Disagree, DSG pretty decent (SM)

• DSG current info? - freebird
  • DSG info - Happy DSG MT
  • I agree with Experienced MT --- - oldMT
    • Have you spoken with anyone about this? - nm
      • thoughts - another DSGer
  • Personally, DSG is a good fit for me. Pay is good and on time, sound quality depends on the account - memt
  • comments - Experienced MT
    • You sound miserable....why do you stay? nm - nm
      • latest news - Experienced MT
    • Thanks for info... - freebird
    • This ex-DSGer agrees, especially with the sound quality and that awful DocQScribe..nm - Been there
    • Disagree, DSG pretty decent (SM) - Former DSG
      • additional comments - Experienced MT
      • Thanks all for the help... - freebird
  • DSG - LisaCMT
    • Thanks! nm - freebird

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I got almost all of my lines in by 1:00, which is quite a feat for hump day.  I would have finished them then but I promised my kids we'd go swimming.  My accounts were also pretty low the last few weeks, so I'm glad to see them finally picking up.  Maybe the docs really were on vacation.  Who knows?  I just hope it stays this way and I hope everyone else's work picks up soon. 

Of course, I'm not putting my blinders on just yet.

Does it seem like escription accounts want to pay less because you can produce more with the editing? 

Never take less than 4cpl for editing.  That's the highest I've seen.  I personally won't take less than 9/10 cpl for the straight typing with those accounts either.

Accurate Typing of Suffolk, NY - use Word and Hyperterminal.  Dependable Transcription of Florida - use Word, FTP, DSS files.  Documed of NJ - Word and email of files.  EFD of Alabama, but you need a Lanier or Cphone. Use Word and PCAnywhere.  First Choice - use Word and FTP.  Heim's in Pennsylvania - use Word Perfect 9 or higher and FTP.  LML Transcription in Illinois - use Word with DocShuttle and FTP.  Medscribe in Pennsylvania - only 7 cpl, use Word with DocShuttle.  Metro in Georgia - use Word and FTP.  MRT Services in Georgia - use Word and FTP.  MTs in Mass. - 7 cpl, pay weekly, use Word and FTP.  PRN Transcription in New Mexico - use Word Perfect and email, 7 cpl.  Transcription Connection in Ohio - 8 cpl, use Word and maybe ExText. (posters don't have much good to say about them, though).  There may be others and some of this info may even have changed in the interim, but it's a place for you to start from. Good Luck! ... Wanderer

My first paycheck was in the bank ON TIME and for the correct amount too!

In short....the answer about Is it possible to make a decent living with them, without having to work 40 or 50 hours per week?.... NO 

TransTech did a big hiring blitz back in October last year for a new account, but the account almost immediately started going to VR, so the doable dictators left in a hurry!

The jobs that get sifted towards the MT's out of VR machine, thus, are the very difficult dictators that should be warned about their dictation habits.

The ExSpeech (editing platform) is very awkward and time consuming, so it is a catch 22 for the MT's. ExText has a good spell check and is easy platform to learn.

TransTech does not allow the MT's to check/verify our lines in the manner in which, in my opinion, we should be able to do. The CTRL I function does not give even a close line count and our pay stubs do not show it either -- just the word *piecework*. We can go to iChart; however, it does not show an immediate line count nor the jobs or line count per report -- only a total line count for a period of time per TransTech's counting method. It is a lot of trouble to go to iChart to get an immediate line count each time you choose to check your pace. We should be able to do this right from the platform/software that we are working in, IMO.

It seems our lines have been much harder to obtain in the past several months -- I suppose more to the dictators shuffled our way from VR, than anything that Transtech is doing with the line counts. I can't imagine them messing with our line counts in any form or fashion, as some companies have been accused of doing.

VR is the way of the future in order for the companies to be more profitable for themselves, so this is what we have to look forward to -- those of us who remain in the MT profession.

