It is so easy to post a letter on a newspaper editorial or magazine. Everybody write one.
Posted By: CC on 2009-03-20
In Reply to:
If you have a story to tell - get busy. Go to news shows, magazines, newspapers. It is so easy. Talk about the MT business or about the whole offshore process and its cost to the U.S. Any and everything written only solidifies our total point of view. GO TO whitehouse.com for sure. Don't wait for others to carry this for you. Support Travelin MT's efforts on the company board!!!!
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Is there someone willing to write a form letter? See blog post
I will put in on my blog and promote the heck out of my blog.
GOT A RESPONSE ON THE LETTER TO OBAMA FROM 1 NEWSPAPER - Not Sure What to Do
It is just a small town paper, asking some general questions about outsourcing/offshoring, pay, types of businesses, etc. I told him I could not tell him what I actually do for a living or name my company. Can he find that out?
I also sent the letter to the Washington Post, Fox News, NY Times, Associates Press, 60 Minutes, and USA Today. I inserted in the letter about uncertain figures that by my calculation, the number of jobs offshored would be more or less the equivalent to the total population in 3 states in the U.S.
What will I do if they find out who I am and who I worked for? Can I be sued?
Advance magazine? Anyone notice the letter to the editor?
It's on page 5 entitled Does Walmart or Home Depot pay better?......Gee, I wonder what company this person is talking about? Okay, which one of you sent this in? hahaha!
Well, while everything the writer of this letter says is true about the company, I think we all know most of us make a bit more than 8 to 10 bux an hour. For myself, it's about twice that. If I really were only making that for what I'm doing, I WOULD head over the the Walmart or Target. I would NOT do this for 10 bux an hour NO WAY in HE double toothpicks!
Idea in letter to Editor in Advance magazine (sm)
Just last night I read a letter in the Advance for Health Information Professionals from a former MR who is now a cancer registrar and loves it. I had looked into that myself a few years ago, although I chose to stay with MT. At the time there were on-line courses through community colleges.
What about coding? I have a friend who works now for a local hospital at home doing ambulatory coding.
Just some thoughts.
BTW, the letter to Advance can probably be found on-line at advanceweb.com/him. It's the Nov 5 issue.
There was an excellent letter to the editor in Advance Magazine last month sm
that spelled how why, but here are some of my reasons:
1. In all their years in existence, the AAMT has yet to make life easier for the AMERICAN MT. In fact, the state of MT in this country is worse than I have seen it in a very long time.
2. The AAMT chose to align themselves with MTIA whose board of directors is largely composed of Indians. They also support offshoring and have adopted the motto "work smarter" which to them means pay hundreds of dollars for a CMT that most companies will not even acknowledge and then hundreds more dollars to join AAMT yearly to get their crappy publications.
3. They are now certifying offshore MTs. Yes, nothing like opening the cover of the AMERICAN Association for Medical Transcription and seeing the names of the Indians who have received their CMT.
4. I get less pay than I did 20 years ago and offshoring is the main reason. So pardon me if I am a little testy that I just paid so much money to an organization who stabbed me in the back.
5. I certainly think they SHOULD change their name to something else. How about the I SOLD THE AMERICAN MT DOWN THE RIVER ASSOCIATION FOR MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTION. Bitter? You bet. Gosh, they made so many promises and all they did was take our money for a piece of paper rarely recognized by anyone at the same time extending a hand to the reason I am making less money than I did 20 years ago!
6. It's a bloated association full of lots of people who "do things." Everything except stick up for the American MT.
7. Oh yes, and the BOS is ridiculous.
Wish me luck. I just sent my query letter to my favorite women's magazine! I've been a sm
self-proclamed freelance writer for a while low. I have quite a few topics I am working on, Christian-based, geared towards women. I had to write a letter stating my credentials (I have a few, believe it or not), future topics, experience, etc. I feel very positive about my letter. It took all day to write.
I just pray this pans out. I eventually want to write a book. That's been a life-long dream. I love to write. I've avidly kept a journal for over 25 years, keep an on-line blog, read every day, and writing just comes naturally for me. Also, I outlined my editing experience, so hopefully that will help!
