ESL percentage is definitely account
Posted By: MDI4me on 2008-08-15
In Reply to: MDI-MD versus Keystrokes - OYR
specific. However, my personal experience has been that I was only given 1 account, thereby allowing me to get used to the dictators. Secondly, my account has been broken down into specialties, thereby allowing me to get used to the lingo of that specialty. Thirdly, I fully believe that MDI does try its best to make sure that the client understands the need to speak clearly. I'm not saying that's how all accounts are or that that's everyone's general experience at MDI. I'm only commenting on my experience.
I think the ESL question is a standard with any company, too. 
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Percentage of tax
My account told me a good way to judge how much money to put back was to go off the previous year. If I made 30k - take 30%, 15k-15%. If however you find you are making more money than the previous year and will continue the trend take off what you think your yearly total will be, 50k - 50%.
what is the ESL percentage there?
I heard it was high. Is it bad or bearable?
ESL Percentage
What percentage of ESL's do you do on a daily/weekly basis? Which ESL dictation do you find the most difficult to do--Spanish, Indian, other? Do most companies reward you with a better rate if you tell them that you are comfortable doing ESL dictation or not? I have been thinking about this and wondering, since I am paid the same line rate to do the difficult ESL dictation (granted, not all ESL's are as difficult as others) as I am to do the clear and easy dictators, why in the world would a person ever tell the company that they are happy to do their part in transcribing ESL dictation? It is like a person is penalized for doing the difficult work by being put in the difficult dictators work pool and it really doesn't matter if you have 5 years or 20 years of experience, most places just want the work turned around immediately and it doesn't matter how horrible the dictation is--just do it!
I think that the next time that I apply for a transcription position I will say that I am not comfortable with ESL dictation (something that I have never done in my life) in order to get put into better pools of dictators. Instead of being paid more for doing this kind of work and not complaining, I feel we are penalized and seem to ALWAYS get the hard work, which is not fair at all!
As if it isn't hard enough to be an online medical Transcriptionist these days, having to learn the different styles of a bazillion different dictators on however many different accounts you work on (so as not to run out of work) and all of the hospital specs (plus learning their local terminology--city data, names of popular places in the area, etc.), the experienced are put into pools of hard dictators and the poor MT's” (boohoo!) who claim they can't do this dictation make the good money.
So far in my transcription career, I have never played games with companies about things like this and have always told the truth about my strengths and weaknesses as a transcriptionist, but it's dog eat dog these days, and whatever an MT has to do or say to make the $$$ seems to be the name of the game.
Thanks for letting me vent tonight!  
What is your QA percentage? sm
I started with a company last month whose account is extremely picky.. QA is even more picky with their constant nit picky corrections.. I have never had any trouble with my QA. Always 95% or more. But this new job has me at around 85 to 89% and it just makes me angry because one person corrects a dictation one way and then another one does the opposite, removing commas that are supposed to be there, adding in them when they aren't and its all counting against me. Anyone else experience this????????
It is not so much the percentage...
of what they do now, but it is in their company forcasting goals and desires to continue to increase the usage of overseas markets.
It just reminds me of the great linen/towel factories we had here all up and down the east coast that are now no longer because labor was so much cheaper than in Southeast Asia/Asia.
We are the great consumer market of the world and prices have to be kept low so that the market keeps being driven higher and faster to keep the global economy ever profitable and everyone keep their job.
Looked what happened last summer when the Americans stopped buying cars. I rest my case.
I can figure out the percentage, but...
How does one go about figuring their estimated tax?
According to what I've read on the IRS site, we have to pay estimated taxes. Well, great. I can estimate my income at what I'm making now, just starting out, but I don't see my income staying this low, so I would eventually be underpaying. I could estimate it at a higher amount, but what if I don't make as much as I think or hope I will? I can see where getting a refund is a good thing, but I'm more worried about underpaying.
Do you pay the tax on what you've ACTUALLY made in a quarter (it kind of sounds like it) or do you go about estimating your income, say you figure you'll make $20k a year, and put 25% of that away?
Confused.
