Heartland was started in India and American MTs should
Posted By: do research before accepting jobs. sm on 2006-05-10
In Reply to: Toledo Blad - OhioMT
Valuable lesson learned. Never go to work for a company that is based on offshoring because they'll simply pull the rug out from under you. I don't mean to sound heartless and I wish I had jobs to offer all the American MTs but I don't.
However, Mr. Ormond said the firm's transcription business started in India, and the company tried to bring it to the United States but it wasn't profitable. -- from the article.
Those of us in the business a long time knew where their center of business was located from the beginning.
Complete Discussion Below:  marks the location of current message within thread
- Toledo Blad - OhioMT
- Heartland was started in India and American MTs should - do research before accepting jobs. sm
The messages you are viewing
are archived/old.
To view latest messages and participate in discussions, select
the boards given in left menu
Other related messages found in our database
Heartland India
Those of us who have been in the business know this information. However, when I started working there, they told me that they were on a 5-year plan to bring the work back into the US. Sounded good to me and I bought it. Maybe was a lie, maybe not. Also, when a person is a newbie and you just want to get your foot in the door, you will take what you can get. Those of us who have been in the business for umpteen years didn't have to face what the less-experienced MTs are facing today. Cut them some slack. They don't have the research skills that us oldies have and they don't know the business like we do. Teach them instead of torment them. They just got their first lesson in check out the company fully before signing up. But, that will mean nothing to them if they have just gotten their MT diploma and are raring to go to work for someone, ANYONE.
Heartland India
That was a nice comment you made !
Heartland and India lowdown
Heartland was started by Steve Mandel who thought he could get rich by starting a medical transcription business and having all his work done in India, including QA and management, but it didn't work out the way he expected it to so he moved management back to Toledo. He had a few U.S. MTs and QA people there, but the majority of the work was still being done in India. He took advantage of a little-known clause in the minimum wage law that lets an employer hire foreign nationals to work here in the U.S and pay them the equivalent of wages in their home country and brought over a number of Indians to work in Toledo, mostly in the technical departments, but there were some who were learning to QA, and only god knows what else. What they did best was generate more useless paper than the Pentagon. Mandel, however. was still having money problems so he conned Manor Care into some sort of partnership. He was also having quality problems because the Indians who were doing QA couldn't cut it. When his biggest and most prestigious client threatened to pull out because of the poor quality, he gave the okay to hire U.S. editors to work from home. I was one of those editors. All I can say is that I stayed only long enough so I didn't have to pay them back 2000 bucks that they shelled out for plane fare, lodging/meals, and training in Toledo for 5 days. All I can say about the training was that more time was spent having to listen to people sing the praises of the company (and badmouth the Indians) than in front a computer learning their dreadful system. Heartland was a very sick place. I felt it the minute I stepped into the offices there. I know that people listened in on phone conversations when I would have to call another Editor about something. Even the most innocent remark would get blown out of proportion and somebody would tattle. I also suspected them of trying to hack into my personal compter because I was able to trace the attempts to Bangalore. I truly feel badly for the people who lost their jobs, but no one should have ever had to work for a company the likes of Heartland. If I had had 2000 dollars when I was in Toledo, I would have written a check the same day I got there and headed home. One of the people in my training group did just that. As far as all the work going to India now, unless things have changed A LOT in the last 3 years, they will lose most of their clients and hopefully the jobs will come back here where they belong.
Heartland India based originally
I'm almost certain that at the time Heartland was purchased by HCR, they were originally a India based entity. The Domestic MTs/editors came much later.
American MTs/India
One of the reasons the work is sent to India at night is because very few MTs will work past 6 p.m. I work a split shift and am shocked at how many MTs will only work between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Mon-Fri (not 12 hours but only hours between those.) Even when they are hired for one weekend day which is the way it is supposed to be now for new hires they don't show up on their weekend day and there are very few of us who work past 6 p.m. If American MTs want the work they have to work all shifts. If you are new in a company you get the crappy shifts and days until you work your way up after being their for awhile. That's they way it is in corporate America-why do MTs think its not they way for them?
Hey, I have India-American friends
They came here and became Americans, so please don't call them dot-heads. The difference in them is that they live here and observe the same standards we do and have to pay bills at the same rates do. I have no problem with them.
I understand the anger, but the real anger shouldn't be at them, but at our own countrymen who advocate it and sell out their own people. There's a fine line between profit and sleaze and shamless greed, and they've crossed it. Some hospitals are strongly against it and they need to start investigating and prosecuting those who trick them, IMO. There are security risks regardless how well software is made. Patient names, dictated S.S. numbers, etc. It's creepy, if you ask me. Anyone can jot the stuff down and they would not be accountable to an American court.
As long as Americans tolerate it, it will continue. Most aren't even aware of it and when you tell them, they're shocked and angry.
