Concerns/questions

As always, if you have concerns/questions/comments regarding DSG, I have an open door policy.  Please feel free to contact me at kdenson@dsg-inc.net.

Thank you.

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I just recently went back to work in the office at a local hospital. We type in both Meditech and Cerner, depending on what you are typing, i.e. Medical Records reports versus Radiology.  We are currently typing blindly in Meditech, meaning we do not have access to our line counts and must depend on management to give us our totals.  In Cerner, we are able to run a line count report and print out a hard copy of our line counts at the end of the day.

We are finding that 800 lines in Cerner equals about 500 lines in Meditech.  We are not paid per line nor do we have an incentive plan, but we have a new HIM Director who would like to institute an incentive plan and the administrator over our department has laid down the law and decreed that all transcriptionists not making minimum in the department will be written up.  Problem is according to Meditech line totals that we have been given, that would be about half the department.

The transcription supervisor has taken our concerns to the new director who told the MT Supervisor to hold off on writing people and has taken home all the line counts from the last month and she is going over them with a fine tooth comb this weekend.

I am not a very trusting soul by nature, so I am doing a little research on my own.  I've been in this business for about 15 years.  I started out in a hospital and have worked for a few services at home and am now back in the hospital setting.  So I know a few things about line count and I consider myself to be pretty well informed on trends and technology in the industry.   I would like to walk into our next department meeting armed with as much knowledge as possible.  So I have come up with some questions that I would like some fellow MTs to answer, give opinions, and maybe even direct me to websites or individuals who could give me a better understanding of Meditech and Cerner.  Here are my questions:

1. Is it possible for an MT to have access to her line count in Meditech or is strictly a management function?  Any MTs that work in Meditech on this board, do you currently have access to your line counts and if so, how do you check them?  Is it an option on the main menu after you log into Meditech?


2. How is a line defined in Meditech?  (i.e. 65 cpl, with spaces, without spaces)


3. How is a line defined in Cerner?


4. What abbreviation Expanders work with both Meditech and Cerner?


5. Examples of incentive plans (if anyone would like to share that with me that would be great, if not I completely understand).


6. Measuring productivity by minutes of dictation versus typed lines.




1. What would be the minimum minutes required for an 8-hour day?


2. How would one structure an incentive program based on minutes?

I was thinking of presenting the idea that we keep track of productivity using minutes instead of lines since there is such a discrepancy in Meditech.  I also worry that if an incentive plan is put into place and we are still typing blind into Meditech, what's to keep management from shaving off a few lines here and there?

Feel free to email me or post here any responses.  Either is fine.  I really appreciate any input, comments, or just plain old supportive posts would be nice too! 

They are smart , and that is why the jobs are going to them! Jobs don't make people smarter; smart people do their jobs well. If you don't believe this then you must question the wisdom of the American MTSOs and companies that outsource. As I have said before, all Indian MTs are not bad and all US MTs are not good. I've seen excellent quality from India and poor quality from the US - that's the other side of the story which none of you wants to see, let alone admit.

 This is why I call US MTs insular. If you will only look outside of your own town/state/country you will see how the world has changed and the so-called developing countries have advanced in many ways. 

The problem with the US is it has been functioning too long in a  cocoon, sheltered and protected. But with the coming of the global age, competiton has become fierce and jobs are moving overseas and it is now finding it difficult to cope in this new business climate.

You say "sadly" because it affects you but have you ever wondered how Indians like it when American companies dump poor quality goods on them and Indian businesses have to shut shop because they can't bear the  competition? Of course most of you would not have heard that pesticides were found in  bottles of a premier American brand of soft drink sold in India!

Instead of treating "offshoring" as some terrible phenomenon, it is high time US MTs learned to accept the situation because this is the New Age Economy where everything is decided in competition.

