You are correct, Alice.
Posted By: landroverlady on 2009-10-05
In Reply to: Not sure there is an answer - Alice
That is what I believe to. A run around. I would like to give an ultimatum but I do like where I am but I am putting my resume out there just in case I have to do just that. And to the other poster, yes, it is stated in our contract that after a year we will be considered for a raise. I have gone above and beyond what has been asked of me for that year, definitely not just doing enough work, etc. Ten hour days and even weekends when they need it. All I want is an answer. I think I have earned that. I just wondered if this has ever happened to anyone and how they handled it. BTW, I worked for 10 years with the same place before this and never go a raise. This time is a completely different situation.
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Alice
The famous person who said it was Albert Einsten. I was where you were now until I signed on with MDI. They are the decent, honest company that is the exception to the rule. I have been MTing for many, many years and am still shocked at the companies out there that want to exploit the MT. Fortunately, MDI is not one of them.
Alice,
That should be Einstein, NOT Einsten. Can you tell I have been working all day? No work shortage here.
Alice
It is the same company. I am sorry it turned out that way for you. I hope you find something good.
Alice
I thought of contacting them, too, but decided why bother? I was just shocked. I mean, apart from a complete lack of business etiquette, this woman couldn't even speak correctly. Yuh know, that there stuff called grammar? Well, she didn't understand a lick of it. I was appalled--could hardly believe that any company would have someone like that representing them on the phone.
Alice
I think that what you are seeing is basically human nature at work. I don't know what the recruiter said or did not say, but please remember that being a recruiter is basically a sales job. Companies hire more people than they need because it is all about TAT. It is a standard for many companies (but not all) today, sadly.
Thanks, Alice
I appreciate you sharing your experience with Archivus. Sorry things did not go better for you there (are you still there now?). I guess the encouraging information is that they do have work, unlike some of the other companies that have a line requirement and do not have enough work for the MTs to meet quota (? just guessing that no news is good news here).
Thanks again for taking the time to respond.
Have a great night!
Thanks, Alice
Your post is so articulate!
And your points are well taken.
For me, as much as I oppose NAFTA-like policies, I am not opposed to global trade.
In other words, I opposed the NAFTA (North American FREE Trade Agreement) not because it opened up markets, but because FAIRNESS should have been the F in nafta, not FREE. The agreement also provided insufficient consideration for environmental issues.
When I think about the poorest people in the world who HAVE benefitted from the global economy - if even a small amount - I cannot find it in my heart to resent them for it. They are just as human as I am.
To me, these issues are NOT black and white. If we have ANY hope of leveling the playing field, the FIRST thing to do is to become educated about the POLICIES our own government is enacting that have a DIRECT impact on our daily lives.
I hate to be a drone on capitalism, but it is just a fact that capitalism will always drive companies to put profit ahead of the needs of its workers.
I am not going to pretend I have the magic recipe for a system that allows free enterprise and at the same time PROPERLY considers its workers, but I have no doubt such a system is possible.
But if Americans think they will effect REAL CHANGE by sitting back and letting politicians continue to MAKE THE LAWS THAT FAVOR CORPORATIONS, they are truly fooled.
This is NOT about PARTY A versus PARTY B, it's about the need for a real hard look at our entire economic system - unless we are happy to continue to watch it, quote work unquote, for so FEW.
Alice
Well MQ was (and IS) traded on the stock market and I would hardly say they are an ideal company. This people worship at the Shrine of Fort Knox.
Alice and Digging In, SM
Sorry about getting your name wrong, Alice. I use Shorthand, but InstantText's method is probably much the same.
Digging, if you don't have one of those I very strongly recommend it, although Word does have a macro creation function. But whatever you do, if you're working on an employer's program, get your own program that stays with you no matter what.
In Shorthand, when I open the window where you add entries, there's a record Keystrokes button on the side. I hit that and it returns me to the text page, where I type the keystrokes as usual. When I'm finished, I hit the stop button which has appeared on the screen and give my new macro a name, which is 1, 2, or 3 letters/number/figures at most.
It's as simple as that for literally hundreds of basic corrections. Like my KK, which hyphenates two words by backing one space, inserting the dash, and returning the cursor to the next word beyond.
qiq, which erases q.i.d. and types 4 times a day for me.
Z backs up and inserts a comma, then returns to the next word.
F toggles letters into upper and lower case. I use this one thousands of times a day, but I had to copy the keystrokes from the people at productivitytalk.com because I'm no good at this stuff and my attempts to just record it didn't work. An absolute must-have! I can't believe I typed for years without it.
Virtually everthing you do, copying admit diagnoses and putting them under a new discharge dx heading, breaking up run-on sentences into two, etc., can be reduced to a tap of a key or two as you cruise by. I don't see most of my corrections occur, I'm already gone.
