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I work for co who levels accounts, only thing is MTs within those

Posted By: accounts are also leveled. A real crock of ----. on 2005-09-20
In Reply to: Think that's what I'll have to end up doing, as I know that's - baffled

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Same thing here. Three accounts.
x
it is according to your account and office. first thing is you need to be on DQS. then accounts ca
switched to ASR but I understand this is an expensive switch and the client/hospital needs to be in agreement. ASR is editing, less of a line count for me and I would rather transcribe.
Yes, 200 lph is the average with MTs, all levels of
xx
levels are based on what you can
do, i.e., can you do ANY type of report or only clinic notes? the more types of work you are able to do the higher your level. Supervisor told me about levels, I think they are relatively new.
UNBELIEVABLE on so many different levels.

nm


*Levels* aren't that cut and dry....
It isn't so much the MT who is a level 1, 2, or 3 or whatever, it's the work. Level 1 would be easy soap notes, ERs etc.


Extortionists stoop to all levels
If owed, the United States has laws.  These are the tactics that are used by extortionists!  Hence, no one does business with extortionists.  
My levels dropped and then went back up. I did not miscarry. nm
/
Same thing with nationals. You work all the time to keep the account caught up when others dont work
and then when they decide to put a whole lot of extra people on your accounts and run you out they could care less about how much you worked.
Several accounts that I work on...

have specifically requested that a colon be used with military time.  Although this is incorrect, it is what the client wants.  


Regarding QA, I do e-mail them directly.  I occasionally will send a "Thank You" along with a question, and I always receive a "You're Welcome" in return.  I guess it all depends on the company you work for.  I really do believe, though, that QA really appreciates knowing that the MTs appreciate their help.


5 accounts and running out of work

What's wrong is not on your end.


What's wrong is each of those 5 accounts having 17 people on each of them who have to switch back forth and maintain productivity.


 


Production and TAT improve if the MT is on one acount long enough to get a rhythm going.


 


There is also the problem of recognizing doctor's names. If 4 different doctors are mentioned in your report and you are on 5 different hospitals....well, you know where I'm going with this one.....


Why not work for yourself with private accounts?
Then you don't have to follow the beat of the MQ (or any other company) drum?

Or try for a supervisor position? You know how you want to be treated; then you'd be in the perfect position to handle other MTs the way you believe they should be. You'll be highly motivational for them and your company will probably have kudos for you for having a winning team.

Just two options of many.
Do you have your own accounts or do you work for a company?
X
I only work on EditScript accounts...
and they lost theirs.
That is absolutely ridiculous for anyone to have to have 9 accounts to have work.
:
Maybe that is where all my work goes. They sure overloaded my accounts in Amherst.
:
Good accounts and plenty of work. sm
PT line count is 6000 per pay period; FT is 12000. 
I work two accounts. One is by the report and one is by the line.
Keystrokes has both, and it depends on the type of account. Some have a lot of normal exams and plain xray, the one by the line has mostly MRIs and CTs. I think it is fair and I make great money.
Are you with a certain company or is this in general? Own accounts? Ask your QA if you work
s
It was simply the work from your assigned accounts.
More of our work is transcription based rather than ASR. However, we are in a training initiative so all employees will be prepared for handling ASR.

I have heard of this two different ways -- Where I work now, we have no blank accounts which mean
that you must leave a QA marker for the QA department and if they can't figure it out, then in most cases they can leave a blank.  Where another friend works, her no blank account involves calling other MTs for their input, also as a last resort, can call the hospital and ask for assistance with the chart from the floor. 
I have my own accounts and I work as an employee, but we are not talking about BEING an MTSO, we are

the MTSO's offer.  If you are a well-trained, knowledgeable medical Transcriptionist with experience and you are looking for an IC job or an employee position with an MTSO, then you are worth more than 8 or 9 cpl.  If all you do is sit and transcribe all day long, you are worth more than 8 or 9 cpl. 


