I was fired from Keystrokes today for errors. Are there any companies that pay well and understand
Posted By: Frustrated on 2006-01-04
In Reply to:
we are human and sometimes things happen. I have had a rough time in my life for the last few months, and I thought they were understanding but *POOF* out of the blue I get a call today that my services are no longer needed due to quality issues. Is this fair?
Complete Discussion Below:  marks the location of current message within thread
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
I understand. I feel the same way today.
Feel like sitting by the highway with a sign that says, Will type for food. I keep looking at other jobs, and I did have another part time job, but when we got busy at MDI, it was too much to do both jobs. And have been elsewhere as an employee with no work, which was worse b/c you just sit and wait. At least here you can leave. I am tempted to go for the day today, and should be able to as an IC, but afraid if I don't get count, I will be given the lower line rate prn myself. I am with you. Saying the Serenity prayer today and will just keep notes as to times ran out of work, etc. Don't know what else to say except there are others here who feel the same way and really don't know what to do.
Ever been fired from Keystrokes because of Windows Vista?
I just spent $1000 on all new equipment including a new computer with Windows Vista which is what they recommended as their program is compatible with Vista. When the computer tech had to spend hours on my computer getting it to work with Vista, a certain administrator let me go because it wouldn't work for their account. I am in tears. I've never been fired from a job, especially for something that I was asked to do to work for them.
Wrong. The person who was fired this week was from Keystrokes. I just got an email
from someone asking if was me posting here tonight, so I came to look. I agree with a lot that the poster has to say but I post my name when I post. Anyone who knows me or of me knows this. I do not have to post behind anonymous names nor do I.
I do disagree with some of what this poster says though and will take a moment to tell her/him something: You chose to run a service and knew or should have known what you were getting into. If you are doing all that, you should either hire more people or hire different people. The best move I ever made as a service owner was learning to delegate and hiring the right people including Human Resources, Accounting, Operations, QA, Recruiting and IS. (The second best move I ever made was to stop letting the posts on the MTStars and others affect me). Best advice I could give a service owner is to cough up the money for a good staff; it is worth it in the long wrong although hard in the short term.
While not everyone agrees with me or likes me or wants to work with Keystrokes, I do not feel a need to hide behind the anonymous nature of these boards and would rather have people know where I stand than wonder.
You would also know that I value our transcriptionists and know that as a company, Keystrokes constantly tries to improve. If you know me at all or anything about Keystrokes, you would also know that our rates are going up not down and we do not undercut prices to beat our competitors.
If anyone has anything to say to me directly, please use my email. I do not visit here often anymore and do not plan on starting again as it gets a bit addicting :)
Did Keystrokes sell to Transcend? I thought Keystrokes was buying up companies sm
but I heard from another service owner that they sold out to Transcend. Anyone know if that happened?
oops - meant Keystrokes. Fat fingers today. nm
Thanks for your input... I accepted the offer from Keystrokes today! :-) nm
I do not understand the hostility either. I didn't "need" a gift from Keystrokes, sm
but I have to say that I love my t-shirt and the fact that they thought to send it. Would I still think it is a great company if they had not have sent anything? You betcha. And does my feeling of self-worth ride on whether or not I get an atta boy? Of course not. But those little things are a nice touch and very much appreciated. I have not been working at KS long enough to have done anything yet, plus I have been a bit poverty stricken lately, but in the past, I have occasionally sent chocolates or something to the head office to show MY appreciation too. It is a 2-way street. When you have a good working relationship, it doesn't hurt every now and then to say thanks ... I appreciate all you do. Just my opinion.
Hope everyone is having a nice Memorial Day weekend. Time to forget the nastiness and just relax and enjoy life. 
TODAY'S TRANSCRIPTION COMPANIES
NOT SO MUCH! Why do so many excellent MTs stand for the terrible treatment? Experienced MTs deserve so much more.
I dont understand why these companies keep SM
advertising, with multiple ads no less, when they obviously do not have enough work. To me, this seems somewhat like false advertising. This has not happened to me personally, but I would sure be po'd if it did.
To all of you who have had this happen, hang in there!
Companies who truly understand IC and are legit won't
require that. My company says they will never require a schedule and do not direct deposit for the simple fact that those are things you do with employees, and they do not want to ever cross the line of IC/employee with their ICs. There are bound to be other companies on the same way of thinking. Sadly, I agree with another poster that said if people are willing to sign contracts and accept set hours, it will become something we can't get away from. ICs stand up for yourselves and point out the law to the interviewer so this does not happen!
Unrealistic view that a lot of MTs do not understand. The offshore companies sm
have very deep pockets and make it attractive for companies here to use them. Even if every smaller MTSO refused to do it, do you think we would be able to compete with Spheris and C-Bay just to name two of the bigger companies that use the offshore transcriptionists?
