I've witnessed front-end VR in action...sm
Posted By: runofthemillMT on 2009-09-23
In Reply to: Front end VR is a mess - fed up
First hand. It was extremely impressive. Talked to the docs that use it. There are lots of companies and software packages out there so perhaps it varies a lot.
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I've learned that it is exactly that - a store front. Or maybe just a front. nm
,
Here's what I witnessed re EMR recently:
My dad was admitted through the ER. A lady rolled a laptop in on a stand and asked a series of repetitive silly questions, many having nothing to do with what was wrong with him, and she seemed completely inexperienced & didn't really seem to know much about medical terms, medications, etc. This went on for about 20 minutes. My sister was with us who works in the cath lab. I asked her what that was about, and she said that's 'EMR' and how they do some of the reports now. She had a strange clerical title, from the medical records department, trying to remember but drawing a blank. I guess that was considered his History and the doctor would punch in the physical part later.... It's very scary if that's where we're heading because they didn't even need anyone with our experience AT ALL for that part of it. Now, hopefully there are other work types that HAVE to be done by experienced MTs because there are too many details, like OP reports or special procedures, but either way, there are definitely going to be some drastic changes coming.
That's what I just posted above in 'Here's what I witnessed'.
This EMR thing is much scarier than I used to think.
The questions were ridiculous and so repetitive. He was laying there with a stroke, and she asked several times if he had any weakness, after we'd told her already about a half dozen times that he was paralyzed on his right side! And by the time he got to the ICU and they pulled up that report, they kept saying, well it said he doesn't have any deficits, we didn't realize he was paralyzed on one side...!!! Yeah, EMR is going to be great for patient care....
Course of Action
1. File a complaint with the labor board.
2.File a civil action against the company.
Class action
You might have enough people to bring a class action, or just go together to hire an attorney...
Good luck!
D&L class action?
I think a bigger problem is many people complain, put up with it, or leave and complain but do not follow through - Otherwise how did it get so bad? I think everyone needs to fight back to this company and every company that does this THE FIRST time - if you bounce a check or do not pay what happens - you get it on your credit - send notes to the credit agency - you are a business - IC - and tell them - send them your unpaid invoices and they will place it on their credit report.
That's when we do a class-action and
Doesn't that sound like a plan?
that sounds like action to me
You may be one, but I am sure you will inspire others to join you. 
what action can I take for nonpayment?
I am having the same issue with 2 different companies. IF you are an employee, you can call the labor board and they can assist you. IF NOT...if you are an independent contractor it is a lot more difficult. The labor board will not assist an IC. Then your only option is to hire a lawyer in NJ and file suit against the company there. If the company owes less than the limit for small claims court, you can file in small claims court but you have to physically go there to appear in court...if you win, all you get is a judgment, i.e. a piece of paper. The court will not make the company pay the judgment, it is up to you to collect that. If it is over the limit for small claims, you have to have a lawyer file suit in district court. Of course...even if you win, the lawyer has to be paid so make sure you are owed enough for it to make it worthwhile to go that route. Now, if the company gives you a check that bounces, that's a whole other issue. Then you have to send a certified letter giving them (usually...varies by state) 10 days to pay the check and any bank fees you have accumulated becuase the check bounced. If they do not, then your only course of action is to send the check and a complaint to the district attorney where the company is and ask them to collect. The district attorney will send the compnay a letter and if they don't pay the check, then they will file suit against the company and will in fact arrest the owner. All of this takes ages of course and that is probably not going to help the immediate issue which is you need the money you earned! yeah...I understand completely. Good luck.
Good for you for taking action to
change careers. Enjoy the kids.
Plan of action comment
While you really cannot do anything about the parting of the ways unless there is a provision in your contract to cover this, you can do something about getting your money. If I were you, I would not hesitate one second. A certified letter to them with return receipt back to you would indicate that they have 7 days to get your money to you. Eight days after they have received your letter, if you do not have the full payment in hand, file a suit at your local small claims court. It does not hurt to call/visit the small claims court and get all the information and paperwork (whatever you can) ahead of time. Also, file a report with the BBB (it is debatable whether or not this will help, but it can't hurt).
This is not the time to be nice. Don't accept any excuses from them and do not grant them any time extensions.
Of course, this is my opinion only.
Good luck,
Lillybelle.
