Advice needing in obtaining clients
Posted By: Extreme MT on 2005-12-28
In Reply to:
I am lost. I have been an MT for 3 years now and would like to obtain a few clients on my own. My family has put me down for years and say I should be lucky to have a job and not to think big. My husband is no help. He also feels I cannot do it and now I am beginning to doubt myself. I simply am lost. How do I get started? what software do I need for the doctors to get the voice files to me? Am I insane for wanting more, or for wanting to have clients on my own? Work is slow at the national I am at and if I obtain clients on my own, I can maybe have a future for my daughters. Thanks
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Needing advice
I am a rather new MT. I only have about 1 year of experience and I have gotten back into the business recently. I have been getting job offers, but none of them really turn out to be very good. Can someone tell me some of the better well-known companies that hire someone with such little experience. Any advice would help greatly.
Needing advice
I am fairly new into this home transcription thing and was wondering if I could get some good solid advice on how to stay motivated working from home (I have a 2-year-old and a 1-year-old at home and would like to work around their schedule i.e. nights, during naps so don't have to pay for daycare) Would IC be better for me in my situation rather than employee based? Also, any companies that anyone would recommend that works with the MT, or any that you would recommend?
I know this is asking a lot but some good solid advice would be very appreciated.
Thanks!
Is there still an issue with obtaining line count
verification and hard to make lines or has this changed? Anyone work there now that can address this please?
What happens, is MTSOs coddle the clients and let the clients call all of the shots.
Then the MTs get stuck with account specs that are contradictory and confusing.
It should be simple. When an MTSO is wooing a client, the MTSO should present with a copy of the style guidelines they intend to follow or if it is the BOS, let the client know that. It should be made clear that with the exception of report format, the guidelines are not flexible. Either we use apostrophes or we don't. Don't do it one way for one client and the exact opposite for the other client and then hold the MT responsible when she gets confused as to what account she is typing that day!
Needing a job
After the initial phone interview, how long should it take to get the testing info? What happens after you test?
Good advice, and advice that I'm giving real thought to ...
If I had known that they offshored before I accepted employment with them I never would have gone there to work. I've been here long enough now though to not want to lose my benefits.
Still ... making a DECENT PAYCHECK and making a living without being stressed out over the type of work that I'm doing is just as important as good benefits.
Any companies you know of needing...(sm)
any overflow help? Been hard to find as I am looking specifically for radiology and have a FT job from home already. Just looking to help someone with overflow and make a little extra money on the side. Anyone have any suggestions or any companies looking at this that would be interested? Email me if you would like.
Thanks! 
Or maybe it has to do with timing and needing MTs and
paying what it takes to get them. You have to remember to that I am an SE so I have to pay my own taxes and also in order to get 10 cents per line, I had to be full time. Part time I think started out at 7.5 cents per line.
Needing info on
www.sharphearingtec.com
are they paying good?
Thank you. Just the info I was needing.
Have to admit, the change was alluring. Oh, well.
as far as needing certain hours that would conflict with IRS
but that is between the company and the worker.
Needing to vent alittle
I inquired about a job with Medivoxx, before I realized they used VR and expected you to transcribe and edit. The information I received back stated that after two weeks uncompensated pay, the following 30 days would be 3 cpl, and then 5, and eventually 7. Before I went any further, I asked approximately how many lines/day VR editing runs, as I would think it would be higher than transcribing since you are not actually typing it all out, but editing. I wanted to know all this before I considered quiting the job I have now, which is not a transcription job, I am only doing that part time and am looking for full time. My response to this question was to not quit my current job. This seems alittle odd to me, so I wanted to vent and share this info with everyone else. Thanks
I'm not the one needing my hand held, now am I?
NM
Just how do you think an MTSO will be able to calculate this into the work needing to be done?
:+
Other than needing the Olympus software, don't know a thing. nm
s
Needing reasons not to jump ship
It is hard to get a sense of things working at home... just want to know if there are any MTs at Transtech who do not plan to jump ship, or if I need to start worrying and go too? I am also wondering who the TT people went to after they jumped ship. I have sent numerous inquiries out and no answer.. could it be the market is flooded right now with resumes because of the recent VR situation?
Another reason I ask is that I believe TT is a strong company and I have been very happy there. Yes, I have had to be very flexible, but I have not yet run out of work and still make good money, benefits, etc. Why, however, are TT MTs any different than the more than 60 percent of MTs who have already gone to some type of VR at their company such as the people at Webmedx who are still happy, and others. It would be nice to get different viewpoints here... my instinct is to say keep with the TT, and work it all out because the company is strong... and most other companies if not are with VR will go there too someday! I am the only source of income for my family and need to know what is going on out there in the world! Thanks in advance for your opinions.
