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Venting- how can you make money or get line counts when all the work is given to someone else!

Posted By: Kassie on 2008-12-05
In Reply to:

Nothing seems fair anymore.  Does anyone else ever have this happen?


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C-phone accounts aren't any better, not enough work to make line counts there either. Sigh
nm
Oh, they make money off us. Line rate is 17 cents a gross line.nm
z
Low line counts - difficult to make 1200 lines in 8 hours. sm
25 years of experience as an Acute Care MT and I had a difficult time getting 200 lph with Bayscribe. Any other accounts with other companies, I could easily transcribe 350-400 lph. Not at MDI - very difficult. I loved the account, but again it was difficult to get a decent line count.

It doesn't matter if you pay me 11 cpl if I can't get a decent line count. Couldn't take the 3 x day e-mails either.
Bayscribe stinks!
Could you please provide names of companies where you are able to make required line counts
and then some? I am struggling to find a platform or company which counts lines where a person can make more than 10K or 11K lines in a 2 week payperiod. This is silly.  This MT used to make 10K lines every week. Any and every suggestion would be appreciated.  BTW: Also please if you can let us know here where you cannot meet line count.  You can use initals so you don't get in trouble. Thanks in advance.
I work for TT, low line counts on ExText for me. nm
nm
Line counts doing hospital work
Does anyone truly get more than 250-300 lph doing hospital work?  If so, where do you work?
Me too. You work, you make money. SM
You work well, you make more money. You work smart, you make more money. You work long, you make more money. You work hard, you make more money. The key word all else depends on isn't zone, it's work.
Maybe so, her work was bad & she didn't meet line counts
.
I would rather work on 1 account and make more money, than 5 different ones! No thanks. sm
I think their new program absolutely sucks and there are a heck of a lot of people who say the sound quality is horrendous. I wasn't sticking around to find out. I made my decision as soon as I saw what it was about and knew it would slow me way down. Hey, to each their own. If you like it, fine. I am happy about my decision and glad I did it.
I work on that account, NO problems with line counts or the requirements! sm

I have heard of putting the entire team on QA, I have had it happen before.  I got released back after 24 hrs because I was fine.


There are issues with a couple of things on that account.  It will likely come down to some of the MTs not being allowed to work on that account any longer, which leaves more work for the rest of us.  The communication about the issues they are now addressing with 100% QA for all of us have been thorough and when I have not understood something I have asked for clarification.  I have one concern that I feel certain they will call me on and that is fine because I can alter my ways and make sure it is right.


I don't know what is wrong with some of you. I suppose there are MTs who don't believe in doing the job 110%.  If you are productive AND accurate, you can make very good money at TT, I certainly do. If you think the pay is low, move on...if you are good enough to find another job.  TT is a CHOICE for me because when I was looking last fall, I had no fewer than 10 offers and entertained them all, but went to work for TT because I felt I would be happy there.  No surprise to me, I am extremely happy. 


The 100% QA is not something I am taking personally because it would seem to me that the only way to address the issues at hand is to do this very thing.


I make 4 cents a line, work part and make
over $500 a week on part.
No, you won't make more money unless you do triple the work load. sm
Instead of transcribing 1200 to 2000 lines a day, you will need to edit 4000 to 5000 lines a day.

That is very difficult most days, the most I did, and this is with 5 years experience, was 3800 a day, and that is not consistent.

So, 3800 lines x what are you being paid 5 cpl = $190. I have to tell you 3800 lines of editing a day is tough to do most days. I had days where I could barely get 2000 done. It all depends on how recognized the dictator is and how many small errors are in the report.


I work at DDS and love it. Make great money!

I am on a new account, doing work types I cant make money on. nm
xxx
I do ER and basic 4 work and make excellent money
NM
Anyone who is hired for one work type only should make less money (IMO)
nm
I work on Docuscribe (not MQ) and have also worked on Chartscript in the past. My line counts went
down significantly when I went to the DQS platform.  Don't know if it is being manipulated or not, just simply stating the facts as I have seen them.
I recommend Keystrokes too. I make great money, have a lot of work and have sm
been around the block a time or two.

