It is not MT versus MTSO we have a bottom line too, & right now it is -

• Big on demands, but low on pay - sm
  • I don't know if this has already been mentioned here, but - mt
    • years experience sm - NEMT
    • I don't understand this post. I have over 10 yrs experience - Do you mean they're paying too low for that amt
      • Yes, definitely paying too low for that experience, and - mt
  • That's the medical transcription industry - in a NUTSHELL.
  • Why - Ghost
    • Check the MT jobs available. Nowadays 8 or 9 cents a line is considered good for experienced MTs. - That was considered good 10-15 years ago, not so g
  • BTDT. They expected a heck of a lot from the MT for that kind of pay - sm
    • Low pay - NEMT
      • These days it's ALL companies. 9 cpl isn't - enough to live on, and why anyone - s/m
        • Yes it is. - lk
          • How many years experience do you have? If over 10, - don't you think you deserve higher pay?
            • I have 3 years experience. - lk
              • Just wait until you start racking up some more years experience - and your pay consistently goes down...sm
                • Hey, Debbie Downer! - lk
            • I have over 30 years. Not only same pay as newbies, - but below India's (in buying-power). nm
      • LOW PAY - gatoreye21
        • No one is charging 15-20cpl anymore. Offshore has taken that away. sm - MTSO
          • VA accts transcribed offshore - moon1010
          • THAT'S TWICE AS MUCH AS ...SM - Bayou MT
            • There's a lot of hard work that goes into - Backwards typist
              • These are administrative tasks that - they get paid to do by paying us a low rate!
                • the same is true for MTSOs as MTs - cjyt
                  • Thank you, that is certainly constructive. How about 17 years, you want me to just change to accomm - digging in
                • I'm not saying "poor MTSO". What - Backwards typist
                  • Former MTSO - Long time MT
              • attitude adjustment is needed NOW (sm) - moon1010
                • I agree with you there, but according to - Backwards typist
                  • We would like to make some "cents" too! - digging in
          • I think it's about time we took it BACK. - US companies rip off their own workers.
            • If you figure out a way for that to happen, let us know. Unfortunately, most politicians sm - MTSO
              • You are so right, and it's such a welcome change - I agree! Strength in numbers
              • I LIVE IN NEW YORK, BUT...SM - HeidiHo
                • The state told us that MTs are employees because we they work in our system and do the same work as - MTSO
              • It is not MT versus MTSO we have a bottom line too, & right now it is - - digging in
              • I hope your 70 MTs know how fortunate they are (sm) - sm
                • How about a simultaneous..... - SHErlock
                  • I'm game. And I could use a vacation, even if - Swiss cheese

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I am checking into other options for transcription.  Can anyone tell me how to compare all of these types of lines & also payment per word?  I know companies use different scales, so I wondered how they compare.  I have been paid on a 65 character line with spaces, but I may be making a change in the future - don't want to get burned.

Thank you in advance!

I am thinking of taking a job that pays by the gross line and not a 65-character line.  I have never worked this way.  Does this literally mean if there is one little word on a line you get paid for it?  I have not pinned her down on a line rate but I am just thinking I am going to be comparing apples to oranges and am wondering how to accomplish that. 

Thanks for any help!

If the administration at the hospital are feeling financial strain, rather than cutting back on their own 6 figure salary, they seem to think hmmmm....how many people can we get rid of and get the job done at a cheaper rate."  At least that is what happened at a hospital I worked it.  They were 16 million in debt and there had to be some lay offs and others that were left took the slack.  They don't sacrifice, they expect everyone else to work harder and get paid less. 

It is not just us.  H works for a car dealership.  People are leaving and are not getting replaced.  The owner expects the workers that are still there to pick up the slack with no raises either.  When the finance manager left, the new car manager filled in.  He went and asked the owner for a raise because he is having to work 2 jobs now.   The owner told him no, he is just filling in.  The man said, no filling in is 2 or 3 weeks, this has been a year.  The owner said, well, we don't really need a manager, we need you just to sell cars.  In other words, the guy got demoted.  After being there 10 years, he left.  H's boss is going in after the first of the year to try to get them all a raise.  I have to put it to him, he is brave to do that after what happened to the other guy.   

quickly.   Most companies overhire and one of those reasons is because there are lots of MTs  who don't work their usual schedule, take a day off w/o notice, etc., so they have to have extra to cover for that.   My company does their best not to overhire, but at times that means we have to work like dogs because there is so much work.   I think some companies also offer incentives/benefits based on production and if you can't reach them they don't have to compensate you for them.   There are times that work is just slow and a company can't give you work they don't have, but not being able to make any lines is a consistent issue then there is a problem.  I would call your supervisor and ask for a backup account and/or look for another position. 

It's not rocket science.

given the chance.  I re-read my previous post to you and I sounded like a b*tch and I wanted to apologize.  You sound like a very positive person who takes criticism and not so pleasant advice very diplomatically.

If your problems with your boss are more of a personal nature, rather than the quality or quantity of your work, I would maybe go over her head.  You already have an adversarial relationship with her anyway, so why not get it on record that you feel she is treating you unfairly?  Or maybe confront her yourself?  I would probably do the latter.  I'm not someone that can bite my tongue which probably explains why I work by myself at a computer all day rather than in customer service! 

Just an FYI, I actually am starting an in-house MT job at a hospital tomorrow!  I've decided that if they try to lay me off in favor of outsourcing, I'm just going to refuse.  I'm going say "nope, I'm sorry, I refuse to be laid off.  I'm going to get back to work now."  I wonder what they would do? 

is your lacking of personality, and your [ pointing the finger ] attitude that you have.  You go back to transcribing all the YUK that we now get after VR skims off the cream and see how well you do sitting listening to that for an entire shift, and you may take off that crown on top of your BIG HEAD !! How did you find one big enough to fit?

  Made just for QALady

I have never been paid by the line before, and I was wondering before I go any further, what would be the minimum requirement of lines per day for most services?  I want to be full time and have benefits.

Thanks

I've been offered two QA jobs; one that pays $15 per hour and one that pays 4 cpl.  I'm told that I can make more than $15 per hour on production because you get credit for all lines in a report, even if you make only one correction.  So I figured that to make the equivalent of $15 per hour, I would have to QA 3000 lines a day.  So here's my question, is 3000 lines of QA in an 8 hour day feasible and is it possible to do more lines than that in an 8 hour day?

Both offer employee status, benefits, etc.  Benefit plans are pretty much exactly the same down to the same health insurance company. 

Does anyone know how to compare byte count versus gross line pay?

Thank you

I recently had a call for family practice dictation and I offered 12 cents per line.  Have always charged by the gross line and was charging 14 cents, which I thought was too high, so lowered it to 12 cents.  However, the more I am reading I see that 65 character seems to be the way everything is getting billed.  I also realize at 12 cents per line I lose a lot going to 65 character lines. 

I also realize with family practice that they might have a lot of times where there is one or two words on a line and probably wouldn't be too happy about paying for gross lines. 

I guess I'm looking for advice on charging.  Is charging for gross lines unheard of anymore? I have already quoted the 12 cents, so that will have to be my charge.  But as far as gross or 65 character, I haven't been asked that yet but would need to have that absolutely straight with them before starting.  Any opinions would be greatly appreciated.  I know I'm a little behind the times and am trying to catch up and stay competitive also. 

Thanks!

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. 

you are being paid correctly at a certain line rate but if she cannot SHOW you how those figures are arrived at, I would be very leery that she is being less than honest with me.  If she knows exactly how she is figuring lines to pay you, she should be able to demonstrate to you how figures are arrived at.