Be sure to check your lines per minute before you start so you can recheck them after a week of using the first few you record. You're going to love it!
I agree with Alice!!
I was with Focus for almost 5 years and I quit on Tuesday. There is no work; I miss my Indian managers who made sure there was enough work to go around. The new management is the worst!! Within her first month on the job, she has lost one account with one more almost gone. The hospital I was working on - the docs keep disappearing so it's obvious that account is firing Focus, phasing them out. So - not even 2 months on the job and she's lost 2 hospitals? I wanted something growing - not shrinking!  I can honestly say I loved my job up until November of 2008 when new management took over and my Indian was moved. I, like a few others, hoped things would get better after new managment got settled in. That did not happen! She hired QC with transcription experience of 6 months. How can a completely inexperienced person QC any report with any degree of accuracy? This person pends all reports - even stats - to the hospital. My thought: Why hire QC? Let MTs pend directly to the hospital since QC is incapable and cannot do their job? Eliminate it! I did not appreciate QC asking me about formatting reports, asking about doctors on the hospital when she should know that - after all, she was QC-ing my work since I was an MT!! QC asking MTs how to do her job?? Enough was enough! I left...but will always be thankful for having had the Indian folks I worked with. They were truly second to none and I find it really sad to watch their years of dedication and hard work go down the drain in less than 3-6 months after new management started on their accounts!
i didn's see any name calling from Alice
you lost me...
Alice, while that is a wonderful thought
it isn't realistic. Physicians are the profit generators so no hospital is going to risk offending them. It has always been so. I would suggest that as an alternative the bad dictators be rotated among the MTs fairly, no excuses for not doing them. I once worked in a small hospital where all dictation was done by the in-house transcriptionists. There were 3 very bad dictators. We also had to rotate on pathology which I absolutely hate. I asked the other MTs if they would be willing to take my turn doing pathology if I would take all the dictation from these 3 bad dictators. All were happy and I was happy, problem solved. That's how it was in the old days. MTs got along, worked together and there was no cherry picking. It simply was not allowed by the department head, everyone was required to take the good with the bad. We didn't have computers in the old days but not everything was bad either.
Thanks, Alice, I had read all the negative posts. I just wanted to know if
anyone who worked for them had anything positive to say. The screaming b*@ch responding to this post doesn't realize that people do need to work, but some of us want to weigh all responses. I'm not living life looking through rose-colored glasses. I don't live it, either, by focusing on every negative my mind conjure up, like the whacko responder here. Good grief, talk about needing a life!
Thanks, Alice, doesn't seem anything has improved here as far as Focus.
what a clear, honest and refreshing post, thanks, Alice..nm
nm
I don't believe you are correct about tha
MQ takes out SS taxes and federal taxes, but not state taxes.
Correct me if I am wrong about this.
Yes, you are correct
I worked for them and one check bounced. They replaced the check, so I decided to call the bank and check to see if there were funds and the bank informed me that there were NO funds. Second time, before I cashed the check, I called the bank, again, no funds. I told her i would shred the checks and I wanted a money order. After that, I quit.
Deb Garrison was not rude to me BUT, the people she has working for her are very rude.
Yes, a lot of MTs quit. And they do NOT pay for spaces, they ONLY pay an 8% allowance for spaces, which is way too little.
Look elsewhere, you don't want to touch this one.
Actually if you want to correct someone...
correct yourself. It is y'all. There is no "a" in "you"...You all not Ya all...brush up on your redneck lingo.
Actually they R correct...
Any word ending in a "y" does not get the - between it and the other word, as in weight-bearing, fruit-bearing. Sorry but I used 2 work 4 the Grammar Police back in 1903.
YOU ARE CORRECT!!!
I see this every day. You are correct!!!! They need to go down. They have a program and I have seen it! They can go in at any time and go down a long list and tell it what TO COUNT and what NOT TO COUNT. Then, they can tell ya'll (because I quit MQ) whatever the heck they want to.
The hospital that I work for uses their platform and we are allowed to see how our lines are counted. HOwever, thanks to MQ, we did lose quite a bit of money thanks to MQ telling our supervisors that it is the "trend" not to pay for spaces. Thanks to MQ, I will probably have to change careers even though I absolutely adore medical transcription. I used to average $19 - $21 per hour. Now, I cannot get past $15.50 on a really good day!
Yes, that's correct.
f
That's correct, but......
MTs don't have the education/training that a physician does, either, so I don't think it is realistic to expect the same pay for what we do. Don't get me wrong here....what we do is very important, but get real if you expect to be paid as much as a physician!