I have worked for them for 6 months but had worked for them previously (in 2003). I left for several reasons but all of them have been resolved. I think a big part of the improvement is due to direct deposit and the office. When I worked for them before, the owner ran things from her home office but now there is an office that has a lot (not sure how many) people in it and I can get answers and help quickly when I need it.

I think that they had some growing pains but resolved them. I know that they are still growing, even faster than ever from what my lead tells me. If you have a lot of hospital experience, they are hiring for two new accounts and need good MTs.


Low line counts; paying long distance; getting crap work skipped by others.
xx
You wont make any money with them. Expect to get ripped out. The hospital they do work for should...
be ashamed to sent their work to Indian companies like treat their employees like crap. You can bet the hospital pays full price, but once the MTs get their part, it is minimal. Dont go there!!
I have dial-up and make money. I download my work and I can start transcribing

as soon as the first report has downloaded.  Once I download I disconnect, do my work, then connect and send my completed work.   I usually start my download in the morning then go take my shower, feed all the animals, grab myself something to drink and I'm ready to go.   Once the work is downloaded what type of connection you have doesn't matter.  


Sure it is safe to post your resume on the net, provided it is a reputable site.  I would not just post it anywhere, but post it on the job boards here and other reputable sites.   Most sites have some type of safeguards in place so that you have to have registered with the site and/or paid a usage fee to view information like addresses and phone numbers, so that not just anyone can view the information. 


Another option may be an account that has C-phone or similar accounts, where you aren't downloading, but dialing directly into the system. 


 


My account went to India, have been struggling to make any money for the last month, crappy work. nm
xx
She is talking about QA and money is not tops. It is line pay for junk work.
They need to pay by the hour like they used to.
Amherst so we make less money and they get more money for MQ and bigger bonuses. Our guidelines came
from Amherst.
yep, gotta spend money to make money. NM
.
Yes to old reports! Their ExText has all the regular functions except line counts are done on line
s
Line counts - the lower the line count requirements
the harder the account and problems with trying to get production off the platform the company uses.
I doubt you will make enough money in 5 hours a week to make
nm
I work on Dictaphone ExSpeech and make .04 per line.
x
Again, we make pretty big concessions to be in our line of work ...
First of all, I'd like to see this 'lucky enough to work out of the comfort of our own homes' stuff abolished. Many, many professions now work at home, and they do NOT accept a substandard quality of treatment because of that.

I know dozens upon dozens of coders, graphic designers, and support staff who work at home - BY THE HOUR - and get paid for the time in which they are working (or the time in which they are scheduled to be working, but have no work to do).

Let's say I make 9 cpl doing clinic notes (which is a really good gig, if I did that, but that's definitely NOT standard), and I make $19 an hour.

However, the first half hour that I work is answering work emails, starting my day, gathering the info I need, etc. Then, there's another half hour throughout my day that I spend answering emails or instant messages. Then, there's an hour or two during my day where I'm out of work because the company has over hired. Then, at the end of my day, I spend another half hour tallying my line counts, finishing up emails, and filling out a time sheet.

How much am I actually making per hour now?

Now, as a true fact, back when I started in transcription 12 years ago, I did start at 9 cpl. And I had an IC job that paid 13 cpl.

Earlier this year, I had to look for a new company to work for, and I was blatantly told several times by several 'reputable' companies that they would absolutely not start anyone, regardless of experience, over 8 cpl.

In no other profession would you find this, except maybe (MAYBE) fast food or waitressing.

