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Serving Over 20,000 US Medical Transcriptionists

They'll need your SS# to issue your 1099 at the end of the year.

Posted By: Hope this helps on 2006-06-04
In Reply to: New job.. - newmt

nm


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1099

If you'll check the company board you'll find
they have been talked about several times recently.  They are an Indian company and no one has had anything good to say about them. 
You'll just come to trust yourself as you go. You'll stop replaying the
s
$600/year!! I would LOVE to pay 600/year -
I end up paying in $2000+/year EVEN WITH MY DEDUCTIONS, and I deduct anything and everything!! My accountant keeps telling me to buy a house or have a baby and then I wouldn't pay in so much.
This issue
I have to just say that there are times when my children like to watch TV and we ONLY watch things that are geared towards learning and school readiness. I do like to work during that time. I really don't think that the original poster is trying to say that the TV is her babysitter. She just knows that it helps give you a little bit of extra time to get a little bit of work done. My children are two and three also. They have lots of special time with Mommy and Daddy, but they know I work during their favorite shows. We are in playgroups twice a week and they spend time twice a week with thier granddad. He loves that one on one and it is very affordable, obviously!! Your kids can watch TV, but just make sure they are doing lots of other stimulating and social things. It really takes time to do what is best for YOUR family. Please do not let anyone tell you the right way to parent your own children. We get along just fine with an hour or so of TV a day. Sometimes more depending on how the day is going. I have polite, sweet, cheery, social, adorable, loving children and on some days Barney is their best friend. So what!!There comes a point when you have relax, spend time with the kids and work when it is convenient. Until my kids are in school full time, we are taking things as they come and I found a flexible company to do that. Good luck.
I have the same issue

I have new headphones too so I don't think it's a headphone issue here.  Unfortunately, the tape quality is so poor I don't think hearing from both sides will make much of a difference - at least for me anyway.  I just deal with it.  :)


 


I don't know if it would be an issue if you

lived overseas.  Many ads say no offshore MTs, but I don't know how they feel about an American that was overseas and if that would an issue for you or not. 


 


Some input on the AHP issue
I am an MTSO. I hire MTs. I have learned through bitter experience that applicants who received their training through PCDI or AHP do not have sufficient skills to perform at a level I consider acceptable, so I no longer even bother to test them. It is a waste of their time and mine. I am not aware of any MTSOs in my area who look favorably on applicants "trained" by AHP or PCDI.

You will hear from a few people who say they became employed with substandard training. They were not hired by me or by anyone I know in the MT business.

Just my $0.02.
In testing I don't see an issue either way, but in
real dictation q.d. should always be daily.  Putting q.d. after a medication is where there was an issue that caused it to be changed to daily to start with. 
ANYONE will hire grads. That's not the issue...
poster was trying to say a graduate of the top 3 is equivalent in the job market to someone with 2 years experience.
This same issue was on the WAHM site. sm
Someone also commented that Hillary had said the same thing. I put that some companies have decided to bring there stuff back home anyways. Saw it on the evening news one night. Don't ask when since I have a hard time remembering which day of the week it is these days. So hopefully whatever happens with the presidential election they will see that this is very important to offer more jobs to the US citizens that so desperately need to work.
Just my 2 cents.

Jenn
One issue not addressed by "Threats to MT"...
When people are discussing the future of the MT occupation, most of the talk about threats revolves around outsourcing, EMRs, and VR technology. One thing I HAVEN'T seen mentioned is the potential effect any significant reforms in the US health care system would have on those employed in these kinds of positions. If we change the way health care works in this country, it isn't inconceivable that jobs like MT and coding would be dramatically impacted. Has anyone done any thinking about this? Granted, reforms - if they happen - are not likely to take place anytime terribly soon, but it still seems like a reasonable topic for discussion, particularly since the government is now actively discussing this as a priority measure.

