Answers to some questions asked about TransTech out of Houston, TX
Posted By: Transtech'er on 2009-04-08
In Reply to: Transtech Medical question - ex-MQer
Different platforms -- Dictaphone ExText -- very clumbsy/clunky editing platform. Probably 85% ESL now that so much VR/editing being done.
Big push for more editing, so what straight transcription that is kicked out from the voice machine is absolutely horrible on the ears! THE TRUTH and nothing else but the truth !
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Answers to some questions asked about TransTech out of Houston, TX
Different platforms -- Dictaphone ExText -- very clumbsy/clunky editing platform. Probably 85%-90% ESL now that so much VR/editing being done.
Big push for more editing, so what straight transcription that is kicked out from the voice machine is absolutely horrible on the ears! THE TRUTH and nothing else but the truth !
Pay half for editing/VR work . . . yuk !
Different strokes for different MT's, but I work to earn a living, not for the fun of it ! Transcription used to be a FUN profession, but lacking now with all the jobs going to VR machine.
Actually I posted looking for answers to my questions above, not looking to answer questions, but
to here goes...firstly, I don't know about the platform, only that it is Word based. Secondly, I have many years cardio, and thirdly, no the test was not hard. Still looking for any answers to my questions above. Thanks in advance.
Transtech in TX (Houston)
.
This is happening at Transtech Houston
No work this week the majority of my shift.
Are you TT MT's out of work, too, or just me? I am wondering, as this has not happened to me since I began working for them.
Transtech in Houston has lots of VR work
You may have the option of working weekdays and rotate weekends, 1 one weekend per month. That is my deal but I have been here a while. Or you can work Sunday through Thursday.
Any recent info on TransTech Medical Solutions of Houston TX.....sm
I just received an offer to test, wonder if it is worth it; I have a few offers, but nothing I am truly convinced about....how is this company to work for, and do they accept PT folk, don't care if it is IC, SE, or regular employee......and I, too, need flexibility, as long as I get my lines in and always make turnaround time. Long time ago, there were many, many companies that operated that way; now, it seems, everyone is very rigid -- so am I, but I have to make things work with family situation, I am not only caring for 3 kids, but also 89-year-old mom part-time. Thanx all in advance!
I asked similar question down below, but no one answers. nm
nm
Answers to questions
There was a little blip about RI further down the page, but it didn't say much. I did a search. Some people like them; a lot of people hate them. Folks, I could really use some specifics here so that I know what I'm getting myself into.
They have made changes in their system so someone who worked for them a while ago may have had a different experience compared to someone working for them now.
Do they run out of work?
Not usually. Lots of work right now. Holiday times can be slow. Accounts are full. I heard new ones are coming on.
How's the communication?
Depends on who you contact. MTs are assigned to an editor. My experience has been good communication.
I've heard they dock pay for mistakes. What kind of mistakes? I mean, there are punctuation problems and then whole medical words that can be misspelled or left out--and there's a huge difference between the two.
They dock for spellcheck errors only. If you run your spellchecker you shouldn't have this issue. MTs can debate it and it can get resolved if there is a discrepancy.
How do they pay? Do they give raises often enough (or at all)?
They pay by the line. It probably depends on experience. Direct deposit twice a month. It’s been my experience to ask for an increase. It wasn't automatically given.
OSI answers to your questions
OSI's platform is Dictaphone Ex-text and just starting with speech when I quit. Ability to make money depends on if you are on an account where they steal your lines, that varies from account to account. Some accounts have statistics disabled so you can't see your true line count.
They are really big on government accounts which requires extensive FBI background check. That put me through the wringer, the FBI called people I knew but did not even like about 10 years ago, it was ridiculous and insulting.
Insurance- They had more than 1 insurance plan, 1 was very costly and the other 1 had a high ded, I did not use either as my DH has good insurance.
They do have set schedules and they call you every day on your day off which is why I quit. I never had a day off where they did not call me to work.
They also force you to use their e-mail system and instant message system and monitor everything so you can't send any e-mails or IM's without everything being logged. Too big brother for me with the logging everything and calling me all the time. Also if you use a company computer they record your keystrokes.