Needing steady work as well....email inside
Thanks! nwmt68@hotmail.com
Any companies needing part time help on a Lanier account?
nm
the clients were in NY. nm
s
Maybe not your clients, but many are.
Your clients may be behind the times, but many are not. VR has gotten much, much better, and I've spoken with many, many MTSOs who are moving their accounts over.
The average seems to be about 60% to 80% VR and 20% to 40% transcription. There will always be those you cannot put on VR, but it is growing rapidly.
Not all clients DO know--that's just it!
Yes, some clients DO know, and the almighty dollar is the only thing they think of. But some clients DO care, and they don't know their records are going overseas. They would be apalled if they knew. Come to think of it, so would the patients.
not when the clients have the last say
Do not get me wrong. I do not care for it either, but somewhere down the line, the companies will have to suck it up and so will we. Otherwise, we move to a different field. Unfortunately, that is just the way it is.
Becoming an IC with own clients
How does a person become an IC with their own clients, not working for an MTSO? From what I have read on this board, it seems that is the way to make the most money per line/word/page, etc. so I am thinking about doing this after being an employee for 15 years (with things going downhill now). I would appreciate knowing several things:
1. How do you get the clients.
2. Are there certain types of docs that tend to prefer this situation rather than going to an MTSO?
3. How do you determine what to charge?
4. How can someone get the dictation, type it and return to the doctor without having to pick it up and drop it off?
5. Without QA other than yourself, how does an IC handle blanks? Do doctor's offices tend to get upset with blanks?
6. Is there a particular software system that is better to use when you have your own IC service and want to get work over the Internet and return it over the Internet?
This and any other advice greatly appreciated!
I'm sure they do tell their clients to sm
hide it from the MTSO, just like the MTSOs hide the fact that their clients' work is being generated by VR.
Do you think clients don't already KNOW about VR? That they are sm
being sold it at every AHIMA conference they go to? Being cold-called by companies doing VR already? That doc don't get info about it at their little retreats and conferences?
It's better to be proactive and have VR sold as part of an MTSO's offering (with MTs doing the editing) than being undercut by other VR-only companies.
do not forget the clients -
They also deserve to be billed correctly. Sad, sad, sad.
IC - FINDING CLIENTS
Do you have to pick up tapes and deliver the hard copies with your accounts? I used to have an account where they would dictate into my Sony system (a special system that allowed docs to dictate from their phones, pause, rewind, make changes, etc), and then I would just e-mail the completed work back at the end of the day for them to print out in the office.
I wonder if the clients are leaving
because they are being sold and that is why I have no work? I can't wait until they make the announcement - then I will know if I need to pack up and leave.
If you are seeking clients, there is not
NM
Are their clients aware?
If I were a client of theirs, I would look for someone else to do my transcription. If I were a patient of this client and if I found out that the client knowingly supports this sort of crap, I'd look for healthcare elsewhere. Heck, docs come a dime a dozen!!!
It all comes down to the customers--that's US!!! The American citizens who trust that our medical records are (1) kept confidential and (2) are done correctly IN THE USA!!!
There should be a way to inform the customers of HIS's clients. First and foremost, we, as customers, as Americans, need to boycott the physicians first--the ones who are sending American money overseas!!! There are PLENTY of other docs out there who support the USA and want to keep the work at home. They'll gladly take my money!
Persnonally, I don't want my medical record entrusted to overseas folks who, for the most part, hate us to begin with. They barely speak a word of English and they certainly do a pathetic job at trascribing. I've seen the damage these folks can do to medical records.
I think that we should boycott MDs who are paying HIS to transcribe for them.
If we don't stand up for ourselves now, what's next????
Too bad they mislead their clients about it
That is what is so rotten about the whole thing, the hospitals think the work is all being done in the US when it is not.
RE Acusis Buy-Out, What About US-Only Clients?
Something does not add up here, because many of the bought-out company's current clients vehemently refuse to work with anyone who outsources. Won't they drop new company outright and have to look for a new MT provider?
But your own clients bring many of your own
x
*Stealing* clients
You can steal things, but you can't *steal* a sentinent being (client) who chooses to go with you because you offer better service/better price or any combination of the two. Said client can walk away from you, too, if you don't deliver. What company does not try to lure clients from a competitor?
If the severance is minimal, you can easily get another job, and you really believe the company would come after you, then maybe foregoing the severance would let you rest easier even if the clause wouldn't stand up in court. If you really believe the company would come after you, do you want to spend time and money in court, even if you win?
stealing clients
I partially agree, but when a person uses insider information about a client's setup, preferences, etc. IMO that is stealing. You're using privileged information in an inappropriate way. So strictly speaking, a person hasn't stolen the client, but they stole the information they needed to get the client's business.
Clients at fault?