I don't know the percentage number, but I'd say
there were no more difficult dictators on the accounts I'm working on than on any other big city hospital that I've worked for over 20 years. And I say difficult dictators versus ESL, as ESL seems to be a negative; people think that foreign-born dictators are difficult to transcribe. There are a good deal of dictators on my accounts who are foreign-born, and if you look at the list of names in the physician's list, you'd think you'll be slogging away all day for very low line counts. That's not so. Most of the dictators are very good. As anywhere, there are a few really horrible dictators, both foreign-born and good old red-white-and blue Americans.
I have absolutely no complaints about TT.
They do some ASR but a very small percentage, something like less than 10%
of all their work is ASR. I am not sure what the pay for it, as I only do straight transcription.
They do pay shift differentials. I think it's a half cent for second shift and a penny for third shift.
They are wonderful people to work with and for. Everyone I have ever spoken to has treated me well. Even the President of the co. has been wonderful to me and will take my call anytime I need to speak with her (which has only been twice).
I would go for it. I am so glad I did.
Percentage and be very careful
how you fill out your return. We had an accountant who was under investigation by the IRS which led to our being audited and we found that much of what he said was allowable was NOT. i.e. You cannot deduct a room for an office unless that is all the room is used for. A guest bedroom with a bed in it is not an office.
I only know about my accounts. Percentage of
ESL relatively low. There are maybe 4 that are very challenging, a few USA born that are very challenging, but I don't have any of them on a regular basis.
Someone else answered your other questions I believe.
Only a small percentage...sm
They do not off shore a lot of their work, only when the client specifically requests it. I believe the percentage is like 12 or 16 (can't remember which). They do try to get the clients to keep their transcription here, but if the client is adamant about sending it off shore, that's what they do.
I've been working OT lately due to someone leaving and not being replaced yet. There's always a need for good US-based MTs at Transcend.
Some companies pay a percentage of your sm
regular line rate. Webmedx compensates at 70% of your regular rate - so if you make 10 CPL, you'd get 7 cpl for VR editing.
outsource overseas a percentage, which could go up...(nm)
xx
Just out of curiousity, what percentage of work was the
was it a percentage of your production or did they just pull say, 5 jobs per week, or something along those lines?
I left a company where I was doing almost 30,000 lines a month and they only did QA for my score on 4 (that is four) reports a month), so I agree, if you have a bad month, expecially if there is not a good QA ratio to productivity, the company can mess you over.
it's the percentage of reports from that batch
that random percentage number is the break-down of percentage of reports/pages from that batch that you had to have QA listen to a blank, that's all, not your QA percentage. when you leave no reports for QA, that number remains 0 percent. clear as mud? sorry. it's really no thang....
Yes it is, and ANY percentage is too large for my comfort
ANY percentage is too high. There's no excuse for it except profits for greedy American MTSOs.
There are literally HUNDREDS of US MTs more than willing to work these odd hours that Transcend and others claim they are 'forced' to offshore because they cannot get sufficient help here.
I strongly disagree. In fact, I disgree just short to calling it out as being a bald-faced LIE.
The purpose is nothing more to increase profits for the powers that be, while all of the time hammering down the pay of the American MT.
I hope I am not alone in my stand on this. I would rather somewhere else for less money who DOES NOT offshore and who respects their MTs. Respect is something MDI-MD obviously chose to cast aside when they began negotiating their moneymaking deal while we starved, lost sleep, wondered how we would pay our bills, and yet STILL tried to be loyal to these yahoos.
Nope, not happy and checking out before my work goes to India.
I've worked too hard and am too advanced in my career to be a sitting duck.
Those of you doing VR, what percentage of the report do you have to correct?
How accurate is the VR? Just wondering.
What percentage of American MTs are they using these days? (no message)
xx
It all depends on the percentage of the error assessed.
I have worked for a couple of companies who charge an extremely high amount of points for punctuation errors. If this is the case, one can definitely dip into the 80s with punctuation errors.
Small percentage to India at night....
Transcend sends less work to India that most companies, and it is public record. Deventure also sends work to India. It is a fact of life in these times, some hospitals request it. Escription work with Focus doing the most of it, has been historically sent to India. From what I read, Transcend has the largest domestic staff on Escription.