Taking action is vital.
I totally agree that if you are unhappy, it is so much better to take action that to wallow in it. What I don't totally understand is why so many MTs stay at companies that treat them poorly. There are good companies out there that DON'T reaquire you to spend time e-mailing, IM'ing, and doing nonproductive unpaid work. And many of those companies that say they offer a maximum of 8 cpl have decent production bonuses that can bring that to 10 cpl. Some even give raises, believe it or not. And there ARE companies that will offer more than 8 cpl to start, and have steady work to boot. Changing jobs is painful, and it can take a few moves before you find the right one. But why not try? I just don't feel that an attempt at unionizing is going to solve the problem. But hey, if you think it will, all power to you and best of luck in your efforts.
What action can I take for nonpayment on a company in NJ - sm
As of this Friday the first invoice will be 6 weeks past due, the 2nd 4 weeks. She has been saying for weeks she has mailed these two checks. Today she said she sent them priority (told me yesterday she would mail them priority). I know she is just biding time because there is no money to cover them which is my next problem. If and when I get these who knows how long it will be before I can cash them. I would like to tell her that if I don't have checks in the mail by Friday (that I can take to the bank and get cash for) that I am going to take action against her. I am just tired of her crap and lies. Obviously I no longer work for her either so she has no real incentive to pay me. She stopped sending me work because she knows I won't type if I don't get paid. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.
your supervisor should be monitoring this action.
nm
I think everyone should file a class-action suit
I am filing a small claims action this week.
Have one doctor that I had problems with and only typed for him foer three months. He was unethical but then he felt that I should not charge for anything that was not actually typed, i.e. if he did a normal exam, etc. So we had a falling out and he owes me $200 and he has threatened fraud against me, etc. But I told him he could not bully me and that we would leg small claims court settle the matter. Am giving him a three day notices sent in a signed reeturn receipt and if he does not pay I will go to court. So if you are an IC that is your course of action. I work directly for the doctor, if you are with a service and you know the docs that you are typing for, can tell your MTSO you are informing them that they do not pay their IC's and you will not longer be able to work or provide services, but that depends if you signed a contract and stated you would not have any contact with the accounts. My first suggestion, write a last demand letter and outline that you will file small claims court proceedings and send a copy of that to their accounts.
Good luck.
We need to CALL THE FACILITIES and let them know what is going on! OR Class Action Lawsuit
...we need to all go out on strike! If we ALL stopped working tomorrow, called the facilities and let them know why, where would WebmedX be?
It's wearing thin, and I'll sign onto class action!
Right now I'm working full-time for one of the Axis of Evil...where, as we know, the recent denied-until-it-happened pay cuts and global equilibration of account levels screwed me, so I'm trying to get out of that hell hole, where the only thing left after VR gets done are the crappiest of the crap. I saw light at the end of the tunnel, and it turns out it was a train coming through to smack me head-on.
So I guess I'll hang onto the 2 jobs I have now, while I continue to look for 1 or maybe 2 that will be more amenable. I don't mind working hard and I don't really even mind the account job #2 has me on (although it has been NWA all week...must have hired some more bodies), but I hate the perceived sneakiness of it while they've got my back against the wall. GRRRR
They do tell you up front that they have a lot of ESL. At least they don't lie about it like mos
nm
I have it in front of me and it says
39 hours working 150 lph gets health insurance, 401K and PTO and soemthing called EAP (employee assistance plan-help with family situations?) 39 hours at 100 lph gets 401 K, PTO and EAP Part-time 24 hours with 100 lph gets 401K and PTO and EAP. 16 hours with 100 lph gets 401K, EAP. 8 hours with 100 lph gets 401K and EAP. You need a manual to understand this manual. hahaha. So you see how the lph plays into the benefits now, not just hours but lines per hour. you can work 39 hours and if you can't get 150 lph done you don't get health insurance.
LOL, I have always said I will die in front
x
I also ask up front if they do VR. sm
Haven't done it yet and I am not going to. I will get out of the business before I will do VR. There are still companies that dont do it and some of them I don't believe ever will.
So sorry about this, yes, they should have been up front with you about what was going on, but (sm)
the norm seems to be to keep quiet until everything is finalized, and then let the ball drop. They should have had the decency to at least make a phone call, that was a nasty way to treat someone. I would tell you to come with my company, but we have work shortages too, so I don't think it would help you. Good luck, again!
