I agree with Alice!!
Posted By: Jen on 2008-12-26
In Reply to: UPDATE ON MY FOCUS EXPERIENCE - Alice
I was with Focus for almost 5 years and I quit on Tuesday. There is no work; I miss my Indian managers who made sure there was enough work to go around. The new management is the worst!! Within her first month on the job, she has lost one account with one more almost gone. The hospital I was working on - the docs keep disappearing so it's obvious that account is firing Focus, phasing them out. So - not even 2 months on the job and she's lost 2 hospitals? I wanted something growing - not shrinking!  I can honestly say I loved my job up until November of 2008 when new management took over and my Indian was moved. I, like a few others, hoped things would get better after new managment got settled in. That did not happen! She hired QC with transcription experience of 6 months. How can a completely inexperienced person QC any report with any degree of accuracy? This person pends all reports - even stats - to the hospital. My thought: Why hire QC? Let MTs pend directly to the hospital since QC is incapable and cannot do their job? Eliminate it! I did not appreciate QC asking me about formatting reports, asking about doctors on the hospital when she should know that - after all, she was QC-ing my work since I was an MT!! QC asking MTs how to do her job?? Enough was enough! I left...but will always be thankful for having had the Indian folks I worked with. They were truly second to none and I find it really sad to watch their years of dedication and hard work go down the drain in less than 3-6 months after new management started on their accounts!
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Alice
The famous person who said it was Albert Einsten. I was where you were now until I signed on with MDI. They are the decent, honest company that is the exception to the rule. I have been MTing for many, many years and am still shocked at the companies out there that want to exploit the MT. Fortunately, MDI is not one of them.
Alice,
That should be Einstein, NOT Einsten. Can you tell I have been working all day? No work shortage here.
Alice
It is the same company. I am sorry it turned out that way for you. I hope you find something good.
Alice
I thought of contacting them, too, but decided why bother? I was just shocked. I mean, apart from a complete lack of business etiquette, this woman couldn't even speak correctly. Yuh know, that there stuff called grammar? Well, she didn't understand a lick of it. I was appalled--could hardly believe that any company would have someone like that representing them on the phone.
Alice
I think that what you are seeing is basically human nature at work. I don't know what the recruiter said or did not say, but please remember that being a recruiter is basically a sales job. Companies hire more people than they need because it is all about TAT. It is a standard for many companies (but not all) today, sadly.
Thanks, Alice
I appreciate you sharing your experience with Archivus. Sorry things did not go better for you there (are you still there now?). I guess the encouraging information is that they do have work, unlike some of the other companies that have a line requirement and do not have enough work for the MTs to meet quota (? just guessing that no news is good news here).
Thanks again for taking the time to respond.
Have a great night!
Thanks, Alice
Your post is so articulate!
And your points are well taken.
For me, as much as I oppose NAFTA-like policies, I am not opposed to global trade.
In other words, I opposed the NAFTA (North American FREE Trade Agreement) not because it opened up markets, but because FAIRNESS should have been the F in nafta, not FREE. The agreement also provided insufficient consideration for environmental issues.
When I think about the poorest people in the world who HAVE benefitted from the global economy - if even a small amount - I cannot find it in my heart to resent them for it. They are just as human as I am.
To me, these issues are NOT black and white. If we have ANY hope of leveling the playing field, the FIRST thing to do is to become educated about the POLICIES our own government is enacting that have a DIRECT impact on our daily lives.
I hate to be a drone on capitalism, but it is just a fact that capitalism will always drive companies to put profit ahead of the needs of its workers.
I am not going to pretend I have the magic recipe for a system that allows free enterprise and at the same time PROPERLY considers its workers, but I have no doubt such a system is possible.
But if Americans think they will effect REAL CHANGE by sitting back and letting politicians continue to MAKE THE LAWS THAT FAVOR CORPORATIONS, they are truly fooled.
This is NOT about PARTY A versus PARTY B, it's about the need for a real hard look at our entire economic system - unless we are happy to continue to watch it, quote work unquote, for so FEW.
Alice
Well MQ was (and IS) traded on the stock market and I would hardly say they are an ideal company. This people worship at the Shrine of Fort Knox.
Alice and Digging In, SM
Sorry about getting your name wrong, Alice. I use Shorthand, but InstantText's method is probably much the same.
Digging, if you don't have one of those I very strongly recommend it, although Word does have a macro creation function. But whatever you do, if you're working on an employer's program, get your own program that stays with you no matter what.
In Shorthand, when I open the window where you add entries, there's a record Keystrokes button on the side. I hit that and it returns me to the text page, where I type the keystrokes as usual. When I'm finished, I hit the stop button which has appeared on the screen and give my new macro a name, which is 1, 2, or 3 letters/number/figures at most.
It's as simple as that for literally hundreds of basic corrections. Like my KK, which hyphenates two words by backing one space, inserting the dash, and returning the cursor to the next word beyond.
qiq, which erases q.i.d. and types 4 times a day for me.
Z backs up and inserts a comma, then returns to the next word.
