Hourly versus line

• lines vs hours worked - bpark
  • I liked hourly until I found out I could make more on line pay. nm - Nurse Diesel
    • Hourly versus line - anon
  • I've done both and I prefer.. - aa
    • I think the OP meant - sm
      • oh got it. lol - aa
      • That's what I thought too, and in that case, I would take lines over hours any day. nm - LTMT

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You point is well-taken.  But not all hourly hospital workers are 'slackers'.  (True about the petty office politics, though).  I spent years as MT in various big-city hospital settings, a lot on a contractural or 'temp' basis, and the client (hospital) usually made sure they got every penny's worth that they're paying out of you when they pay you to transcribe.  I had little time to slack off, as I saw so many of the other (non MTs) were able to do.

As for applauding production work over hourly work, the only advantage I see is that, transcribing for a national company, you're able to do it at home.  We forget about all the NONPAID work (but very profitable for companies) that virtually all MTs are required to do there (demographics, looking up names... Dr. ?*%#??...who??, studying account specifics ad nauseum, daily emails to/from management, QA, downtime).  I could go on and on, but my favorite peeve is the constant, unpaid BS about demographics, but often the 1st thing critized by both QA and the client hospital/dictator.

I'm getting ready to start applying and these are the companies that I'm looking at.  So give me the low-down.  Good, bad, India?

Here are my criteria:

9 cpl or better

Does NOT send work to India

Good accounts with at least 50/50 of ESL versus American dictators

Consistent work flow - no downtime or time spent waiting for work

Upper management should be professional, positive, and encouraging.

Pay for lines WITH spaces.

Is there such a job out there or am I just dreaming?  If there are other companies other than the ones I listed that would fit the bill, please feel free to let me know. I tested with TransHealth and I felt like I tanked.  It was a hard test and I had to use the mouse to stop and start the dictation as it was online test and you couldn't download the voice files.  So that made it a lot more difficult.  One of the dictators was cutting himself off through the report and I had to leave some blanks.  I'm very frustrated with this whole process of looking and testing.  Are all the tests like that?  Or are there companies that allow you download the test files and transcribe them using your pedal and software?  Ugh!  I am just so frustrated and discouraged.

Thanks for any helpf.

I do radiology for a large national and a small service. The large national pays per examination not report and the small service pays per line.  If the large national were paying per line, I would make a lot more than I do now due to the fact that most of the reports I type for them are very long (some as long as 15 minutes!). If I were being paid per line, I would be happy to type these long winded reports, but I am not getting paid like that by them. The small service pays me per line and when I get a long report, instead of thinking, Oh no!, I am thinking :CA-CHING!! Every account is different but this has been my experience after 11 years.  Good luck to you.

I have been looking for an MT Employee job for a couple of months and I have noticed that more and more job opportunities are asking for Independent Contractors rather than Employees.  Out of the hundreds of MTSOs out there, I could only count less than 2 dozen MTSOs who offer employee status. 

Between off-shoring to India and VR, it has almost become impossible for a single MT to make enough to pay the mortgage, etc.  Medical Transcription is becoming a secondary employment in two-worker households.  If some of the MTSOs who hire ICs would admit that they are actually hiring employees and treat them as such, MTs might have a better chance of getting paid what they are worth.  With less than 2 dozen MTSOs offering employee status, they can pretty much set their wages and we are stuck with it if we want any benefits at all.  They are on the verge of almost a type of price-fixing or monopoly.  We need more employers to create more competition for the well-trained MTs looking for work. 

There is an ad for employment as an INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR – Editor at $10.00 per hour.  After the Editor pays taxes and Medicare, etc (which can be 20 to 30%), they are actually working for less than minimum wage. 

I am interested in knowing if anyone would take a position for this wage and also if you think this is actually an Independent Contractor or really an employee. 

Below are the IRS guidelines for IC versus employee. 

I think if the IRS audits this company, the MT will be stuck dealing with the IRS for years to get their money back. 

WHAT DO YOU THINK?   Is this IC Editor job really IC or employee? 

Thanks. 

*****************************************************

In determining whether the person providing service is an employee or an independent contractor, all information that provides evidence of the degree of control and independence must be considered.

Facts that provide evidence of the degree of control and independence fall into three categories:

1.    Behavioral: Does the company control or have the right to control what the worker does and how the worker does his or her job?

2.    Financial: Are the business aspects of the worker’s job controlled by the payer? (these include things like how worker is paid, whether expenses are reimbursed, who provides tools/supplies, etc.)

3.    Type of Relationship: Are there written contracts or employee type benefits (i.e. pension plan, insurance, vacation pay, etc.)? Will the relationship continue and is the work performed a key aspect of the business?

Type of relationship refers to facts that show how the worker and business perceive their relationship to each other.

The factors, for the type of relationship between two parties, generally fall into the categories of:

·   Written contracts

·   Employee benefits

·   Permanency of the relationship

·   Services provided as key activity of the business

Written Contracts

Although a contract may state that the worker is an employee or an independent contractor, this is not sufficient to determine the worker’s status.  The IRS is not required to follow a contract stating that the worker is an independent contractor, responsible for paying his or her own self employment tax.  How the parties work together determines whether the worker is an employee or an independent contractor.

Employee Benefits

Employee benefits include things like insurance, pension plans, paid vacation, sick days, and disability insurance.  Businesses generally do not grant these benefits to independent contractors.  However, the lack of these types of benefits does not necessarily mean the worker is an independent contractor.

Permanency of the Relationship

If you hire a worker with the expectation that the relationship will continue indefinitely, rather than for a specific project or period, this is generally considered evidence that the intent was to create an employer-employee relationship.

Services Provided as Key Activity of the Business

If a worker provides services that are a key aspect of the business, it is more likely that the business will have the right to direct and control his or her activities.  This would indicate an employer-employee relationship.

I'd like your opinions...  I think it's more important to be able to produce a high line count than what your actual cents per line rate is.  $0.10/line means nothing to me if I have to struggle to produce 200 lines per hour because of their format or platform.  I'd rather make $0.07/line if I can count on producing 500 lines per hour. 

Just something to think about when you interview with a potential employer who tries to dazzle you with a high line rate.  I always ask about the average line counts and if they have auto-populated headings.  We don't get paid for auto-populated headings (which can make a significant difference in our line counts), yet I'm sure the service bills the hospital for them. 

1600 is not a fair minimum requirement.  Sure you can achieve 1600, it shouldn't be the required minimum.

I know the SS differences between the 2 but can anyone tell me is there any real advantage of being an SE versus an IC?  Why did MQ do away with SE?  Do you think this will be growing trend with companies?

I was just offered a QA position.  If I accept the position, it will be my first QA job.  According to my calculations, I would only make about a dollar more an hour on average by staying a production MT than I would as QA with this particular company, who pays their QA staff by the hour.  I am wondering, is being offered QA anything like a promotion in the industry, or is it more of a lateral move/matter of preference?  Would love to hear opinions on pros and cons of QA  Thanks!