DS, H&P, CONS, letters
Posted By: told differently on 2005-09-20
In Reply to: Basic 4 question - Mother-of-6
are the basics. Doing OPs is another level up
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pros and cons
Being an MT is like any job, it is what you are willing to put into it and what you are expecting to get out of it that matters. I have been an MT for 15+ years and have been home based for the last 8 and if I have my way I will never go back out of the house to work. Are there days - OH YES. But the rewards far outweight those days. When my children were at home, to hear them say "it is really great that you are at home" made it worthwhile for me. I may have been typing and had a pair of headphones on, but they had access to me and that made a difference. You have to learn what is important and for me, being there for my kids was. Yes, I work long hours, yes I sit in the same spot for hours, yes I type, type, type, (I sit in a big easy chair with pillows propped around me, and a foot stool at my feet, I am comfy) but that is not what I focus on. I have learned a lot about the medical field, which I love. I could set my hours around tennis, cheerleading, basketball games, football games, graduation, etc. I really believe that the bottom line is what you are willing to put into the profession. If you believe that you will be able to type on a so so schedule, you will recieve the equivalent of what you put into this profession. I do this because I love the medical field. It is the most fasinating thing in the world to me. I truly enjoy what I do. I would not do anything else. I would suggest that you really take a look at what you are willing to put into this after you take your training. If you are willing to put as much effort into working as it took into getting the education, then you are headed in the right direction.
there are pros and cons
Never once late on paycheck, reasonably good pay, leave you alone, keep you on same primary, inform you of updates, technicians are helpful for the most part, good equipment.
cons: More like a sweatshopt atmosphere, just shush and do work, hard to get raises, hard to get anything, definitely geared towards the client, not the MT, feel like a number.
For me the important things are being left alone and a good paycheck, so it works out for me.
Pros and cons
There are pros and cons to this. I have been doing this for almost 20 years. I have had some accounts for as long as 18 years. They do expect a LOT. The office staff is sometimes the hardest as they will sometimes treat you like the janitorial service. I do envelopes, printing, cutting apart chart notes, cc envelopes, 24 hour turn around is a MUST or else they really come down on you. Have had one vacation other than a long weekend during the past 4 years. They do not want me to get others to cover for me and one account has asked that I absoulutely do NOT subcontract any of their work. So it is waiting for me when I get back and they expect all of that within 48 hours. But that is just one account. Also when the doctor is gone, you do not get paid and that happens a lot during the summer time. I try to get a monthly schedule from my accounts but it is sometimes hard to do. If you pull on another account to cover for this you sometimes get overloaded and then behind. If they would all take off at once you could have a vacation. Usually have to work one day on the weekend to do the Friday dictation to get back on Monday.
So you ask what are the pros: They do pay me on time within usually 2 days receipt of invoice - never had to ask or had a bounced check. I do give a 1% discount though for payment within three days. I do get Christmas bonuses even from the one account that treats me a little like hired help. I do have templates, auto corrects set up, on one account I can make $45 to $50 an hour if they do a lot of consults/letters. On another I make $30 to $35 doing chart notes. Still not bad but that has to pay for all my benefits and putting some aside for when the docs are gone.
Sometimes it scares me as I am single, 58 years old and supporting myself towards retirement and one of my accounts could pull it and I would be out and looking and so guess that is why I try my best. They also expect 100% correct and when you have to proof your own work it is hard.
Anyway, would I work for a company, doubt it. Am going digital by the 1st of the year and will be looking for more accounts and maybe add on some subs. Have 2 part-timers now. I do work in a clinic doing their EMR's and that gives me the best of both worlds. For my business I bring in around $55,000 with probably 6,000 out to subs and my clinic work brings in 12,000. I put in 40+ hours a week including your unbillable time. But I have write-offs and pay taxes on less than half, usually abour 20K or less. Any more questions ask.
Pros and cons of IC.
Is it more beneficial to be an IC? Any personal pros and cons on this subject would be extremely helpful and appreciated.
Thanks.
Pros and cons
It's not that there's necessarily anything wrong with giving consumers the option to self checkout and bag their own groceries--it's the fact that you are doing it for free. It's great that you think it helps to keep prices down, but everyone, even those that use the full service checkout, benefit from you doing the work of the absent cashiers if you use that logic. The stores should offer a small discount (even 1-2% would be something) for those who wish to use the self checkout stations.
pros/cons
Pro is it is "easier" but con is you don't make as much as MT (or at least I don't...) at 5c a line as opposed to 10c for MT.