QA dept is the worse I have ever seen anywhere. Very unqualified for the most part and not consistent at all. Half of my errors were QA errors. Very snobbish too.
All in all, I am much happier with another company. I left more than a year ago but from what I hear nothing has changed at all.
How come no one ever answers questions regarding.......nm
nm
Right. Why ask questions when you know the answers? nm
x
Thanks for the answers... few more questions...
Is the pay decent for someone with 15+ years experience? I see below someone gets 9.5, that's pretty good.
Also, is getting the required minimum lines possible in a shift? Is full-time based on hours worked or production?
Again, TIA... You Keystrokes MTs sure are helpful. Must be a great company...they obviously have good (and nice!) MTs working for them!
Possible answers to questions sm
<I just got an email with an ad from TT looking for new transcriptionists yet almost every day there is a post on this board about lack of work. What is up with this company????> I highly doubt there are postings every day about lack of work. The majority of us have probably have plenty of work to meet at least minimal requirements. It most likely depends on your account and your worktypes you are hired for and whatever personal incentives you try to achieve. There is nothing up with this company. Most likely they are hiring replacements for those who are leaving, have left or desire to transfer around on accounts.
<Why keep hiring when the people you already have working don't have enough work? Is this is a standard in the industry to have more TX than you have work to ensure TAT time?> I do not know the answer to these questions. Maybe they are getting new accounts. Perhaps you should ask the company yourself.
The answers to your questions...
Yes, the tests are timed (terminology and grammar portions), and I was able to use my foot pedal for the typing test. It is E-mailed to you and you download it, so you can do it on your PC. The grammar and medical terminology, like I said are timed, and you get your score as you answer each question. The typing test, I really wouldn't say is timed. You pretty much just type a report (you're not being clocked for this). You can take these tests at your leisure. When I took mine, if I wanted, I could have taken grammar and terminology one day and typing the next day, but I chose to do it all in one day. You then E-mail everything back. Any other questions, you can always E-mail me if you like. (You picked a good one!)
A few answers to your questions
I've been with MDI a little less than a year. The second week I was there, I became very sick and ended up in the ER. I emailed my sup and told her I wouldn't be working the next couple of days. She emailed back, saying to take care of myself and get better. End of story. I came from MQ where you have to make up every second you miss - boy was I shocked when there was no mention made of making it up.
I work Sun-Thu. I've had several weekend plans that have required me to take off my scheduled Sunday shift. Sometimes I make it up, sometimes I don't. That's up to me. I have never been told that I couldn't have a day off. The times I did make up the day, I usually switched it out with a Friday of the following week, essentially working Sun-Thu and then Mon-Fri, because the pay period starts on a Saturday.
MDI is truly the most flexible company I've ever worked for. But as the other poster said, if you're looking for employee status, MDI is not.
Answers to questions...
I survived the merger between TRS and Transcend, I'm still working, I've actually gotten a raise (no, I'm not going to tell you what I make, but it's right in the ballpark) and I am happy with my job. I am still working the same accounts, on the same platform (NOT Transcend's own; the clients have not wanted to switch), the same shift, same team, same QA people, etc.
We too had questions, many of them. For instance, TRS had a production incentive, Transcend did not, and naturally we wanted to know if our incentive was going to stay put. TRS also offered raises to people who passed the RMT and/or the CMT, and for those of us that were studying for the CMT at the time of the merger wanted to know if that too was going to hold true. Those were the two main questions I remember, since they concerned me directly.
Amongst the flurries of e-mails, I even got a personal reply from Larry Gerdes, the CEO of Transcend, assuring me that everything was being looked at and taken into consideration. (Yeah, I know, easy for him to say, but in this case, it actually came true.) We got frequent progress reports on what issues were being addressed, the various questions that people had asked, and the fact that discussions and negotiations to iron everything out were ongoing.
And it was not long at all before we were told that anyone who passed the CMT by a certain date (3 months after the merger) would be grandfathered in with the promised raise; and also the production incentive stayed put, intact. Then, just last week I was told that since I consistently meet the incentive, and it causes a lot of extra work for a lot of people to calculate it and add it on each pay period, effective September 1 the incentive bump will be added to my base rate. They trust, of course, that I will continue to produce at this level, on the average....