I really think it varies from client to client what is expected as far as unpaid fussing. Some expect the moon and the stars (looking up the ordering physicians on huge databases instead of passing us that demographic). I don't understand why a company would agree to contracts like these with the clients - they know no production will result from it!
TT has just taken on several HUGE clients
That is the reason for the ad
What goes around will come around and eventually your clients
They see that all the other doctors are hardly paying anything per line for it and they'll expect you to adjust your rates accordingly. This is precisely what happened in my area. All the doctors started thinking they should get bargain-basement prices because they could use the threat to send it offshore. So wallow in the green while you have it, at the expense of your offshore workers (and hey, if they're truly so great, why not pay them US rates and really do something really noble to improve their lives?)
You might be helping the economy in third-world countries (they'd starve w/o you?! Get over yourself!) but you are INDEED helping to lower ours here. You can justify and deny that all you want, and frankly, I don't care that you sleep at night. The fact that you are here defending your stance so vehemently tells me you know deep down.
You can also claim there are no good workers here, but you're wrong. We just don't work for MTSOs with your attitude. And guess what? There ARE plenty of doctors that DO care where their work is being done. You might have found a few who don't care (if you truly told them), but that's not par for the course in most places, my dear. Most ESL clients are the most adamant that the work be done here because the US MTs are the only ones who could clean up their grammar!
I can name 5 more on that list who are NOT clients of theirs. nm
nm
Most of the clients don't allow their work
to be sent offshore because of privacy issues, Americanism, etc. The CLIENT decides.
some clients want those apostrophes
The two docs I edit for want those apostrophes there and you can find just as many reference materials that DO include them as don't.
I agree this is nothing that is going to affect patient care, but bottom line - you have to give the client what they want.
MTSOs cannot pay more than they get from clients
If the clients are only paying 10-12 cpl, you cannot expect them to pay you more than 8 or 9.
The only way to get decent pay is to get our own accounts and cut out the MTSO.
Then your MTSO would have NO clients
Overrated you say? If you saw some of the hair-raising mistakes we have to clean up on a daily basis you wouldn't even THINK about doing away with QA because the people you work for wouldn't stay in business.
How about the MTs who are too lazy to look things up and use QA as a reference source. I know I send feedback to the same MT over and over again without seeing any improvement. That is frustrating and a waste of my time.
I was an MT for 35 years before I became a QA person. I had a lot of experience and a lot of knowledge and felt, (very naively I realize now) that I could actually HELP people. But the MTs don't appreciate the help. They just want us to clean up their work and be quiet. If we send feedback we get blasted by the MT instead of being thanked.
I personally got into QA to help people. Boy, have I been disappointed. This is the most thankless and difficult job in the transcription business. Thank you for reinforcing that point.
I am so glad that I have wasted 38 years of my life trying to help people who just want to use me as their whipping boy.
So yeah, do us a favor, get rid of QA. What a waste we are trying to educate and help people. How dare we?
I personally give up. Do your own research and find your own answers. Don't bother me anymore!
It's not KS's VR. It is the clients and they have had that account for sm
several years. The lines are all counted and the rate is the same as my normal rate. The reason is that it takes a lot to edit these reports and they know that. This is not new for KS.
For those that said they do not do VR, they must not in their department or accounts, but there is VR with KS. They have a lot of Powerscribe accounts for radiology and a few VR accounts for HIM already and have for a while now. The pay is good and has not gone down. I am at 9cpl and happy but the VR editing does take as long as straight transcribing.
That 9.9 cpl is what they are charging their clients
I clicked on that link. It's completely an off-shore based company. The 9.9 cents is what they are charging the health care providers. That's only possible if they are paying 1 to 2 cpl for the workers.
So what are you going to do when "your clients" (sm)
So what are you going to do when your clients decide that they want to pay you anymore and go with someone cheaper? It will happen to you, too!
To any visiting clients
The opinions expressed on this board represent only a fraction of the MTs that may be servicing your accounts. As an MT who is proud of the MTSO for which she works, I apologize for the appalling Jerry Springer-like antics of this chat board and wish to assure that most MTs that I work with are thoughtful, hard-working professionals who do know the difference between venting a frustration and turning into an ugly mob of pitchfork-carrying villagers. Though I defend their right to an opinion no matter how churlish and embarrassing it is, I also assure you that there are still MTs working on your dictation who realize that there are live patients who depend upon us. I just thought you needed to hear this.
To any visiting clients
I agree! I appreciate the company I work for and am happy to have a job.
There are 4 new clients starting over the next month....sm
One of which will need 120 transcriptionists. That's whassup! 
If you have your own accounts and clients you can make that much $$$$. nm
x
What your boss charges clients isn't
your business. Your agreement is what you are paid for your services.
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