Axolotl posts, questions and answers.
Posted By: AXMTMT on 2008-11-12
In Reply to: To those who work for Axolotl - (sm)
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.
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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.
Axolotl - answers inside
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I was wondering if you could answer about their QA? Are they helpful? Are they nitpicky about little tiny things? Do they have part-time.
Minimum QA score is 98.5. I score much higher than that and don't feel it is hard to get. They are strict but not nitpicky, don't count off for punctuation, but if you type of and it should be or it may count against you if it changes context. They are helpful, often giving a link, or a note as to why report was corrected.
As far as I know no PT. You can apply through their website. |
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
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Right. Why ask questions when you know the answers? nm
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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!
Answers to some questions asked about TransTech out of Houston, TX
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 !
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.
Axolotl questions
I am considering accepting a position with them and want to see who is happy there and who isn't and why. I have a few questions. I just want to make sure that I make the right decision because I want to stay put for good somewhere.
Do they make you work your full 8 if you get your minimum line requirements for the day? I am a high producer and will be doing 1600 lines a day minimum and do not want to work more than 6-7 hours. Most places are happy as long as you do good production.
Pay decent?
QA respectable? How strict is QA and do they do reviews to check your QA score? I have never worked that way. I don't want that kind of pressure on me. I just do my work and get a few reports sent back that had blanks for me to review and learned that way and eventually would have maybe 3-5 blanks a day once used to an account.
Thank you.......
Three more Axolotl questions...(sm)
Do they adhere to a strictly Tu-Sa or Su-Th schedule? If your speciality is ER, do they have accounts that are only ER? Do they have Radiology accounts?
TIA
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!
Axolotl insurance questions
Can somebody tell me if you go to work for Axolotl, how soon the insurance kicks in? Is it good insurance? Also curious if anybody willing to tell ballpark pay scale for Rad.
A few questions on Axolotl if someone wouldn't mind...sm
Do they provide you with a computer?
What are their benefits (insurance/PTO) tied to? i.e., 40 hours a week, 12,000 lines a pay period, or both, etc. If things are slow and there is no work do you have to make it up in order to keep your insurance? If it remains slow and you can't get your lines in, do you lose your insurance?
Do they hire only acute care or multispecialty clinic, or do they have *specialty* accounts, i.e., ortho, op notes, cardio, psych, etc.
Do you get one primary and a backup(s), or several primaries in a grouping?
Thanks a lot for any info... I'd love to work for a good company again some day and Axolotl looks like a good place to start looking!
Axolotl employees----have questions about line definition, etc. sm
How does Axolotl define a line? Do they pay for spaces, headers, footers, & expansions? Are you docked for blanks or sending things to QA? If so, how much.
Thanks for the info.
Have a fabulous 4th!
Diskriter questions - please - I know there have been some posts already...sm
Are the supervisors good to deal with? Do you run out of work often? Is their platform good? Insurance benefits affordable? Pay rate comparable to other places? Dictation tough with many bad ESLs?
I know it is a lot of questions but would like to get some answers. I want to stay productive with a company and it looks like they have much to offer!
Plus, if they contact you, is there any testing? What is the hiring process? I know some places take you based on resume and some have a lot of testing, which I can understand to a point.
Thanks for all information!
Posts from April said everyone gets 8.5 cpl/newbie or experienced. Recent posts said
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A few posts about them about 3/4 of the way down this page between the DSG & Diskriter posts. nm
s
Answers
They do overstaff with incompetent people, run out of work, then lose accounts to other companies. They didn't care if I starved, so I left. My accuracy rate was near perfect. Don't know what their problem is.
Well that answers everything!
..
answers
Software is free, yes they have a word expander. They do not, however, pay for spaces and it is based on a 65 character line. The manager I spoke with and the hiring person were very very nice, but the training lady was extremely rude, short, and acted like it was just killing her to even set up training. It was because of the training lady I didn't accept the PT job with them.
Their benefits were okay as well.
Answers
Yes. I have a fairly steady supply of work. I haven't run out of work in a long time. A few years anyway. Sometimes it's low but I haven't completely run out.
As far as flexibility. They are pretty flexible as long as you don't abuse it and let your team leaders know what is going on. If you have to leave in the middle of a shift you should let them know when you are leaving and when you will be back.
After all, they still have to cover STATs and when someone isn't working when they should be, they will have to scramble to find someone to do STATs when they come up.
Unfortunately, they are tightening the reins a little bit on the flexibility because some people abuse it. I haven't had any trouble though.
Some answers for you.
StenTel is a franchise organization. Someone buys a franchise from them and then run it pretty much as they choose. When I worked for StenTel out of Springfield , Massachusetts (who designed the StenTel system and then began the franchise), the pay was low and work sporadic. I don't know of all of their franchises offshore or not, but if they do, then you can bet the work will be only the very toughest reports and nasty dictators. The office I worked for only hired IC status, but like I said, each franchise is run differently.
Answers
No equipment rental fee - new Dell with flatscreen (nice equipment) and they provide foot pedal. Need DSL or cable - they do not reimburse. All internet based. I do acute care, so don't know about radiology. Line rate for acute care is not the highest, but there is a good incentive. I believe the pay is biweekly but not sure (I am an employee of the hospital through Diskriter, so I get paid directly from the hospital and pay dates are different).