Actually, that's not correct....sm
It actually states...if you wish to remain ANONYMOUS, please do NOT enter your real name and email address when making posts.. You had me worried there, lol. I had to hunt down the policies to make sure I wasn't out of bounds!!! It also states that certain actions constitute a material breach of the terms and conditions such as (amoung others), Posting material that is unlawful, obscene, defamatory, threatening, harassing, abusive, libelous, hateful, or embarrassing to any other person or entity as determined by MTStars.com in its sole discretion. IMHO, this poster is doing precisely that. All one has to do is read the tone of her messages. She is disgruntled and wants to get back at ____. I'm sorry she feels this way and I'm sorry she is making this public. I really CAN do without the drama.
And you are correct!!
Definitely is characters and spaces.
you are correct. sm
If they bash, I would sue!
You are correct - sm
You can either choose to have health benefits, (which I don't need since my husband has this through his employer), or you can have flexibility. I am finding that it is very difficult to find an MT position that offers both of these options. Right now, I need flexibility. Thanks for very bluntly helping me to make my decision!
Very well put--100% correct!
Good post!
It is Web Correct
x
You are correct. How are we to know you are
Managers on the norm do not speak with this type of tongue. Stop spreading lies. If you are a manager for Keystrokes and this is an indicator of how you speak to people, then I would not work for this company or take the benefits. Please practice what you preach and be a little more professional if it is the company's reputation you have in mind. Management should be a little more discrete and not be posting on a public board. There is a nice way to put things you know. We are not children. 
Yes, that is correct!
Synthescribe America is out of Tennessee and Synthescribe, Inc. is out of the Phillipines (they are the ones who ask you for a 3x5 photo of yourself, etc.)
The above is correct.
.
I believe this is correct
13,000 - 14,500 = .0025
14,501 - 16,000 = .0050
16,001 - 20,000 = .0075
20,000+ = .01
You are so correct!!!
I give you all the credit in the world for having your own accounts. I just got a call from a local hospital asking me to work a per diem job for one of the medical surgical floors. It will be very interesting to see how much they want to pay me an hour versus 7 cents per line. The hospital is only 5 minutes from my house. It's probably worth taking. It might get my skills up since I have never done Acute Care.
No, that's not correct
If you read the handbook it says both lines and hours, not just production.
You are 125% correct.
It is a bump in the road. She will be fine. Has happened to so many lately.
Sorry - you need to correct yourself
Employers only pay 1/2 of the SS which includes the Medicare portion -- they do not pay half of your federal INCOME tax or any of the STATE. I have done payroll for companies. They withhold your federal and state for the employee and send it into the government every quarter but they do not pay it themselves, they pay it FOR you. If they did everyone would be getting whopping returns. I have also and still am both and there is no way that my employee status pays half of my FEDERAL income tax and they do not pay anything to state. Again they withhold it for me and I get a gross and net income on my paycheck total. When I say SS I mean everything that is owed to them, SS and Medicare as they just broke that up several years ago. But you still only pay an extra 7.50 or close to that which is the half of the 15.75 which is the total that goes to SS and Medicare. They have to pay WC and unemployement but that is extra and never comes into figure when you are taking about employee vs IC.
you are correct
about not testing. However, one also is advised not to quit previous job until you are cleared from QA. I expect if you cannot be cleared in a couple weeks, you may not be retained. They expect you to pay extreme attention to detail, to learn from and implement your feedback, to have the necessary skills, discipline, etc etc. It stands to reason if they don't test, they will be more careful with who they hire, and expect more from the outset. They have a great reputation, pay better than many, and I am sure will not let poorly-skilled MTs ruin that.
You are correct about the 70%, but
percentage of ASR was actually more in the range of 75% to 90% with more and more accounts being switched to ASR.
that is correct
Yes, Webmedx has excellent insurance benefits, very similar to that of a large hospital. I just started with them one month ago and I think with a $500 deduct. and a $20 copay, they take approx. $60.00 per paycheck. That is just for me, I do not have any dependents. As far as the pay goes, it is pretty much the same as I was receiving from the company I worked for prior, but they do have incentive pay for the evening and night shifts, along with weekend shifts. So far, everyone there has been nothing but VERY NICE to me. I also heard that they were voted the #1 employer for MTs.
No you are correct
they have are not keeping their word at all
Correct.
I googled them just now and they have pages upon pages on the web on complaintsboard.com, ripoffreport.com, among others.
not correct
Apparently you are not familiar with ALL of the accounts. What the poster said is absolutely true. There are pages of patient names to look through, so not ALL of her accounts are in the system.
You are correct...
I think the software issue rides along because you actually are accessing the software through your own PC and your own internet connection as an IC. I think it would be a little different if the company controlled which PC you used, which sites you used, etc. But in essence as an IC we are using our own equipment to access the site or platform needed to transcribe the file.
