Support very slow, had to train myself on platform. Trainer kept

• SoftScript - current info? - mt47
  • SOFTSCRIPT - eeeek! - margi
  • Pros Vs Cons - CliftonT
  • Support very slow, had to train myself on platform. Trainer kept - telling me to hurry, she wanted to log-off. nm
  • Sound quality horrible, the worst ESL dictators - well
  • YUCK, ought to about cover it. - NM

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so I will hang there awhile longer.  Perhaps I just do not know all of the tricks.  I was told to wait 3 months before asking for any changes, so I don't want to rock the boat right off the bat.  So far, everyone has been really great to me.

Thanks for your input -- glad to know I'm not the only one who is not fond of the platform.

I haven’t worked for WebMedX for a couple of years, but the numbers I had to work with then were as follows (DISCLAIMER:  Just as I was leaving, they were thinking about totally revamping their bonus system, so the numbers below are probably not currently accurate, but will give you some idea of what WMX thinks their MTs are capable of): 

140 lines per hour average minimum.  New employees placed on 90 day probationary status to learn platform and account specifics.  Expected to reach 150 lines per hour average after 4 weeks.  Line defined as 65-character line, which includes all body characters and spaces inclusive of formatting characters such as bold, italics, underlines, caps and tabs.  Header and footer characters are not included in the line count.

Bonus paid as follows (in addition to your base pay per line): 

Average lines/hr   Bonus per line

160 to 180  =        .0015

181 to 220  =        .0030

221 to 250  =        .0050

251 to 275  =        .0075

276 to 299  =        .0100

300+           =        .0150

This is for the average for the entire two week pay period, so if you have a really great day and hit 500 lines per hour, then have several really bad days at 100 lines per hour, they take the average over those two weeks. 

HOWEVER, if you fall below 140 lines per hour average, they DEDUCT pay:

0 to 124     = - .005

125 to 139 = - .0025  

WMX is definitely looking to make a profit, so my way of thinking is they feel confident in offering a bonus that will not affect their bottom line and, as far as they are concerned, not going to be achieved by the majority of the MTs working for them.  In fact, when I left, many MTs were complaining that they were no longer getting the same bonuses as they had just a few months prior and they were MTs who had worked for WMX for several years and were already very familiar with the platform and accounts. 

As far as getting back up to speed, there are several factors that prevent smooth transition.  First, you are on 100% QA review for the first couple of weeks, at least, and depending on the Editors you get, you may have to completely rethink what you have learned before.  Then, there is the dreaded time clock.  It is totally automatic.    From the minute you log on to get your first report, you are on the clock.  If you stop to look up a drug or find a new surgical instrument, your line count is affected.   They tell you to log out for everything when you are not actually typing.  That means even 2 minutes to stretch or go get a drink from the kitchen.  Next, they seemed to have a lot of platform slowness.  There were times when you could sit for a minute or more just to switch from the demographics page to the actual transcription page, or when trying to release the report.  Sometimes, the platform would just freeze altogether, and you had to reboot.  And they do periodically run out of work, depending on the accounts you have.  So, if you want to keep your line count up, you have to keep logging off, which makes an 8 hour shift turn into a 10 to 12 hour day.  Some people with families just don’t have the time for that.  Not to mention, if they are in overtime, if you already have to put in a 10 hour day to get an 8 hour shift in, overtime will probably have to be on your days off.  Also, most of their accounts are now going to ASR/Speech Recognition, and that system has many bugs left to be worked out that has caused many MTs to complain that they are not making as much money as they were before. 

I am sure there are WebMedX MTs just itching to correct me and let you know how great WMX is.  The above are my personal observations/opinions while working for them, just to give you another perspective. 

Good luck.      

a lot more than 8 cpl.  I even have GREAT benefits, which are more than affordable.  There are good companies out there that pays for experience!!!!

Spell checker you have to provide.  Management - I experienced two good team leads, neither of whom are there anymore, other than that, not impressed.  Have had situations where what I earned did not match what I was paid.   Last team lead I had had a problem with being rude and expecting everone to drop their previously scheduled lives for her, while she was virtually unreachable to us otherwise.  They do something every year and can a bunch of editors or MTs, bizarre yearly ritual.  Perhaps things will be different now, perhaps not.  Good luck either way!

Honestly though, I have only had 2-3 times in the past 2 years where it was like the other day...no work... It did pick up later but I just think it's important not to make someone think we're overloaded with work all the time. That would not be fair to them if they end up with high expectations.

she loves Meditech, then if there is an issue it becomes your problem. 

I do wish you well, but Meditech just doesn't get any better. 

I have been working as a trainer for well over a year.  I have many, many years experience in MT and QA.  I am trying to get information on what the average pay is for a trainer.  Thanks for any info!

I have to call again.  I'll have to get on the phone and call tomorrow morning nice and early. 

Now they want us to give out trade secrets to our international labor partners, aka Asian MTs?  That's like training your successor before you know you are being fired.  The indignities of this profession are piling up....

A couple of weeks ago I posted that the hospital I worked for is outsourcing and dumping their inhouse transcription dept.  I appreciate all the nice things people here said because so many of you have been there, done that.  

I also guess that a lot of you have thought about starting up your own business.  The other people I worked with at the hospital and I were always talking about it in a joking way because, to be honest, the people who ran the business at the hospital know nothing about transcription and they think we are just typing drones.

I stopped back in the office where I used to work and I am pleased to report that it was total chaos.  The administration is trying to dump all the dictation onto an outside company based in India.  They kept on a couple of Transcriptionist to clean up stuff.  The person now in charge of the whole transcription process used to work in the billing office and she is now going to be proofing and overseeing the outside transcription service.  They are pleased with themselves and very smug about all the money they will be saving the doctors.

The doctors are all spoilt.  Most of their dictation for years has been An 88 year old female.  Severe DJD.  Bilateral knees. Referred by the bozo down the street. Yada yada yada.   An we knew what they meant  and would zip out a three page professional sounding report and referral letter.  We corrected their mistakes, made sure they were talking about the right patient (often they weren't) and that they didn't commit any legal boo-boo like saying the patient was a drug addict. (One doctor I used to work for said this.  I told the supervisor that he should not say things like that or he would get sued.  She said the doctor knew what he was doing.  Since she was not a transcriptionist she believed that.  The doctor and the practice got sued and doctor went to work in a little clinic far, far away.)

I have to admit that I am enjoying the vision of the coming trainwreck.  This is the second hospital I have worked for that jumped on the outsourcing train.  The first one fired the service in six months and tried to rehire us transcriptionists, who by then had gone on to greener pastures.  And this current hospital has handled the decision to outsource in such an unethical and nasty manner that I would not work for them again under any circumstances.

So, in short, has anybody thought seriously about starting up their own company?  Of course other transcriptionists have done that and of course it is not as easy as it seems. What is the first step?  I have the skills and I know many transcriptionists and a lot of doctors who are going to be really ticked off when the billing person they put in charge of their dictation goes belly up.  And I have some really neat names in mind: 

Typed In the USA. 

Been There Done That. 

Fingers For Hire. 

Utalk We Type.

Transcribers Anonymous.

WordsRUs.(how do you make a backwards R?)

Anybody want to join me?