I'm thinking economy and people just aren't having elective surgeries or (sm)
Posted By: shortcake on 2009-05-30
In Reply to: How is your work flow going? sm - One Unhappy MT
going to docs and really think twice before heading to the ER. I put off my son's braces for a while and just made the appt this week after going for his consult a year and a half ago!! I know how you feel though; it's hard not to be paranoid these days!
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What I want to know is why aren't people working?
......
A lot of people here are thinking I am
misconception.
I keep informed about all the companies, who does what, IC versus employee. I am a well-informed potential employee. I am very good at what I do and I will only work for the best. In my thinking the KS post wasn't the best of the best. Perhaps I spoke out of turn by believing others should think more highly of themselves and their value as employees. I've been in every position one could work in the transcription and health care industry and this seemed somewhat demeaning not just to my own value but the value of MTs as a whole.
As it turns out now, they offer more than they orginally posted but would you have gotten that information if teeth weren't pulled? If you want it, you CAN have it. Why do MTs have to settle for crumbs when the crumbs keep getting smaller? There ARE companies with better benefits out there. How KS treats their people, well, I certainly cannot speak to that but in the last few days the company I take pride in working for has taken quite a beating on this web site and they treat me extremely well.
And the point is...I reciprocate. I want to be considered one of the best MTs where I work and I often go above and beyond. It is mutually reciprocative and it sure ain't for crumbs.
Yes it did get people thinking, but it was
also unprofessional to go on flaming someone. I don't want to start something with anybody, just pointing out to RadMT to be nice.
That is exactly what I was thinking. What is sad is that people want to know where these places are
so they can apply there too. If you'll notice, no one has ever came back on here and said thanks for giving me the information because they are not for real. If anyone could make that editing on ANY platform wouldnt we all be working there. So, thanks for the enlightening and given the people who really believed a reality check.
Why not? One of the few posts that got people thinking
x
That's what I've been thinking - people must be off.
nm
They don't pay for spaces and they used to do a lot of ESL surgeries. nm
n
Give it some time. I think some people aren't working today and the ice
s
Since when are EGDs and colonoscopies surgeries. That is new to me. nm
:
Who said people who work for KS aren't happy for people who work for (sm)
other companies? I'm happy for people who are happy with their jobs, no matter what company they work for.
Both are 100% elective, that's how.
We're not talking WANT, we're not talking emotional need, we're talking physical need and necessity. Having a child is NOT necessary to sustain life. It's a want.
No, it was elective but they kept the money! nm
nm
401K isn't elective but mandatory?
That's highly unusual and a new one!
I can't imagine anyone paying for that, it's elective. sm
Insurance doesn't exist to cover huge expenses such as this. IVF is completely elective, completely unnecessary (in the sense of necessary to save life or limb or prolong life). Also the fact that it's a crapshoot makes it not a good bet for the company. Why would they pay out 10s of thousands of dollars when there's no guarantee it's going to work?
It is a major holiday - who wants to have elective medical care
Don't worry, in a few weeks, the work will be back around. Got any PTO? I have a side PT job for times like these but they have no work either. So, many of us are without work right now.
Generally, with holidays, patients put off elective procedures, sm
more doctors take off, and generally you can count on a lighter workload, especially with Christmas and Thanksgiving. I tell myself I will save up and prepare for it, but usually I end up scrounging frantically for work, so do not feel alone.
Oh, and pay no attention to the whining comments. Most of us have compassion and understand the panic that cam come along when you realize you have run out of work for the day or whatever.
Hang in there ... it will get better. 
Do you think all the headers and footers aren't getting counted? Lots of places aren't giving
s
I got a pay cut for the economy
Now I make less than 3 cpl. Really! Don't think I'm not looking for something else. I might even give the company the same retro-notice they gave me when I leave, which was an email saying effective two-weeks ago, your pay is now lower than snake dung in a wagon trail. And they sent me such a nice Christmas card too!
Sure, I would work for two companies. Clearly, it doesn't pay to be dedicated. Whose to say they even need to know about each other anyway?