Hospitals, unfortuneately, often care more about the bottom line than the perfection we expect from ourselves. Many doctors do not read the reports (most from what I understand) and just care that they have satisfied JACHO requirements by having a record in the charts.
Offshore transcription is not going anywhere. Sad but true. I do not support it but I am a small tree in a very, very, very big forest.
What other companies besides Keystrokes uses a C-phone? TIA nm
nm
What companies besides Keystrokes hire radiology MTs? nm
x
KeystrokePro and Keystrokes Transcription Service are two different companies. sm
I have worked for Keystrokes Transcription for 4 years. They are in Illinois and our hospital uses them for both Radiology and Medical Records. The other one is on the east coast and called us this week at work. If you are looking for a company to do your radiology work, the "real" Keystrokes' web site is www.WeTypeXray.com.
I think the 2 largest companies that do not offshore are Webmedx and Keystrokes. sm
Webmedx is in the $25m range with 750 employees and Keystrokes in the $20m range with 600 employees.
I am not sure about SoftScript or Transtech but I do not think they are bigger than those two.
I know that both have goals to be in the same size range as Spheris. I worked for Spheris in management for a while before coming to my senses and both companies were discussed frequently.
I just hope that MQ or Accusis does not buy either of them. The rumor is that neither will even think of selling but $$$ talks and MQ still seems to have plenty even after losing the lawsuits AND after having a negative income for several years. Not sure how or why, but their pockets are deep, as are those at Accusis.
Thoughts?
Ditto for Keystrokes. The two companies seem very similar. Congratulations on finding a good place
It is nice to know that there are growing companies who treat their employees well. Keystrokes is the closest I have come to YOG and that says a lot!
Errors
Yes, they do deduct for MAJOR errors that affect patient care, not for minor mistakes. If you don't make major mistakes that you should make anyway, you don't get deducted. Duh.
more errors
that should read, major mistakes that you should NOT make anyway. duh. LOL!
errors
Well putting an 'a' or 'an' out of place IS an error, right? That's not nitpicking, it's QA!
There are errors in your posting
and whether or not it is only a law enforcement agency who can provide certain information with good reason...there are companies who can provide any information about you that you would rather be kept from public view without good reason.
Plus, how much will they deduct for errors? (nm)
v
Your'e right, the errors have been corrected.
It was written in a fit of passion after just learning that I lost my job, excuse me. I hope you are never put in this position and don't ever get emotional about losing your job. I am sure you can walk on water also.
Not sure about QA deducting for errors.
Not to toot my own horn, but my QA scores are pretty high so that's never been an issue. The time off isn't technically acrued like on a weekly basis or per hours worked, but you don't just get 2 weeks to take off a month after you're hired, if that makes sense. I'm not sure but I think you might be able to take 1 week after 6 months, something like that. I don't recall how the sick and personal time are allowed to be used in the first year, since I've been there almost 4 years. I'm certain a recruiter would be happy to answer questions along those lines for you, although I'm glad to help with anything else from my general perspective as a current employee.
Docking for errors
 Run for the hills. I think this is absolutely terrible. Tell them to take a hike and leave.
no backup on errors
With some of my QA feedback they are telling me it's wrong because it doesn't match the instructions for the client. The problem is, when checking the client instructions there is nothing in there about what they are counting me off for. For example: we are no longer to separate laboratory data or x-rays into their own category but to combine them with the ER course. I didn't do that because I didn't know that and I got counted off for it, but there was nothing in instructions regarding this. One QA said no big deal, another QA person counted off. I have tried to document and make notes to my supervisor about it, but all it gets me is more grief from the QA because apparently they are being told about it and angrier at me because I said something. I am not perfect and I have made mistakes they have pointed out, but some things I should not be and the QA should also be able to realize they are human as well and can make mistakes. I do QA at my FT job so I know how it all works, but it has to go both ways.
They do not charge you with errors while
on 100% QA so the score always shows 100%, They do make corrections in your reports if needed, but they don't count against you. Once you are released from 100% QA (I was released my second day, some still on 100% for much longer) they only QA 3% so most reports where only blanks are filled in your QA score will show at 100%, but it doesn't mean your monthly QA score is 100%.
Errors and omissions
nm
Errors have to be weighted, some
errors are bigger than others -- i.e. wrong medication transcribed or total phrases left out versus a word misspelled or the wrong punctuation, BIG DIFFERENCE that could be very detrimental to a patient if that report is the only one another doctor is referring to.
Did you catch the errors after you sent it
Or did the company call them to your attention?
You can always correct the errors and resend it, asking them to disregard the first submission if you caught the errors.
Keystrokes for radiology. They are the biggest for radiology out of all of the companies out there.
