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I worked for one company that did not pay for any templates.

Posted By: Anon on 2008-09-11
In Reply to: If it's who I'm thinking of, they don't pay for spaces either, - do they? SM

The client had many templates. When I started I received pages of templates with the codes.  It was after my first paycheck that I was informed that the company did not pay for any templates.  You know they were charging the client full price and guess who was pocketing the profit?? 




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Here, here, I agree. At one time, I was even accussed of holding MY templates hostage. Templates
L
Anyone know of a company that uses a very easy platform with templates...
and lots of fill in the blanks? I am trying to find part-time work that doesn't require a whole lot of typing because I have pregnancy-induced carpal tunnel syndrome. I still have several months of pregnancy left and I still need to work, so my only option is to find work that requires a lot less typing! I am just happy that this CTS is usually only temporary! I do wear wrist splints and take frequent breaks during my shift but this provides little relief. If you know of companies that use easy platforms with templates, fill in the blanks, cut and paste, etc - please let me know! Thanks in Advance!
A company is ONLY supposed to verify that someone worked there, what dates they worked, whether PT o
and last date worked. It opens everyone up to a lawsuit if more is given, so most companies are told by their attorneys and business advisors to verify only.

No one has a right to a reference, only verification of employment.
Templates
The way I handle it is I try to figure out lines I type per an actual document minus the template part.  Then I would adjust my line rate downward to compensate, e.g., if my normal rate is 15 cpl, I would charge them 13-14 cpl OR instead of my usual count including spaces, tabs, etc., I would would try to figure it without counting them. I make clear to the client that there is no way to segregate the pre-printed lines and the lower than usual rate is a way of compensating them for it.  Another way to do it is how some hospitals and other MT companies are doing it - if you're using digital, charge by the dictated minute rather than the line.
Spaces or Templates/Pay or No Pay

Interested in learning what companies out there do not pay for spaces and/or what companies charge per report regardless of line length for use/nonuse of their crappy template?  For those of you who have worked for a company that charges for templates, was that information disclosed to you by the recruiter and/or contained in your contract? Any info (and opinions) in this regard would be appreciated. Thanks.  


Normals/templates
I let my IC's use them especially in my psych accounts.  However there was a time that one of the gals forgot to change the name on the header and I was gone and it went to the doctor directly with the incorrect name on the Header and big, big HIPAA violation and the doctor almost pulled the account since he did not catch it either.  So I understand where your MTSO is coming from but again, I would not keep the help that made these mistakes rather than make the other MT's pay for the incompetent ones and be unable to use their autorcorrect, ShortHand or whatever normals/expanders that they use.  The account stayed with me but we do watch the names closely now.   Why make all suffer for the mistakes of a few.
Yes, we are paid for templates.
NM
We can make templates
In Meditech you use the F keys for every little other thing, including their canned text which you have to hit, I think, F4, to pull it up. All the F keys have some laborious function but you can get used to it. As for templates, we do indeed create our own templates for the different dictators. The downside is that once you create one and it's there, you can't go back and edit it or change it, like when the doctor changes some wording and you want to edit it.

Mainly what I'm saying is, ask IT about the MT's creating their own canned text entries for templates. Use ShortHand or whatever Expander for everything else.

Our system used to crash a lot, too, but you could do a Recover and get it back. However, they've fixed that. Meditech doesn't have to be a pain, you can work it.
Good Luck...
You get paid for the templates too
NM
With the use of expander and templates sm

basically all the prep work it's definitely possible. 


Reports with a lot of templates...
and very fast dictators.  Also, the MTSO counts lines in an honest manner, i.e., caps, bold, underline, headers, footers, templates, etc.
Read this about VR, templates, etc.

Ok, our profession has been threatened and outright replaced by voice recognition and/or templates which is fill in the blank type forms. Here's what I have found upon interviewing the people at these various places.