What is approx. percentage of ESLs at your company and who do you work for? sm
My company has SEVERE heavy load of ESLs, probably 85% if not more and they are hard! I have this option of going with another company. I want to try the new company but I don't want to get in the same situation I am in now only because if it is the same situation I would rather stay where I am at because I like the people I work for. There is no benefits and a few things concern me yet they are good to work for, plenty of work and pay is ALWAYS ontime every time. So this is just a poll: What is the percentage of ESLs and where do you work.
Also, do you think I should try to go with this other company part-time and keep my current job to see? The problem is I would have to get unlimited long distance and have their programs downloaded on the same computer. Would love to have any feedback for this tough situation. Thank you!
I wonder what the number or percentage of MTs that need insurance versus those that dont is. Which
is greater I wonder.
Signed up for second session. Dying to hear what percentage of cut is. (sm)
Hopefully people will post as soon as they find out. I know we are lucky to have been kept at the percentage we were. MQ cut us 10% one year and then 10% again. Have a feeling they are going to skip the gentle repeated insults and just hit us with 20 or 30% right off the bat. I hope I am wrong.
Good luck to us all.
That account in Texas was not a MQ account. They did not use DQS on that account until KS started.
They are moving 3 other accounts to DQS between now and January 1st. I asked. The MQ accounts they have gotten in the past did not go to DQS. I followed my old account, which is how I know, and it was Meditech. The account is still run by KS and is a big account too.
Repeatedly told another new account would come soon, but it never did. In fact, our slow account is.
everyone else's backup account. What a disorganized mess.
The percentage of offshoring is higher than 15%, much higher - sm
Two more points - the Indian transcriptionists seemed to get the easy American dictators while the US transcriptionists get the Indian doctors and other ESLs. Never made sense to me. Also, a poster said the work is QA'd before being sent to the client - not all the time and if was then QA needs better training.
Then when we MT's are **thrown on** an account because of lack of work on our account
What is so hard to understand about that?
Then we have that account info filed away in a folder in our Outlook Express by name of account and can look at past emails sent out regarding that account. Not fun to be tossed on an account that you have never seen NOR ever received an email on. Sounds like business to me.
You are wrong about the account. KS dumped the account for several reasons. sm
It happened quickly and was unexpected but it was really for the best. Keystrokes does not string people along or lie to you. After being with MQ for too long, I am happy there, although it is not for everyone.
I really would give them a call as the other poster suggested. That whole situation was a nightmare for everyone including management but the account pulled a fast one on them.
I have the facts on this because I have a good friend at the hospital and what she told me matched what my manager did.
I know that they are trying to give more when so many companies are giving less and taking away more.
My account has lots of work..ask for another account/nm
**
The account I am on only requires 1200 lpd. Maybe it is that particular account. Ask them if they
have a lower one. Doesn't hurt to ask. I do anywhere between 1200 and 1800 lpd. Sometimes it feels impossible to do 1200, sometimes the 1800 is quick. Depends on the doctors and the day for me. I do average 15,000 per pay period though, which is 1500 a day. Not impossible by any means, and I never go over 40 hours a week. Most weeks, I am closer to 35 hours with lunch breaks and life.
I think it depends on the account. I have one account that pays sm
$2.25 for specials and one that pays $3.50. I was on one previously that did not pay them different at all, but they were all short and mostly PICC line placements.
I worked for a hospital that went to KS and they were not charging extra for the specials. I know what they charged per report, and there was no way they were getting rich on the difference after taxes and all that. I was suprised. I was in on the bid review and the average to charge was between $1.75 and $2.75 per report or 0.13 and 0.15 per line. There were 15 companies that bid on the account, and all were within those ranges.
I went to KS about 6 months after the hospital outsourced to them. When we were displaced, I accepted a different job in the hospital and hated it.
That is not true. It varies from account to account. I have
several internet accounts and on some you do have to input the patient information.
I know the account. It is "hybrid" account that is a version of sm
Meditech that is a cross between Meditech Magic and Client, more like Client than Magic. I have been on it since October now do 1500 lines a day; it took me a week to get up to speed but they really helped me. I only know which one because my lead told me that they are adding 10 people to it because KS is getting the whole thing now, only doing 1/2 before this. I love working for Keystrokes :)
Account wen to speech from almost the beginning of the account --
Don't like ExSpeech at all. Very bulky and cumbersome. Much better editing programs. I prefer to straight transcribe on ExText. Pay drops horrendously. But wave of the future for MT's.