Look, if you want up-front responses SM
from people, you need to be more up-front about who you are, what company you are hiring for, etc.
That was kind of them to tell you up front
instead of trying to sugar coat it like some do.
Why not ask for this IN WRITING up front?... SM
However, most of what you get in writing from MTSOs is (have you ever read a rental lease drawn up by LL/mgmt?) almost always in THEIR favor, whether it's an IC contract or employee agreement. Ever notice how they hedge on where it comes to pay rate? Mine states only compensation.... on an agreed-upon rate. Still, you could probably negotiate items that are important to you and not negotiable, like in your case, no typing, specific pay rate, hours, schedules. If they refuse to state these in writing, don't count on being able to negotiate them later.
I was not told that up front . . .
that was the first excuse I got when asking about my check. I have been in this business a long time and this is the first and only time this has happened. Sometimes you can do everything right, but still get ripped off by unscrupulous people.
Perhaps sometimes, but so far these people have ALWAYS been up front with me. (sm)
I also have to admit that today I have had relatively few of those dictators that make you cringe, much less than what I usually get and I have to wonder if perhaps some people were not taking heed to the warning.
Be up front with the company.
I never had OP experience when I was with a hospital and was scared of them. When I went for a national job, I told the company I was lacking in OPs. When I felt a bit e comfortable with all the other acute care that I never had experience with (ophthamology, cancer, etc.), I asked to have a few ops downloaded to me to try them.
Now I don't turn down a single job and believe me, there are a few like the above I don't get too often, but when I do, I just take my time with them and try not to leave blanks. Sooner or later, they will all fall into place just like acute care; i.e., it will take a long time to get through the first few reports, but it's well worth it. I now like doing OPs and am happy when they download first in my queue.
If they'd tell us up front what is in store for us, they would
save us all a lot of time. Is it too much to ask to have an idea of the type of audio, dictation, the details that can make or break the enjoyment of a job? After 25 years, I have paid my dues and would like to have an account that is enjoyable, gives me an income I can live on and a management team that doesn't use the drill sargeant approach. What is up with all the rude attitudes? Maybe the account they acquired should either be dropped or charged more if no one wants to transcribe their work. That, in turn, would snap lazy inconsiderate dictators out of their mode of let the MT figure it out/look it up. While they rake in the money because time is money and when I am not typing in a report, folks, i am not making any money. The day I meet a woman/man who does this job as a hobby, I'll rethink my stand.
Front end VR is a mess
A radiology group went that way and they had to hire more IT people and one more MT to fix it. Not as successful as one would think. EMR point and click takes 20 minutes versus a few seconds to dictate. Plus more IT people.
They are an offshore company with a front in the US.
They are actually in India, have a store front
location in MA, not Maryland.
Tell me about it. A doc I see, his front desk secretary's (sm)
duties include: answering the phone, which barely rings, and surfing the net. That's the easiest $14.00 per hour job I've seen. We're busting our butts for pennies and she's doing practically nothing. Are we insane? What is it with us? Why do we allow ourselves to accept these insulting ridiculously low wages?
Yep, all quiet on the SS Management Front here...
They can't refute the truth about the company, can they?
'cricket noises' ... all quiet from J&R...
AVOID THIS COMPANY. THE END.
Many MTSOs state right up front
now when you apply that they are an At-Will Employer. In other words, they don't have to have a rhyme or reason for cutting you off at any given time or place.
So, you take the job knowing that you could be history at their whim even if you did your job very well.
Of course, management are all secure in their positions.
Could it get much worse???
Best advice...make her pay you up front before sm
you will even considering working another second longer, and then when she pays you RUN....
Front end speech not so great either
I used to work for a rad group that went to front end speech. The lead MT is a good friend of mine still. They mostly have inside MTs who transcribe and edit. Some of the docs absolutely refuse to use it and then others tolerate it. The real crux of the issue in this particular instance is that they got rid of their 3 outside MTs and kept all of their in-house to edit the mess but had to increase their IT staff by 5. So now the docs who bypass edit must spend more time making sure the machine is picking up their exact words (which they miss a lot. For instance, the machine can't seem to change degenerate into degenerative no matter how many times they correct it) so bottom line here is the docs must spend more time being concerned with the report and they must pay more for the pleasure!
where i live, everybody is jumping in front of
trains right and left, at an average of about 1-2 per day. that sure tells you where our heads are at in this country, huh? at least here, they cover you up afterward and dont go publishing the gory details. but maybe if we all hadnt been so screwed these past few years, it wouldnt be coming down to this.
and now the commuter trains are always late.
jumping in front of trains
and now the commuter trains are always late.
you are hilarious! i nearly choked on my coffee when i read this!