So no, in fact they may NOT know all the answers to your questions right now, because things still have to be ironed out. In my own situation, the scheduling and pay rate stayed EXACTLY the same, and the only real visible changes at my end were (a) pay periods went from every 2 weeks to twice a month, and (b) my paycheck came from someplace else. Of course I had to fill out a lot of pesky new-hire and new-insurance paperwork, but once that was done, it was done.
So keep asking your questions, and take advantage of the offers that some Transcend people have made on this board. Take them up on it and e-mail them directly. They might not have specific answers for you yet, but I know they have already told several people here on the board that there's no reason they won't be able to accommodate people's various scheduling requests, for instance.
And feel free to take advantage of their touted open-door policy. Take them up on it. Get online, do your research, find some phone numbers, and start calling people. They wouldn't publish their phone numbers or e-mail addresses if they didn't want you to USE them....
And once again, the disclaimer: I am just another minion (and I like it that way, I've been a manager, no thanks, been there done that, don't want to do it anymore), I speak only from the standpoint of someone who's been through it already and although it was scary, none of the doom-and-gloom I was warned about has actually come to pass. Give it a chance. Let them prove themselves, right or wrong.
And no, they didn't pay me to say all that. (I wish they had. It might help make up for the drop in MT wages over the years....)
I just read over the questions/answers
and I did not really see any more new questions other than the ones already answered in the conference. I do not know if that is a good thing or a bad thing.
answers to your specific questions
12 hour window - no, you give them your schedule of hours you want to work and if it works for them, they approve the schedule and you stick to it. However, they are flexible if things come up and you need to start an hour late or early - just let them know ahead of time. Also flexible for appointments or if you need to trade a day for the most part.
Expander Program is ShortHand for PC.
You would have to ask their IT guys about transfering your entries into their computer. I just sat my two PCs next to each other and created the entries on the SH on the work PC, only took an hour or so to do and well worth it.
You'll get all the answers to your questions
and then some on the MQ board. Go check it out.
Here are the answers to the questions you posed (sm)
Graveyard shift: 0.085 cpl; Day: 0.07-0.08 dependent on experience.
F/T status line requirement: 6,000 per week (Sun thru Sat)which equates to 12,000 lines per pay period. Pay is twice monthly via direct deposit (if you prefer this method);
P/T status: ???
ES was in the process of eliminating ICs to all employee status.
Insurance: F/T EMPLOYEE STATUS: Excellus BC/BS - Single: $129.01 per pay check, or $258.02 monthly; Dental: $11.53 per pay, or $23.06 monthly; variable deductible for covered services, WATCH OUT FOR PRE-EXISTING CLAUSE WITH THIS AND OTHER INSURANCE OFFERED.
QA: Never telephone you, but do correspond via email and are on top of maintaining their random QAs; MUST maintain 98.5% accuracy at all times. Approximately this time last year, many many internal changes were made, recruiters gone, head of HR replaced but now gone, et cetera. Totally different company from when I worked there; what attracted me then is gone.
ESL'ers: Varies on account assigned. DO ASK them what percentage of your account will contain ESL.
Platform: ChartScript with text expander/ Word runs remotely in background.
Voice Player: Fusion.
IF ACCEPTED, READ YOUR CONTRACT WITH A FINE TOOTH COMB. Hope this helps. Details listed here may not be completely accurate, as this info is based on how it was, IMO, approximately 1 year ago. Good Luck and best wishes.
some answers to your questions, but somebody who has been there longer may be able to help you more
Not all accounts require C-phone. The account I'm on does not. Yes you have to provide your own equipment, including footpedal. I already had one from my last job that worked though. The account that I'm on also requires you to have your own text expander and spell checker, which I had to buy both myself. I'm not sure if all accounts are like this, some platforms may come with this already. I am working in Allscripts. Minimum requirement for full time I believe is 12,000 lines per pay period (maybe 12,500) for full time and 6000 lines for part time. They do have insurance, but I cannot provide any details, as I am part-time and have waived the insurance. From the time I sent my resume until the day I started was approximately 3 weeks, but it could take longer, so I myself wouldn't give up too soon. Wait a week or so and if you don't hear back from them, give them a call and see if they are hiring.