Thoughts?
my work/child care issue
I was having the same issue. I was having my 3-year-old daughter go to my sister's to save money and one morning, she refused to get out of the van. What I did was change my hours from 4-8 AM and 2-6 PM. These hours work perfect for me. She gets up around 7 and I will take 10 minutes to get her breakfast. She knows that when I am done working, I will get her dressed, etc. My line count DOUBLED when I changed to this. She is getting so much more attention from me, my house isn't trashed and if I go to bed at 9, i get 7 hours of sleep. Getting up that early stinks, but it is working absolutely perfect in every other aspect. My son and husband get home around 3 and 3:30, so she only has to occupy herself or watch cartoons for about 1-2 hours.

I'm sure you will find something that will work for you and your family.
All I can tell you is I have been watching this issue very closely for the past 5 years...

and have seen a definite trend afoot. Let me say I have over 20 years experience in health care and MT. I also own a transcription service. I spend a lot of time networking with other people in this field. This is what I see.


1) Nearly all the major transcription services have gone to Voice Recognition platforms.(See Company Board) When they did this, they chopped the wages in half, with the idea that you should be able to produce twice as much edited work as transcribed work. However, this penalizes the fast experienced transcriptionist. It was nothing to be able to make $30-$40 an hour if you were good. As an editor, you make approximately $12. It is very difficult to increase production as an Editor - there are just not many tricks.  In addition, they also have gone offshore, nearly 100% of the big companies. We are not talking small change here. We are talking about a major shift.


2) A significant number of medical offices are switching to electronic medical record systems (EMR) which often have a computerized charting component that would replace medical transcription. We definitely are seeing FREQUENT posts about people losing accounts to EMR.


3) Every year, the physicians coming out of medical school are more and more comfortable with technology.  They live and breath with their laptops. They pay their bills on-line, they get their music on line, they find houses, cars and dates on line. They can type faster than I can. They will certainly be even less resistant to technology.


4) The AAMT which could have been the unified voice among MT's to deal with these challenges, has sold out for getting more members overseas - an untapped market to buy books, training, and equipment. $Cha-Ching$! And they ditched us.


So, say you have 150,000 jobs in an industry and 1/3 are lost to off shore and 1/3 are lost to voice recognition and EMR. What kind of competition do you think is going to be left among the remaining 1/3?   Do you think you, as a newbie, are going to be able to compete? Do you think wages are going to go UP if there are more than enough transcriptionists, all competing for the same job?


So you can be scared and upset and deny it's happening...or you can adapt...Me? I enrolled in nursing school. When MT collapses, which I believe it is on the verge of, I will be ready.


 


You still skirted the issue. Please answer the questions so you may have more newbies. Otherwise,
??
It is a year old. n/m
n/m
It was quite awhile ago...maybe about a year or so.
nm
How to ask for a raise? 7 cpl for one year now...
Are raises given?
To make 40K per year,
You have to make roughly $20./hr for a 40-hour week (if my math skills are any good!). To do that, you need to either make a higher line rate, or produce more lines per hour. That means doubling either your lines per day or your cents per line.

I would venture a guess that most folks making 40K a year do NOT work for nationals, but have their own accounts which tend to pay more per line, which ups the $ per hour. Of course, with that comes a whole new set of headaches and probably more incidental hours (billing, delivering, bookkeeping...time spent maintaining an account in addition to transcribing hours.)

Unfortunately, by the time we see ads everywhere for big money opportunities (transcription, selling on ebay, raising alpacas, etc.) the prime time to get involved has probably already passed, and then folks who respond are stuck with disillusionment and bills for starting costs/prep.

Just my humble (and maybe a bit pessimistic) opinion.
You don't even have to buy the upgrades every year, just
add to it.  I only update every other year. 
transcriptionist with 1 year's exp
I think Spheris has a program to do that.
Happy New Year Everyone!
I hope everyone has a very excellent 2009, with all good things!
I made 7.75 with MedQuist my first year.
I started out with Medquist making 7.75 based on my all-around experience and test scores I was told. That was PTE.

