In response to Disturbing Trend posted by MTness
Posted By: MedCat on 2006-07-13
In Reply to: Disturbing trend - MTness
Bravo! Where I have no opinion either way about Ms. Shapin or her company, this attitude is what is killing America. Our daily needs cost more because of our hungry politicians and situations created by these type of businesses who feel that off-shore people are grateful for the opportunity to work for an American company who they know is taking advantage of them. I do not know if any of you recall, but a few years ago in a hospital local to our area, one of the Indian doctors shared what the American MTs were making compared to what a relative was making in India. This MT was enraged and threatened to release countless numbers of medical records of American patients on to the internet if her needs were not met. Not much information was given in followup and probably compressed by foreign diplomats. This is one of the major issues of outsourcing.
I agree with you, all we want is the right to survive in OUR OWN COUNTRY.
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Disturbing trend
Ms. Shapin, I know nothing about your company, nor would I criticize you or your company since I don't work for you. I empathize with your responsiblities as a business owner having been one myself. What is gravely disturbing to me in your post is a glimpse of your mindset about the offshore worker. Your view of the offshore worker is similar to disturbing trends by many other business owners who flock to third world countries where there is no protection for the worker, where there are no labor laws, where there are no standard work ethics. Yes, these people in third world countries are hungry for work. They will work any hours, any days, and be extremely grateful for a few pennies. They have no protection, and until they become tired, and worn down, they will serve their bosses well. One day though, American companies will become so dependent on workers from third world countries. These workers will become more intelligently aware of human rights, that they too, will someday voice their concern for the same things we want here in America - decent pay, job security, the ability to take some reasonable time off from a very, very demanding occupation, benefits, etc. Ms. Shapin, I would be careful about praising a worker from a third world country who is so hungry to rise up from poverty. It serves you well now. You, me, and so many others, have the same human wants and needs. Think about it. If there was more decency from businesses and corporations about workers' rights, ethical practices from all sides, and a fair way to meet the same goal, perhaps you would not be attacked. The American Transcriptionist is just having to fight for every penny these days, fight to have benefits from a job, fight to work decent hours, fight to keep afloat. We all want the same thing. Decency.
I posted a response don't know what happened to it..nm
s
Then why was posted in response to MY post? - sm
Am I supposed to know it's for the OP?? And I'm quite relaxed and chilled out. Maybe you're the one who needs to relax and giving orders. 
I posted a response on the main board to you
Please read it! Big difference between identify theft from resumes and PHISHING for info to possibly commit identify theft. If you read the article, it says they take the info from the resumes and send PHISHING emails out to people to get more information to commit the crimes, they cannot just commit the crimes with the general info alone that is in the resumes. Obviously, you should never click a link in an email unless you're completely sure who it is from and should never just give your SS# and bank/cc account information out to someone.
I hope you made a mistake when you posted below my response.
I certainly do not have an easy account like the poster I responded to. I don't complain about TT. I like it there and plan to stay. They treat there people decently, not like some other companies.
To MTness
You've piqued my curiosity. I wonder if this is one of my accounts that has decreased in work flow. Don't suppose you'd tell me in a private email, would ya?
Science...MTness
I looked it up last night after I got that message off here. I would be very interested in reading some of the info/books. Glad you introduced me to it.
Excellent post MTness
I'm with you all the way. Let there be peace on Earth and let it begin with me.
Very disturbing.
There is every possibility here for an intrusion on privacy that is not permissible for an employer, depending on whether the company has previously implemented certain specific policies - which I very much doubt as I know of none that do.
At the very least, you have the right to demand to know what the company proposes to check, and how, and to obtain a specific description of the checking protocol that will be used and a copy of any software they propose to use and/or install.
You also have the right to inform the company that you specifically prohibit:
1. Accessing any files, directories or other areas of the hard drive other than those pertaining directly your work.
2. Accessing your email application, messages or private email account.
3. Accessing any instant messaging applications or messages.
4. Making any changes to your Windows registry.
5. Installing any monitoring or remote access software.
6. Opening any ports on your computer or firewall, including FTP ports.
Also, inform the company that you insist on being present during the checking and that all activity performed on your computer must be visible on screen. Advise them that you reserve the right to turn the computer off without notice if you see checking activity that appears to exceed the limits you have set.