The American QA is out the door too. they are using their MEs from India
to do the QA on the foreign based MT and the MEs suck just as bad as the MTs do.
It's less an American co with branch in India, than an Indian
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
American Indian vs a person in India. nm
x
Umm, AAMT started years ago for AMERICAN MTs. You
seem to be implying that since AAMT happens to be located in the US then that is why the association is named the way it is. You are incorrect in your implication and it is not right to post it in that manner on a public forum where new visitors get the wrong idea.
Let me sum it up for you, 80% of work is done in India, they just laid off a bunch of American
QA people, some of which were hired only a few months before they were fired, and they just now fired a lot of their upper management. Something is in the wind at Focus and it smells like crap! Don't work there. If you do decide to ignore the warnings, don't believe anything they tell you! They lie to you right up until they call and fire you.
Why in the world are American MTs working for India who treat you so disrespectfully?
Nm
Looks American but isnt. All MT work done in India. Hosps in IL dont know. Bound to fall.
This is all part of the cost-saving plan..first, send your American MTs work to India so we sit here
with nothing and then manipulate the way the lines are counted. Sounds like cost cutting at our expense to me.
They STARTED in India, and have only in
they bought a company named DRC. But most of the MTs, tech support, and other offices are in Bangalore, Mysore, etc.
No, Acusis is the company that started in India, and
nm
I was hired and started in 1 week. That is not a long set-up time. When I started with our local h
I needed to get a physical and go through orientation at the hospital which is only given two times per month. This is a 900-bed hospital, so it cannot be an unusual process. MQ took 2 weeks. KS took 1 week. SoftScript never got me started even after repeated calls and emails.
I have only been with KS for 9 months but would never put them in the same catagory as the others you mentioned. They are the best company I have worked for, and unfortunately, I have bounced around a little in the last 5 years.
I was hired and started in 1 week. That is not a long set-up time. When I started with our local h
I needed to get a physical and go through orientation at the hospital which is only given two times per month. This is a 900-bed hospital, so it cannot be an unusual process. MQ took 2 weeks. KS took 1 week. SoftScript never got me started even after repeated calls and emails.
I have only been with KS for 9 months but would never put them in the same catagory as the others you mentioned. They are the best company I have worked for, and unfortunately, I have bounced around a little in the last 5 years.
I was hired and started in 1 week. That is not a long set-up time. When I started with our local h
I needed to get a physical and go through orientation at the hospital which is only given two times per month. This is a 900-bed hospital, so it cannot be an unusual process. MQ took 2 weeks. KS took 1 week. SoftScript never got me started even after repeated calls and emails.
I have only been with KS for 9 months but would never put them in the same catagory as the others you mentioned. They are the best company I have worked for, and unfortunately, I have bounced around a little in the last 5 years.
India, Michael. The MT world is going to India. Wonder why? nm
!
offshore to India, it's OFFSHORE (off shore), not outsource to India.
nm
Heartland?
Has anyone heard of a company called Heartland Transcription out of Toledo? A friend of mine has been talking to them and wondered about it, so I told her that since I was online right now I would ask. Thanks! 
Heartland
You MUST be their recruiter.
heartland
TAKE EVERYONES ADVICE, DON'T GO THERE - BEEN THERE - WORST EVER.
Heartland
WOW! What paper was this printed in, the post doesn't mention it. Also age discriminations is llegal folks, and just fort he record HIS hired me and I am 58...make me wonder..................nola
Heartland
I myslef cannot help but wonder what is going on with Heartland. I currently work for them and scared I will end up without a job.
Heartland does.
xx
Heartland?
Does anyone have info or updates on what is going on at/with Heartland? I've heard about quite a few layoffs in the recent days. Thanks.
heartland
sometime back, there was a post in this forum regarding heartland's sale status. it refers to spi backing out of acquisition of heartland...
Heartland.....sm
Medical transcription business booming
Anshuman Daga
Bangalore, February 20
Medical transcription firm HealthScribe India, which uses India’s large pool of English-speaking graduates to enter medical data on US patients, expects its revenue to nearly double annually over coming years.
“I expect our turnover to grow at 80 percent compounded annual growth rate for the next few years,” HealthScribe’s Chief Executive Officer Tony Hales told Reuters in an interview.
The company, a joint venture between Max India and Healthscribe Inc of the United States, currently does $6 million in business a year.
The booming medical transcription business has become a $ 6 billion industry in the USA.
Transcription professionals key in medical data such as patient histories or treatment into computers after doctors in the USA phone the transcription centre and verbally record their observations. Once keyed into computers the data is transferred back to US hospitals via e-mail.
Global Centre
India has become a global hub for medical record transcription business with the establishment of high-speed telecom links and its large number of English-speaking graduates.
The fact that wages in this field in India are only 15 percent of US salaries is the biggest draw for firms such as HealthScribe to set up shop in India, Hales said.