F toggles letters into upper and lower case. I use this one thousands of times a day, but I had to copy the keystrokes from the people at productivitytalk.com because I'm no good at this stuff and my attempts to just record it didn't work. An absolute must-have! I can't believe I typed for years without it.
Virtually everthing you do, copying admit diagnoses and putting them under a new discharge dx heading, breaking up run-on sentences into two, etc., can be reduced to a tap of a key or two as you cruise by. I don't see most of my corrections occur, I'm already gone.
Be sure to check your lines per minute before you start so you can recheck them after a week of using the first few you record. You're going to love it!
You are correct, Alice.
That is what I believe to. A run around. I would like to give an ultimatum but I do like where I am but I am putting my resume out there just in case I have to do just that. And to the other poster, yes, it is stated in our contract that after a year we will be considered for a raise. I have gone above and beyond what has been asked of me for that year, definitely not just doing enough work, etc. Ten hour days and even weekends when they need it. All I want is an answer. I think I have earned that. I just wondered if this has ever happened to anyone and how they handled it. BTW, I worked for 10 years with the same place before this and never go a raise. This time is a completely different situation.
i didn's see any name calling from Alice
you lost me...
Alice, while that is a wonderful thought
it isn't realistic. Physicians are the profit generators so no hospital is going to risk offending them. It has always been so. I would suggest that as an alternative the bad dictators be rotated among the MTs fairly, no excuses for not doing them. I once worked in a small hospital where all dictation was done by the in-house transcriptionists. There were 3 very bad dictators. We also had to rotate on pathology which I absolutely hate. I asked the other MTs if they would be willing to take my turn doing pathology if I would take all the dictation from these 3 bad dictators. All were happy and I was happy, problem solved. That's how it was in the old days. MTs got along, worked together and there was no cherry picking. It simply was not allowed by the department head, everyone was required to take the good with the bad. We didn't have computers in the old days but not everything was bad either.
Thanks, Alice, I had read all the negative posts. I just wanted to know if
anyone who worked for them had anything positive to say. The screaming b*@ch responding to this post doesn't realize that people do need to work, but some of us want to weigh all responses. I'm not living life looking through rose-colored glasses. I don't live it, either, by focusing on every negative my mind conjure up, like the whacko responder here. Good grief, talk about needing a life!
Thanks, Alice, doesn't seem anything has improved here as far as Focus.
what a clear, honest and refreshing post, thanks, Alice..nm
nm
I agree, absolutely agree
and I might say, this is keeping updated in ALLLL specialities and subspecialities, drugs, instruments, and on and on. It is not a good profession for sure and sadly it is the MTs who are being very definitely HAD
Agree 100%
STAY away!
Nobody is going to agree anyway. LOL
And nobody has worked for every company in the U.S. to be able to offer an informed opinion.
Agree
I agree also. I do think that each company has its MTs that have not one thing good to say about the company and on the flip side, there are many that love it. I have worked at a few different companies in my time and find through experience on this forum to be true. I absolutely love Transcend. There are a few things that aren't perfect in my book, but the good far outweighs the bad. The thing that I hate, though, is if you have anything good at all to say about your company, you are either management, lying, or a cheerleader. I think that people love to believe the worst.
I also have found out through my travels that things can vary greatly from one employee to another even though they may work at the same company. There may be a rule for you that does not apply to another, example - below one says Spheris would not allow someone to work at MQ also but there is an MT who is doing it with permission. An MT can get on here and argue all day long that this or that doesn't happen at their company but it may very well happen for another MT. It is so humerous to me to see that we believe that being employed at a company, in our remote homes, that we think we know everything about that company and how it operates with the other remote MTs - MTs that more than likely we don't even know.
I agree 100%.
I agree 100%
I don't agree entirely.
When offshore outsourcing first began many clients began jumping on that bandwagon thinking they were going to be able to save money. That resulted in a great number of clinics and hospitals eliminating their in-house transcription departments because of 1) reduction in overhead expense by outsourcing a whole department and 2) realizing an even greater reduction in expenses by using foreign labor at less cost than domestic transcription wages. The trend is beginning to come full circle now and because of quality issues and the higher cost of risk management more clients are demanding that their medical records information stay in the United States. A lot of MTSOs now advertising are stating right in their ads NO OFFSHORE MTs NEED APPLY. Clients are beginning to see that it wasn't as cost effective as they thought it would be because it actually ends up costing more in the long run either in quality or risk management. Some hospitals and clinics are actually bringing work back in house again and only using domestic vendors for overflow work. I think sooner or later unless the quality of VR improves it will have the same result.
i agree
I also had a similar experience last year and did not like it at all. It was a total mistake.
Yes, I agree
Thank you for posting this! I am also very happy with Amphion. It is nice to hear a positive experience for a change. I hope your post will help other MTs searching for work realize that there really are some good companies out there!
I agree--
They will make your life miserable with every nit picking thing they can think of to get you to quit. Again, this was my experience, no one has to agree with me.
Agree
but I thought that she was referring to simply putting it in a diagnosis, not coding.