I will let you know what they say! Keep your fingers crossed....I want to get out of the MT business so bad...It's been a blessing, but I would LOVE to get paid by doing what I love doing.....Sharing my shallow thoughts and life's secrets to other women through the use of story telling and faith-based philosophy!
I would write one more letter and CC: to
the insurance commissioner and your insurance company. Write the letter to your physician's office, enclose copies showing proof of your payment of co-pays one more time. I found whenever I had CC to the Insurance Commissioner, then people got serious about finding the correct records...
Where I am we can write a letter asking to be excused - sm
presuming it presents a hardship for you. At the time I was ferrying my 1 daughter to Children's Hospital 2 x a week for speech therapy, to preschool and had 2 kids under the age of 3 and 4 (got called twice a year apart). So I always had a child at home and no family in the area to take care of my various commitments. They excused me both times. Now if I get called now I don't think I will be able to get out of it as both are in school now, we are done with speech therapy finally, and I can always reschedule anything else if I had too. I would see if you could write a letter, call them and ask, explain your employment situation and with any luck they will excuse you due to hardship. Good luck.
write a letter and send it to the higher ups.
Also, I think PC Magazine and other websites have complaint areas where you can turn businesses in for crummy customer service. The company would rather satisfy the customer than get bad press. Also, complain to the BBB or the FTC. You can make yourself heard.
Manager, if no help, never go back. write a letter saying why
be calm. depends on how big a *bad service* it was - the one I hate the most is where they act like they are doing me a favor to wait on me. That one I always report.
You don't have to hire a lawyer. Write the letter yourself, but
make sure you send it "return receipt requested" and give a specific date payment needs to be received by.
I would write a letter to AHDI and tell THEM, too, why you are dropping. sm
Your opinion and reasons, as someone who was a part of them for so many years and saw NO benefit from it, is a truth they need to be told over and over.
I'm going to write my own letter. Harder to ignore if
thousands of letters, all written differently, still say the same thing. That way they know it's not just a form-letter (like the kind they always send to US.)
A while back I suggested we all write a letter to the editor about this . sm
I did, and they declined to print it. Evidently it's not a big issue in the minds of some. Individually we can't do anything about it. Perhaps collectively. We need a petition to go to ALL senators and representatives from our respective states, and none of this "anonymous" stuff, either.
Hire an attorney & have the atty write a letter
that if you do not receive pay by (the date), you will file a lien on her business and her house, and may take her to Judge Judy  I guarantee you will get your money faster than going to small claims court, spending less time going to court, etc.
Another good idea is to write a letter to the editor...sm
of your local/state newspapers telling people what is happening with their medical records and the downside of them being sent to India. Most people have no clue.
someone just e-mailed me "how to write a letter to your Senator" -
I responded to this e-mail and attached a sample for her (Sarah) to send to her Senator, but came back as not deliverable. Just speak from your heart when you write. Be respectful, "Dear Senator, thank you for representing our state" And then tell your story so to speak, how things are effecting you. That bringing IT jobs (not just MT, but anything that contains our private information, credit card processing, debt collection, etc.) would not only deter the rampant increase in identity and medical identity theft, but would bring American jobs back to America, American MONEY back to America to be spent in America! Good luck to all
Re-post Letter Please
Please repost your original letter. Is this the one I read yesterday that was so veyr good, but now I cannot find? If you repost, many of us can rewrite and send to our local papers. I wish to send one to my 2 local papers and one to the state paper, with name and occupation. If many of us do this, WE CAN BE HEARD!!
See post below with actual MQ CEO letter.
http://forum.mtstars.com/main/v/1/5201.html
I just got a letter too...please post what plans are available to us...TIA
editorial decision
I think combining the measurement with the unit of measure is an editorial decision. I personally like it, for I think it is more clear, and you never have to worry about the measure and the unit being on different lines (with auto wrapping as in all word processors). I believe its origin stems from the scientific community.
You would never see 2 " for 2 inches, but it is 2". By the same token:
10mg, or 5cc or 1L seems more clear than:
10 mg, 5 cc or 1 L.
10mg qid. Seems very clear. It is just an editorial decision. No right, no wrong, just an attempt at greater/unmistable clarity.