I also suggest that you create a system restore point just prior to the checking, and that you restore your computer to that point afterwards. There are very clear instructions on the Internet about how to set restore points and then return your computer to the state it was in at that time.
Also, you can install TrueCrypt, create a hidden container and drag sensitive files into that prior to the check. This is an excellent FREE program that has won numerous awards for its security and ease of use. Once a file is in the hidden container, it still continues to work exactly as it did (including both data files and applications like Word) because the encryption and decryption happen in the background. You never know it's happening.
The caveat with TrueCrypt, of course, is don't forget your password to the hidden container!
What disturbing news on what web site?
?
Very disturbing research results on Transcend
It seems Transcend is very busy acquiring MTSOs and not bashful about their future goals. Please read what I copied from a recent article when they acquired TRS(March 2009). Between VR and offshoring, I truly do not see how much work will be left.
“We are excited to welcome TRS to the Transcend team,” stated Transcend CEO Larry Gerdes. “We
believe their commitment to their customers and employees makes them an excellent fit for Transcend.
TRS has taken a leadership role in our industry through its involvement with industry associations like the
Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI) and the Medical Transcription Industry
Association (MTIA). We look forward to continuing to play an important industry role with their
involvement. TRS provides services on several different platforms. We believe that over the next year,
35% - 50% of the business can be migrated to our BeyondTXT platform, which allows us to leverage our
speech recognition technology to improve productivity, enhance quality and drive faster turnaround times.
We look forward to working together as we integrate our operations over the next several months.”
“We believe our merger with Transcend is a positive step into the future for our customers and
employees,” stated TRS CEO Bob Harvey. “Transcend has an un-paralleled reputation for excellent
service. This gives our customers confidence that our teams will now be supported by the additional
resources of the top-ranked firm in the industry. For the sake of our employees, it was important to me to
merge with a company that has a strong commitment to providing the best work environment in the
medical transcription field, and I know we have found that in Transcend. ”
“Transcend is very interested in the work TRS is doing with overseas transcription training in places like
Barbados,” stated Transcend COO Sue McGrogan. “Although their training institute is not part of this
transaction, Transcend sees real opportunity to use this resource and others to continue to grow our
offshore capacity. Transcend is committed to remaining a predominately domestic transcription provider,
but we will continue to expand our offshore resources as well. We expect that the percentage of work
processed offshore could increase from about 20% today to perhaps 35%-40% in the future. This helps us
staff nights and weekends and gives us added flexibility as we grow. We would never replace a domestic
transcriptionist in the process. In fact, we plan to continue expanding our domestic workforce for years to
come. We hope that TRS Institute can become an offshore partner in the near future.”
Under
Not a lot of work right now; kind of disturbing that they're hiring
..
It seems that this became a trend
with a lot of companies several years back, with companies beginning to give psychological/personality evaluations to help determine a candidate's suitability for a particular position/company setting, etc. I was not an MT at the time, and have not yet encountered this since becoming an MT. I think it is a bit costly, but for companies who do it, I believe their financial return is expected/gained in less employee turnover and finding a good fit for the company *family*. This began around the time a lot companies started throwing around all the Quality Assurance business (again, not MT/QA, but the whole customer service QA and considering colleagues within the same company as *customers*. The company that I was with at that time was a fairly small company, but they spent a pretty penny on having people come in to conduct several meetings regarding this.
That seems to be the trend
Either payroll is correct and the management is bad, or management is great and payroll sucks.
That seems to be the trend lately sm
However, at MDI, we only have set days that we are to work and we were given the choice of Sun-Thu or Tue-Sat. No set hours, though, just a 24-hour window to get your counts in. Gotta love it!!!!!
