Aria Platform - anyone use this piece of junk?
Posted By: GotTheTShirt on 2009-06-09
In Reply to:
We're transitioning to an EMR platform called Aria with a god-awful transcription section that is a step backward from the typewriter. It's largely mouse-dependent, slow (it's through their VPN so there's often a lag on the text) and it doesn't recognize a lot of the hot keys I've utilized in Word for years. It takes me half again as long to get through a report. I'm usually busy at least 8 hours a day as it is using Word with most of the people I type - it would take me 12 hours if everyone were on this system right now.
They've also changed to a "per dictated minute" rate of pay from 65 cpl w/spaces. It's a generous per-minute rate compared to most places I've worked, and they've stated they don't want anyone losing any money in the transition, but it would take a pretty steep increase in this rate to match what I was making previously.
I'm seriously considering changing jobs, although these guys have been wonderful to work with. Does anyone out there have any experience with this platform or any tips, websites, etc., that have information on utilizing this POS to its fullest? Hate to jump ship prematurely - I know what's out there and it ain't purty! 
Complete Discussion Below:  marks the location of current message within thread
The messages you are viewing
are archived/old.
To view latest messages and participate in discussions, select
the boards given in left menu
Other related messages found in our database
I had one too!! a 1979 piece of junk.
And if that wasn't bad enough it was chocolate brown.
My blinker knob fell off and I had to shove a pair of tweezers in there to work the blinkers. I couldn't wear heels or they'd get wedged in the holes in the floor board and one tire had a big bubble in it.
I can't believe I even dared drive that thing.
Was a piece of junk..but my favorite.
It was a 1980 Chevette (or as we called it..the Shove It) lol. When I got it, it was already falling apart, but I didn't care, I was 17 and had wheels. It had NO power steering, NO power brakes, NO air, NO power at all. The seat was falling through the bottom, so when you drove, your body was tilted to the left. The horn didn't BEEP, it MOOed (not kidding). The speakers were blown so my brother wired a speaker through the front and sat it in the console...lol. Like I said it was piece of junk but was a lot of fun to drive around and I could fill it up with about $8.00. A few years later when I was working I bought a Geo Storm and I loved that car. It was actually a very nice car..but nothing tops the "Shove It."
it's not all junk on tv. you just have to weed out the junk. some is very informative.
don't watch "fake tv" as in mysteries or situation comedy so ruling that out, there is plenty of good stuff left. always wanting to learn new stuff.
yeah me too...junk, junk, more junk. But...(sm)
tech guy setup SpamBayes on my computer so that they go into a junk mail file automatically. Hope this helps...it sure helped me...don't have to see them and no danger in opening in them.
Junk faxes?? Do you know how much money you can collect from junk faxes??? It's sm
illegal and every offense is worth 100.00. I don't eveistory think you have to go to court. I'd look into it! I heard of a guy who made thousands off receiving junk faxes. I don't have a fax machine anymore..
I use Aria
One of the things I dont like about it is that for any suggestions you have to contact Varian and they will consider them in their next upgrade. Aria in general is not user friendly at all. Our IT tech has made many templates within the document system and we have to rely on the IT tech to edit anything not working properly and it takes our IT tech forever to make changes. It does not import information well (constant editing) at all and is painfully slow. I think IMPAC has a much better program where the Transcriptionist has more control over the program and is not at the mercy of an IT tech/data administrator. The data import feature was suppose to cut down on transcription time and it has if anything tripled it with the info import compared to straight typing. We do A LOT of cut and paste. When you do that in the new version, I think it's 8.1, then it locks up so you cant use your formating tool bars, the way around that is to save your doc, exit the program & then go back in to it to modify it and then the toolbars come back on. I can still use autocorrects & macros with the program though, although the Word program within Aria is just a shadow of your main Word program, so any "creation" of macros etc have to be made in the version of Word on your computer and not within Aria. I hate having to individually select pts and open the chart and wait for pages to load and auto fill, even the pts name/date slows down the system... my biggest gripe is also about the task pad - evidently that was a creation by the same jerk who invented taxes, that is a whole other issue so I wont even get into that...I would give my eye teeth to go back to using the IMPAC program. Oh the other thing that drives me nuts is we have to wait for electronic signature before printing to mail out, as there is no auto send, or print on approval wont go to transcription printer etc so you are constantly checking for approved documents to send out and we have 5 dictators so we are constantly flipping back and forth between pt manager, time planner and document approval versus it all being one program. I could just go on and on all day, I would rather at this point be typing in old school word perfect and saving it to a floppy disc. We have gone paperless at this point with no charts and scanning in documents and labeling them is a nightmare, I had a somewhat wonderful suggestion for sorting out that whole mess, but our data administrator refused to do it. To my mind, transcription should not be the mercy of an IT tech with no medical knowledge and no transcription knowledge. Another solution I can offer is to type it all in Word and then create the document and paste it into Aria, potentially without autofills it would make it somewhat faster, at least the typing portion. Hope that helps!