I'm looking for a decent national company. It's really important that they provide the computer since mine is ancient and they accept satellite internet because I live in rural Maine and that's all available here. I support a 4-person household and really need a company that's dependable. I was looking in Webmedx, Transcript USA, and Transcription Relief Services. Anyone know anything about any of those. Not interested in Diskriter, Transcend, JLG, Spheris, or Precyse. Oh also, are all the companies going to ASR now? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

They are a decent compay with better than average pay and good benefits.  Pretty flexible as far as scheduling.  Platform is user friendly and easy to get lines with.  Team leads and supervisors are nice and helpful.

I am a hospital employee.  I like the platform, it is basically word.  I am making more lines here than I ever have anywhere else.  I only work on one account.  The equipment is fine, brand new Dell with flat screen.  No problems in particular with supervisors or QA.  Hospital can be picky about things, but it is the hospital, not DK.  Benefits are great through the hospital, very affordable.  

DK is no worse than anywhere else, you just have to find what is best for you.  They are working fine for me  

I have to say that the reason companies are offshoring is not completely their fault.  US MTs, over the  years, have gotten to where they want to make more and more money so that they have to produce less and less work every day. 

Any talented MT should be able to produce 1500 lines (accurately) in an 8-hour period.  At a rate of 0.075 cpl, this would total $112.50, which works out to 14.00 per hour.  If you want to earn more than that, you work extra to do so.  There are people coming out of college with degrees that do not start out at a wage like that and don't make that until they have many, many years experience in their field.  This would be though in an average area.

By asking for exorbitant wages, which you could also earn by increasing your line count and working just a bit harder, we are forcing companies to have to look at offshoring more and more work.  Yes they work cheaper over there.  However, they also don't mind working harder and doing everything possible to increase their line count.

Another issue bringing our wages down is the fact that now an Editor is used.  This has come about simply because the MTs that are coming into this business are not adequately trained.  Therefore, an extra cost associated with the higher wages.  The same editor can be used but editing India work and the company will make a better profit and turnaround times are much better.

I do feel that MTSOs should look at the cost of living of different areas and also pay MTs accordingly as any other job would.  For instance, an secretary in some parts of Texas start out at 6.50 per hour; however, a secretary in New York may start at 17 or more per hour.  This is an issue that has never been addressed by an MTSO and I am sure never will be.

Over the last several years, many schools have developed that teach MT.  However, they are not producing quality MTs.  To make it in this business and earn the big bucks, you have to have speed and accuracy.  You have to be able to remember medical terms.  Most of all, however, if you cannot produce 200-250 lines per hour minimum, you might should consider a new job.  This is a production job and if you can't produce, it is not the job for you. 

For those of you experiencing out of work problems, easy solution... find another company to work for/with.  There are too many out there, so don't waste precious time.  Find one.

I disagree with you on a number of points.

First of all, as was pointed out by another poster, 1500 lines in 8 hours depends totally on the accounts and dictators you transcribe.  I have an (occasional) account where I can transcribe 400-500 lines an hour, and that, obviously, is due to the template.  I have another account on another job where I can only transcribe 120-140 lines an hour.  That isn’t due to my failings but due to the slowness of the company-provided computer and their platform.  When transcribing another dictator, I can usually transcribe 250-275 LPH.  The main reason I can do this is because I get this dictator all the time, have had the opportunity to become accustomed to his style of dictation and can make shortcuts based on his particular consistent phrasing of sentences.  If a person transcribes for more than 100 different dictators, the Transcriptionist never has the opportunity to become familiar with the dictator.  There are many variables in how many lines someone can transcribe per hour, and they don’t always involve the skill level or competency of the transcriptionist.

I also take issue with the fact that people coming out of college with degrees earning less.  Who cares?  Why should MTs who have been in this business for 20-30 years suffer just because kids who graduate from college make less money?  I’m sure most of these seasoned MTs would tell you that they made much more money 10 or even 15 years ago than they do today.  They are hanging in there with a deteriorating industry, just trying to make a living wage.

I especially disagree with paying transcriptionists different rates based on where they live.  Often that is the only recourse for those of us who have the ability to relocate to economically impoverished areas, just to keep up with steadily declining wages in the MT industry because we love this kind of work.