I went on to make 8 as an employee, and I work a second IC job making 16, 13 to start, 16 after 90 days.
putting 3-year-old in daycare
I have finally relented and put my baby in daycare. I can't do it anymore. I am so stressed out about splitting my time between her and work that both are suffering from it. Not to mention my house. The husband is worried becuase this is now an added expense to our already tight budget, but as I explained to him, now I can focus on my line count and I won't be getting up every two minutes to tend to her. Any of you been in the same situation? I'd like to hear about it, good or bad.
first year as IC, you don't have to make payments...sm
you could pay all of 2006 taxes by April 15, 2007. But in 2007, the IRS will send you forms that you use to pay quarterly. You pay 100% of last year's taxes in 4 equal payments and then make up the difference when you do your taxes. For example, you started as an IC in 2006. Your taxes were $2000. You pay $2000 by April 15 2007 and you also pay your first quarterly payment of $500 (1/4 of $2000) by April 15.  I also would suggest you make all your payments in the current year - don't pay the last quarter by January 15 when it is due because it screws up your bookkeeping and state and feds handle it different. Pay your last quarter tax by December 31.
after a year mine went up to 7cpl.
I am at 2 yrs now and making 7.5 at one plaace and 8.5 at my other
In the first 6 months of this year. I'm not new to this, though, so I moved on. nm
s
Just waiting till the end of the year (sm)
Like I said, I'm not certain if I am going to be sent a quarterly tax invoice or not, but I figure better safe than sorry!
This is also a bad time of year to be job hunting.
This is the slow season for MTs and companies don't tend to hire much from December to February. Don't give in yet if this is really what you want. But I agree with other poster, you might have better luck with a local MTSO that is familar with your community college's program. Good luck if you decide to pursue this further! It would be a shame to give up so quickly after completing the course.
First of all, a lot of companies will waive the 2 year
-You graduated from a program they know provides a quality education.

-You test well enough during the application process.

-You have a well-written resume and cover letter and follow the application instructions to the letter.

Many companies hire new grads on regular intervals, but they do not advertise this because they will be inundated by applications, many of them from people with absolutely no training at all. It takes time and resources to train a brand new MT so they may only hire new grads a few times a year.

Speak with your school's post-graduate assistance program and get some leads for MTSOs that hire their grads. Check out your school's student forum and see where other graduates are getting hired. Find companies that will let you test as part of the application process (instead of applying and waiting for an invitation to test). There is a thread below with a list of companies that have been mentioned in the past as hiring newbies. Also, check locally and be on the lookout for smaller services to apply with.

Good luck.
I've been working for over a year now,
and I don't even know what my typing speed is anymore. It would be hard for me to take a typing test because I am so used to using my expander. I am really surprised you are finding most companies want a certain speed. I did not encounter that when I was applying.
Anyone signing a 2-year contract on either
end would be crazy.  You can't guarantee work for 2 years and there is no way I would tie myself to a situation for 2 years. 
Ignore the two-year clause and apply anyhow!
If you let that hold you back, you will never find work. There are plenty of new grads working and getting hired everyday. If you wimp out, you'll get nothing.
I heard that were going review resumes after the New year.
x
Our nine year old son started asking about the birds and the bees (sm)
this year. We have answered exactly what was asked every time. Once he started asking questions, he didn't stop.

We have covered birth control, child support, the fact that if he gets a girl pregnant he will have no choice in the matter if she chooses to abort (which horrified him) and many other things. He also knows that he will always be able to come to his father and I for birth control. The way he is being raised (Christian home), we hope he will not have sex before he is ready, which we hope will be when he is an adult. (Ideally, on his wedding night. But we don't push that.) But if he makes the decision to have sex when he is a teen, we have let him know that we will help him protect himself.