Aria/Word
The previous poster's reply about typing every single word and character is unfortunate because that was unnecessary, if you set up your basic Word on your computer to record your HOT keys, macros, auto corrects, they will work within Aria, remember, that Word version shadows the real program on your computer, so the dictionary had to be attached to the "real" version of Word on the computer as it will not work on the "Aria version of Word"... this is where the dictionary should have been directed to, and then anything going on with your "real" Word program does transfer over and works when you are working in Aria. Whenever there are upgrades to Aria, make sure your IT tech is backing up your macros & your "dictionary"- I add words to my spell checker all the time - in addition to the medical dictionary that I have attached to it. Unfortunately, there is no way to back up the autocorrects that we have discovered yet, so those will have to be reprogrammed. You can get Word to create a print off what is in your auto correct list so you can reload them in after Word/Aria has been reinstalled- I found this tip in Google.
Aria is not designed to have transcription
I used this garbage briefly when I worked in house for an oncology practice last year. The transcription manager spent $5k on Stedman's only to find that it wasn't compatible. She probably should have checked that out before she spent the money, huh? I worked there for four months typing every single character of every word. Fortunately we were paid hourly. Theoretically it is not compatible with Word, but we all had "normals" that we had created for the doctors that we would cut and paste into it, so I'm not sure where the incompatibility comes from. Maybe from the fact that the transcription manager wasn't that computer literate.
I had many of the same issues you do with the lag on the text. We would type and then literally have to wait a full minute for it to get onto the screen. One of the ways I found around that was to turn my computer off every night. IT told us to just log off and leave them on and when I did that I would get the lag. If I turned it off, no problems. I quite frankly didn't care what IT thought at that point.
The nice part about it is you can put some decent templates in - or whoever has access to that can. They can insert the vitals and lab work automatically if it's set up for it.
I looked at the Aria website when I was using the program and didn't see anything about transcription, so I think it's designed to truly be a point and click system with no transcription whatsoever. Some doctors are always going to want narrative reports, so a true point and click is never going to exist, imo. It's expensive, and I didn't think it was that great, at least from my viewpoint of using it. When I was at the clinic last year, they were supposedly one of the first ones to have it and they had spent some horrible amount of millions to get it.
There were ways to work around it so that we could be sort of productive - primarily with saving the normals for each individual doctor - and I don't know if they managed to get any kind of Expander or dictionary program that worked with it. The clinic I was at also didn't do their research on the sound files, which I don't think came with Aria. They had to get a separate voice recording system, and then the Transcription manager and her pseudo-assistant had to actually move the work over to each transcriptonist every day. It was horribly inefficient.
Good luck. It has a few good points, but the bad points far outweighed them from what I saw from the transcription end. I think from the practice management end it's a decent program. It was just designed by someone who had never worked with the medical records division before, imo.
MTSO with platform versus no platform (big message)
If a MTSO advertises that the MT works in MS Word and sends dictation by FTP, does this usually mean there will be no demographic/doctor database and the demographics will not be autopopulated?