My pros and cons
I recently left an in house hospital position to work from home full time. I had worked from home part time for a national also, before going full time with a different company. My main reason for making this change is that I wanted to get paid by production and not hourly. I am now grossing double or more what I made at the in house job. Benefits are about the same as far as quality, but cost me about $100 more a month (which I make up for many times over).
If you are not a high producer, as far as money goes, might be better to take an hourly position. Benefits generally also are more affordable than with a national at home.
I do miss though the company of the other girls at the hospital and sometimes feel a little isolated. But given that I am making twice as much at home, I don't think I will be going back any time soon.
There are pros and cons to everything
I have typed clinic notes paid by page and made a ton of money with small MTSOs but they run out of work a lot and have little if any benefits.
Let us know how you like them and the pros and cons of each. nm
nm
The pros and cons...
If you decide to drop the cable internet completely in favor of a USB broadband connection, you should know:
1) Speeds on the broadband USB are slower than cable. This is especially noticeable if you are in a less than full-signal area. This will NOT impact your WORK, but it will most definitely impact your recreational browsing, especially things like Netflix and youtube and downloading.
2) There are ways to hook that USB thingie up to a router and gain access from more than one computer at a time, but again, speed suffers, and it's a technological issue that I haven't attempted to figure out yet, so I can't help you there.
3) PRO: YES, you can switch back and forth between computers at will, and quite easily I might add.
4) PRO: YES, you can travel to places and work in places that you would never have been able to before. Especially if you're part-time or an IC, this is useful when you want to go visit relatives and not take vacation time for it. I would think it would be a little bit harder to pull off if you're full-time, just because it really wouldn't feel like a vacation then, but I have successfully worked part-time while visiting and traveling. It's really nice to know that my next paycheck will still be there when I get home.
At this point, I am paying for BOTH cable and USB broadband. Cricket stops short of where I live, so I had to sign a contract to get the USB thing going. Since I so enjoy Netflix, I haven't had the heart to cancel the cable yet.
Oh yeah, one more thing: The USB broadband usually has a 5GB limit per month. With ONLY using it for work, you won't come close to using even 1GB probably. However, those Netflix videos add up REALLY quick! Overage charges are insane, too!
i would definitely do a pros-cons list
but for me personally, having to go back in to an office environment, the politics, the dressing up, the high gas prices and traffic plus having a direct boss again would be my absolute last resort. could you work out a part time position to get you out of the house a couple of days a week. that might help you mentally but still give you a lot of freedom plus give you and your husband a little time to adjust to you working outside of the house? i know working at home isn't for everyone, but i wouldn't trade it for anything. i've made a lot of cut backs to compensate too-but it's been worth it for me. good luck
No pros, just cons. Do a search on any
Stay away!
you don't need pros and cons- what you need is numbers.
Run the numbers on leasing, adding what you put down and what you get back. Then call a dealership and see what you can buy the car new for. Then subtract off what you can sell the car for in three years. You will see it costs at least $12000 to lease the same car. Of course, if it's worth $12000 for you to drive a "new" car every 3 years...
Vonage has pros and cons, for sure...
I just spent 2 months with Vonage (have broadband internet) and my understanding is you can use it with cable or DSL or satellite (high speed). But I had a lot of issues where I had to reboot and sometimes there was so much static/poor quality audio that I could not get cleared up by re-booting. The real kicker is when I went to cancel my service, they charged me $97! To cancel it! They told me its all there in the agreement I signed, and it probably is, in very small print. It is indeed the cheapest ULLD out there, I think, but for me it wasn't worth the frustrations. My audio issues may have had to do with satellite, they may not crop up with cable/DSL, maybe somebody using it with cable can give you more info.
pros and cons for own service?
I was hoping that someone out that has been running their own accounts that they could give me pros and cons for running their own service for local accounts or just doing 1 account, I have been seriously thinking of doing this get kind of worried sometimes of being on my own instead of with a company. Any insight on this would be so greatly appreciated. 