“Our (HealthScribe’s) only limitation for growth has been time and experience,” Hales said. The company was not adding more than 75 to 100 employees a month to ensure that the quality of work is maintained, he explained.
Hales said it takes about four years for a local employee to match the quality of work done by his counterpart in the USA.
Other foreign companies in the same industry with operations in India include US-based HeartLand Information Systems and CBay Systems (India).
The growth of such services has been fuelled by rising demand to maintain basic hospital data and records and use these as legally recognised documents for US doctors to support medical decisions. Reuters
Heartland?
Who is spi? Thank you.
Heartland... now what do we do?
So... what do we do now guys? 
Heartland
So sorry to hear about what happened. They will lose their clients. Are any of you from MS, AR or TN???
Heartland
I'll bet the we take care of our people people have even them beat dirtwise.
Heartland
Very sad, well-written. Please, please, forward this to former Senator John Edwards at OneAmericaCommittee.com. Please browse the site and familiarize yourselves with the work the Senator has been doing. I believe HE REALLY CARES. Please anyone who has the time, browse the One America site. You can sign up for updates from them and help by signing petitions and just spreading the word. It's time for Americans to take back America, don't you think? Thanks all. God bless you all who have been treated in this fashion by Heartland, but consider that some way, in some fashion, the ones who did this to you WILL get their just rewards.
Heartland
The we take care of our people was supposed to be in parentheses but didn't show up in my post.
Heartland
I am sorry for all of you. I had the miserable experience of working for Heartland a few years ago. I stayed only 6 months so I didn't have to reimburse them $2000 for their flying me to Toledo for training (what a joke that was) me. For those of you who want to write their clients, be careful. It technically could be a violation of HIPAA. Instead, write the newspapers where the client is located. You can bet that their staff members read the letters to the editors. A letter to the client could just get buried by the administration. I know of at least 2 instances where a client was outsourcing to India, but their staff was unaware of it. Do not, of course, mention the name of the client. Call it a local medical facility or a medical facility located in this state or area if there is only one medical facility in that particular town... something like that. It has been a few years since I worked for Heartland, but while with the company, I edited reports typed in India. If any of you want to E-mail me with the city and state (no other information) where a client is located, I will be happy to write a letter to an Editor too. Best of luck to all of you.
Heartland
HCR Manor Care is the mother company for Heartland, Inc., they are NOT BROKE by any stretch of the imagination.
Heartland MTs.....I want to ......sm
tell you how sorry I am for your situation. Take some satisfaction in the knowledge that eventually Heartland will realize they made a grave mistake by outsourcing all their work overseas.
If you are interested in working for a 100% US company, perhaps I can help you. Just drop me an email through the board here. Good luck to all of you!! 
Heartland
YOU are so right. I have said all along from all the posts I've seen from MQ to anyone else. They cry gimmee, gimmee, gimmee. They don't get what they want, so they bad mouth the company, but OMG, don't even think of working on weekends (except maybe every once in a while), or a holiday, or after 5 pm. If that's the schedule they have been looking for, they are in the wrong field. You can't watch soaps and eat bons bons while you transcribe. I basically work the same schedule I did IN a hospital, usually all day Saturday and I work from 5 a.m until I have met my own personal quota. This is a good field but I think it has been trashed by those who thought it was a cushy way to make easy money. Wrong, wrong, wrong. It takes as much dedication to do well at home, if not more. I agree some of the companies have taken advantage, but by and large, a lot of these people do a lot of stuff they wouldn't do or couldn't get away with while working on site.
Heartland MT
I am suppose to work today but who knows what will be in store for me. Standby or work.
More on Heartland
Why do the hospitals that contract with Heartland allow the work to be in India? I know there are hospitals out there that do not want the medical records overseas.
Not from Heartland but if it was me sm
and I could afford it, I would take the rest of the summer off and collect unemployment.
Heartland
Does anyone have any recent information? TIA
Heartland
Wondering who bought them...
Heartland
Hi,
Heard a rumor that Heartland is going to close down its HBT in India. Can anyone confirm it as a rumor or otherwise.
Heartland reply
I worked for that company for about 4 months and they were a JOKE!! I am talking in the first few months I had 8 different accounts and they were constantly changing the formatting/something about them daily and you had to run off about 150 pages everyday. I NEVER once got the same doctor EVER!! I typed on 4 different accounts all in the same day and they all had different formatting. It was a nightmare! I would not go back to them if they paid 20 cents a line!! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!!!
Heartland sold
HIS employees - watch your backs - they have sharp sticks to put into your back while smiling to your face!
TransTech/Heartland?
Why on earth would you think this?
TransTech/Heartland
As far as I know, they are not. Heartland is now up for sale, however. Could it be possible that TransTech is interested in buying it?
I love Heartland
nm..
|