Same editorial factors are working in writing 0.125mg and never .125mg without the 0. Leaving the 0 off can lead to misunderstanding: To the fast reader the . could be a fly speck, the the 0.125 is unmistakable. I think clarity ought to be the goal, and not strictly historical considerations.
vJoe
again editorial decision
Not an issue of right or wrong, just an editorial preference/decision.
You prefer:
1 tab 10 mg p.o. t.i.d.
Other prefer:
1Tab 10mg po tid
To me the second is easier to read and is clearer. To you the first is.
vJoe
Buy if from your husband. Have him write you a receipt. Write it off completely or
depreciate it over a few years.
Newspaper ad
RADIOLOGY TRANSCRIPTION
FT M-F/WE
This is the way the ad is listed. The FT M-F job was my job. The weekend job was the one the other Transcriptionist left in December (she graduated from nursing school).
This is copied directly from their ad in the nearest "major metropolitan newspaper".
It's mean of me, but imaging how much work the three remaining MTs must be trying to handle does give me a little bit of comfort. They wanted the office to themselves - well, by golly, they got it!
If it's a business letter you use a colon. if it's a personal letter you use a comma. nm
:
Amen! Amen! Amen. You have helped me this day, by taking out time to write such a post!
May God bless you tremendously.
local newspaper
I just sent an article to my local newspaper asking them to use some of the things from this posting to hopefully make people aware of their personal info possibly being sent to India. It may be a small step, but like Lillybelle said, if we could get this started, maybe we can make a change.
Newspaper article
The Sunday paper in my area had an article on headphones and the 3 that were compared were Bose,Sennheiser, and Clear Harmony. They basically said that Sennheiser has the best quality of sound and blocks noise the best. They are all very expensive but if you go online to E-Bay there are new ones listed that are about half-price. I have been looking at the Sennheiser, but like you, I have a very small head. The ones I use now I bought at Radio Shack. They also have very competitive headphones. Good luck.
from canadian newspaper
I am sorry, I can't provide the link but it is a direct quote from a Canadian publication.
"Because the health care plan is regulated by the government, bureaucracy shows it's ugly head. Waiting lists are long and wait times for certain procedures are equally long. For instance, in New Brunswick, a person requiring heart a bypass procedure may wait for up to six months. A knee replacement in Ontario takes about the same. These waiting times are expected and those in need should prompt their doctors to be proactive in diagnosing the problems and gaining access to the waiting list at the earliest possible instance."
Okay, wanna wait six months for your CABG? You'd be dead. I do see that as a problem, don't you. I am sure there are Canadians who love it, just as I am certain there are those who don't. I would like to know where you got that 5% statistic from, though. I don't mean that as a smart aleck remark. I really would like to know if that is the case. Can you point me in a direction that would verify that?
not sure this will exactly help you, but there was an article in my local newspaper this a.m. sm
that was stating a local doc got in trouble by the board and in part of his requirements it was required for him to use a transcription/dictation service. part of what he got in trouble for was failure to have an H&P on file and proper documentation. it states - for one patient dr. so and so failed to document basic information, including an H&P and treated the patient with excess of 50 narcotic pain medication injections for headaches. yeah, way to go boards!!!!! i'm gonna contact them and see if they need my services, LOL!
couldn't find an English newspaper...sm
and was newly preggers......I ran around Marseille looking for the International Tribune which was an English newspaper (still is) and then did a scrapbook in tribute to John and I still have that.
They are still advertising the jobs on their website and in the newspaper
Quite a waste of money if they're downsizing. Oh, and did I mention - they just opened up a new clinic, which increased the work load by about one-third, and now they are building a second hospital?
Nope. Not downsizing.
Maybe searching internet and newspaper archives - sm
for any kind of stories related to identity theft resulting from offshore medical (or other) records is a start. Another angle would be to look for info. from editors on specific instances (Pt. privacy respected, of course!) where offshored or even US bargain-basement transcription came back with errors that could have caused injury or legal action.
I read a local newspaper article about sm
a high school girl started making money at home by converting VCR to DVD. Her grandmother wanted to convert some family stuff, she found out what equipment needed, bought it for grand daughter and off she went. Posted ads on various websites and wants to go full time. Shoot I even thinking. Just have not googled yet to find out what equip. needed/costs etc.