I really don't know what you're getting at.  Not everyone has the capabilities, time, or money to start their own service.  Not everyone is good at pounding the pavement and finding their own accounts.  I'm not a salesperson to say the least.  I lucked into my own personal accounts and if I hadn't, I'd be working for one of the MTSOs, but I'm not.  My full-time employee status job is with a hospital for the benefits only and it pays hourly with incentive.  Right now, that's the only employee status job worth taking is through an actual hospital, NOT an MTSO.  At least at the hospital, you get a decent wage and get great benefits.  Oh, there are a few good MTSOs out there, but they are very few and far between.


I work for eTransPlus, hospital accounts, and QA is great - nm
x
It seems it does not pay to work and to the right thing...

Sometimes I want to just sit back and kick and scream.  Work my ____ off and still can't keep up with the stacks of bills or calls calling about the bills.  When my son was born with an illness I could have taken the easy way out like so many do.  He has a life long illness that qualifies him for benefits but my DH and I make too much money.  LOL.  He's a teacher and I'm scraping by with transcribing.  Sometimes I think why should I bust my butt when I can sit back and collect "benefits" and be there for my child when so many people do this.  Taxes and the increase of cost of living expenses are about to do us in.


So sad how I work so much harder now doing the same thing...
x
How about zillions of accounts. MQ has these accounts so overloaded even the new hires dont have any
work. I would love to read some of these reports and then they expect perfect QA and no blanks. Did they lose their minds completely.
Good thing you work at home
Hopefully one day when you need to vent, you at not treated the way you treat others but what goes around does come around.
I do the same thing now and then, have a glass near the end of my work, usually takes me an
I find it relaxes me a little and I type a little faster, but I certainly don't do it on a daily basis, maybe Friday or Saturday night when I am winding down. As for the open bottle, get a vacuum system for it--rubber "cork", then pump the air out of the bottle, it will keep for a LONG time, no more tossing of flat wine. Works great!
There is such thing as taking pride in your work. nm
 
This is ironic. We are going through the same thing at the company I work for. sm
They want to set the standard at 15 dictated minutes per hour for clinic, 150 lines per hour for HIM and 15 reports an hour for radiology and cardiology. Can anyone tell me if we are in the ballpark? Are these realistic? I am a lead and do not want to scare off my team, but I think we do not get the dedication that we could.

Can anyone else share their quotas with companies (no names necessary) or hospitals?

Are we getting lazy or are expectations too high?
Everyday thing for me. I work till sleepy, then set my SM

phone not my clock to ring. I get about 5 hours every night, have for years.


I had the same thing with a client in Indiana - did their work for 5 years
Then someone from Connecticut stole the account - underbid me, and the work just kept getting slower and slower, and I asked questions of what was going on, and no answer. Finally the girl that USED to send the work to me called me and told me they were going with Mary's service, and I should be looking for something else, and that they had no intention of telling me because they were using me for stats, etc. (I didn't charge extra for stats, and she did).

So Mary, I know who you are, and I hope RP's dictation is driving you NUTS!

There I feel better.
We bought a boat, damn thing keeps breaking down and I have to work more now for repairs.

Well, you're all complaining that accounts are current and work is low, so, gee, maybe they're
focusing on WORK, as in CLIENT and transcribing, as maybe half of you should be focusing on!!
The accounts are old and she keeps her accounts TRUSTING she hired the right MTs
who if in doubt will ask questions regarding reports. No one can find all mistakes in all reports and that is human to have a report with perhaps a typo. You think anyone reads through all the reports of a national company before they get to the hospital? Not a chance. Some random QA is supposed to correct all mistakes? Not hardly. Doctors/dictators make mistakes too. We all do. So do QA people. So the thing is this person hires good people who are trustworthy, the hospital likes the way she does their account and life goes on quite nicely w/o hovering editors/QA people. BTW, who QAs the QA people on your accounts. Ever wonder?
Not all accounts are good accounts. One
That should not be the case. Sounds like you need new accountant with strong knowledge of IC deduction.  We save a several thousand on what we pay in taxes based on what I can deduct as at home IC, $2000 off the top for what I pay my child to help with office chores, as an example.  The measly 7.xx% I pay that an employer would pay is well worth my independence in being my own boss.  
Ebonics: Not a black thing or white thing. (sm)

I don't think there's any cause to get upset or defensive here.  Look it up on line...even colleges are offering courses in Ebonics!  ...well of course they are more sociology-type courses, but still, people are PAYING to learn about the why's and how's of this "other" language.