ANOTHER NEW TREND
One more thing that has not been mentioned here. I would like to see dictating clinicians be given more mandatory training and subsequent responsibility for the quality of their dictations. It is about time that we stop accepting bad dictation habits as status quo and something that we have to accept as normal. I'm talking here about the usual bad habits, which include, but are not limited to, fast talking, slurred speech, eating while dictating, carrying on unrelated conversations with others while the tape is still running, talking while yawning, talking over background noises, etc., etc. Oh, and one more thing. Inform the dictating clinicians that many of us are long-distance and not familiar with their local geography, nicknames of local doctors, first names of which Dr. Smith or Jones that he or she is referring to, etc..
Downhill trend
Not that many years ago, only ITs had to supply their own equipment.
It's sad that the large companies expect MTs to foot the bill for all the equipment, especially with the trend of giving MTs less and less of the profit pie.
I mean, when was the last time an MT got a cost of living increase? Or profit sharing payouts? Or any of the other perks of being part of a successful, profitable business?
A carpenter that is self-employed SHOULD pay for his own stuff. An MT who is an EMPLOYEE should not. Simple logic.
Do you think physicians have to buy their own MRI machines? Do you think police officers have to buy their own squad cars?
The transcription profession feels like a sinking ship. I pity people who are only now getting started. The hey day of this profession is long gone. (Sniff. Sigh.)
A trend beginning...
About 6 months ago, Keystrokes and Transtech were the 2 best companies going on...and now 6 months later, we are reading all negative about the both of them. Go figure. It all comes down to finding the right company for you.
So maybe this is the beginning of a new trend - sm
in American Transcription? Turning it back into a REAL job again! If what this site says is true, I'd be surprised if this didn't become the best MT company and most sought-after employer in the Northeast. I know I'd rather have MY records transcribed at a place like that, and not in Bangalore or Manilla. I wish them every success, and that that other MTOSs will follow suit!
A trend emerges
So it seems that those who like VR are the ones who started out in-house and were there for a long time. Then they were switched to VR and made an easy transition. Well, good for them! But that's not most of us and if you jump into a VR account cold, it doesn't go so smooth. Plus you spend as much or more time on it than you would if you had transcribed it yourself. So if VR is the future, then pay me for my time. And not 3 cpl. Otherwise, I will and am finding something else to do and all of my years and expertise will not be utilized as they could have been.
This is the trend for all companies now. sm
Paying substantially less, 50% or so, for pre-transcribed (voice or speech recognition) jobs is now the trend.
Since the industry giants/leaders do it, I don't see it ever changing.
And why should it? Everyone accepts it and does it. Therefore, they don't have to pay more.
It is sad.
It seems to be the new trend - many companies hiring
inexperienced people or clerks (if you will) to manage MTs. It's definitely now all about money, folks. Never thought I'd see the day where folks would take approximately 10 bucks an hour, be paid salary, and work 60 hrs a week, but they are! You have to hand it to them though, this will definitely build up their resumes for the future. Can you imagine who will be managing the industry in say ten years? For once I AM GLAD I'm old. lol
Their trend is to keep their posts on top over weekends
Their pay is low, so people with a lot of experience never get replies to their applications. They want fresh meat, thus the multiple posts. I think people are figuring out that they aren't all that in the MTSO world. Personally, I would applaud this site for asking them to limit their posts to no more than twice per month, but that would be taking money out of the mouth of the board owners (no offense intended here - business is business and I understand that). It is just getting to the point that seeing these ads are making me stay away from that board and look at jobs on other sites.
The trend is passing of indian MTs as US
I am not saying in this exact case and/or company, but many times over this has happened. Buy up the US based company and use the good US MTs to edit the crap and save big bucks on the Indian MTs. Clients don't know it is happening, but those that inadvertently find out will drop them...sometimes.
Again, not every company has done this but MANY have. I understand the fears, and i would never work for any organization that offshores or supports that in any way.
I'm with you and hoping this is not gonna be the next trend...