I read in the newspaper that an online betting site had to shut down...
because there were many very large bets on Danielle winning. Supposedly people were tipped off that she won.
I agree that she shouldn't win. Go Terry!
The easy answer, taking all the easy work and
x
What magazine did this come out of?
Cults 'R Us?
the magazine
I've always found them to be a very good source of information. They are fair and unbiased. I have no reason NOT to believe their statistics, do you?
Big rip off for a magazine!!!!
If you want to support a dying organizations final gasps for survival, buy it. Otherwise, save your hard earned money! I was a member for the first 3 yrs of MTing (where they magazine was included with membership) and then dropped them. They are still aggressively sending me info stating I can renew my membership or even buy their magazine without being a member. How generous of them! LOL!!
magazine
I agree about Advance Magazine. I know it's important to flag some errors, but agree that is out of my expertise.
medical magazine ads sm
I did this once in a small town, New England. Only one reply all year and it was from a doc who later got arrested for child molestation. True story! For me it was a waste of time and thank goodness, I did not take his dictation because he had really old equipment and I had no transcriber for it. Perhaps you'll get a more positive response, but this was truly my experience and it was costly to do this.
magazine article
I'm sorry, but I have a very difficult time believing this. I believe that there was an article written, but the content is ridiculous. If we went to medical school, I'd want the same pay as a physician, wouldn't you all ? For us "old-timers" in medical transcription and having been a CMT for 15 years, we were never, ever told that and I'm certain that as strict as AAMT used to be, we would never be certified to transcribe.
did anyone see the article in Advance magazine
about how wonderful it is to train Indians to do our job. OH YAAAYYY, LET'S HERE IT FOR SPHERIS AND HEALTHSCRIBE Let's give a big whoopie and cheer them on while they continue to post for transcriptionists on this board and yet outsource and TRAIN Indians to do our job. I guess I'm angry about the article on other levels, such as the fact that it seems that Advance magazine is constantly promoting offshore transcription. This is not the first time they have printed articles like this.
Our hospital used Spheris and Cbay and we spent hours up hours redoing the reports, yet these companies got paid in full. Where is the logic in that? Thank God, administration wised up and brought the work back in. Now we can go back to doing what we've always done ... OUR OWN TRANSCRIPTION ACCURATELY!
I sent Advance magazine an email
I think if enough people did, then maybe they will stop glamourizing the overseas work. This is the third article in a year's time that they have done. A few months back Advance actually interviewed an Indian owner, picture and all, about his company!!!
She's now "published in PC Magazine." Who needs friends?
x
The magazine is free. no subscription fee. Advertisers pay
x
No magazine. It's from me. You're first on the prayer list though!
:)
I guess you know more than PC Magazine, CNET, and Newsweek :) sm
You and your unspeakable qualifications are the reasons you're a technical pro with more knowledge than the folks that write the articles and why're you're hanging out on an MT bulletin board! Yes!
Firefox absolutely is relevant. Your choice of browser does increase or decrease the likelihood of your acquiring a virus. I've never heard anyone say that because they use Firefox they're protected from all viruses. But you're the pro with more knowledge than anyone else, including those in the industry who write the articles, so let the rest of us tread lightly around you and your ego.
yes! i used Consumer's magazine to make my choice,
and love mine - Eureka the Boss, SmartVac (an upright) -- less than $150 at Walmart -- very quiet, picks up very well. Only drawback i see is the cord is not retractable. If upright is not your style, or you want particular features, i'd still suggest using Consumer Reports suggestions. Neighbor just bought a Kirby for $800 -- bet this one would outclean that. Its even advertized as outcleaning a Dyson by 60%.
Has anyone ever advertised their business in a medical magazine?.. sm
I am a small MTSO (just me) and have been trying to drum up business with postcards and letters. It has been about 6 months and nothing! I found a medical magazine for my State and was thinking about placing a classified ad. Wondered if any of you have tried this, and if so, were successful. Thanks!
Try off of the Advance Magazine web site, pasted inside. nm
http://health-information.advanceweb.com/main.aspx
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