Although I agree that speed used to be a very important of a transcriptionist’s job, I also believe that with the evolution of VR, the need for typing speed in a transcriptionist is obviously going to diminish since it is no longer required.  Combine that lack of skill with the new graduates you mention who are basically clueless, and a whole new generation of incompetence is being created, leaving the more experienced, seasoned MTs out in the cold.

I personally am going to remain with the smaller companies, as I believe when it is all said and done, they are the ones that truly care about quality, and they may be the only ones left after all the big nationals outsource themselves into extinction through their new quantity versus quality standards.  They are also the ones who are less likely to cut the throats of their loyal, highly-skilled employees.

Just because an MT is a production worker doesn't mean we never deserve a raise.  Basically, you expect the MT to do more, more, more, and never make anything more per hour, which isn't right or fair in general, and especially with the way the cost of living constantly goes up, health insurance, etc...

As far as editors go, editors have always been a part of the MT world as long as I can remember.  They aren't anything new.  I'm sure it's much easier for an Editor to edit jobs done by U.S. MTs than people in India who can't even speak English...That's just common sense.  Alot of their reports need to be totally redone because the quality is so bad, yet you'll send work to them??? LOL!!!

Amazing how you only harp on quality, speed and accuracy when it comes to U.S MTs; none of which you're getting from any MT in India, but you're okay with that because it's filling up your pockets. 

Soon, U.S. medical records will have to remain in the U.S., which is the way it should be.  You'll see.

I used to be an MTSO.  There is a very fine line to walk between overstaffing and adequate staffing.  With the TATs being what they are today, it is even worse.  You have to keep the clients happy or they will go elsewhere.  I don't believe that is a problem at TT like it is at many other companies.  I also never ran out of work during slow times, just adjusted my schedule.

SirPercy - please don't denigrate yourself with such names.  No one is garbage, maybe a little trashy, but certainly not garbage.  I just left D and L typing a few weeks back.  They were fab-u-lous. Challenging (in a good way -- not too hard to comprehend) work, wonderful software, very nice staff. Always was paid as promised, on time. I didn't want to leave, but had other committments. I give them 5 stars.

I'm sorry, but I think we most certainly are different from assembly line workers or a pharmacy tech, etc.  Our job involves a whole lot more than those professions and I feel proud that it does.  I would say an experienced multi-specialty MT might be on the level of having a bachelor's, and what would be wrong with that?  How many of you with years of experience can diagnose a patient after hearing the H&P and know not only what meds to prescribe but their proper dosage along with a treatment plan?    

We still do patient care but in a different way.  We work with the written record as opposed to hands-on patient care.  Why should this mean we don't need as much knowledge?   We're the patient's safety net, as I recently heard a medical professional say.  Especially with the EMR and electronic signatures, we've got to be darn sure all the bases are covered and covered correctly.  The next time that patient is treated, what we have transcribed will be what the treating physician refers to.  How else can we know what the mumblers, speed demons, ESLs are saying if we don't know what they are supposed to be saying!  This is where the years of experience really pay off.

I think you're selling yourself and this profession short to compare it to those others.   To do our job well and make the most money, we can't spend time looking things up.  We have to KNOW it.  We have to know anatomy and physiology, disease pathology, pharmacology, procedures, maneuvers, signs, surgical equipment, the world of nuclear medicine, etc.  not to mention knowing how to make the best use of our computer's software, and the Internet, and tricks of the trade with our platforms, and skills with the English language such that we can edit where necessary all the while following account specifics which change depending on which account you are on.   Yee gads, it's amazing what we do!   If this weren't the case, why would the companies be so insistent on wanting people with years and years of experience?  They don't want errors and they want high production from us.  That's why newbies have such a hard time finding employment -- they don't know enough yet.  It takes years, as you all know, to incorporate the booklearning with excellence in the job performance.   It all has to come together and this takes time and effort on our part and the end result (our pay) should be worth the effort just like with any other job.