Do they still dock pay for slightly lower than normal

expected QA scores, and use stars and apples as QA scores or do they come in real numbers now?

• Spheris Pay - anon
  • Inside - My experience with Spheris (3 times)
  • The people I know who worked there said they - could never make any $$ - see msg
    • Spheris - missmt
    • Most of what you said is not true - SpherisMT
      • Agree. - Sally
      • Are you a team leader? NM - X-Spheris
        • Absolutely not, just a regular peon... NM - SpherisMT
      • SpherisMT - missmt
        • Definitely not a cheerleader. - SpherisMT
      • Do they still dock pay for slightly lower than normal - Rockin 2
        • Never heard of stars and apples - SpherisMT
          • I quit in 2002, had enough of their shenanigans. sm - Rockin 2
          • Lower pay - mom2huskies
            • Don't wonder, it's really happening. sm - Rockin 2
            • to mom2huskies - anon
              • lowering pay - mom2huskies
                • Thanks to mom2huskies - anon
  • I quit Spheris last year for that very reason, it's not you SM - ex-Spheris employee
    • Spheris/Edix, sm - mqmt
      • Are regular and VR lines separated on your pay - Rockin 2
        • Regular and VR lines are listed separately - SpherisMT
      • Could that have been a result of not paying for demos, headers, footers? NM - Curious
        • Don't think so! nm - mqmt

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My story:  I started a week ago with sneezing.  At first, I thought it was allergies because we took DH's truck for a long drive (the one he takes the dog to the shop in).  But after 2 doses of Benadryl and 6 hours later, still sneezing.  The sneezing started up again the next day and by the third day I was coughing.  The coughing got worse as the week went on and it got to the point where I was gagging on the mucus.  I self-medicated with OTC stuff -- Robitussin, Mucinex, etc.  By Sunday, I was on the couch the entire day.  My body hurt, my ears hurt, I had chills, still coughing and sneezing.  Finally on Monday, I called my doc and made an appt for that afternoon.

My doc did a thorough exam on me and told me that what I had was more than likely viral and that antibiotics would do me no good (I'm old school, I say give me the Z-pack and send me on my way), but not this newbie.  He gave me an inhaler.  We have 3 of those in my house already and told me to continue with my OTC stuff.  I paid my copay and left.

Needless to say, the next time I get sick, I'll wait until I'm dead to go to the doctor's because I'm sure it's just a virus and we can't really treat a virus.  Maybe that's the prob with the workload.  People aren't going to their doctors because the doctors aren't doing much to help.  Save your money and wait it out.

I did happen to review a chart of the 50 states and did not run across anything where they required a set weekly amount.  In my state in the NE, to qualify, you must:

1. Have worked a total of at least 20 weeks within the last 56 weeks (year).

2. The total $ amount you earned during the past year is added up and averaged by the number of weeks you worked. (i.e., if you worked for 30 weeks this past year and earned a total of $15,000, you averaged $500 per week). 

3.  This weekly average is divided by 2 ($500 divided by 2 = $250.)

4.  Any week in which you earned $80 or less is thrown out - so as not to unfairly lower your average. (May be $90 or $95 now, as this was taken from 2005 data.)  For example, if you started your job, say, on a Friday and earned $80 for that day, that would not be counted.)

5.  Your weekly benefit amount is roughly $250.00 for 26-39 weeks (depending length of recession).

* They will always use the separation criteria from your LAST job as reason to deny or grant benefits - whether 1 day or 1 year.  For example, you may quit a job after years of employment, then work at a temp for for a week - get laid off of that temp job after that time for lack of work - you're in luck, since they'll use criteria from that last job for your UE claim.

I did happen to review a chart of the 50 states and did not run across anything where they required a set weekly amount.  In my state in the NE, to qualify, you must:

1. Have worked a total of at least 20 weeks within the last 56 weeks (year).

2. The total $ amount you earned during the past year is added up and averaged by the number of weeks you worked. (i.e., if you worked for 30 weeks this past year and earned a total of $15,000, you averaged $500 per week). 

3.  This weekly average is divided by 2 ($500 divided by 2 = $250.)

4.  Any week in which you earned $80 or less is thrown out - so as not to unfairly lower your average. (May be $90 or $95 now, as this was taken from 2005 data.)  For example, if you started your job, say, on a Friday and earned $80 for that day, that would not be counted.)