I got into a mess with a small company (got out real quickly too). I was required to print out daily email copies of the doctors' office patient schedules (which were barely legible) and type in all information. I spent more time hunting for the correct patient through pages and pages of these schedules. Then I had about 25 pages worth of doctor's names that I would have to go through to find the attending, referring, etc. A total waste of time as I didn’t get paid for that.
I wish MTSO would give more information as to what platform they use (if any). Proprietary software is such a generic, totally useless description. Would they buy a new car that listed, "Car has gasoline operated motor?"
And for Pete's sakes, why so secretive about the pay? Give a ballpark figure. Just say, pay is between 7-12 cpl depending on skill, testing, etc. Tell me if you pay for spaces, headers, etc. It would save them time because I wouldn’t even apply for a 7 cpl job.
Before I spend an hour or two testing, I need more information from a company to be sure it is compatible for my needs. If the MTSO would spend a little time on their website detailing their platform, how they send/receive files, pay rates, how line rate is determined (spaces/no spaces) employee/IC/SE status, minimal line count, whether work pools consist of 100s of doctors, or smaller pools with 25-50 doctors etc. Having all this information on their website would save them time and the MTs time. Phoenix Medcom has a really good layout describing pretty much everything an MT would want to know before testing with them. I am just tired of testing with a company and then finding out the job wasn’t exactly suited to my needs. 
Junk shows.
Sad commentary, but they try to please the majority of viewers. Glad to hear I'm not the only one offended.
Junk e-mail
I get tons of junk e-mails, you know, the pass around type. I never read them. I don't have time and I have no reason to read them. I am trying to make a living! My sisters are the worst culprits! How can I get them to quit forwarding all their junk e-mails to me! One sister is always asking me "did you read the one about....." to which I respond, "No, I don't have time to read those things." She just never catches on. I don't want to be rude, but it's getting on my nerves! I know the simple answer would be to just aske them to quit but things are touchy between us and I don't want to antagonize and already less-than-perfect relationship with my sisters.
Thanks!
Don't get a Shark---it's junk. sm
I had one for about 3 months then it quit sucking altogether. I was livid. I paid $100 for it. I'm hard on vacs, too, with 2 dogs and 4 men in and out of the house and living by a cement mill. The one I have now is a Eureka EZ Kleen. My next one will be an Oreck I think.
I've tried junk in the trunk before!
Now that is one delicous cake!!!! My husband just loves it. He refers to it as the "honey bun" cake! 
The only thing left IS junk ESL-sm
Seems to me that newbies are getting trained on VR with many companies. VR gets the better dictators. Offshore is getting the simple stuff and other half of the better dictators because that's all they can handle. Experienced MTs are left with a trunk of JUNK on their systems and getting paid no more than the new grads and offshore MTs, and very few are offering us more for our skills, accuracy and ability to transcribe the more difficult accounts.
I've seen things change pretty drastically just in the few years I've been doing this work. I cannot land a decent cpl for IC anymore. I was landing better offers as a new grad than I am today with experience, and forget about landing a gravy account if you have experience. Just isn't happening! Bottom of the barrel crap is all I get with a bottom of the barrel paycheck to go along with it.  You have to work till your eyes bleed, your head's about to explode and fingers ache to make a fairly decent living, then people wonder why we are sometimes short on patience and PO'd all the time. That's exactly why! May as well be gum on a filthy shoe!
Ugh - 42 minutes of that boring junk.
Do they really think anybody is going to read all of that? Didn't any English teacher ever tell him the secret to good writing is LESS IS MORE??
How lazy not to be able to shorten it up to something brief yet complete. Shame on him. You poor thing.
Hoax junk mail
I finally stopped getting these disgusting e-mails. I e-mailed back with big red letters - "F.... you! This e-mail is forwarded to the FBI, Homeland Security, Interpol, and you are being traced as we speak." I never received another one again.