The bitterness many MTs feel makes sense. We are asked to do many things outside of our work time that brings our actual hourly wages down. We are asked to sit for hours and scrounge for work, all without pay. We are consistently stripped of benefits like holiday pay and vacation pay. We are never rewarded for the years we have put into our careers or the knowledge we've gained because of that. We are very, very occasionally thanked (in mass emails) for the hard work we put in, and then immediately asked to flex our time regardless of the lives we have planned in order to suit the needs of our company. Our only hope for more money is to work more hours, or to somehow make our fingers faster and the dictators more audible. We are never, ever able to be dependent on our paychecks, because our line counts vary paycheck to paycheck due to fluctuating work. And, more than anything, we're treated as numbers (by many, but not all), and expendable because we're faceless, personality-less drones.

But it's our fault as much as it's the companies' faults. We've allowed ourselves to be treated this way. We've told ourselves things like, 'Oh well. At least I can do this in my pajamas.'

Can you imagine a coder in a hospital being asked to leave for three hours a day on random days of the week, only to be asked to come back and work those three hours at some time after 7 p.m.? Can you imagine an accountant being told that they are not to conduct company business like responding to or sending emails during their work hours, and that they have to do it on their own time without pay?

I don't condone whining, and I don't think dwelling in negativity is the answer to our problems. I also agree that the complaining can be easily misconstrued as selfish.

But I DO congratulate those who are constructively doing something to elevate our profession to a new level. Even if it backfires, even if it's all for naught, and even if it's misguided, at least it's not just sitting around and complaining anymore.

I didn't take the posts as trashing the company, just people venting about no work. sm
I used to work for TT, and yes, they are wonderful people -- very caring and supportive -- but in order to get my lines in, I had to be VERY flexible, working on my days off, during times I wasn't scheduled, etc., and it gets old pretty quickly.  I personally didn't care for the e-mails calling me sweetie or telling me you rock, but that's just me.  I just want to be paid well and have plentiful work.  I do not know if they just overhire or what happens, but I finally left because I couldn't stand the feast or famine work flow there.
Getting line counts up

I recently was hired for a national company, after having worked in-house for about 5 years in a physical therapy clinic.  I'm still in the training status.  Every day when I check my line count, I cannot believe it!  It's in the 200-250 area.  I know I'm slow, having to look up almost all drugs, many procedures, etc., and I'm adding to the expander program every day, but I don't see how I can get a lot faster.  We don't get credit for header information and oftentimes this takes several minutes to look up, add to, correct.


Any suggestions/comments are welcome!


 


Line counts

Does anyone out there or has anyone out there worked for Transtech Medical Solutions and if so could you provide some input on their line counts and why there are 3 different platforms to figure your lines that give you 3 different figures and final line count is lower than those 3 platforms.  Any info would be appreciated.


Thanks


LINE COUNTS
Be that as it may but have you have problems with your line count W?
line counts
I was given $10 guaranteed hourly for the first pay period, unless I did more than the 12,000 lines. That was a joke because I, like you, was, and still am, getting awful dictators. I did not make the 12,000 line requirement until 5 pay periods later. You will get there.....eventually. I can only dream what my line count would be if I had some decent dictators!
Line Counts
Line counts are pretty easy to get.  I don't have any problem, but of course, the longer you are with any company/account, the easier line counts get.  They require 150 lph, but they aren't sticklers about it, if you don't.  (It took me a few months to get to 150, but then after that, 175-180 is about the norm).  They let you pick your schedule.  They are pretty flexible with that.  I work a split shift and it works out great.  They have excellent shift differentials.  They use Shorthand as their Expander and if you're already using it, you can transfer it in.  They have quality equipment.  You don't spend a lot of time waiting.  As far as demographics go, for the most part, it all pre-fills.  Occasionally, you will get a patient you have to look up the name for, but it's easy and doesn't take long.  It's an easy system to get used to, as well.  You don't have to have 6 different windows open to do one thing.  They have normals and examples easily available for different dictators, etc.  Overall, it's definitely worth applying and taking the test.  (The tests have caused problems for some folks - there's a written one and then 3 or 4 dictation samples).
Line counts

I sure did not have trouble getting between 250-350 lines per hour when I was with MDI at 11 cpl.  I quit to take a radiology position that pays gross.  The Bayscribe platform is very user friendly and I never had trouble with any of my accounts (2). 


