We worked out of a pool, and when a report came up from a cruddy dictator (sm)
Posted By: duck on 2005-08-30
In Reply to: Documed - Avenger
they would hit "1" and send it back to the pool so the next Transcriptionist would get it. It was so obvious, as soon as you went on in the morning the first few reports you got would be from the most God-awful ESLs and you can see that they were dictated the previous day, but then all of a sudden you start getting jobs that were dictated just an hour before.
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Years ago I worked for PHNS and it was a pool - sm
which I don't know if that is what you do, or if it is assigned doctors who you do the same ones day in and day out. But when I first started I only had PT in my pool, then I ASKED for more work to expand my horizons and obviously to make more money as PT would run out from time to time. I ended up probably with 300+ doctors in my work pool, more than enough work to go around then. As CB says above, you need to go and ask for more, it is the only way you are going to get enough work.
did she say in a pool or in a pool to be CONTACTED?
Are you talking about MxSecure?
I had a dictator like that once. (sm)
At first, I found it to be very irritating, but then I started to feel sorry for the guy.
Then, a couple months ago, I had a ministroke and now have intermittent difficulty with, not so much stuttering, but stammering/stuttering sometimes when I speak, as if the connection has broken somewhere between my brain and my mouth.
It happened to me recently when I was on the phone with someone from my doctor's office, and I started crying because I was so embarrassed and frustrated.
In something as important as dictating a patient's medical record, I think someone should gently bring this to the doc's attention, though maybe it embarrasses him as much as it embarrasses me.
On the other hand, with some USA companies outsourcing American work to foreign countries, obviously somewhere along the line, somebody stopped caring about accuracy (and confidentiality and HIPAA laws, etc.), IMHO.
ESL - SPANISH DICTATOR
AND UNFORTUNATELY NOT AN 800 NUMBER FOR DIAL IN TO GET THE DICTATIONS. Hospital will not invest the money to make the wave files available either. I just read this posting. I didn't see the others that were posting bad things about me until tonight. Some people just don't accept that you need excellent skills to make top money. Nothing comes easy. Thus my offer to pay more just to get this guy done. Thank you for all of your help. Karen
Not necessarily-if you get a bad dictator -- sm
your production is hurt whether you are experienced or not. Fast production not only depends on the MT's ability but the quality of the dictator and how fast or slow they speak or how clear the speak.
A person with more experience will leave far less blanks but will still be limited on how fast she/he is. Thus they deserve to be paid more than 7 cpl.
SR is not the problem, the dictator is
The problem is not with the product (SR) but with the person using it. You can't just install the program, start dictating, and see perfection appear on the screen. There's a lot involved with the training process, which never ends. It's really no different than building up an expansion program. The more time and effort you put into make entries, the better your line count will ultimately be.
I also work with SR every day, but I use the product instead of the keyboard. Previously, with the use of an expansion program, I had to kill myself to hit 1800 lines in a 9-hour day. Now, I can whip out at least 3000 lines in an 8-hour day (6-1/2 to 7 hours of dictating and about an hour of proofing). Any mistakes which I do have are my fault ... I did not articulate/enunciate correctly.
SR was once a product I wanted to use, 'cause I thought it would make this work more enjoyable. Now, it's a necessity. More than 30 years of MT has led to repetitive stress injuries (bilateral CTS and right cubital tunnel syndrome).
Sometimes I wish there were MTs who lived close to me, 'cause I would invite them over so they could see how well SR works, when it's been trained correctly.
But if that is the type of dictator that you will be doing, isn't it best for both of you sm
to know how you will do? If you can't do whatever kind of awful dictation they have, then they need to know. AND, most importantly, if that's the kind of dictation you would be facing every day, then YOU need to know so you can say no, thank you. I know if I tested and had Mr Dream Doc for the test and then started working for the company and had Mr Devil Dictator every day, I'd feel like they did a bait and switch.
Just my opinion. Good luck! 
Yes, very serious; however, 700 lph is not the norm every day. It just depends on the dictator. Th
Sometimes the reports are 98% accurate and sometimes, depending on the dictator, they are 90% accurate. As you know in this field, it depends on the day and dictator. The daily average, after all is said and done, is about 600 lph, 700 is on the very high end and not a consistent average every day.
Will the dictator change? Could end up being a foreigner (sm)
talking over that incessant sound of running water I always hear in path reports. I wouldn't do it.
I truly think that if every doctor or dictator had to spend
was forced to listen to themselves for a period of time...say an hour or two, I would almost bet the farm that a lot of mumblemouths, yawners, eaters, and people who dictate in the bathroom while they are flushing would change their habits radically. Or sending their dictation EXACTLY the way they say it...um...uh...uh...ummmm........hmmmm.........dead air....You know the ones.