I believe it is the economy ..
Many MTs got fed up and left the field but now as the outside jobs dry up, they seem to be coming up. It is definitely a good market for the MT companies and a horrible market for the MT. Competition is horrendous!
I have had the same experience but now work for a great person. Would like more work but it's not essential. Working for a super ethical, honest and fun person is wonderful and, sadly for me, a rarity.
economy
It's not just the MT industry. People around the country are getting laid off right and left and many others are being forced to take a decrease in pay and/or benefits. Even nurses are being laid off in my state (with a nurse hiring freeze). Over a year ago, one of my sons was laid off and the other had to take a 35% pay cut several months ago. A good MT friend of mine also had to take a pay cut and is averaging $4 less per hour than before. My friend's husband also lost his job to to downsizing and the economy. I'm make a little less myself than I used to, but I still have my benefits and have a job with a company I really like. I thank God for that because I'm on my own, 1 paycheck, and have no one else to rely on.
Right-on. Normally, in an economy such as ours, you'd
a saving grace. Something that people who were rural, or in small towns where the mine or the mill or the GM plant closed down, could do that was good American work, that not only benefitted American citizens who were patients of American doctors and hospitals, but also that paid money into the tax system. And if the hard-working American workers earned a living wage, they might be able to buy houses, or GM cars, or support all the other businesses that have died. But when the work goes offshore, and little to no American taxes get paid, and the system further hemorrhages money to pay for buying to support those of us who are now displaced, whether it be out of a job, or out of a home, things just spiral out of control. Look at GM. They just plain got too big, as did many of the banks, stock brokerages, and other big business. Bigger is not always better, and what better example of that than the MT business.
The economy
Evidently the economy is starting to show its ugly head for us now. We really were the lucky ones in the beginning, but as more people got laid off and lost their health insurance, I feel that we are now seeing the effects. Hospital censuses are down, MTSOs are losing volumes, etc.
I totally understand the frustration and desperation that is on this board, but I think that the issues are a lot broader than a bunch of suits sitting around with cigars laughing at MTs or MTSOs coming together to fix prices or to push all of the work offshore.
I honestly feel that this is a result of the recession and everyone is feeling it... not just MTs.
That's my 2 cents worth.
At first I was thinking that you were being unrealistic, not thinking about taxes, benefits, etc. bu
surprised to find that you are not asking the moon. Let me clarify a few things: Rates charged are not as high as 0.25 per line, but no one that has U.S. employees goes as low as 0.115 or they would not be able to pay their bills. A more realistic range is 0.125-0.165, and that top end is hard to find, most falling at 0.14-0.15 per line.
The rates of pay you propose are very reasonable IF the following is true: These are seasoned MTs who do not need a lot of hand-holding, QA or blanks filled in, unless a very difficult/impossible doctor.
How about a scale based on experience and accuracy of 0.09 - 0.105 per line (acute care), and $1.15-$1.30 per report (radiology)?
The VR one is tough as everyone, MTs and MTSOs and facilities are still feeling their way on this. As an MTSO who was an MT, I feel that VR editing is as difficult to do as regular transcription. I don't think that it should be substantially less pay or charged less as the end product is still the same.
Funny thing here? My company already follows that scale. We should work together, not at odds, to reinforce this industry and bring it back to where it should be, right here in the U.S.A. with a decent paycheck.
ENOUGH WITH THIS ECONOMY CRAP --- sm
True, the economy has taken a whipping for the last 3 quarters or so -- recession as of last fall, less than a year, so how do you blame the continuing DECREASE in MT salary since the last 10-20 years? Or maybe figure we dumb MTs can't add or put 1+1 together. You middlemen/suits/MTSOs have been making a FORTUNE off of the back and sweat of hard-working, underpaid MTs or years and years (otherwise, you'd be in a different line of work, wouldn't you?) and you darned well know it. So stop blaming the current economy! What was your excuse 2, 3, 4, 5, 10 years ago?