A quote from one of the sites I found:

"UT-Austin's "Introduction to the Study of African American English," teaches students that the sentence, "Nobody didn't leave" is not "mainstream English with mistakes," but rather a legitimate English dialect. "Ebonics: Myth and Facts" and "African-American English" are both offered at Harvard. Penn and UCLA also promote Ebonics as a legitimate dialect in, "Introduction to African American and Latino English" and "Afro-American Sociolinguistics: Black English," respectively."


Here's the link: http://www.academia.org/campus_reports/2002/september_2002_2.html


 


Best thing - I am my own boss and my own emloyee, worse thing - I am my own boss and my own

:P


How many accounts?

My national employer has 19 accounts in my queue, though I rarely work in all of them in a week or a month.  Still its too many.  I'll often work 5 or 6 accounts in a single shift, despite the promise of a limit of 2 or 3. 


This is a terrible business practice. If you are a dedicated MT, it requires extensive time to review account-specific instructions, not to mention being unfamiliar with place and people names associated with the different regions.  It is unfair to "quality patient care" to bounce MTs into unfamiliar territory.  After all, how quickly and accurately can one transcribe a record when you are overwhelmed with studying your fifth or sixth different set of instructions in less than 4 hours?  I believe the substantial amount of MT shuffling is to slow us down--they have overstaffed and its to their benefit to force familiarity with odd accounts so they can do it again next time.  They do phase people out of primaries and secondaries and even tertiary accounts once they become proficient.  We hear the work is low due to summer slow down, yet they keep sending their "please welcome our newest recruits" memos.


And, yes, I will definitely be searching for a new company very soon. 


I have 8 accounts and seriously,
they do run out of work, but I change my work hours. I know if I get on at 6:30 a.m., I will get a decent amount of lines done in about 2 hours time with the normal interruptions of kids. I usually do get back on in the afternoon to try to finish up and there usually is work for me at that time too. I was transferred to Amherst when our office closed. I have been with MQ for 4 years. It just stresses me out that people complain so much about Medquist and it is always the same people. Why not get another job????? Why do they continue to come here and complain about the same thing over and over and over again????? It is the most annoying thing I have ever seen. I agree that we all need to vent, I do too. But why remain at MQ if you are all so unhappy? Maybe finding another job with a different company will make you happy, although it seems like people from every other company are complaining, as well.
15 accounts......
Yes, but it is important that we post this information. I believe, or at least I hope, that the people at the top need to hear this.

The people at the top management levels read this board regularly. They are concerned about the bottom line. Three things affect the bottom line: production, TAT, and quality.

If you have 2-3 accounts, you will have much higher production, much better quality and TAT will be better controlled. You will make more money because you are not wasting time jumping from account to account.

I believe the problem is in middle management. They are the ones putting us on 15 accounts at a time. (I actually had a supervisor who told me she had asked the manager while she was throwing me at every problem account and her answer was...."Tough S---" Unbelievable.
These are only for MT's/accounts that are on DQS
If your account has never been switched to DQS, I don't believe you would receive a check. This somehow pertains to DQS. It appears that the longer your account has been on DQS, the larger your check would be. But this is all a mystery to us MT's. It may also pertain to certain accounts/clients that MQ had misbilled, per the law suits against them. At this point, MQ upper mgmt is keeping very quiet about this check, so can't help but think that it pertains to the overbilling that they had done to some MQ clients -- possibly we were the MT's who were worked on those accounts. BUT YOUR GUESS IS AS GOOD AS MINE about the purpose of the check, other than they had to pay back some monies FOR ONE REASON OR ANOTHER. Will we MT's ever know ????
TOO TOO MANY ON ACCOUNTS
Don't forget to call Human Resources and follow up with a written Employee Complaint with ALL these complaints. They think the complaining is only from an isolated few and won't even take things seriously until the written complaints start to mount up.
Try for your own accounts - How did
xx
Those of you that have your own accounts, what's the