I'm a confirmed second shifter for many years and for many reasons and recently started at a different company, doing Sun-Thurs evenings. Long story short, have been there 2 months and frequently run out of work on my Sunday night, and I'm infuriated (and maybe naive, have rarely in 30-odd years run out of work and especially not the first day of my week). Of course that means I have to make the work up, so I do that on my Friday off, though I take care to do it after 3:30. Needless to say, I deeply resent working on my day off. Like you, I say this is sacred and my wrists need it, and I'm a good employee. I'm biding my time to see how this all pans out; I may see if I can negotiate something different if possible. I was one of five new people hired on this account, (hopefully not an overhire, things are fine other than this). Anyway, NO, it just ain't right to in effect force us to compete for jobs in this way.
EHR Deinstallation Trend Hits Phoenix
Publish Date: 7/30/09 - By Allison Tsai
Source: Medical Economics
Though the Phoenix area has seen a high adoption rate for electronic health records, it also is the first region to experience a “deinstallation” trend, according to a HealthLeaders-InterStudy report.
The trend to cancel EHR contracts, especially prevalent among smaller physician groups, is a result of training, functionality or affordability issues, and highlights the need for an affordable solution, according to the Phoenix Market Overview report.
The rapid adoption of EHR technology in Arizona stems from a 2005 executive order by then-Gov. Janet Napolitano, requiring that all healthcare providers install an EHR by 2010. The top hospital systems in the area, Banner Health and Catholic Healthcare West, along with several others, have installed EHRs, but are struggling with the same financial constraints as the small physician groups. EHRs require a significant financial investment in addition to expensive upgrades, according to the report.
Long-term benefits of the technology include reduced transcription costs, lower chart and file storage expenses and the potential for reduced premiums on malpractice insurance, but in areas like Miami, where the recession is threatening the profitability of hospitals, EHR installation has been slow due to lack of funding for such projects.
Chris Clancy, a market analyst with HealthLeaders-InterStudy, says Phoenix may be the first area to experience the deinstallation trend due to its aggressive adoption of the technology, but will likely not be the last. In addition, physician shortages in Phoenix make it difficult for doctors and staff to carve out time for EHR training, Clancy says.
This seems to be the trend now. I have had to change jobs 3 times this year
due to this very fact. I'm at my third one now, and it is still happening. I've decided to just work 2 jobs. One part time and the other supposedly full time, but it is like a part time. The only reason I am staying at the third is because, I need the insurance, and changing between jobs before the 90 day probation has landed me without insurance, as I have had to change jobs before the 90 days are up.
Transcend's positive posts stay here cause negatives are deleted! That's the trend!
You cannot rely on honest referrals on this board, especially the archives. They are edited and deleted forever. Just as the negative posts on the Transcend forum "magically" disappear once discovered...Don't be so naive, unless you're the one "editing"!
I did notice that one job posting stating exactly that, haven't followed the trend closely, thoug
The Rates Are Posted Here and Posted Below
The service owner fees are posted in a UnionNow post (below), but here they are again:
SERVICE OWNERS CHARGE:
$0.115 - $0.25 per line for full transcription of acute care on 24/7 accounts
$2.75 - $7.65 per report for full transcription of pathology, lab, specialty operative notes, plain film and interventional radiology
$0.097 - $0.125 per line for VR editing
OF THAT MONEY, MTs ARE RECEIVING
$0.85 - $1.25 per report full transcription
$0.06 - $0.115 per line full transcription
$0.035 - $0.06 per line for VR editing
AS OUR PRODUCTION BRINGS THE MONEY IN, WE DESERVE A LARGER CHUNK OF THE PROFITS - OFFICE STAFF CAN BE TRIMMED INSTEAD OF THE PRODUCTION STAFF. IF A RECEPTIONIST MISSES A DAY OF WORK, ANYONE CAN ANSWER THE PHONE IN HER PLACE. IF AN MT NEEDS A DAY OR SO OFF, PATIENT CARE CAN SUFFER BECAUSE AN INTEGRAL MEMBER OF A HEALTH CARE TEAM IS UNAVAILABLE.