Line Counts
I average 250-300+ lph on my acute care account at MDI.
line counts
I most certainly did read it.  I was stating that when I paste report into Word it does agree with the DQS line count, not that it does not agree. 
Line counts

It really depends on how many characters you do in a day.  For instance, if your total chars are 50,000 - then divide that by 65 csl and you get 769 lines total.  And the same for a 72 csl - divided by 72 would be 694 lines total.


So the more chars you type the more lines it turns out to be.  Figure 85,000 chars would get you 1,307 lines!


csmr-mt


Line counts

Again, I want to ask what can be done bout something... The way are lines are calculated by the MTs is to take 24 x the number of reports we have done in a day and that is just a guesstimate I am told.  The owner has a line-counting program called Docu-Count and we do not have have access to that program.  Again, when we get our paychecks.. it just shows the line count but we have no way of knowing exactly what our line count is compared to the what the owner comes up with.  I have asked a person there at the office who helps with payroll and explained that my line counting program comes up a lot more than the one they use at the office and the response to me was I have to go.  Does anyone besides me find this odd and know what I can do about it.. Im afraid to ask him for fear that I will lose my job and I need this job right now.  TIA.   


line counts

Well, that's good to know.  Do you know if we are paid for the headings in the report? I think that might make the difference.  I literally go from one IC job in the morning, making right at 300 lph, to struggling for 200 to 225 at Precyse.  If we are paid for the headings (which we should be, because they don't appear out of thin air and they all take at least 3 keystrokes), then maybe I'm just too tired to pull off 300 lph at a second job. 


TT Line counts

Since the Ichart line counting program for TT has been having problems, I have noticed that my line counts have gone down.  Has anyone else experienced this problem?  I am starting to get worried about it.


TIA


 


 


line counts
anyone working for TTS having trouble with their line counts?
TTS line counts
An email was sent out to all about that earlier. It appears to be an ongoing issue with Dictaphone, and probably something they have no control over. I am sure they will get it straightened out soon, they can't afford not to.
Line counts
Let me ask you this then, to whose benefit is this equipment geared to - not to increase an MTs productivity, give me a break!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ichart service, Dictaphone can help you assess the true cost of your current transcription infrastructure.

Past audits have revealed some of the following billing discrepancies:

Inadequate Billing Detail.
No true MT line counting standards for billing.
Challenging Audit Trail and Process.
Special Characters Can Inflate Line Counts By 15%.
Invisible Characters Can Inflate Line Counts Up To 20-40%!
Poorly Designed Templates can lead to Excessive Line Counts.
Multi-page Reports can Drive Excessive Characters and/or hidden words.
Line Counts

Not too long ago there were numerous posts regarding Transtech and the line count situation.  I was just wondering if any TransTech employees are still experiencing discrepancies with their line counts.


Thanks


Line Counts
Nope...no problems now or ever. The Dictaphone system might lag from time to time, but it's not TransTech's fault. It's no big deal at all. All we have to do is just wait a couple of hours and the lines count program calculates out. There's just a short lag. I've never lost so much as a character.
line counts
Do you use your own line counter and if so what kind do you use?
line counts are off
If you dont use you own counter to compare then of course you would not notice a discrepancy but if you use your own line counter and your counts are close to what I-Chart then what line counter are you using.
line counts
Yes I have talked with management repeatedly to no avail which is why I posted the question here. It just might be that I am not using the right kind of line counter or have not set my variables correctly. The reason I asked the question is that if others are using their own line counters and their counts are relatively close to I-Chart then I wanted to find out what they were using so that I too could try that and see what happens from there. So, if you are using your own counter if you could tell me what you use that would be very much appreciated.