Agree
LOL......I understood that she was just transcribing the numbers as they're dictated. And, we all know the docs don't always give the "dash" (-) or "slash" (/) word when it needs to be typed in.
I wasn't trying to help code, been a while since I did that, just trying to help make sure her question was answered. (No offense intended.) :)
I agree with QT
QT EASY platform -- a few mushmouths -- mainly PAs very few ESLs -- also FutureNet is a good company -- direct deposit as statutory by they will express mail checks and good cpl rate -- sorry for the typos -- just got done for the night and no fingers left
I agree..
I left after sitting for five hours and getting 2 reports, this was Transcend who bought MDI. Then, there was the sound issues.
The staff was just great though!
I agree with everything you said....
It just seems like Transcend is the company to bash this month, but I am extremely happy
I Agree.....
There are so many "cherry-pickers" on the account(s) I work on, it makes me crazy. Some of us get stuck doing the hardest jobs and the others breeze through.
I agree 100%. (sm)
Someone here had a bad experience and has made it her goal in life to run this company down. Maybe she didn't come up to par....actually you can tell that by her messages. I have only been with OSi about 6 months, but will be staying till I retire.
I agree!
Definately the meanest on this board. Always has something to say, whether it pertains or not...
I agree
the swearing on the boards and making fun of other people, pathetic. I thought we were all grown ups here. I can't believe that some of these grown women sound more immature than my 11 year old.
Agree! LOL (nm)
.
I agree
No I don't work out of the Amherst office -- have heard so much about them on this board.... I work out of the Orange CA office and last week except for 1 day -- it was like pulling teeth to get enough work to keep me busy during the day. Now, I am face today with either sitting babysitting my computer all day just waiting for work or taking the day off either unpaid or burn some PTO. Can't really afford either, but this is just stupid. If I get my butt out of bed and "at my job" by my start time.... I should get paid whether there is anything to do or not.
Agree, besides, what one co does, the others will
zz
I agree. sm
Not a very good place to work. Communication was horrible when I was there.
Agree with above
Yes, they pay for downtime. The only time they do not is if is due to something on your end like electric failure or internet failure. If there is no work or if their computer breaks or system is down, they pay $12/hr downtime. In my experience, there is also the option of making up the time if only a few hours or so (which equates to more than $12/hr for me, so I have always made time up if I could).
I agree with aa
Here are the good points: They do apparently pay for spaces now. I would confirm this if you apply.
They seem to have plenty of work - you definitely won't be sitting around for days without work.
They pay approximately 5 days after the end of the pay period, which is actually pretty fast as payroll goes.
They do seem to have some interesting accounts, although I wouldn't know how you get on them.
If you can ignore the goofy emails that get sent out on a regular basis and try to ignore the inconsistent QA, they pretty much leave you alone. If you need benefits, though, look elsewhere.
Have to agree
I quit two weeks after training.
I agree
I am dealing with the same thing right now. It is frustrating to my family life. They call me at night a lot to work.
I agree..
Get rid of the middle man, the MTSO, if you can!
I just landed a fantastic opportunity with a clinic who has done exactly this and can afford to pay me twice the highest rate of the online companies, and I still work from home with a super flexible schedule. I also didn't need 10 years to land this job. I am closing in on two.
I suggest searching the ads for clinics and hospitals who are looking to hire you directly. That, or land your own account locally. Most of these online companies are really taking us for a ride!
I will never go back to 8 cpl knowing what I know now while the MTSOs are vacationing on the other half of what should be my pay
I agree!
Who would want 2 work 4 someone like that? Is this where MT is heading??? Sheesh.
I have to agree with you.
This is getting old. There are tens of thousands of MTs, many of which have the same thoughts. You need to get a grip on reality. Enough already.
I will agree with you there.
x
I would have to agree
The Indian typists work extremely hard. They work with rare breaks. I also found the managers to be very kind people. What I don't get is it's okay to work HERE for a foreign company, like Toyota, but how DARE anybody work for a foreign transcription company! What about Sony? Hyundai?
I have to agree...
I'm also disgruntled with this steady diet of acute care. I wouldn't mind a mix of acute care IF there were some easy stuff like chart notes and ER to blend in. I sometimes regret having listed all my experience, since I think the lesser qualified MTs could be making much more money!
I agree
f
Agree
NM
Would agree .. most especially if
If Proscript runs the way DDI did then it surely is a very good place to work. Years of working with DDI were the best years I have had in transcription and had I a clue that Proscript would have been purchased by the present owner I would have considered them very seriously when I made a move. The move was a bit too early and the purchase a bit too late .. for me!
I SO agree.
Many ESL docs are wonderful dictators, and organized. They really put a lot of effort into their reports, and I'll take them any day over the inconsiderate ENL mumblers.
I agree ....
I wish there is just one test we could take and pass the results on to everyone! Every test is just about the same, just shifted around a bit - but I am so tired of testing. I did take one very challenging test, can't remember with who, but my brain was really fried after that one. Felt like I was taking state boards to become an MD.
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