Some answers -
Part-time with them, I believe, is anything less than 32 hours. I don't know how they handle IC, but would venture to say they would not require anything of you the Dept. of Labor would frown upon. There are 2 platforms, one is Merit (very easy to learn and user-friendly); the other, I believe, is ExText, but I don't know anything about it. I do not know of ANY account they have that uses VR.
HTH. Good luck.
answers
I am new to the company, working on neuro, Touchtype platform, and seem to be pretty slow due to entering demographics, switching from screen to screen to enter and find information such as doctor name, patient number, etc, etc, etc. I was wonder if Vscript was better and it sounds like it is. Maybe I should ask them about that.
Are you on the east coast? I am in OK. Kinda' rainy here today.
answers
My supervisor is in Louisville. My account is in California.
I've never faxed anything to them so I don't know if they have a fax #. I pasted my resume in an email and sent it to them.
Good luck.
Two answers
Deventure - you don't buy anything. No contribution to retirement. No bonuses that I am aware of.
Thank you for your answers. Do you sm
happen to know the name of the platform (the software program)that is web based or what your Expander is called? Thanks. I am making up a list of maybes.
MORE ANSWERS
Precyse - OKAY
MD-IT - ?
OSI - OKAY
DDT Arizona - ?
TTS - NO PAY
Zylomed - ?
Answers
Precyse - OK
OSI - Absolutely NOT!!
All the others - Have no idea.
a few answers
Most of the stuff you have already read probably still holds true. Spaces are included in pay, headers are not. Pay depends on if you work part time or full time and your experience, etc. As far as I know, all accounts are acute care and they also have radiology. No set schedule, you just commit to a certain number of lines a day and you have to finish them some time during that day.
Answers for you...sm
5 cpl for editing. Very user friendly. The program counts lines and you can check this at any time.
no answers
I worked for OSi for a time, it has been a while now but I did notice that it was harder than heck to get lines there. I would have to type over 50 reports (clinic) to get my line counts in, at the company I am with now it only takes 20-30 reports to get my lines in for the day. I heard people say it in the past but when I asked questions I never got answers. So, needless to say I no longer work for OSI
Answers
Keystrokes:
1. Unicare
2. Depends on account (I use Meditech)
3. YES!
4. 1200 lines a day, 0.095 per line.
5. Very, very rarely. I have a back-up account but have only had to go to it twice, and once because they asked for extra help.
IMPORTANT TO ME: They do not send work out of the country. They care about their employees. My checks are correct and on time via direct deposit.
Answers...
Your current employ will remain as is. Always tossed around to different accounts. I have worked for another company (neither one of the aforementioned) and have never even been trained on a secondary account, let alone 9 or 10 others. There is money to be made!!
answers
When I worked there, the account I was on the demo information was almost completely filled in beyond the date of the exam, but yes, that is what is meant by too much demo info to fill in (pt. name, date, time, dr., etc.).
She's a great person to work for, Emdat is pretty easy to work in, and I think you could make decent money there as an IC if you wanted too, by using normals and a short-hand program, although the pay is on the low side, IMO. I went with my higher-paying second IC job because my MTSO offered me full-time work and I didn't really want 2 jobs at the time, but I'd go back if I needed too.
more answers
Their new platform leaves much to be desired. We can't look at old reports like we could the old system and as of yet can't even check line counts throughout the day. They are supposedly working on getting the line counts to work with the new platform AnyModal Edit, but they have been saying that for months. Right now they email us line counts the next day, but they are accurate. I was more productive on their old platform of CTS - so basically not terribly happy with the new platform, but it could be worse.
They are an honest company. Pay is accurate and on time. They aren't for everyone, but are worth giving a try in my opinion.
MDI-MD answers
I've been at MDI for a little over 3 years. My accounts have had a slow period this summer but not so slow that I could not meet my line commitment most days. You commit to how many lines you want to do in a day and can do them any time in a 24-hour period so you can't get more flexible than that. I've always been treated with respect by QA. I think the website says MDI pays 9 to 11 cpl. The only con would be on some accounts you have to use a C-phone or Lanier and need unlimited LD.
answers for you
Pay usually starts at 8 cpl if you need bennies, 8.5 cpl if no bennies. Not sure about shift differentials, as doesn't apply to me. Incentive for over 6000 lines a week is 9 cpl for only those lines over 6000. PTO starts at 12 days a year, to be used for sick time, vacation days, anything. They just started using MModal for their software for both typing and editing speech recognition jobs, it is okay, I thought the older program was better. Can't see old reports now. Have to copy and paste demographics, don't get paid for those. Report you see is what you get paid for, not Word-based, so doesn't look like the finished product. They use ShortHand v.9. New software is very, very difficult to be productive on and a lot of the MTs say they can type faster than they can edit the SR stuff. They are still working out the pay scale for SR, so now it is average hourly of what you earn straight typing. I think their okay, sometimes communication is poor. I would say they have to be better than MQ from what I've read. One advantage is they are flexible if you need to come on early, leave late, make up time earlier or later, different day. I would try them before leaving MQ though, they are looking for PT nights and weekends, might get you in the door to know if you like them or not.
Okay, thanks. That answers all my ?!!!
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