I have been there 2 years and have been very happy. I make a lot more money than when I worked for Edix/Spheris.
formula for check sent for errors on DQS
did anyone from MQ call to ask how their check amount for the errors in calculations on DQS work was derived at? i sent an email to the payroll dept in our region when I first got the check and she responded by telling me that she had sent it on to corporate and that they would get back to her on how to handle this. i get a call today from corporate and i was given an incomplete explanation -- IMAGINE THAT!! I was told that the average that they had obtained after taking a sampling of reports and coming up with the average was not going to be furnished by MQ to the MT. i requested from that person to find out for me why. it's my money and i want to be able to see how they came up with that figure. Why shouldn't I be able to have that info as it pertains to me and my money so that I can take my own number of lines and multiply it and come with hopefully the same figure. Need I explain that?? oh, and i was told that I was the only MT that had requested that information -- that all the other MTs who had questions about the check were satisfied with the answers that were told them. i told this person that i was tired of being told that I "was the only one" who had the problem and that no one else had brought it up. they try to make you feel like you're the only who has brought up such a thing and act like you're being out of line for doing so.
verbatim should NOT mean putting in errors: SM
As a QA, this is how I pass on the guidelines (and verbatim is usually requested by the client, NOT QA!):
Verbatim means: Transcribe what the physician says but correct obvious punctuation, spelling, and grammar errors - like "there is 3 moles."
Headings and exams are transcribed when and as dictated, not adding in headings, not changing PHYSICAL EXAMINATION: to OBJECTIVE:, "rearranging" the report, or changing an exam dictated in paragraph to block format.
You do not add additional words to clipped sentences in clinical notes. If the doc says "A 56-year-old patient," you don't transcribe "This is a 56-year-old patient."
If the doc says right leg in one place and left leg in another, a blank is left and it goes to the clinic for resolution.
If a medication is spelled and you can't verify it, it is blanked and goes to QA. If we can't verify it, it goes to the clinic for resolution.
Verbatim should NEVER mean transcribing errors like have been described here, at least IMO.
How do you keep from making small errors
Alright Transcriptionists, I need some advice. I am fairly new to the transcription world, less than a year. What I wanted to know is how do you stop messing up the little words, the non-medical words. Arrgh. It is not constant on my part, but every once in a while I cannot tell the difference of what the doctor is trying to say, but it makes sense either way I type it. Examples on words: on, in, of the, a, to (not any one combination of these words) I Google it and get just as many hits for one as the other.
I have no problem with my medical transcription, its those English 1-2 letter words. Sometimes I feel like I spend more time trying to figure that out than anything else in a report. 
Thanks for advice.
you don't make errors doing MT work with
i cannot believe that
every human makes errors.....
we get paid low enough as it is
They might dock your pay for errors. I'd ask if interviewing. nm
s
I know someone only getting 7 cpl for experience here, and I think they dock you for errors, but
s
keyboard sticking .. thus the errors!!
My apologies .. I am going to buy a modem and will get a new keyboard as well .. probably need an eye appt. too!!
Errors kill people
Most companies don't dock for simple errors, they dock for repeated major errors. You said you were a nurse, what would have happened if you gave a medication the patient was allergic to? It's the same with this job. ONE simple error can cause serious harm and to have a flippant attitude about it is extremely sad. What if that were your parent, grandparent, or child in that bad and the attitude of the person causing harm was oops.
They do not dock for errors. NEVER been cheated out of $$!!!!!
nm
Agree with below...too many errors were made
nm
Punctuation errors, not spelling
Didn't see spelling mistakes, but plenty of grammar/punctuation errors.
High producers have most errors ?? sm
I beg to differ on that one. Some may, but I have been the highest producer everywhere I've been. I have also been proud to maintain 100% accuracy at more than 1 place of employment while consisting producing 300 lines per hour. An excellent MT has a good ear, knows anatomy and physiology and has to look up very little and also uses their Expander to their benefit.
MTs who produce high volume but have many critical errors need reprimanded and watched closely. A good QA team and company wouldn't put up with an MT like that for long it would cost the company money in penalties in the long run if garbage was sent to the clients.
I went and looked; it looks like the page has some errors
I think the submit button must be down there on the right, barely visible and you can't read the writing on it.
I didn't use the online application; I faxed my resume in with a cover letter when I applied to them and got good results with that. If you have a fax available, I'd definitely recommend that approach.
It just sure looks to me like that page has web formatting errors or something.
I usually don't point out spelling errors but the one
x
Transam still charge for errors?
Does Transam still charge MTs for errors? They use to.
Transform charges for errors
HUGE 2nd on that one! I see errors that really scare me.
x
Wow, nothing urks me more than seeing errors on a website! sm
It is HIPPA or HIPAA? Do they even know what that is? Is it CONVIENCE or convenience?
I hate that I cannot even read articles without editing anymore! Sorry don't know anything about them but did check out their website.
I see errors on my OWN medical records and
so, are heads going to roll because of that? Someone typed in I had hypotension when it is really hypertension, someone said I had MRA done because of abdominal pain, never was abdominal pain. My mother was sent some wrong medication from the drug store and you think anything has come out of this?
What does HITECH act have to do with errors in reports?
nm
|