They have not helped the economy of the masses
in India who need help. They have helped to deepen the rift between the classes, - the rich get rich, etc. The poor in India cannot even consider moving to get work now because the cost of housing in cities has escalated since we have created jobs for those who really did not need jobs. And those who need health care are really suffering and why? Because the trained doctors and nurses are the ones who have become the transcriptionists, since the transcriptionists make more than a doctor does in India. Check your facts on India. This one-sided trade agreement with India is not helping anyone but the big companies in America who can get work done cheaply. The companies HAVE increased their rates for the hospitals, have decreased our salaries by this farce they call voice recognition and reduced their costs even further by offshoring the work.
A call from the CEO? I do not even know his/her name, nor the names of any of the corporate officers. That is how much they care about me. Yeah, I got a mouse pad, a 1x12 inch glue down calendar, and a pen. I got more than that from the Golden Arches when they gave me a chicken sandwich when they opened up a new line 2 months ago. At least everyone in my family got a free sandwich.
Blame the economy not libbers. sm
Actually I could have written your post, except for the women libbers part and the SAHM. I've been doing this for 32 years. My ID says it all. The economy makes it almost a necessity to have a 2-paycheck income if you have kids. I'm single with no kids and trying to make a living with MT with no second income. Its tough.
Women wouldn't have the opportunities they do now if it wasn't for the libbers and the suffragettes. Its great now we have more choices than ever. Do you realize it hasn't even been 100 years since women had the right to vote? And we came close to having a woman president! I think about all the sacrifices the women before us went through to get us where we are today. One reason I make sure I vote is to honor their sacrifices.
Yeah. Why is it everyone forgets economy was
nm
In this economy, lots of places (not just MT)
The ground-level people usually are not cut during a sale, but if mid and/or upper management start making an mass exodus, that could be a sign.
For the most part, you won't know until it is a done deal.
I thas nothing to do with the economy...it started before that (sm)
It has to do with the fact that they are over-staffed and in order to get your lines met, you have to rush through every friggin report in order to get to the next one in hopes that you can make your line count.
JMO.
Frontline Episode on the Economy
I watched this on PBS last night and found it very interesting. There was a lot of commentary on behind-the-scenes kinds of things that gave far more insight to the situation and how it was handled than came across in the news at the time.
The difference is - when economy improves
And what has been the excuse for the steady decline prior to the economy being the new, improved wage cutting excuse?
Chiquita, I see you like to play devil's advocate and defend the indefensible. I think the sky is blue...ready to argue that also?
MT companies competing in global economy. Best
xx
Economy affecting work load
Is anyone else out there who may be struggling for lines thinking like me; that it may be people are just not going to doctors or electing for treatment they can possibly put off because they cannot afford it? My accounts have been pretty slow over the past 6 weeks or so, and when I hear that some people, especially the elderly who lost or suffered a huge reduction in their retirement when the stockmarket went down the tubes, are forgoing medical care in order to buy food or heat their homes, it makes me wonder how huge an impact this could eventually have on our jobs as MTs.
economy trickle-down effect hit me hard
company i was working for filed BK and no one new. Two unpaid invoices later, out $5K for October. I new there would be an October surprise.....I just thought it would be in the presidential race.
Apparently they're 'equilibrating for a global economy'. n/m
x
Global economy's grip on the short hairs
This is what happens in a global economy. I don't know for sure, but I would hazard a guess that the companies with the ads paying the miniscule amounts are not behemoth MTSOs. Sadly, they feel the need to try to undercut the MTSOs that do have the advantage of sending their work across the Pacific where 5 cents a line would be considered golden. Much like the Union Label we're told to look for on clothes, maybe the real American little companies would be better served to charge a little extra for the service, and pay the Transcriptionist a living wage, because I'll bet there are still some individuals/clinics/etc. that would pay for the security and skill that an American MT provides.