On the front page of my morning paper
http://www.kingcountyjournal.com/sited/story/html/214991
but what did that original message allow you to "know" up front?
like they failed to mention some employer contribution to HI, what KIND of insurance it is and all the other types of benefits they offer.
I always get minute details when chosing an employer, especially when it comes to HI (example: Is this a PPO/HMO/major med with huge deductible?) All sorts of questions were left unanswered when compared to looking at benefits on ads from other MTSOs.
JMO
Nearly all the offshore companies have front offices in the U.S. sm
Sometimes their actually hotel rooms. They use international phone numbers and purchase a phone # in the U.S. In point of fact, clients many times don't even know they are dealing with an offshore company. The owner of this website has done extensive reseach and knows who offshores and who doesn't. It isn't that hard to figure out when you start connecting the dots, i.e., visit the website and there is no place for MTs to apply. Almost all U.S. based companies have a place to apply. Notice that all the offices, including those in other states, all have the same address and phone number. And notice if you call that 24/7 phone number you always get a voice mail. There are lots of ways to tell. The offshoring companies are getting more sophisticated about how they work things. And some hospitals are getting more persistent about not contracting with services who are offshore. It's a shill game. Dishonest and deceitful.
We should all start asking up front "If you are paying under 9 cpl for 10+ yrs exp. you better te
Heck no, it is not okay. But do you think they are going to start being up front and honest just
;P
Tell your employer up front that you just want to work "whenever"!!
and see how far that gets you. I've worked for a few medium to large transcription companies, and NOT ONE of them said I could work whenever I felt like it. I started with each one knowing what shift/days off I was required to work, and that's what I did. I have negotiated changes in hours and, when I moved to the new hours, I worked those as required. Donnez-moi un break, s'il vous plait.
A 7.8 in Oregon would of been front-page news, and we'd
So nope, no quake-a-rooni up there. According to USGS, the only ones up there in the past week have been a mag. 1-2, so small as to only be felt by seismographs.
a "store-front" office -- like ACUSIS?
.
I read $20 million, over $16 mil cash up front
In other words, serious dough. I'd think a wee bonus to us 500 galley slaves might be in order. Had many of us not been told ''MDI does not send work overseas, Dorothy would never do that'' when we were hired, I doubt we would feel so betrayed.
Definitely watch your back and your side and your front. The main one is still there
that stabs everyone in the back. I left there a long time ago but so many have been used and stabbed.
The reason for the stabbing is TOTAL LACK OF PROFESSIONALISM. When I was there, they had a wonderful QA staff. I worked QA on salary (not enough salary but on salary). Many unethical things went on and many knew it, some didn't. I could not work for a company that was that unethical with the backstabbing and the plans. Many have left, many come, many gone. I would not work for them for anything. There are some companies out there that are good. This is NOT one of them.
They'll work with the report being created in front of them...sm
With all the times I've had residents, PAs, or NPs dictate sentences, erase them, start again, erase them, and then end up saying go back to where I said [fill in the blank] and put [such and such] instead, I can't see a machine being able to correctly interpret all that. If they work with the document being created in front of them, they can fix all this stuff as they go along. Just highlight the old stuff they want out and replace it with the new stuff they really wanted.
I can't see the computers picking up medication errors, dosage errors, incorrect dates, new operative equipment, being able to correctly flag right/left, or correct spelling of cc'd physicians' names. Most likely there is another program running with it that would do a pop screen for amoxicillin 5000 mg tid to question it. Physician names are probably in a pop up screen too. Of course, it's not going to correct everything but when the COX-2 inhibitors were taken off the market do you think a human could go through all 5,785 charts to find the people who had been prescribed Celebrex to call them to tell them to stop taking it? Of course not. It's not a matter of IF MT's will be replaced, it's already  happening.
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