Bottom line is by going with VR, you can get rid of the MTs but they are replaced with approximately 1.5 FTE in IT help. So fire 5 MTs, hire 7 ITs. They need people to babysit the computer generated reports with which they have chose to replace us. Same for templates. So if there is any medical provider out there reading this, just beware. You will spend more money by going with VR or templates than you ever dreamed you could save. I hope this does some good but please don't be fooled by these slick salesmen who sell you this VR or templatesoftware and charge a fortune for it. Not only does it take up more time from your physicians, but you will spend more money babysitting the computers and software than ever before.


Especially if you use a lot of expanders and templates.
Then, VR is definitely NOT WORTH YOUR TIME.  If you type 5 lines an hour or something, yeah, I could see it working out for you.  However, if you are a good MT, not so much. 
How about 0.03 per line for templates?
what templates, ones I make or their's. BS
Best company I have ever worked for, and I have worked for a lot!
I can't believe some of the things these people say here, and have to wonder if it just the same person or two bashing. I have been at MDI for four years and I do not have a low workload and I get treated very, very well.
You do get paid for things in templates...sm
Please e-mail me who told you otherwise.  Thank you. 
And no pay for headers you type or templates they add
/
Templates and word expanders
Figure out which abbreviations trigger an easy memory response. For instance, I've seen people put pn for pneumonia, but that just seemed to trip up my brain and so I put pne. Do you have doctors that use the same phrase over and over? For instance, nothing to indicate; that's nti. intrinsically and extrinsically is iae. no acute disease noted is nadn. You get more lines by typing (in the above example) 4 letters and getting paid for 22 (with spaces). I organized my templates by first 4 letters of last name and first 2 letters of first name - i.e., John Brown is browjo. (This habit started when I had a large hospital with 2000 doctors and this was the only way to keep them straight.) Then, if it's an H&P, it's browjohp; or discharge is browjods, etc. Seems complicated and you may find an easier way to catogorize, but once it's set in your brain, huge masses of data can easily be sorted through, accessed, appear on your screen, and half your typing is done for you.
companies that have lots of templates

Are there any companies that provide lots of templates and normals and a good rate per line?   This is my dream job, to find this company!


Templates are created by the IT people or

The MT usually does not have access to these things.  In my day, we had to put in a request and hope to heck they got it right.  Plus, we had to wait a while.  I think they're called dictionaries (templates) believe it or not.  It has been about a year, and I don't miss that system at all.  Clunky, slow, and lost many of reports due to it going down in the middle of typing.  Grrrr.....


Keystrokes and templates question (sm)

I see Keystrokes has an ad up on the job board.  I presently work for a company who fills in every possible heading that the doctor MAY dictate throughout the report and calls it their template for each work type.  They do not pay for any of these lines.  In some cases we are expected to delete headings if not dictated.  These deleted headings are now subtracted from the total line counts because they take the total number of lines in the template and subtract that number off the top of the line count.  Any missing lines would actually be subtracted from lines that the MT typed.  It would be so much easier for all involved to just let the MT type what the doctor says, headings and all.  I'm wondering how Keystrokes handles headings and templates?  Do they include them as part of the template or do they just let the MT type as the doctor dictates them?  If they are part of the template already, how are they counted or not counted? 


Also, what platform do they use and is it MT friendly?


TIA


MT SHOULD be paid for templates. Horrible MDI
x
The built-in templates for the ones you create
nm
lower pay rate for templates
Hi folks, Has anyone heard of getting a lower pay rate for templates? The company I work for is lowering their pay rates for what comes up as templates to 2 cents per line and say they will continue to pay the 8 cents per line for what we actually type? I have not heard of this before and was wondering if this was a common practice? Thanks for any feedback you might have.

Elizabeth MT since 2001
You probably aren't paid for templates.
Ask your supervisor. And I hope you aren't using your real name. Good luck. I hope you find your answer :)
Line count involving templates
I need advice!! I am typing in a template that consists of 205 gross lines before any typing is done in it. The client isn't questioning the body of the template where we add the meds, past history, etc., but there is an area of a preprinted form that is added that consists of about 85 lines. The client doesn't want to be charged for this, as this is not part of the typing. How can I bill for this exclulding this preprinted form? I would have to get the total number of characters for the entire document including the form and divide by 65? Help!!
I don't know if this can be asked or not, but how does Keystrokes handle templates? (sm)

Are they prefilled by the platform and if so are they paid to the MT as having been typed by the MT or does the system subtract for the template? 