I have only been there for 1 week, but so far I like the job. Everyone is very nice and helpful, and easy to talk to.
Good Luck to you!
Thank you, but I can't seem to find any answers to my questions, guess
I'll just have to send a resume and go from there. Thanks again!
Axolotl posts, questions and answers.
First of all, Axolotl is hiring for a significant amount of work that will begin shortly.
When 90% of your workers want to work 1st shift, there seems to be issues with low work. When workers are willing to work 2nd and 3rd shift, they seem to not run out of work as much, if at all.
The recruiter IS NOT THE SUPERVISOR. Axolotl has a separate recruiter who does applicant screening, initial interviews and testing. If everything goes good with this recruiter, then there will an interview with management, i.e. supervisor and/or manager.
ALSO, DOWNTIME IS NOT DETERMINED BY HOW LONG YOU HAVE BEEN THERE.
I am not a manager or supervisor or QA. I am an MT. I wish people would get all of their facts straight before coming onto a public board and spreading things that are just not true.
I absolutely LOVE this company. They treat people with respect, provide great benefits and GREAT PAY. One should feel lucky to have the opportunity to work for them.
Most of the questions you ask have been asked
dozens of times previously. If you spent a little time going through the archives you would find the information.
My experience with a company may be different from Mary down the street, so you have to investigate for yourself, read all the posts and decide for yourself if company might be a good fit for you.
the OP did not badmouth; simply asked questions.
nm
All your questions have been asked and answered several times
the past couple of months. Do a search for past posts.
But this wasn't your transcription test. She just asked you questions,
x
I just think a lot of questions are asked on this board that should be private so to speak...
nm
Too busy working to post anything...plus no one has asked any questions about them lately...
nm
TransTech Questions
Can anyone tell me how TransTech is? Good company to work for? Do they pay well for experienced MTs? Do they supply the equipment? Please tell....good, bad....curious. Thanks!
TransTech questions
Have seen the archive reviews on this company but could use a few details. Minimum line count requirement? Sound quality? Program user friendly? Productive? Cost of benefits? Deductible and coverage?
TransTech Questions
Are they flexible at all with their scheduling and are 40 hours required for full time employment? Also, is their insurance fairly affordable for a single person? THANKS SO MUCH!
TransTech VR questions
I didn't find anything on their VR in the archives. Anybody care to share how their VR is? I have only heard positive things about the company, but nothing about their VR. TIA!!
A couple more TransTech questions
I'm looking to leave my current job and was thinking about applying to Transtech since there seems to be quite a lot of positive feedback on them. Before I go through all of the testing/application process, I have a few questions. Are there accounts actual typing or VR? Also, what is the pay per cpl generally with experience? Thanks a lot!
Questions about Axolotl and TransTech
I am looking for a little info. I'm considering applying to the above companies. I have 2 questions, and I am hoping you guys can help me.
I need to provide health insurance for my entire family, which with some companies can be very costly. Does anyone know approximately the cost of a family plan? I could, of course, ask this question to a recruiter, but my experience in the past has been it is hard to get someone to answer questions until you have tested. I don't want to waste a whole Sunday afternoon to be told family health insurance will cost me $900 a month.
Question #2 regards quality standards at these 2 companies. Specifically, I am wanting to know if anyone who has worked under the stringent quality standards of Amphion (they aren't happy unless you are absolutely perfect, and I'm not Jesus) has also worked at either of these companies and can give me a comparison of their experience.
My experience the past 15 months at Amphion has been very stressful, and I want to make sure I don't jump from the fire to the frying pan.
Thanks for your help!
TransTech MTs, can you answer a few questions for me?
I was called by recruiter and offered position, since it is the weekend I do want to call with a few questions I have.
Are there ASR/voice recognition accounts?