No one will ever convince me differently. LOL. IN a perfect world maybe. in the MT world??? Not!!!
Thanks for that info! No way am I muddling through a dictator like that
xx
As I said, it is going to depend on the dictator's style.
My doctors dictate a lot of lines like:
MEDICATIONS: None.
ALLERGIES: No known drug allergies.
That is why I was saying it would be good if you have a lot of short lines. It also would depend on the page format. With the page format we use, each line is approximately 65 characters, so if the doctor dictated a lot in paragraph form versus the short lines, then it would indeed be a paycut. All I was suggesting was that you really can't judge the pay rate as there are so many variables that go into it. It ould be decent pay with the right conditions. As I said, with just the one report, I would have made $3 more. Times that by the 20 reports I do a day and that is a huge difference.
I agree though about the software. Not going to take the chance of buying expensive software only to find out that the job isn't going to work out in the end a month or two down the road.
Everytime I start this dictator she has a mouthful
of gum, candy, ?? swishing around in her mouth. How rude can you get? Even if she is not sucking, chewing or whatever she is rolling that crap around in her mouth and then there is this physician who cannot pronounce her medical terms and yet she seems like she needs to snort something back every sentence. Just gross!!
YES! I will get numerous reports from the same ugly dictator
8 times in one night -- these H&P's being 6 plus hours old, and each dictated with plenty of time in between, my knowing that there were other dictators dictating in between his -- so know that they have been holding them for me after the day shift gets off. They don't delay H&P's getting out for this many hours, so it is so very obvious what is taking place. I don't like companies manipulating the system for their favorites.
I absolutely despise this practice by a company.
You're assuming this is a sweetheart dictator ... sm
With a good dictator that knows what he/she wants to say and says it, without all the ...uh....ah....mmmm.....ah.....ugh, ad nauseum... rudely shuffles papers while you're waiting for the next sound ... without the courtesy of shutting the machine off while they steal even more of your time....yes, without all this inconsiderate behavior on the part of dictators...the above equation would probably be correct.
I agree that the dictator on the 1st test file...
is difficult to hear in places. I'm going to try and re-record it in WavePad to see if I can't boost up the audio a bit. I could hear the 2nd and 3rd files much better. I've still got to proof my files and then will send them in.
I find it varies widely by dictator
Caveat up front: I've only been on VR less than 6 months. More experienced MT editors might have a completely different VR experience.
That said, I notice the big factors in how many LPH I can do with it are (1) how long the dictating provider has been using the VR system and how many times s/he's been through readaptation, (2) whether the dictator is ESL. The software so far seems to favor native speakers over ESL's; it 'gets' the native speaker's speech pattern faster.
I am looking for quality, myself. The temptation to 'skim' is there with this kind of work, but I'm too afraid I'll make critical errors that way.
If I have a good dictator who's been readapted a few times, I can get by with little editing and average 400 lph. Most of the editing I do in that capacity is formatting, and a few good ShortHand entries can make a world of difference in speeding that up. I'd say definitely visit the Community page Training tab if you haven't already.
With a new and/or ESL dictator, though, I admit it: It's faster for me to straight-type it. So I do, because I can get between 300 and 350 lph that way. Editing might easily drop me down to that 200 lph ceiling you're struggling with. I don't know if that will always be so, or if, as I get more used to the rhythm of editing, it will become second nature and go faster. But right now, if the report's bad enough I simply transcribe it.
Again, just my experience so far.
Yes, if gross line count and easy dictator
to start with.
6 cents a line for surgical reports for an ESL dictator? Are you NUTS??
I'm just absolutely appalled and disgusted... 
Could be that you are in a work pool and...sm
...work filters through chronologically in order of TAT.
It's common for companies to put 2, 3 or 4 hospitals in one work pool. Sometimes these are under the same corporate umbrella. You might have 4 hospitals run by corporation ABC - they are in different locations geographically, but in the same pool.
Typing pool
Has anybody out there been in a typing pool and always running out of work? I find it very frustrating when there is work in the pool and all of a sudden every MT is on line. By the time you finish a report almost all of the work is gone and you are screwed and not making hardly anything. Has anybody experienced this? This month has been so slow it's ridiculous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
hospital, no pool, just take what's there. nm
nm
no, usually you are in a pool; if they have many specialites....
you can end up on an account where you as the new guy get the ones nobody else wants to do; that happens; I've been there.
IC, 12 or 24 TAT, work from pool when I am available?