I have no problem not being paid for template characters; however, I have found (with a couple of services that I have worked for) that the platform (or client or maybe even the service) will fill in absolutely every heading that MIGHT possibly be dictated by the doctor.  We, as the MT, have then had to bounce up and down the template looking for the heading that is being dictated and in some cases, having to modify the template by extracting words to fit how the doctor is dictating that heading.  In both cases, the line counter was set up to deduct the characters from the ORIGINAL template (which we were not paid for).  If the doctor dictates a shorter heading than was prefilled by the system, we are essentially losing lines.  (I hope that wasn't too confusing.) 


It's just so much easier to type as the doctor is dictating and use my expansion program rather than jumping up and down a template.   I'm wondering how Keystrokes handles their templates.  TIA


Shine templates take too long to load sm
Isn't too bad if you can go straight into it and start typing, but the account I do you have to go in and fill/fix the template after it loads before you can start typing, so it can be time consuming.
I think it is. He worked for my company
and this is the name he went by.  Might not be his birth name, but isn't just an internet moniker.
How do you know? Have you worked there? Maybe the company

just expects their MTs to do their job. Ever think of that?


I ask because I have worked for the same company

for 15+ years, and I don't like the way they are conducting their business right now.  So, I ask.  I think, like everything, you can take it with a grain of salt, BUT when you see a consistent complaint, then there is cause for alarm. 


I also want to know if a company pays fairly, keeps their word with regard to what is offered, if they have a high number of ESL doctors on their accounts, what type of transcription platform they use and is it easy to learn, and how quickly and accurately QA answers questions. 


Those are not things that can be observed from an ad for employment and instead come from the people who work for a company or have worked for a company. 


 


If this is the only company you have worked for then you don't know

there is any better out there.   I don't mean this to be ugly, but if you only have one year of experience you aren't qualified to be an editor, I don't care how good of an MT you are.  It just isn't enough experience and speaks tons for the quality of work that is produced.   Since I was also in QA I know the kind of work that is produced.   I've been in the business nearly 20 years and I'm still learning.  


I was actually offered a management position with SS after working for them for only 4 days, so obviously I'm good at what I do and they had no complaints with me.    Everything I said is/was true.


They were the best company I ever worked for (sm)
I left because I needed benefits of an employee position. However, they were the nicest QA. They left you alone. They didn't have the nonsense I've dealt with at Webmedx. I would have loved to have stayed with them if I could have afforded to. If you get your benefits from someplace else, they're really worth it.

What others are saying about having a hard time getting hired on is absolutely true, however. They don't have a dedicated recruiter, but instead have an owner who is wearing many hats including that of recruiter. I had to message her several times, call multiple times, and really pursue it to get hired on. I was persistent, and later I was glad that I had been.

I haven't been with them for many months now. They were a bit behind with technology, but not the worst. Being able to work whenever you want is definitely a huge plus.

I would highly recommend them still. Just know you've got to be persistent to the extreme to ever get past the resume/interview/email stage.
Anyone who has worked for more than one company can
tell you that every one of them - the good ones and the bad ones - have slow periods. Hence the concept of backup accounts. My backup account is actually p.r.n. with another company, and it works perfectly for me.
With every company I have worked for
you most certainly need the speed of DSL or cable to be able to do the work. I have DSL and mine still goes slow sometimes. There is no way it would work with simple dial up.

It's not the companies' fault that you do not have access to DSL or cable. I know some companies do not allow satellite, but there are many others that do so I would seriously look into that.


I worked for a company that had both

union electricians and pipefitters.  I did the payroll so I know what dues were.  Their dues way back then were steep.  If the union called for a strike the union did pay them for a certain amount of weeks, but not at full salary and if the strike went longer they were SOL. 


I know many people in unions who don't want to be in them, but due to their occupation have no choice.  In theory unions are a good thing, in reality not so much.  


If an organization like the former AAMT would have fought for us that would have made a difference.  Where does all the money go they get in dues each year?  It doesn't benefit me in any way, shape, or form.  They should us out.