Anyone using Vista yet? Pros/cons over XP?nm
nm
Untion pros/cons
I wrote a long post, and it disappared. So I will try again. I am for a union, if it protects the "good" MTs, and not the ones who only "think" they are MTs who continue to harm the profession. I think if we all, and I mean ALL of us working for MTSO chose a day to strike, everybody call in sick, it would OPEN their eyes greatly. I'm tired of every year losing something else. Been doing this for nearly 15 years now, 8 of which was with a very LARGE top 3 MTSO. I have written Obama's transition team 3 times now regarding NAFTA, fair trade, and our medical records being in other countries unprotected from terrorists and HIPAA regulations. What if the terrorists in Mumbai were getting information for credit card fraud off the med records. There are reports in India which includes SSN, DOB, addresses, EVERYTHING required for fraud )and we wonder why it has tripled in so few years!!). The Indian Institute of Medical Transcription is in Mumbai along with numerous MTSO transription companies (most of whom have ties in the US and are branches off our US MTSOs). If the American people really knew where their records were created and maintained, there would be an uproar. First priority, in my line of thinking, would be to educate the public so they can demand their American records be kept in America. Sounds simple really, but not as easy as it should be I know, as they are oblivious as to how/when/where/why a record is created. And I believe every single clinic/hospital/rehab facility, whatever it may be, be required to post in their waiting rooms EXACTLY WHO there MTSO is, and whether or not they are offshored! I would discontinue seeing a particular physician if I knew he/she was promoting offshoring, as I bleieve a good number of our citizens would. Again, I'm for the day strike, everybody sick all across the US at ALL MTSO....talk about puting a screatching halt to production! And to whomever stated the profit margin is low...is in lala land (no offense, but I've seen the proof and know better). Look at the EIC filings for the big MTSOs, their profit margin is in the billions. Spheris alone brags on their profit margin increasing due to their push to "cheaper wager" offshore! Hello, wake up, and smell the offshore poop! I have chosen to keep or not keep doctors for me and my family based on they way "I think" they might transcribe. I actually care about my record being neat, tidy, CORRECT; and transcribed in our own country!
I don't think so, but if the pros outweigh the cons, I guess you
x
What are the pros/cons of FlashType, IT, Shorthand
nm
Is anyone familiar with SwiftText? Pros and cons? TIA nm
:}
How do you move from MT to QA in this business...and what are the pros and cons for this.
nm
Anyone lease their vehicle? Need pros and cons please - sm
Am considering trading vehicle, and was advised because of the low miles I put on vehicles (under 25,000 miles in 5 years), that I would be better off leasing than buying. Would appreciate any and all thoughts and things to watch out for when leasing from those of you that have gone this route. TIA.
MediTech Pros & Cons- Can you make any $$?
I have researched Meditech on this board and mainly found references to spell check software and MediTech. What are the pros and cons? Can you type 3,000+ lines in an 8 hour shift with MediTech and a lot of shortcuts?
Need specific pros/cons on IT, Flash Type,
nm
Anyone using DirectTV- what are the pros and cons in comparison to cableTV? nm
nm
Pros & Cons of ESP word expansion program?
Does this work pretty well? (I have Word 2002) I'd like not to have to buy any software. Any opinions on ESP? Any other Word-compatible programs that work well, also?
Make a pros and cons list for each "position" -sm
Also, can your husband get a job where he carries the benefits so you don't have to kill yourself to ensure them. I am sure there will be weeks you won't meet your quota and say bye-bye benefits for a while. Also do you absolutely depend on the salary you make now? The odds are you will make less than you make now and have to pay SE taxes on that to boot. What was/is your cpl? How many hours of working did it take you to meet your daily requirement? Factor 80% ESL into that amount too if you are going to work for a national. Factor in interruptions from family since you would be at home, getting kids ready for school, meeting them at the bus (if you would do that), people calling, etc. Just remember you might be physically home but not available to "see" your family. I know my kids aren't thrilled that I always seem to be working, but part of that is my lack of discipline (which I am getting better bit by bit) and getting side-tracked because I don't want to work or I hate who I am transcribing so it takes me twice as long to do so I procrastinate (I type 10-20 minutes of dictation an hour normally depending on the doc). Yes, there are a lot of pluses to working at home, no gas (big+), no dressing up if you don't want to, possibly flexible hours (I don't work on a schedule), though you may have to work a schedule and STICK to it depends on who you are working for of course, my downside is getting side-tracked by this site, surfing the web, taking care of the animals (we have a 2 dogs, cat, hamster and 10 chickens), laundry, trying to clean, phone calls from the DH, trying to execise if I ever get motivated, burnout and not wanting to work. I am glad that I work at home, and we don't have to have the money I make so that makes it hard for me to stay motivated but I do like the work and keeping my brain active. I really think a list is the best way to go and be honest on it and think of every scenario you can of good and bad. Good luck.
Emachines anyone? Thinking of buying one just for MT/wordprocessing. Pros? Cons? Don't want to p
nm
Would anyone care to share where you work? I love OPs, but do CONS and DS all day.YUCK! nm
x
Pros and cons on SOAP transcription versus MediVoxx? nm
s
INMO, pros and cons to both -- easier on the hands but harder for me mentally.
nm
Any Stedman SmartType users? Pros & Cons? Will it retain bold formatting without using DOS command
DOS commands like ShortHand does?