EMR and voice recognition has put me out of a job.  On my former job, there was one other Transcriptionist besides me.  Because she had been there longer, she got what was left over after most of the docs jumped on the voice recognition bandwagon.  They use Dragon Naturally Speaking.  I have seen it at work myself and it is quite accurate.  There is no editing being done on their work.  Now, I'm doing a job that is just that, a JOB.  I enjoy transcribing and am looking for another job, but MT jobs seem to be few and far between where I am.  I can't get high speed internet where I live, so most services are out.  I may move onto a different career if something doesn't come around soon.  I thought about legal transcription.  Anyone have experience with that?

Did any of you watch the special the other night on identity theft?  I think it was maybe on Dateline.  If so, you heard them say the identity theft ring reaches far beyond the shores of the US.  It involves many of the countries that are receiving outsourced transcription work. 

The first thought that came to mind when watching that was our medical records.  I often have dictation that gives me a SSN and DOB.  I also often have dictation on a new patient giving me other details, such as where the individual works, how many children they have, etc.  I always get their height, weight and race.  With these details, the individuals being outsourced to have everything they need to supply a terrorist or identity theft ring information to enable them to pose as someone else.  This is very frightening to me!

What do we do?  How do we wake America up to what we're facing?  Sure, we can write our elected officials, but you all know as well as I do that such correspondence falls upon deaf ears.  Does anyone have any suggestions on where we go from here?  At this point, it isn't only about losing our jobs, its about national security.

I mentioned this a few messages below, but the blog has its first post. I am NOT supporting any Ad things on there and will not be making anything off this. 

http://violatingamerica.blogspot.com/

If you have a link that would be useful to others to write their gov't reps, companies, news sources, etc, feel free to post them or e-mail me so i can get them up there.  I am also looking for any news stories or any information we can get.  One way or the other, we might be able to make a difference. 

I don't kow what they could do to help you RE: Katrina but companies need to verify the NEED to cut back or do it across the board, at least in the department / job level. I worked for this company for 6 yr & had several cuts in my take home. The platforms used became slower & slower because of the amazing amt of data in the programs. I had 3 gig memory & STILL took forever & you aren't making a dime for that several minute while a report is sending & the next coming in & then doing the demographic page.

I've been trying to find out if there was anything of that investigation - I never did get that paper that so many other employees got. And I had a definite beef.

Is there anything at all an MT can do when you have grave concerns about the care a patient is receiving? I know the answer to this is probably no, but I am so completely frustrated with my one of "my" doctors right now.  I know that one of his patients is not receiving the proper care, and I am really worried for this patient. I wish I could contact the patient's mother and let her know my concerns, but I know that is not allowed and I would be fired for doing so. I know that I'm not anywhere near as smart as a doctor, but my son has the same condition that this patient does and I know that the patient is not receiving the proper care or even the correct diagnosis. It is hard to go into all of the details for confidentiality reasons. I just know, 100% sure, that this patient deserves better care than he is receiving. 

Sometimes the virtual world that we work in is great, and other times it really stinks. If I were working in the doctor's office I could gently share my concerns (maybe I would still be fired but I could give it a shot). Here in this virtual world where the doctors don't even know I exist I can do absolutely nothing.

I'm just so frustrated at the doctor and so very worried for this patient.

Please participate!

Thank you!

d~

Thank you. 

Goldbird

i am very interested in taking courses on mt and would like some help in guiding me in the right direction....can someone help me on that

If a person takes a job and finds out they aren't happy and then looks for another job, what happens if the recruiter overpromised?  Do they find another job?  And if they find another job and that one is running out of work all the time, do they start the search again? 

Final question....if they do all this, why do so many people on the boards call people who complain about companies good-for-nothing job hoppers who are never happy?

you can be an employee and ask, what will be my new

pay under the new plan.......NOBODY KNOWS.

you can ask what do you pay to be an Editor of voice recognition....

NOBODY KNOWS

But at the same time they want people to work for them.

Now you are saying there's a new mystery something?  This is

hilarious.