I never worked for company, so was not SM
my bad experience. This person is a recruiter for Webmedx. She used to be recruiter for Spheris and she lies. I have never worked for Webmedx.
I have never worked for a company that
started one out on easy dictators. They have limited work-type, but not the dictators. They have given samples of any hard ones. If you are getting that many ESLs, then that is what they are getting also. Can't learn them if you don't actually do them.
I worked for a company
for eight years that finally decided to outsource to India, and when they did they decided to cut all their American transcriptionists pay to 5 cents per line.

5 CENTS PER LINE???? Shoot, I didn't even start at that fresh out of school. It's just ridiculous. The more ridiculous part is that some people actually stayed.
Who said I worked for that company?
Never did, imagination working overtime.
I worked for a company....
for 8 years and NEVER got a raise!  I even asked once and was told We don't give raises, you have to raise your production to get paid more.  Okay, so after 8 years on one job I am quite certain I've figured out all of the nooks and crannies, not gonna find a quicker way to type and I type fast already, so basically I NEVER get a raise!  I have heard of other companies that never get raises either, so just be thankful you got one:)
KS has been the best company I have worked for sm
thus far! The people there are great and sure there are slow times! Learn a different account. There is always a learning curve on any account one may get, hang in there!
The majority of places have you use templates and software platforms. Maybe someone can suggest a
s
Worked for company that was sold
I worked for a US company that was sold to an Indian company.  It was truly a nightmare.  No one had any kind of plan as to what was going to happen, there were management changes weekly, and in the end, nearly ever US MT was laid off or fired and nearly all of the work was sent to India.  Right after the company was sold, paychecks bounced, utilities in our building were shut off for nonpayment, expenses were not reimbursed, and even health insurance premiums were not paid and many people had no healthcare coverage for nearly a month. 
I worked for the same company the whole time and

just traveled for a year.  I downloaded via FTP site so as long as I had internet access I could work anywhere.  I have direct deposit so I didn't have to worry about that.   My family and I traveled through 34 states and Mexico and I worked the whole time.


Probably not what you were asking, but maybe something you hadn't considered. 


How long had you worked for the company? sm
I feel like a dolt for not doing any research on this company before beginning to work for them. I was already a bit apprehensive because they do not have direct deposit. Had you worked for them long before the problem with the paychecks? My feeling is, first check they miss, I'm outta here, but that does not compensate for the money already lost. :(

Thanks!
I worked for this company. The one thing they do have
Maybe you should ask for backup accounts, more than 1. They never run out of work, at least they didn't when I worked there 6 months ago. On the other hand, they have been hiring a lot lately. Can't hurt to ask for a backup.
Worst company I ever worked for.
Sounds files are horrific, worst ESLs ever (and I'm very good with ESLs and do greater than 85% ESL), all kinds of internal problems, etc.   If you look back for previous posts you do find an occasional good post about them, but you'll find 10 bad ones for 1 good one.   There have even been people who ignored all the bad comments and went to work for them only to come back here and post that the bad posts were right and they were sorry they didn't heed them.    There is always work because there is such a turnover in MTs.   I also worked in QA and was offered a management position with them and the quality of the work I saw was so bad that I had to pretty much retype every file.  
I second that-worst company I ever worked for also..nm
nm
I have worked for both. It just depends on the company..sm
the smaller one treated me better, but pay was less, benefits were less, however, more flexible in scheduling and treated more like a person than a number. The bigger companies I have worked for pay better, better benefits, but you are treated like a number, not too much personal chit-chat with other employees or with your supervisor and not as much flexibility in scheduling. Depends on what you are looking for.
By all means ask. I once worked for a company and had
an extremely difficult account.  The platform was difficult, the company was very large and disorganized, sound quality bad, no samples, and lots and lots of very difficult ESLs.  I had several years of MT experience, but very little ESL experience and was way in over my head.  I turned in my notice and was offered another account that wasn't supposed to be as challenging, but was.   Anyway, if the MTSO wants to keep you, it is in their best interest to do whatever is reasonably necessary to make you happy.  Now if you asked to be switched multiple times that is a whole other issue.