We have also told him that if he believes a girl when she says, "I'm on the pill", we'll kill him.

And I feel very bad for you about your daughter. If I had a child who had a child and behaved that way, I don't know what I'd do. (Other than pay to get Norplant in her arm, that's for sure.)

Good luck at getting custody. It sounds like you'd be a much better choice for the GC.
no, 4/2006 payment is for 2005 year...nm
x
I personally did not incorporate until I was making over $50K a year because
of the added fees (paying CPA for one thing), corp taxes, etc. MT services carry so little liability I don't think incorporating to install a corporate shield is really necessary, especially since they go after deep pockets anyway.  But incorporating if you are making $50K or more per year is a very important tool for income tax savings. If you are sending work out to other people and they are doing the work, then you turn around and send it in to the client, essentially YOU are not doing the typing, YOU are not earning the money, YOUR BUSINESS is. Therefore you should not be paying social security tax on earnings that are not YOURS but YOUR BUSINESS'S. If you incorporate you can pay yourself a reasonable salary for any transcription you do, plus shuttling the work back and forth. Let the rest of the earnings ride as the company's earnings. You will pay income taxes on them as any profit flows through to your personal taxes but you will save on that big 15% bite from social security. Other advantages though of incorporating are to set up your 401K and let your business make contributions to it. Again, though, that's something that's not likely to happen until you are making a lot of money. As you are a newbie, I don't see that in the near future...
Not the OP, but you can pay your taxes once a year at tax time. Estimated
s
I usually update the drug book every other year as I
use it so often and there are new drugs all the time.   Equipment books I update about the same as there is always new equipment coming out.  Other books I don't update as often, depends on how much I use a particular specialty. 
graduated almost a year ago from a "Big 3" and nada
I graduated almost a year ago from a "Big 3" school and have had no luck. I am thinking I have to go for my CMT to get a second look. Ridiculous!
Until every American MT is working who wants to, and is qualified, for a living wage and affordable, quality health care benefits, NO MT work should be going outside the US. Get on it, Obama!
I've been an IC for five years and never had to pay more than $600 one time a year for taxes...

I have so many deductions that I almost don't pay taxes.  Yes, I also have a tax professional do my taxes.  I keep a clear plastic envelope on my desk and anything I buy related to the business or phone expense, % of electricity/gas, health insurance, medical expenses, etc., all go in the envelope so at the end of the year I'm not searching everywhere for my deductions. 


Anything you use for your business is deductible, but used items.  If you buy a used computer on e-bay it isn't tax deductible.  It has to be new to be a deduction.


Companies waive the 2-year requirement for CS grads too.

CS grads have no problem finding jobs. I had several offers before I even received my final exam results.


No company will waive their 2-year experience requirement for AHP.
Other than Andrews, the second recommended school is M-TEC, NOT Meditec, they are 2 very different schools.
Career Step only give you a year, so at M-TEC you have 18 months and will learn a LOT more.
Your post made it sound like you would rather take more time to do the course, but there's a reason M-Tec requires it done in 18 months.

You can't really learn if you drag it out longer than 18 months. You have to keep doing it, working at it, familiarizing yourself with it, in order to learn it. That is why they push you to not drag your feet, either do it or don't do it!

Good luck to you.
being able to make 40,000 year without a college degree is pretty good. I'm happy.

I think I'll be done in about ....
2 months, give or take. I'm in good ol' Texas :)
You'll get there!!

I just wanted to let you know that it is possible for a new MT to get a job with a national company.  I did it, and I just graduated in December.  Just keep putting out those resumes and testing.  It will happen!! God bless!


 


Julia


Thank you! I'll let her know that!:-)...nm
nm
I'll say hello!
Hello!

I'm actually quite new here too. Still trying to get used to the software. :-)

And i'll bet a lot of them have CMT behind their name. nm

You get what you pay for. Don't waste $442. You'll need it. SM
You can't learn MT for that.