Is this actually offered anywhere? Some days I have plenty of spare time, some days I have none. I would like something to fill the gaps. Any suggestions?
OSi. How's the work pool s/m
The recruiter assured me plenty of work, but I have heard that is not the case. Wanting to leave my current company, but can't if the $$$ isn't there.
exactly. That's why I also mentioned POOL
/
That pool thing ?
Definitely not you. Probably just the pool of We don't know what we are doing here, we need help but we can't get it through our skulls that we need to hire good MTs which would take the burden off every entity of our organization and then treat them well and pay them fairly so they will stay with us and never create this situation over and over again and time and time again of losing clients, getting new clients, hiring, overhiring, laying off or running out of work. We simply have not figured out that stopping this repetitive cycle and treating our MTs well would only cause us to be more profitable. Amazes me that I have never found a company that has figured this out. I am really surprised with all the mismanagement anyone of them stays in business. Somehow they do because we all need to work and just put up with it, I guess. Good luck to you though, its kinda crappy in this profession most days.
I am an IC, and I basically type from a pool.
The work is available for me to get and return in 24 hours from the time of dictation. I have come to learn when the work is there. I do all clinic though. Some companies require ICs to have set hours, but I don't think that is right.
Of course some companies will ask when you're available, but most that know the true meaning of IC do not care what hours you work as long as you get the work back in a timely manner.
I have my own accounts as well, so that would not apply as far as getting lines because I charge all different amounts. One is subcontracted, I pick-up and deliver. IC offers flexibility at least in my eyes.
I don't know anything about Tera Nova - sorry!
We don't have the pool any longer- we moved
A Mexican family. So, I'm not paying for anything. The pool installers were American and lazy, broke the filter, and took all day and night and brought theird kids to play on my swing set and requested soda. The Mexican landscapers required no water, did not ask to use my toilet, and were done in one-half day with a lot of digging and a lot of stone work that would have taken a lot longer if they didn't work as hard as they did in the blazing sun. The American installers did nothing but cuss, moan, and complain about the heat.
As far as healthcare, we'll be paying more anyway once Hillary gives everyone who can't afford healthcare, free healthcare. Too bad, Americans are too lazy to work harder and smarter. I'm all American, born and raised, and I work very hard, but hey if the foreign entity comes along (like it did on my hospital job) and says they can do it cheaper, then what can I do?
Right now, they seem to be pulling VR editors from their MT pool nm
nm
SoftScripts work pool?
Is it fairly steady? Plenty of work to go around.?
As an IC, I prefer pool work.
I have done pool work and been assigned docs and I prefer working a pool. When I was assigned docs, my lines varied so much. I never knew how much I was going to get each day. Some days I would get over 1500 lines, some days only 500. It made it very hard to plan my day as I never knew how long I was going to have to work. I never made enough money, yet I found it hard to work a second job as some weeks I would be loaded down with work from company 1 and not have time to work my commited lines for company 2, yet the following week I would get very few lines. Working a pool, I know I can get in at least 1000 lines a day every day (rarely have issues on my account with not enough work and usually do anywhere from 1500-2200). I don't have to guess how much I am going to make that day as I am in control of how many lines I take versus someone else sending the work.
Also, as soon as I get up, I can start working (like to start my day around 4 a.m. and be done around noon). I don't have to sit around wondering when my reports are going to be sent to me and waste half the day waiting when the company decides to send them at 4 p.m. instead of the usual 9 a.m.
Also, when only assigned 1 or 2 docs, if they take vacation, you are typically out of work for a week or two with little to no notice (at least in my experience). With a pool, you don't have that problem. If a doc goes on vacation, you have plenty of others to transcribe for. I also tend to get bored easily, so I prefer transcribing for multiple docs. I transcribe for about 15 docs now and I am very familiar with each of them and can transcribe over 250 lph. This would be different though if I was transcribing acute care and had 100+ docs though. But in that instance, pool work is better as it makes TAT faster.
Guess it is good that each company does it different so we can each find what works for us.
Throw a VR back into the pool?
My company has stated if this were the case, you could be terminated. I do not like to straight type anymore so definitely would not want to throw away a VR report.
quarterly bonus from company pool?
Anyone here work for a company that offers a quarterly bonus that comes from a pool set aside by the company and the transcribers who qualify for the bonus, split it at the end of the quarter? Just wondering, if any, are you bonus checks worth the hassle? Are they decent checks? Thanks for all replies.