WE ARE STILL EXTREMELY IMPORTANT IN THE HEALTH CARE PICTURE. DO NOT SELL YOURSELVES SHORT.
IF YOU ARE AGAINST UNIONS OR INITIATIVES, I WHOLEHEARTEDLY RESPECT YOUR OPINION, BUT BEG THAT YOU RESEARCH, SPEAK TO OTHERS, EDUCATE YOURSELVES ABOUT WORKERS UNITED. WE HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE HERE; THEY'VE TAKEN ALMOST EVERYTHING FROM US.
WE PROPOSE:
$1.25 PER REPORT TRANSCRIBED IN THE U.S.A. BY A U.S. MTs
$0.10 PER LINE TRANSCRIBED IN THE U.S.A. BY A U.S. MTs
$0.075 PER VR LINE EDITED IN THE U.S.A. BY U.S. MTs
THANK YOU FOR YOUR RESPONSE
I'll stick with MQ too!
just got a response from BLS....
their MAXIMUM line rate is $.05 gross line...... so much for that.
In response to you.....
Actually I just had my husband come and read the these posts. He is laughing HIS ____ off!! We know how much we make. It still blows my mind some people actually think this is not possible. Maybe you would not be ROFLYBFAO if you actually got some initiative and pounded pavement to get an account like mine. :)
Did you ever get a response...sm
I have not heard anything back.
Thank you for your response...(sm)
What kind of platform do you type on? Is it strictly internet based or do you have to have C-phone, extra phone line or other equipment?
Thanks Again!
No Response From Them
I sent them a note and told them I was interested, but wanted to know what the company name was. Haven't heard back. Will certainly write this one off as mysterious.
You actually got a response?
It took them a month before I heard anything after I quit. Until then, however, I was still getting the emails and such. They will send you shipping labels for the equipment.
Response to Asking
As far as I can tell from the paperwork I received,
it didn't look like they did medical, just legal and general, but I could be wrong. Let me know if you decide to go ahead with them. I'd be interested in knowing how they are to work for.
Thank you very much for the response.
:-)
Thank you so much for your response
am very concerned about my future there. I have decided to leave, but am very nervous because I have no income to fall back on. I want to work for a company that is not so strict on scheduling, will let me type extra, and I need medical benefits. I have lots of experience. This is a tough one. I wish MQ would not have changed, I used to love it there.
response
You have no clue what my background in. I have years of acute care experience. I've also had my own accounts and had IC's work for me. HyperType's QA people had absolutely no problems with my work. The owner wanted me to stay. Tech support had no problems with me, and I basically had no problems with them. The problems with HyperType are solely due to how the company is run. And yes, I was one of their top producers. So, don't make assumptions that people are just full of sour grapes or pissed someone off. There were legitimate reasons why I left HyperType. I'm not going to state all the details here. I did state some positive facts about HyperType, by the way.
Not every company is a good fit for each MT. Explain why the majority of MTs working for HyperType choose to work such minimal lines per pay period. If HyperType was so wonderful, had so much work, if the platform was wonderful, if the work created such great line counts, everyone would be working tons of hours for them each week -- not so.
Thank you for response....LM....
.....Could you tell me how flexible they are when it comes to putting you on accounts? My absolute favorites are Radiology first and then Neurology second. These are the accounts I would want to do. I absolutely detest OPs and would not want to do these at all. Would they be able to put me on the account I want? Also, what is their pay rate?
I too have worked in the hospital setting and at-home with several different companies. I was happy with my first at-home company (Edix n.k.a. Spheris) until they sold the company and everything changed. Since leaving them I have been working (if that's what you can call it) with InfoPro as an IC. The work is never there ( example: I only made $6,000 last year). I won't get a paycheck this pay period because there hasn't been any work available. I absolutely cannot make it like this and desperately need to find another job. One that I know I will have the work available and also one that I know I will be typing what I like and not have to force myself to try to type what I don't like.
My only problem is that I don't have a DAC-126 or C-Phone.
Thank you again for your information and help, it is greatly appreciated.
My response is below.
x
No response??