I've decided that MTSOs are sticking it to all of us and blaming the economy -
Here's my thinking -- they all have boats, or houses, or a lifestyle they love so they think HEY... LET'S SCREW THE LITTLE GUY... cut benefits, cut pay, cut jobs, just cut cut cut cut... so that MY life is sweet. In the process people lose healthcare, income, homes, cars, MARRIAGES....
so thank you, MTSO owner, for shoving it right up our southpole... we love you for always looking out for us... NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh, and MTSO -- the only reason we don't move on is because there's nowhere to move TO. Everyone has followed your lead and decided shafting the worker bee is a great idea. Well .. it's not. And someday you'll get it back 10 fold.
People at TT have been paid! People who haven't well, maybe you did not make count and your check
after insurance deduction. Maybe your bank is holding it. Maybe anything! But we GOT PAID. This is NO LIE. And I am sick of this board. Nothing but disgruntled exemployees arguing with employees who like their job. Ugggg. I am working. BTW: THERE IS WORK (clears throat) remember that? Work?
Keystrokes is wonderful!! They are the nicest people and care 150% about their people!!
Excellent company!!!!
I worked for SS and some people were very RUDE and I am talking about the editing people in some
instances. It ALL depends on the person, as it does with any company. They paid on time and the lady over me was very nice, but boy the person in QA was mean to EVERYONE!! Never seen anything like it before.
Are people trying to scare people or just tell them what is happening. I am not scared just seeing
that things are changing very rapidly and not for the better for me. If I have no work and need multiple accounts everyone else is in the same boat now arent they that have my accounts. That is how people know what is going on.
Maybe due to the people that manage Amherst. I think MQ would be a lot better off finding new people
up there with all the problems you hear about that office. Seems like something is very very wrong there.
I doubt it. There are more happy people than unhappy people sm
at Medquist. I've checked out other companies but I liked MQ the best (I kept working at MQ while testing other companies).
SO right! People who get paid to bring people on-board -sm
to these companies (few, if any, are 100% honest, it seems), are going to be honest and tell you anything that isn't rosy and sugar-coated. Having a good prospective MT walk because the company isn't so great means less green dollars in their bank account every month. They're not going to tell us anything that DOESN'T make them more money.
You aren't the only one, believe me. NM
x
Aren't they the ones who are
supposedly looking into buying Heartland?
aren't they all going to be
under regional supervisors within a year??? If you can get yourself under the northeast regional supervisor, do it. She's great.
Oh MY aren't you a gas
Why would you care. Bitter? I got a great job by not being hired by them with innumerable benefits and assigned to a nice a/c with great potential.
Don't get my way - do you mean expecting to be paid on time is being bitter and spoiled? What planet do you come from? LOL
And yes SD is said - it's not my fault they auto cap it - boy do you have issues!!!! sd is standard shorthand for said my friend. can't imagine even noticing something like that.
Uh, no. They aren't doing that
The letter I received a few months ago when I cancelled my membership said something quite different. It had nothing to do with keeping the jobs US based. It was all about quality healthcare documentation which is important; don't get me wrong there. However, there was NOTHING in there stating anything about keeping this work here at all. Instead it was all about the global marketplace and a cop-out.
I personally feel that the bulk of the healthcare industry knows cheaper doesn't necessarily mean better or even close to what is expected. I don't think all of the jobs are going to disappear.
I have written, called and probably annoyed my senator and any other government official in my state about outsourcing private healthcare information. India, for example, does not have stringent laws about private information like we do.
We do have a personal responsibility though. I have brought this up on other boards, but we need to ask our healthcare providers if their back office is handled here. If not, choose another provider if possible. Of course avoiding purchase of everything that comes from somewhere else is virtually impossible, but there are lots of other things. This may also sound mean, but if I get on the phone with customer service somewhere and realize the person I am speaking with is offshore, I have my call transferred. Nothing against the person, but I am not discussing my personal account information with someone who is not 100% required by law to protect that information. Period. If enough people take the intiative (not saying in this particular way), the gov't and other organizations won't have a choice but to listen.
Outsourcing globally is not the trend right now. I really think pulling together can stop it from becoming so.
Aren't they like about $40,000 ???
My car's OLD - only kind I can afford.
And just because you aren't a fan sm
doesn't mean it is a bad company for everyone.
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