5.  Your weekly benefit amount is roughly $250.00 for 26-39 weeks (depending length of recession).

* They will always use the separation criteria from your LAST job as reason to deny or grant benefits - whether 1 day or 1 year.  For example, you may quit a job after years of employment, then work at a temp for for a week - get laid off of that temp job after that time for lack of work - you're in luck, since they'll use criteria from that last job for your UE claim.

I did happen to review a chart of the 50 states and did not run across anything where they required a set weekly amount.  In my state in the NE, to qualify, you must:

1. Have worked a total of at least 20 weeks within the last 56 weeks (year).

2. The total $ amount you earned during the past year is added up and averaged by the number of weeks you worked. (i.e., if you worked for 30 weeks this past year and earned a total of $15,000, you averaged $500 per week). 

3.  This weekly average is divided by 2 ($500 divided by 2 = $250.)

4.  Any week in which you earned $80 or less is thrown out - so as not to unfairly lower your average. (May be $90 or $95 now, as this was taken from 2005 data.)  For example, if you started your job, say, on a Friday and earned $80 for that day, that would not be counted.)

5.  Your weekly benefit amount is roughly $250.00 for 26-39 weeks (depending length of recession).

* They will always use the separation criteria from your LAST job as reason to deny or grant benefits - whether 1 day or 1 year.  For example, you may quit a job after years of employment, then work at a temp for for a week - get laid off of that temp job after that time for lack of work - you're in luck, since they'll use criteria from that last job for your UE claim.

I am in trainingwith a company, learing this account and they audited my reports and count it against me, because I do not meet their standards, but I am in still in training just got hired.  Is this normal to be audited when you are still training?  aren't you suppose to be audited once you get out of training?

For your normals that have either an abbreviation or a long form use the following:

type bp, get BP

type bpp, get blood pressure

type wnl, get WNL

type wnll, get within normal limits

type copd, get COPD

type copdd, get chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

type cold, get COLD

type coldd, get chronic obstructive lung disease

Yes, sometimes the word cold will be used in a report, but it is so seldom unless you are doing pediatrics, that you will and should notice it.  Hope this helps.

In my 12 years, this is my first IC position with a national and I'm spinning my wheels. Just wondering if this is normal stuff I need to get used to?  

Things like, their field codes sometimes are there and sometimes are not, so if not, I have to go back and put in say the patient's name or DOB by hand. Ok, so that's not too big deal. But most of the referrring doc addresses are not in their system. So I have to look up in their info or search internet, enter into their system, but if there are no codes, have to go put all that in each document by hand. Their templates are mess, IMO. They don't have necessary spaces and some even have grammatical errors. But the worst...sometimes at the end of a report that has a lengthy template where I've had to delete some of it because it wasn't what he said (for example, they have a limited number of templates so maybe I have to use a stress echo template for a nuclear test, so I have to delete much of doc's canned words), it gives me a NEGATIVE LINE COUNT for that report. They have told me they can't fix this, that all in all I'm doing better in the course of my shift by getting paid for the templates, i.e., that it all equals out.

Their system is very slow, bogs down, all this click and point stuff I'm not used to, and I can't produce more than about 150 lines an hour. It's just a part-time gig for me, trying to make some extra money in these crappy times, but it's getting frustrating. Have I just been pampered with awesome MTSOs and docs all these years? Or should I jump ship? Sorry so long, thanks for your input.

of speed, like 100-150 lph (with 100 being the most horrible, barely speaking English, beneath poor audio) then you absolutely do not have the skills to make it in this business.

I have said this a million times - you have to have an **ear** for this work.  What they give you in these schools is not what you will be faced with in real life.  If you choose to coddle yourself with jobs that contain clear speaking clinic notes, then you will find yourself out of a job in a couple of years because nobody wants you if you can't do job after job of ESL at a normal rate of speed.

I hope that is not true but I bet they try to lower our wages again. I also work for Spheris and I know that we have to meet the QA standards. I do meet the QA and line count standards but I notice lately that I have been having to look up the patient information a lot more, which I know we are not compensated for.  Also, lately it seems like I do more reports but my line count does not seem to increase like it should. Makes me wonder.