Not sure who you are but perhaps you should contact them again. They recently had a posting on the MTJobs board.
Got my response.
It was in the form a a really stupid form letter. Anyway, I wrote back to them in case anyone needs or wants ideas on what to say:
I appreciate the form letter.
I will again restate that I do not affiliate myself with physicians, hospitals, clinics, transcriptionists/transcription companies or organizations that support offshoring American jobs in any way. I know where the industry trends are going. I have been under bid, laid off, fired and downsized due to offshore entities that promise work for as little as next to nothing. It is not right that we should be forced to compete with that, and the organization that says AMERICAN and MT in the title should be advocating for the American part and not going over to shake hands with those offshore who are going to end up taking the jobs away from here.
In Response
I've been watching the comments fly by on this board about my company in amusement. Everyone has the freedom of speech, but when it comes to calling the owner of Shapin Medical Transcription (me) names and implying that I give my clients less than perfect reports, I have to step in and say something.
No one knows how I run my company. We have 3 tiers of QA so reports go back to our clients perfect. It is in our contract with our clients that they don't pay for reports with errors and to date, after nearly 10 years, we have credited our clients less than $100 for errors.
We are not a large company, but we also are not small. We have nearly 150 very happy clients who refer new clients to us all of the time (of course they get a nice credit on their invoice when doing so, but that again is something you know nothing about, how to run a business.)
If you apply with us and don't like the pay offered, by all means turn us down. No one is forced into a position with us. The QA and MTs that do work with us are, for the most part, happy. They enjoy the work and no one is complaining about their paychecks.
We are hiring more QA people because we have a lot of new clients coming on board over the next few weeks, not because our QA people are leaving. Again, you make assumptions on something you know nothing about.
And yes, we do outsource, to India, to the Philippines and we have American MTs. Our overseas MTs don't complain about having to work, they don't ask for time off every other day, they don't have excuses for not turning in their work within TAT and several of them produce client ready work. Our offshore MTs pride themselves in their work and turn in the best quality they can, unlike a few of the American MTs we’ve had that turn in less than perfect work, don’t take direction and refuse to change bad habits, and ask for more work just to make more money.
I am asking the contractors that work for us to refrain from making any more comments, but since it is a free country they are free to do as they please.
I will NOT respond to any responses to my post. I do have a company to run, a family and a life and don’t have the time that a lot of you seem to have to live on this board.
Juliann Shapin
Owner/President
Shapin Medical Transcription, LLC
let's try this response again - sm
I keep trying to post a response, but for some reason it won't post.
I know a couple of people that have worked for the company - they were newbies. They said it was awful - low pay and LOTS of ESL doctors.
HOwever, I'm assuming that you are new to the industry, and this is a company that does hire newbies. So you might want to use this as a learning experience to get your feet wet. Or you may want to try a local hospital or clinic - I found that to be the absolute best experience around - because I had the help of other transcriptionists around me to ask and for feedback.
Thanks for the response
I realize for the 401k you have to be there a year, I was wondering if the company matched a percentage. I agree that most of the National companies abuse MTs, especially as far a pay goes for good experienced acute care MTs. The only option I see is going back to IC work. I did that for over 10 years, no paid vacation, no retirement, none of the perks the larger companies can offer. I'm so tired of looking for that perfect company, or even one that comes close, I guess it really just doesn't exist. Thanks for your input.
RCR response
 Just stay away from that company.
I applied one time and got a call from the owner. It was not the job that scared me away, it was him. He told me how he was taken someone to court about who knows what but I wanted nothing to do with that kind of thing. Imagine someone calling to offer you a job and having to hear that non-sense.
Run, run stay away is my advice to you!
my response was much different
I've had BS for months with no problems. It was explained to me that as long as I hung up several times a day, the 5000 minutes started over each time. The limit is for autodialers. I specifically explained my situation and recorded the phone call in case I needed it in the future.
I got a response
from Debra Mcnair for the vet ophthalmology but I did not have any prior experience in that field. it sounds like she was looking for a lot of experience right off the bat for it. Good luck.
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