the start.
HELP! I've turned my screen sideways, I can't straighten it up. I know I've seen sm
this before, but I can't remember what it is.  Do you realize how hard it is to read sideways?  TIA.
I've lost track of how many people who've asked about it to NOT
.
I've always verified every line I've typed (I have my ways) -sm
If you're supposed to be paid a certain $/line, that's what you should be getting no matter how they do billing unless of course it's specified in YOUR contract with THEM.

BTW, I've never caught a company cheating me ever.
I've used it. It's the worst piece of crap I've ever seen.
seriously. I wouldn't wish them on my worst enemy, or their Vianeta program. Awful, just awful.
Wait until you've been there six months and if you've improved
quality and quantity, I'd say go ahead and ask.  Otherwise I'd say annually...  good luck
I've seen the same every place I've done acute care, and
pointing out dangerous or repeated errors (often in normals for goodness sakes!) never got the result I expected. When I would press the issue, supervisors said if the dictators didn't complain, then the mistakes must not matter!

It didn't matter if the MT changed what had been a cardiac med in the beginning of the report to an antifungal by the end - I kid you NOT! One poor girl used facial for fascial and fascial for facial!


I've used a few expanders, and of those I've used, all must be "coded" to get things lik
One thing I do to get around this, is to create a macro and then link the ShortHand command to the macro. It works for me, but I do the same five clients every day and only have about 20 or 30 macros/Shorthand commands that work like this. This may not work well for you if you have lots of formats and hundreds of docs.
I've been doing this doc for many years, so I've learned how to function with him. sm
I can tell what's a stutter, what's another word, what's just an "uh." Years of experience will get you through a lot.
Wouldn't want to do his charts all day, of course, but a few per day aren't bad. I haven't had to send his to review in a long time, but they do take a little longer to shuffle through.
I've worn contacts for 30 years. I've had both
hard and soft.  My vision is much better with the soft ones than they were with the hard ones.   When I first started trying contacts soft ones were still new and they couldn't get me to 20/20, so I went to hard.  Hard were okay until my eyes started changing shape and then I could no longer wear hard ones.  The soft should give you better vision as they conform more to the shape of your eye. 
I've been a bully; I've been bullied.
I used to sell a lot on eBay. There are some people who buy high-priced items and play games with you. I've had to call them repeatedly, report them to different agencies. It's not fun. You put time and money into the business of selling, and there are people out there who live to manipulate the system and cause trouble.

And, I've been bullied by buyers who made unreasonable demands, insist that they pay by check when you clearly state you don't accept them. It's not fun, and is one of the reasons I don't sell anymore. People!

I've also bought from some sellers who I would not deal with again because of their unprofessional attitude.

But, overall, ebay can be a great place to be.
I've become the man I've always wanted to marry.
I live alone, am 46, never married, no kids, just dogs horses and chickens and just got done building a new house out in the boonies away from the rat race. (Used to live in Manhattan) Couldn't be happier. Selfish maybe, but never out of time, never stressed, and I don't take anything out on others. There's something to be said for being alone but not lonely. I'm not looking for a man to "make me complete." They only sap me of my time, energy and money (how little of it there is with MQ). I consider myself lucky getting to choose my time with friends, and not just stuck with a deadbeat partner. Ladies especially: Be strong and allow yourself to be independent. Any old man will not make you stronger!