I work for an online company where I use an FTP site, but it doesn't cost me anything, and I do not have set hours, quota for lines, etc. I work as much as I want when I want. It makes no difference to the contractor as they have other MTs to pick-up the slack or to cover for vaca, sick time, etc. I am an IC and it works for me. I also have 2 of my own accounts and I actually worked a little bit with the one of them as he wanted to stick with tapes and I didn't want to go digital for just one small account. So, in essence, he kind of chose the method of choice for dictation, but I agreed since it worked for me as well but my line rate reflects that deficit of having to pick-up tapes.
Yes you have to correct EVERYTHING
You have to send the report out as if you typed it yourself. If a report was 98% correct if we typed it, we wouldn't have a job now would we? I love VR, and if I get a 20-minute report that has to be actually straight typed, I find myself doing a little sigh. I would say 70% of my work is now VR. I wished it were 100%, that'd be perfect!
Let me correct you....
I worked part if the first pay period which was paid extremely late. I then worked a full 2 weeks in the next pay period which I have yet to receive. Oh - and I was paid on salary.
you are correct. They said in the sm
email the part of the account that they wouldn't be doing anymore. They also said they are going to put everyone on different accounts on Monday.
Not defending the other poster, but poster probably didn't know the e-mail that went to her wasn't correct.
Keystrokes has always kept its word when they said they will do something.
If what you say is correct, tell me this... SM
If Acusis MTs are now going to be paid what the *average* US MT is paid, can we now get away with putting out *average* work?
I waste a lot of time -- UNPAID TIME -- looking up dumb stuff. Well, no more of that. It would be showing *above average* commitment to putting out accurate and *above average* work... but if Acusis wants to pay *average* rates, that's what they'll get.
Correct
And, in actual fact, I believe it's best written as free market capitalism, although I guess a lot depends on whether the intent is free market as a noun or an adjective; a differentiation, I might point out, that VR is not going to pick up, nor will a quick glance at words on the screen.
Correct
That is why you have to do some math over a few days to find out just exactly what number YOU need with Word count as compared to it matching up exactly with the company.
You are correct...
I had a colonoscopy done 2 weeks ago. The report was printed out by the machine. Whoever typed the report did not leave a space between sentences and did not capitalize the first word of the next sentence. This report was in my face as I came out of the MAC anesthesia. HAHA! You are so right! No one cares any longer about correct anything; just get the report out! I would be more worried if I was QA at this point; who needs them? 
What you say is correct....also
This is their way of actually driving the wages down. Say you make 10 cpl. Not worth anything really if there is no work. So you move you. The next person is hired at 8 cpl. Same thing. By now they probably have it down to 6.5 cpl. Wow, look at the money they are saving. It is also to their benefit to have too many MTs sitting around not doing much but have their TAT perfect. In my opinion, this really has an affect on the quality of their medical reports and their significant need for more QA. They can get newbies (3-5 years) to take these jobs at lower wages. So what if they are not very qualified, they have their QA.
What is wrong with very experienced MTs who work hard, do more than the required minimum, are reliable, and can cut out some of your QA cost. Does that not make sense?
YOU ARE 200% CORRECT, BUT WE ALL KNOW - sm
we're being screwed over big time, used, manipulated & disrespected - sad, disgraceful how this MT biz has turned out. The MTSOs do it for 2 reasons: (1) GREED; (2) Because they CAN. They don't have to look us in the face while screwing us. Lower & lower wages, having to work time/schedules when not being paid for that time, more & more unpaid work required of us, impossible accounts/dictators, VR at 40-50% salary cut but requiring the same skill, training & knowledge. We all know I could go on and on ranting about abuses of MTs - and I'd bet if this dark side of the profession were publicized, most people would be appalled.
I was trained as an RN quite a few years ago and left in my last semester due to a MVA & always meant to return - so how did I wind up here, I ask myself?? Burt out doesn't describe it - sure, I could call errors to the doc's/QA's attention - but, unless I believe it would have a significant impact on PATIENT CARE, not the $$$ sign in the MTSO/doctor's eyes - what the heck. Flag a doctor's mistakes - like we went to medical school and they didn't - like we're getting paid 6 figures like them, instead of the 0.08 cents a line. Unpaid research for doctor names they don't have 2-3 seconds to spell. WHEN TURTLES FLY!
We're not paid to do the hospital's bookkeeping on their demographic boards but are held responsible. If the doc says, THE PATIENT HAD A TEMPERATURE OF 109 AND HE REMAINED AFEBRILE (swear on my firstborn - this happened to me a few days ago) it's supposed to be OUR job to flag it. Is it any wonder why there are no more MEN in the MT profession - not as home MTs anyway. I like to think that we are like a windmill, i.e., keep huffing and blowing and pushing and we keep turning and turning, but there comes a time when that windmill has turned as far as it can, stops, and has to go back in the opposite direction. They'll keep pushing as far as they are allowed to.
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