I know the MTs that work this acct. load them from a pool. However, sm
I think that is a very good idea - batching docs and/or specialties together. I wonder why they don't do that, and I am going to ask! Thanks! If you saw my post above, there are a total of 37 specialties on my list, made up of approx. 4-5 docs in each specialty, so I'm looking at learning well over 100 doctors in only 40 hrs. of training? That's a joke.
Have 3 primaries and then go into the pool rarely, but always have work sm
You get 20 different accounts every day? I feel for you. In the beginning of last year, I was doing as many as 15 accounts. Since at least November, I rarely go into the pool. Maybe you can switch accounts?
Ha! This is what dropped into my pool of its own accord. It was a "pocket" and that happens s
I am NO ONE'S PET.
Fair? Just curious, why does all the work in a pool go to
the same people and some don't get anything except what they can scrap up? Just curious about this
My guess is someone messed up the pool scripts sm
which determines how the work is routed. I had work until about 1 on my primary and then moved over to my secondary and scraped together the last 200 lines. For the last 3 weeks I have been running out on my primary at 9:30 in the morning.
I am in a pool... see inside for the boring details :)
When I started with TRS I was a 36-year clinical-only MT, and the reason I took the job with TRS was, among other things, the fact that they offered to up-train me into acute care. (In fact I applied at Transcend just before I applied at TRS and they said no thanks, don't call us and we won't call you, and they wouldn't even let me TRY the freakin' TEST, so I find it mildly amusing that now they've got me anyway.)
But I digress. Anyway... at first I was assigned to a somewhat-limited pool on a large hospital account (an account that was brand-new to TRS and in fact I think we stole it from 'the Q') and all I was doing to start with was discharge summaries and letters. Well, once I got used to all the different voices, I started begging for at least some consults and H & Ps because even though I had only done 'clinical' before, I had done literally thousands of excruciatingly-detailed consults and H & Ps for internal medicine, hematology-oncology, orthopedics, and a few others I can't think of right now, over the years.
Then, apparently because I could actually do the work (plus I got kicked off the usual 1-month mentoring full-QA program after only 10 days, because it was mostly a waste of their time to full-QA me), they started trying me on another account, which I was later told was the VERY HARDEST account TRS had in its inventory, and before long I was in the 'all-work pool.'
So now the 'hard' account is my primary, the original account (still with only discharge summaries and letters) is my secondary, and I also have a tertiary (which fortunately I don't get hit with very often because it has REALLY CRAPPY sound 'quality', scratchy phone lines or something) on which I seem to be on just consults, progress notes, discharge summaries, and H & Ps.
I am told that the 'goal' at Transcend is to have everyone working something like 80% on their primary account, with the other 20% on secondary and tertiary, with no more than 3 accounts (except perhaps in extraordinary circumstances), mostly so there would be fewer account instructions to keep track of.
I can't find out how many physicians practice at the hospital that is my primary account (short of manually counting them) but it is a 350-bed hospital where they do pretty much everything. Just on a rough guess, there might be around 100 dictators I run into. A certain number of RNs and PAs dictate in addition to the doctors.
They keep me on that 'hardest' account because I am actually pretty good at deciphering most of it. Of course there are a couple of real 'problem children' still, and they usually have as many blanks after QA gets done with them as they did when I gave up on them, so that makes me feel better.
Not only that... our people are very proactive about actually talking to the clients to try to resolve problems. One of the worst dictators was just recently talked to and she has gotten a whole lot better. I e-mailed the liaison to report that, and asked them to please pass the word along that this doctor's dictation had indeed gotten a lot better and we, the poor saps at the other end of that phone line, really and truly appreciate her efforts....
Anyway. I had better get back to the work that is actually available this morning....
Anything else anybody wants to know, just ask, and I'll try to answer as best I can. :)
Friend of mine cleared out pool for incentive - never got it
and now theyve bounced her fourth or fifth check. She's been gone for months and they're STILL messing with her
Do any companies let you specialize rather than work out of a huge pool? nm
nm
Not to be referred to as a "scribe" or "typist" or "typing pool." nm
x
WEBMEDX- Assigned acct or pool and how is the platform?
ds
Bring up again - companies that allow small pool of doctors versus
nm
Yes, the pool to be contacted, should have made that clearer, and yes, MXSecure is the company I'
nm
Can you say where you work if you get assigned docs/accts.? I'm tired of this pool garbage/left
s
If you do not comply with their PC check on your personal computer, Acusis will close your work pool
nm
Cherrypicking is when you work from a pool of jobs and being able to reject the worst jobs to those
,
Anyone know a company that works with small pool of doctors? Tired of so many doctors nm
nm
Quick, the gene pool need a quick Clorox!
s
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