The majority of places have you use templates and software platforms. Maybe someone can suggest a
Posted By: place using email and Word. nm on 2006-12-07
In Reply to: Experiences With National Companies - Nan
s
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Here, here, I agree. At one time, I was even accussed of holding MY templates hostage. Templates
L
Really sad where people will readily list places they hated but not name places that are great.
What a wonderful, sharing group of people MTs are. :-(
The majority
of their accounts are NOT online yet, most are still C-phone or Lanier.
The majority of them do. There are still some that
don't, but the list is growing all the time of the ones that do.
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.
I agree. I think since the majority SM
of the workers in this field are female, they are hesitant to take action to preserve their financial stability and just sit and wait for things to get better (they almost never do).
For the majority of tests, you HAVE to go by
BOS2. No way you can pass it if you are not following the rules.
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
Heartland - Majority of the US accounts
were sent to India. They lost the account I was working on (FL account) and now I am pretty sure we are going to get let go...
Majority of comments here are very negative about them. nm
s
The majority of them offshore. The list will be
much shorter if you ask what companies don't offshore.
For a few works okay, but majority have problems sm
sooner or later. Can be fine one day and next day can be sick to death with vomiting, diarrhea, obstruction, on and on. Have seen it too many times. A friend I know had to stay in a nursing home for a year after her surgery from major complications. She still is not right, plus she is fat again.
I think this surgery is just a quick fix kind of thing and not anything that lasts for long. There are still too many unknowns about it and other risks over a long period of time.
It is 90 days, just like the majority of companies. (nm)
x
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
I worked for one company that did not pay for any templates.
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?? 
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 :)
Sounds like TransTech and it's NOT how the majority of accounts are. nm
s
I wish the majority of sheeple in this country would wake up and
see the reality, but they won't until it's too late.
Even after years of doing this, it's NOT true for the majority of MTs these days. Look at how man
s
Majority of MTs say just give me the work and leave
x
Oh so true. The majority of recruiters I have emailed (sm)
either don't give you the courtesy of a reply, or when they do get around to it 6 months later, you're already working somewhere else. I like your idea, but I don't think it would succeed. If they can't take 15 seconds to reply to receipt of your email with an automated message, I highly doubt they would reserve time out of their day to give attention to us on boards such as these.
Actually, you should be MORE amazed at the fact that the majority of our profession has been
outsourced and to add insult to injury, we are expected to survive on what is practially tantamount to Third World wages? Not only that, but as a MT for the last 25+ years, I am livid about the fact that our medical information is in the hands of individuals outside of this country not to mention SS#, etc. IMO that particular issue among others I have listed should be a legitimate cause for concern....
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!
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 majority of negative comments start when work is low and
they start looking for another job. I, for one, would rather be too busy and have to work an extra hour or 2 than not to have any work. Overhiring is the death of all of us, since we do not have a guaranteed income unless you are a team leader or hourly employee.
Failure to pay on time is another large problem that will produce negative comments.
If companies were actually above-board with the problems at their company before the hiring process is completed, a lot of this could be avoided.
A majority want 600 lpd for PT. Being able to put in extra hours varies from place to
s
Infinity makes the majority of the foot pedals, so to
ask if an Infinity pedal will work is too general of a question. Do you need game port, serial port, USB, 9 pin, 15 pin, etc. They can be configured different ways so just because it is an Infinity doesn't mean it will work.
I use an Infinity pedal but it is specially configured to be compatible with only DVI.
You have absolutely get your lines in the vast majority of the time - sm
In other words, you cannot have technical problems one day, decide to run errands the next, and then the 1 day out of 3 you decide to work there is very low work and you cannot get your lines in they will call and/or send an e-mail asking why. You need to be doing what you agreed to in your contract or you are going to get fired. I think that is true at most places now.
Exactly. The majority of the population can't afford health care.
Huh. Sound familiar?
What would you suggest?
I'm not being sarcastic or trying to start a riot. Just an honest question. What would your suggestions be to improve a company/industry? I'm talking good, honest, detailed suggestions. Alot of complaining going on... I can understand that. But let's actually DO something about it. Let's have some constructive posts now. Who knows, maybe some of the 'higher ups' are readining and would like some good feasible suggestions. I'll start.
I think shift differentials are a great idea. Maybe an extra cent per line for 6 pm to midnight and maybe 1.5 center per line for midnight to 6 a.m.
Your turn.
Here is what I would suggest.....sm
A flexible schedule for at-home MTs. You give the company a monthly schedule in advance with your commitment. I want to work within a 24- hour time period to get my commitment done.
I want to be left alone to do my job and not have annoying e-mails all day.
I would like to have tons of work, so I am able to make a decent paycheck.
I would like to see tech support 24/7.
Communication regarding account updates, how much work is on them daily.
An account liason to contact for any questions or problems and have a person on the other end and not a voice message system.
A transcription platform that is MT friendly, meaning one voice and document screen with demographics and report. Automatic physician rosts, templates, and search features for difficult dictators previous reports. Software that has an expander, preferrably Word based, and preferrably Stedman's Spellcheck programmed in it.
I would like to see a decent line pay, especially for experienced MTs. I believe that quality-driven experienced MTs with 15-20 years or more doing Acute Care should receive a better line rate than less experienced MTs. Experience with quality should be rewarded.
I think that if all the MTs did their jobs on Fridays and throughout the week, less or no weekend work would be required. I suggest no mandatory weekend work unless we want it.
I suggest an MT be recognized some how for her excellent efforts, either at Christmas time or MT Week.
Yearly bonuses or profit-sharing for the MTs would be awesome!
I also suggest the company provide the ability for the MT to move up the ladder within the company when the opportunity presents itself.
These are my suggestions. I do not need health insurance, as I am covered with my husband. So, that is not an issue for me; however, I also prefer working as an IC or statutory.
Flexibility - That is what working at home is all about.
MTs keep their line or minute commitments, MTSOs keep their commitments to their MTs and clients, and every one will be happy!
The MT world can be such a beautiful place!
I would suggest
The MT who wrote about MDI being nice posted up further. Take a look and learn a lesson. I happen to agree with her!
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