I have too much junk on my desk for a lamp LOL
i guess i need to make room!
check out the junk stores
like Salvation Army. I paid $40 for a few at Office Depot type store and then found a few for $1.99 at our alcoholism junk store. They are Dell and great, and when they wear out, don't feel bad about just trashing them.
How long do you think it will be until MQ throws everything on ASR even the junk to get the reduced
line rate. Should be interesting to see. I do think they are looking for a big exit also. There is no work in a lot of the offices especially Amherst and my understanding is the work will be delegated from a national office and not regional and they will put people on accounts that need work. Not sure what that means but maybe the days of having a main are coming to an end. Should be great for quality.
Platform versus non-platform (templates)?
I've been working for MTSOs for years now, using their templates which sometimes cause productivity problems (macro issues, etc). I'm wondering if productivity is increased when working on a structured platform, such as one that a national company provides for its transcriptionists? I've never used a platform, but it would seem that all one needs to do is straight type onto the screen and the platform program takes care of margins, page breaks, etc?
Any thoughts (as well as companies who are hiring who use platforms) would be appreciated. Thanks
Did you check your junk mail or spam folder? Sometimes they in there
Good advice...Iams is junk food anymore....
It used to be good, but it's gone by way of most of the rest of them... Anything that can be purchased in a grocery store is garbage. I recommend Wellness, Innova, or California Natural. Only pet stores stock premium dog foods. However, Labs and GAS seem to go hand in hand, having owned 2 of them. Rice and some boiled chicken mixed with a good healthy kibble might help.
Only by the mounds of junk mail every day...cc apps, advertising circulars, etc. nm
x
I carry my mail in, sort it immediately, and put the junk in the trash.
c
Right away it looked to me like the kind of junk that spreads in email. Good eye. nm
x
Just looking for a piece of the pie.
x
try the ear piece...
I have never had that problem...but there are a number of different ear pieces that would probably work just as well. I am referring to the ear buds or the ear pieces that you put on/in your ear. When I use to work at a local hospital we would have the ear pieces that you put in your ears like ear plugs...I of course hated those though but they are there....just food for thought.
that piece a little further down
about belarc..reads like some kind of magazine article. It's not what she's saying, it's how she's saying it. It's kind of preachy. There are plenty of people on this board who know more than I do about all kinds of things, but they don't have the attitude.
& I don't think it's great advice to discount something on someone else's behalf without knowing everything about her situation. Who knows? It might work for OP.
The junk faxers aren't leaving correct info so you can track them down.
.
Escription users: I have a question. I've about had it with Dell junk computers.
and their Indian call centers..nothing like getting help from someone whom you cant understand. Even if they hear you, they have NO comprehension skills. Anyway, I have like 3 Dell computers which goes from bad to worse. For Christmas, I got my husband an Mac IBook ...wow..what a difference, now that's a computer. Anyhoo, they now have Microsoft office programs for Macs..anyone know if this computer would be compatible at all with the Escription platform since it's so picky. If not, any laptop computers suggestions that are not a piece of junk.
Piece of my Heart
When I'm stressed I get to let it all out with that song. lol
I did look at your piece of research
and I am not seeing it. I don't think that all MTs will be out of work. There will be demand for editors, etc. I will stay in the field until I am told they don't need me anymore.
piece of cake?
Decided to try transcription after I tired of nursing (management). Thought it would be a snap. Suffice it to say that a good MT has a broader knowledge base than a registered nurse.
You are a piece of work.
Just not a worker.
LOL I did all of the above as well, but she is still a piece of work! sm
Actually, she was not rude to me much until one day I was talking to her on the phone about a concern with one of my accounts, and she had me on speaker phone and proceeded to YELL at me out of nowhere. It was very odd. They begged me not to quit, but I couldn't stand all of the weirdness. The platform seemed archaic to me, but they have changed that, right? The IT is an odd bird, isn't he? We got a kick out of him. No one wanted to have to ask him anything! :-)
Piece of Cake....
I made the transition from doing multispecialty clinic and acute care transcription to Radiology about five years ago, and it was one of the easiest transitions I've ever made. Just have a couple of good radiology reference books and I don't think you'll have any problem at all. The cpl sounds very good, too.