The account I am on is internet only. I think it depends on the account. nm
nm
My main account must have been an overflow account. We would
go several many days of the month where we could not pull work, so we all had to go to secondary accounts and there are very few accounts that could absorb the extra people.
Our account is an acute care account
We are low on work too and have been for almost 2 months. We know what is happening to our work though as our supervisor admitted that the work is going overseas. Even though we have 24-hour TAT and we are transcribing reports as they are dictated, they still insist that the work dictated after 7 p.m. has to be sent to the offshore service. It makes no sense to me as we have coverage starting from 6 a.m. and throughout the day. I think it all comes down to bottom line and it doesn't matter if we have work or not because it's cheaper to send it overseas.
but hoping from account to account
without learning the accounts I am on will not help my line count, or help me. I need consistency in my work. I was told one thing, and am getting something totally diffrent. I know most jobs will be slow, but I was told one thing and now have to do something else. There is no work on a daily basis. I am a newbie to this field. I have a chance to work somewhere else stable. Sadly, I have to take my chances else where.
Maybe it differs from account to account
It seemed to me that I was getting my lines quicker on the new system. But that is just my opinion. I am sure that it differs from account to account.
Yes, jumped from account to account
Constantly rude office staff (especially payroll who often made mistakes). Poor technical assistance. Poor support on accounts. Very slow to reply to problems. Like to lay the blame for problems on an account with the MT instead of poor training and support by the office.
Yes that was the account I was on and it was GREAT account...sm
So if they are going to mess several things up: 1) Pay for their employees, 2) Losing a big account like that one, 3) Hiring supervisors that just wanted to chit-chat and lose production then I would think that is NOT a company to go for. But I had to learn it the hard way - having my payday be weeks late during Christmastime. But I gave them the benefit of the doubt for 2 more paydays - they were late also....
The account I was on was ALL ESL. They were paying me 9 cpl, but the account was so bad, I
never made any money.
When you get switched from account to account
it makes it very difficult to attain their 12,000 line requirement. If you don't make your line counts, you get moved to part time and lose your benefits. If you are already part time, you get your line rate docked. In order to prevent this from happening, I used to have to work more than 40 hours a week. It seems that this is their goal...to keep everyone from having benefits...instead, they are losing their MTs. I was staying at OSi for only 1 reason and she seems to have fallen off the face of the earth. I am most definitely looking elsewhere. I'm gettin while the gettin's good!
What account or type of account are you on? nm
OT is based on account. One account may
run dry, but another is overflowing. OT is requested for that specific account probably for hte MTs covering that account as they are the ones familiar with it.
For each account is a different set of account specifics.
I left WMX due to consistent lack of work despite 3 accounts. My current company gives a primary and a secondary and there is enough work on one or the other to get my lines and then some. Still 2 different sets of account specifics, but only 2. Someone posted they had 15 accounts at WMX and were still out of work. I didn't work for MQ, but sounds like the same situation at WMX.
Thanks! Yes, the account is ExText, so we would be on the same account. sm
They are still hiring if you change your mind.
Also, I am working part-time for Encompass. The account I am on also uses ExText, and I would not hestitate to recommend Encompass to anyon either. I feel fortunate to have found 2 great companies.
If you want IC work, I am also still working on a limited basis for CardioScribes. It is just cardiology transcription and the work is easy. Their platform is Wordscript, which is a Word-based platform, VERY easy to use. However, I really prefer employee status now, plus with the above 2 jobs, I will be making about 1 cent more per line plus having benefits and my taxes taken out.
If you go somewhere else, or if you decide to stay where you are, good luck! 
Does it have to be an account your manager has or any account? nm
,
New Account
It's probably because they are hiring new MTs to staff a new account.
New account? - sm
Then why not spread the new work out to the MTs sitting there waiting for something to do instead of hiring new people to take work away from them?
It's definitely more than 1 account.
It happens each time they add or convert a new account to BT. They may get 1 port taken care of on one account and then it happens on another. When they first started transferring accounts to BT it was ALL the ports on some accounts. It has been a nightmare for MONTHS with this platform. Yeah, I'm sure they'll get it all straightened out eventually, but how fair is it to expect US to take the brunt of the loss for months while they get things in order and what does that really say about them and their concern for the MLSs?
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