No legit company every does business this way.

Is this something that will happen on a regular basis?  How often do bipolar people get like this?  Is this the worst of it?  We both watch each other's kids a lot, and my kids absolutely love her.  But I'm a little worried now that it might not be safe. 

I'm also concerned for her as she just started a new job and is working on her master's degree.  I'm afraid that she may fail at both if she doesn't get this under control.  Is there anything I can do to help her? 

Do you find their work flow to be consistent - you don't run out or anything? It is really hard for me to decide to make a move - am not happy where I am at and want to come back home, but have really good insurance for family - I know there is no perfect place to work, but I would just like to enjoy getting up and working again without all the office politics. Thank you for being so open in talking - I find this board much easier to talk on than the previous one I was on - more open answers. Also, what kind of platform is used. Do you have to type in demographics and if so, do you get paid for them? Do you have a good word Expander and macros? It is so hard to make changes and want to know as many specifics as I can before I apply.

Thank you so much.

Do you charge more for printing?  How did you know the price range to charge? I live in a rural area and I have no idea what people are paying for this and I would feel stupid asking them what they are paying.  Did you go to the office in person and sell yourself or did you do mailings?  I don't know anyone in my area that is doing this so I am kinda walking bling here. I am sure I can do the work, it is just sollicting the accounts that I fear.  THanks to all that responded

To those of you who so kindly gave me advice on working from home:

What kind of equipment should I invest in?  Do most companies us the internet. One company I talked with still has clients that us Lanier equipment.

#1 I would think would be a wav pedal and headset but what about an LX-219?

What do you use?

Thanks

I have an office going to EMR with voice recognition software.  The OM tells me I will still have this account because there is no way the VR will work for their Indian doctor and another doctor that mumbles horribly.  Is there anyone that has experienced this?  Also, will editing of the VR be needed?  The OM mentioned that if it does work, she will need me to edit reports.  How much does one make per line for editing VR?

I know I have lots of questions, but this is my largest account and with a disabled hubby and three kids, I'm a panicked breadwinner right now.

Thanks!

I get the feeling that many MTSO do not liked to be asked questions.  If I am looking to make a switch I am just looking out for myself.  Mind you, I send in the resume and THEY call me. While I may get some that offer 3 insights to the job right off the bat, if I ask if there is a chance to make more of a base pay I either don't hear from them or they think I should look into something else.  I have run across 1 company that was very very informative without me asking too much, but they didn't have direct deposit, and they were on the other side of the country from where I am and was just not too keen on the thought of a check by mail. I guess I'm just kind of feeling not to happy right now with all of this.  Thanks for listening. 

You have several hundred addresses typed out, but are they in a table format or free style?  If table, then keep the doc open, then go to Tools, Envelopes and Labels, select the label you are going to use under options (refer to the Avery label sheet for label number).  Then you click New Document.  Go to the doc where you have the addresses, select all and copy and paste.  You may have to copy and paste by table row, to make it work correctly.

If you are trying to integrate them into a Word Mail Merge doc/letter, I can explain but Word help does a much better job.  Look in Help, Mail Merge, data source, show data source, or something like that.

What companies do you use and what were the up-front costs?  I believe the monthly fee is around 50 dollars from what I've seen.  Thanks in advance.

I work for a small doctor’s office and the time has come for us to have outside transcriptionists working as independent contractors.  How do I set this up for them to send me their completed work via FTP? Help!! The only thing I understand about the FTP is you can transfer files from computer to computer securely – the rest I am totally lost about.  How do I set it up? How/where do I log on to get the work? How/where do they deliver the work? 

Does anyone sit on an exercise ball while working?  I am wondering if it would be too difficult to balance because of the foot movement and the typing. 

Also, about running enrichment (from previous posts) ... can anything similar be done in MedRite?  That would be awesome if I could search out the common phrases used!

Thanks for any input!