Regarding letters
We have an account with our national where all the consults are dictated in letter format. So for every single consult we get we have to look up the correct names, spelling, and addresses for the referring physicians because the dictators never give them. Once we get them we can save them in autotext, but it's still a pain to have to look them all up.
No letters
My daughter could not use my computer because of no letters left on the keyboard.
three letters: CTS
some of us CAN'T do much else at this point. I can't even write anymore!! And we blessed, fortunate ICs don't qualify for disability pay or unemployment... so yes, it's upsides and downsides, but in the end, right now I'm facing having to quit MT and I have NO idea what to do for a living, at the tender age of 36, and, with the pay cuts and such, no money to invest in an education. So please try to have some compassion... not all bellyaching is unfounded.
Think again - big letters at top saying
Not to post there unless you work for MQ
letters sm
The written word can come back to bite you. Be careful what you say. If they care enough, they'll ask and then you can verbalize. Otherwise, it will become part of your permanent record. Don't say anything to make them angry, One never knows down the road when you will have to list them in your past employment history. Sometimes we would like to pour our hearts out but it would depend on what you have to say. I once wrote a note which was not really that bad but everyone in the company said I left a scathing letter which was totally untrue. The less you put in writing, the better, IMHO.
for me, the only ones that letters don't rub off....
and on the back of mine it does say Key Tronics.......
Use a name that is 4 letters or more and you get the... sm
AutoComplete tip box showing your entry, then you can press F3 or enter to expand it. Make sure the first 4 letters of the name are not the same as the first 4 in another entry or Word won't know which one you want and no tip will appear. You can use less than 4 letters in the name but no tip appears. You'd have to remember it and hit F3.
Just remember that AutoText only works in Word and you might want to think about a true text Expander that works in all of your programs. You can also bog down your normal.dot file if that is where you choose to save AutoText and you will be at high risk of corrupting the file. Make sure you keep a backup.
As soon as I started doing letters...
I would fly like the wind. That is what hourly paid secretaries are for! Good luck in finding something else, but do like I do... let them know from the gitgo I WILL NOT DO CORRESPONDANCE! 
Despise letters! UGH...nm
.
letters for keyboard
there's a place called Gold Violin (1-877-648-8400) or www.goldviolin.com that has a set of letters (1-black letters and the other one white) that you can buy for about $10. they're enlarged too which makes it easier as well to see, if you've got that problem. i got a set and just haven't taken the time yet to clean up my keyboard to put them on. i love my cordless Logitech keyboard and mouse as well. i like the touch on my keyboard as well so don't want to buy another one just because the keys wore off, so this fit the bill for me.
Consult Letters
Hello, does anybody know how consult letters are like? Are they long and difficult?
i enter the first 4 letters...sm
Every time I come to a drug I enter the first four letters of the drug in Autocorrect, capping it if needed. I think this is quicker than sitting down and entering a bunch at once.
It's like the chain letters you may have
received where there is a numbered list of people included and you add your name to the list, subtract a name from the list, all names on the list now are shifted and thus have a different number on the list that you create than on the list that you received, and then you send a dollar (or other amount . . . in this case, a pair of flip-flops) to each person that was on the list that you received. The people that you send your letter to are instructed to do the same, and so you wind up receiving (if the "chain" is not broken) money/items from each person that receives the letter that has your name on it (before you are "bumped" from the list).
Letters/envelopes
These are a pain. I worked an account like this and I hated it. What kind of lines can you get typing letters all day, especially when you have to worry about looking up addresses and if you do not live in the area of the hospital/clinic - forget it. The co. I was ICing for lost the account that was like this - and now I am on a much better account - love it - and doing editing.
Do you have to see the letters to type? Should
x
letters/addresses
Can someone tell my how to format a letter so that the Dr.s address in the letter will automatically show up in the envelope box without having to add the envelope to the document?
Right now I have 10 keys without letters
on them and it works fine. I don't seen need to replace unless the keys are sticking or not working.
I have received a few letters
so far. Keep those letters to The White House coming you guys! I am so trying to get our voices heard so that our careers may be saved. I am addressing outsourcing, offshoring, patient security, voice recognition and anything else that can come to mind concerning transcription. I want to have a packet of letters to mail off because that will have a greater impact versus just sending one letter here and there. Please join me! Deadline for sending letters is 1/28/09. Email me if you wanna join me:)
Please send me your letters!
I have received only a few letters to the President about transcription. I want to send a packet full of letters is my goal! Now I know a few of my friends are still working on their letters. I want to address outsourcing, voice recognition & offshoring with the President. So please join me to help get our voices heard! Email me & I'll give you my address so that you may get your letter in to me by the deadline of 1/28/09.
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