If you have to work a holiday, do you have to work your usual full shift?
Do you get paid for expanders?
How hard is it to get time off? Even just a day at a time?
What is an average length of training?
Thanks for any info!!!!
Questions about TransTech acute care openings.
TransTech has openings for 2nd shift. Is there usually consistent work available on that shift? I think I read they do lots of VR; do you take a loss with it or can it be profitable? How is communication with the supes there? Feel free to E-mail me privately if you want with any further information.
Houston....
Several ads on job seeker's board.
No, it is in Houston.
nm
Is this the Alliance out of Houston? nm
Alliance MT in Houston????
I was wondering if anybody has had any experience with this company? Good or bad?
TIA
MediTask....NOT in Houston
There are two MediTasks. The one I am wondering about is in Austin....I think. Is it a nice place to work. Pay?? Hours/shifts? Anything would be wonderful!
i should add that this is the alliance out of Houston
:)
Is the name of the company AMT in Houston? /nm
/
When they called me and I asked them if they offshored, they asked me why that was my business!
xx
Medi-Task - NOT HOUSTON
From time to time, I search these boards for any posts regarding my company, MediTask. Yeah, I know I'm late (really late) posting, but some time back someone had asked about my company, asking if it was the one in Houston, owned by Matt Read, or what. Nope - not me. Here's my story:
I own Medi-Task (Hill Country, TX). I started this business in Houston in 1989, and moved to the central Texas in 1995, selling that portion of my business to Matt Read. He didn't change the name (another whole story there) but just added -"Houston" to the end of it. I fielded calls and inquiries for a long time until they died out. I understand he sold that business several months ago. I've tried calling but they sometimes have a message giving a pager number (?). Ouch... I wish people weren't confusing the two companies! 
Being an MTSO, I did hear things through the grapevine to the tune of MTs not getting paid, or paid on time... I can't really comment on that because I had nothing to do with how Matt ran his business, and basically kept my nose to the grindstone where growing my business was concerned. So, you'll have to raise those questions with someone else who was really there.
MediTask (my company) has clients in 7 states, and MTs in as many. We're a smaller, close-knit group. My MTs have never gone without pay, and I believe in behaving honorably in those matters. My reputation is important to me, and I hope to never see any negative about myself or this company. But, people are funny - - some move from company to company peddling their wares (which are sometimes rusty), and then get bent way out of shape when their services are no longer needed. Some are just bent on getting out of shape. However, that said - I have MTs who have been with me a long, long time. In fact, the first MT I ever brought on board in 1989 is working with me today. Others have been on board since '92 and '94, 99, etc.
All the MTs here are subcontractors, so I don't offer the big perks that the nationals do. Sometimes I feel bad about that (and have lost great applicants who are looking for more), but also understand that there are pros and cons to both ways. There's not a corporate bone in my body, and I never really want all the headaches associated with handling a huge company. I like it smaller where we all know each other's names, and work close as a team. We actually get together whenever we can in Austin or Marble Falls - that's pretty cool.
No one asked me, but I thought I might clear the air on the "MediTask Houston or Austin or what?" posts, let ya'll (yep, I'm from Texas) know who I am, and what this company is about. I'm proud to be associated with the people who work with me, and so lucky to have such dedicated, helpful, spirited, intelligent colleagues such as them. I'm blessed.
Anyone who has curiosity beyond this, I'm happy to answer any questions I can.
Sarah Mayor, Owner
MediTask - Central Texas
meditask@281.com
www.meditask.net
Only one I can find is R & S Transcription, but out of Houston. E'd you! nm
s
In a poor house in Houston
XXX
you are saying "offshore company" - they are in Houston so...
not an offshore company - American based and American owned.
If they offshore work, I do not know.
I was there a couple of years ago when they changed from TSI to Smartmed. Their only downfall was very high insurance costs.
Yes, I live right outside of Houston. It was postmarked
Friday, if that helps.
other hospitals in houston are back
A friend works for a different hospital in Houston and said they have been back up to full speed for 3 days now. So just seems odd they are not all back up to full speed. Maybe their hurricane preparedness was not as heavy duty?
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