best way of getting your own accounts?  I have one small local account that I got from a newspaper services ad eight years ago.  If I had two or three more like this one, I'd be a happy camper.  I've mailed postcards and made cold calls with no luck whatsoever.  I've even done intro letters with business cards to new providers on the city business license list and in response to help wanted ads.  No nibbles there either.


It doesn't even necessarily have to be a local account.  It could even be Internet based or via mail/UPS.  One guy used to priority mail tapes to me from New York back when I had my virtual assistant/secretarial business.


Any positive suggestions are welcome.  Thank you.


New accounts

It is like selling a house or anything, it takes a large volume of people to get one buyer.  Even if I am not looking hard,  I send out flyers every year or so to keep my name out there -- have a lot of people that are willing to subcontract for me.  I also hit the smaller ones sometimes and do the rounds in the medical office buildings by the hospitals.   Send flyers out to smaller cities/towns if you are set up for digital as those are the ones that are sometimes looking.   Do networking with other MTSO's in your area. I know many in mine and we all network together.  A lot of it is being at the right place at the right time as they often just throw our flyers out and that is why you have to keep sending them out.  Offer something unique -- I cut apart chart notes and that helped with a couple of accounts.   Stupid but they love it.   Also accounts that use transcription services -- take them a flyer personally with some cookies -- it does work to get it to the manager's/doctor's desk it really does.   I have also offered my own accounts a "finder's fee" if I get an account.  Anything works.   I have gotten a few through the yellow pages.  But it takes time and persistence.  One mailing does not usually do it as there are a lot that start up and stop so if they see it once or twice, they remember it.   Good luck.   Keep your prices fair and offer a good service.   Patti


Do 7 different accounts in my
job, 2 programs, and another job with another program. different hospital.  Once you get used to an account and work on it regularly, I have found it does not slow me uip to switch from account to account, keeps me in work.  Also, no problem with doing way over 1000 lines in 8 hours.  But that is just me.  I have been at this 21 years.  I hear others do have problems and sympathize with them. 
As far as QA and their accounts, sm
this company has the best I have worked with. I have no idea what the QA rate is, but they do have the best QA IMHO, so I am assuming they are paid well.
Accounts
Ihave 4 clinics -- one with two Internal Medicine, one with two surgical oncologist, one with a plastic surgeon and hand surgeon and then my psych.  Total in all accounts is about 25 hours per week and gives me about $3000 per month.  I work 12 to 20 hours additional at a clinic as an employee doing EMR work and that pays me per hour with benefits.   Going digital I hope within the next 2-3 months.  No health problems yet.  Have had accounts from 5 to 18 years.
If you have your own accounts and

do you feel obligated to share whatever work there is with them, even if it's really only enough for you?  In my case they have other work that can do but they make more from my work, so they are anxious for any work I have available.  It's overflow, so sometimes there is work and sometimes there's not.  The amount of work available right now I could easily do myself.


Usually I share whatever I have with them, but right now I have so many bills and really need to do the work/keep the money myself.  But I feel bad about doing that.  Should I feel bad?  My husband says no.  He thinks of it strictly in a business sense.


I believe it with your own accounts.
most MTs do not have their own accounts and have to deal with the company's line counting system as well as being paid a very low rate.

Then again, I could never work 60 hours a week (my body just wouldn't allow it) even with my own accounts so this income is definitely not the norm, but having your own account I feel can really put you in control of your income potential. You go girl or guy, don't know.:)