If you have any questions, feel free to email me. I attempted to email you a couple of good reference materials, but the email came back as undeliverable.
Good luck 
Forgot to Add - QA also gets a piece of the pie now. nm
x
Well that's a nice piece of news then!!! THANK YOU
..
I do not work for MQ, but another piece of -- company. SM
The platform has its own line counter. When I went to see how many lines I did the other day, I had a huge number of lines. I almost fell off the chair. I made sure the total was for that day alone and there were lines of 1500, after four hours of work.
I did this twice and came up with same total. Third time, however, I got the correct total, which was exactly half that amount. I found this strange. That's all. Strange.
Did you give him a piece of your mind yet?
Seriously - and check into the whole legality of it all too!
Transcriber is a piece of equipment.
I think you, like me, thought this would be a piece of cake
I had worked in hospital settings, doctor offices, etc. and when I started training (on the job for a year) I kept my nose in dictionaries, English and medical. Just because you have any background in something medically related does not mean you can be a transcriptionist. I trained for a year and before I was able to have production, had to have less than 3 errors (either English or medical) on each page and yet type 75 minutes of dictation a day- sorry but so long ago do not know now how much that was but quite a bit. I think you have probably gotten in over your head with no training per se and having said that yes I most certainly think you should do at least 1200 per day- you need speed as well as training to make a go of this. People who say no background should consider themselves very lucky to have made it.
I agree....some piece of work....sm
The children today (NOT Generation X as they were products of the 1980s)......have enough to be frightened over in this world that has changed dramatically....we, as parents, don't have to make them more scared and more scared. Parenting is an art - there are lots of free classes in early childhood development or PET (parent effectiveness training) which I took when my child was 4. It was also taught by a psychologist with a degree. There are sooooo many good positive ways to raise children where one doesn't have to *resort* to *submission* and still get super positive results.
There are also obedience schools for learning how to raise animals.....the poster should check into these things.....
Pedophiles always use *scared into submission* when they are about to steal a child and do nasty things.....TO THE POSTER WHO BELIEVES IN *SCARED INTO SUBMISSION* - you keep on doing this to your children, and maybe some perpetrator will also play on that reaction your children now have from being *scared into submission*....HEAVEN FORBID! But when you make a child scared into submission, they then tend to be scared into submission by any ADULT.
Check yourself on this one......
I, like you, thought it would be a piece of cake
And I trained hard for a year even though other hospital work, clinics, etc. I have been at it for years now, also.
Radiology is a piece of cake
and you can get great line rates. One person's experience is not anothers...
You are a piece of work. To talk about God &
x
He sounds like a piece of work - sm
I'd tell the wife, sure go ahead find someone else who will put up with all this garbage. I would give them a new updated fee schedule, effective immediately, up your page rate, a flat fee per page, none of this half/third stuff, and start charging for your time for the loading and converting of files. If it takes an hour, charge $20. That is something his people there should be doing, not you. As for the corrections, again his people should be doing that, not you. As you said, everyone makes mistakes. Regarding the doctors names, keep a notebook or something with the correct spellings that you can refer to. I use a small address/phone book and put them in under A, B, C, etc. So when my doctors say referring doc, I just whip open my book and saves me a lot of time from looking it up on the internet. If I cannot find a doctor name/address I simply let the office know that they have to fill that in since I could not find it. ---But this guy sounds like a real skinflint, so I would up the rates as above, if they don't like it then I guess they can just go and find out the hard way that they had quite a deal with you.
IMHO outsoursing is only one piece of this pie. (nm)
.
IMHO outsourcing is only one piece of this pie. (nm)
.
What a piece of work you are! Unbelievable! nm
nm
Forgot one other important piece of information - sm
Tater's mother and grandmother both have a very long history of mental illness and the grandmother has been institutionalized several times. The mother has lied and continues to lie about fabricated life-threatening illnesses and other fantastic situations that no one person could EVER deal with in their lives.
|
