LOL! Accounts vary, I guess. SM
Posted By: Endiqua on 2005-11-30
In Reply to: Weird. Nobody has ever had me cap allergies anywhere. SM - Becky
I have typed on one where they don't want them capped, and it bugs me every time. :)
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It probably does vary between accounts.
Problem in MTSO's don't want MTs to know exactly what they are charging. So MTs get a flat rate. It's not fair.
Well here's a guess. I have my own accounts
and give you 6 cpl for the client-ready work that I produce? Good MTs are not going to work for 8 cpl.
Yeah, no one has ever offered me more, even for ugly ESL accounts. One rate I guess is the standard
Just make sure it's a good fair rate, especially if you do pretty complicated work. There is no way I'd do less than 8 cpl for ESL but may think about it for clinic work. It just has to be fair, which is getting tougher and tougher to get in this biz. Rates get lower but cost of living is going up and up.
yes it can vary
Some don't pay for underlining or bold and you really don't notice these things because they are out of sight and out of mind. We assume that a rate per line means everything in the entire line, but it doesn't. I recently used Abacus and counted by gross and two other ways and it sure can vary.
...may vary (was cut off) (nm)
x
Does it vary by state? usually something like 23.
x
opinions vary,
but i don't think so. but in this day and age, i think you are wise to have more than 1 skill up your sleeve. i think the pendulum will swing and we will realize that a thinking person is better than a machine, tho some adapting may be necessary and that shipping work overseas isn't the smartest solution either. i suspect you'll esp find ample work in the big city.
I have this & speed can vary sm
I also have the 727 with Sprint and also another card for my laptop so hubby can be on it while I'm working. I worked for a company where I had to log in to their VPN system, and there were times I would lose connection because my connection speed would dip down too low. However, I am about 1/3 of a mile outside the official coverage area and have to use an antenna to get a good signal, and this may or may not be the case with your connection. I have also used my USB card for the Bayscribe system and just started with Keystrokes using DocQScribe with absolutely no problems at all.
YMMV (your mileage may vary)
>>>Who are making more money with VR than you did with straight transcribing?
Depends upon the day.
>>>If so, how many LPH did you average when doing straight transcribing?
About 250 lph.
>>>If not, how would you rate the difference, approximately in % of income lost
When VR is "kicking booty," I can get close to 400 lph with around 99% accuracy. And that's just straight dictation. If I knew how to do macros and templates, I could probably get close to 500 lph. --- But it didn't happen overnight. I started using the product again in November 2002 when I busted my finger. When it's a matter of spending the time training the product correctly or not working at all, you find a lot of patience.
It can vary widely so I'm not sure there is a baseline.
Some companies pay per line, some pay per hour. Hourly is the best way to go. The per line rate can go from 2 to 5 cpl, hourly $10 to $15. Figure out what your hourly rate is doing transcription and you'll know what to ask for. Generally QA people make less than MTs, but you wouldn't want to take a cut I don't think.
goes to show how much our experiences out here vary... Everyone comes from a different POV
What you can do per hour can vary WILDLY
I have some accounts I can crank out lines on and hit 1000 in 5 hours easily. I have another that can take me nearly 8 hours because of being 90% ESL (really bad ones to boot!) and really tedious account specifics. I have been on this platform for 6 years and have expanded to the max. It can just depend on the accounts you do! :-)
Yes it can vary, that is up to the MTSO how they want to pay/bill - sm
I used to work for one that billed out as a line being 60 characters; she also had another account that was 50 characters (which gives the Dr. the impression they are paying less as the rate is .10; which is actually .13/65 char). This was a smaller MTSO though, all the larger companies I have worked for have all been 65 char/line.
Seems to vary by company. Mine seem to
s
Reports vary so much it's hard to say
It really depends on what type of reports they are, as well as your platform. I just started doing radiology and man when I think I am really rocking, my report numbers are up and my line count is down. Like you, sometimes when I'm really strugling with those long complicated MR reports and feel like I'm stopping every five seconds, despite myself I'm typing more lines. I feel it's because the reports are so long.
Basically, I live by the axiom that anytime you have to take your hands off the keyboard, it costs you money. Period. That's why people talk about the "good old days" of WP51 and straight Word (not Word-based platforms) where you could keep your hands where they belonged and not fiddle with the mouse all the time or wait on the platform to catch up to you.
Sorry I don't have more answers; perhaps someone who keeps better records than me will be more help! :)
As you can see, experiences vary very widely SM
But--It's the future, so leap in! Figure out every way technology can do the work for you much, much faster. Start programming your corrections into your Expander from day 1. All of them. Not just a few main phrases, but virtually every word within them and every possible variable. Program in all your punctuation corrections. Like changing ". He " to ", he" and vice versa within at most 3 keystrokes. You'll do it all day long.
It's true people are making less in general these days, but any time I hear of people still being able to support themselves fairly acceptably I pretty much know they're still typing out most stuff out the looong way. Alllllllllll of it alllllll day looooong...... That's really sort of analogous to people who refused to learn word processing, insisting on staying with Selectrics and Liquid Paper. Back then, like now, we upgraded our skills or went broke.
And if you don't already, practice reading fast until you get that skill up there. There's a lot of reading to this.
Don't bother fussing about what a mess VR can make of some dictation. All that counts is what income you can make from cleaning it up. (Tho skimming through reports that just need a slight buffing IS a pleasure.)
My last thought is that this business is in flux, and it's true some companies are not paying equitably for this work. Yes, a greatly increased pool of skilled workers for each good job does mean pay has gone down for MT overall, but if you feel you're producing fairly well compared to others in your position and your income still has dropped signficantly over what you earned doing transcription, you need a better company. OTOH, if you've worked hard at developing these new skills and can't seem to do decently, it may no longer be the field for you. Either way, plan on being ready to move on if necessary. Don't wait many months to figure it out. Best wishes!
As a for instance, 225 lines/hr at 8 cpl would be $18/hr. Your mileage may vary. nm
a
Line rates vary geographically.
I wouldn't work for less than 0.08/65-character line that included spaces. If you're traveling, printing, etc., charge more. Tax advice should come from professional tax preparers, not this site. Also check IRS website.
Plus, line rates vary by company
depending on the account. I told someone how much I made, she got a job with the same company on a different account making less $$.
Plus, line rates vary within the company
depending on the account. I told someone how much I made, she got a job with the same company on a different account making less $$.
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.
This will vary depending on dictator style and speed, but the average to shoot for initially shoud b
around 3 times the length of the dictation. So, if the dictation is 5 minutes long, you should be able to complete the transcription in roughly 15 minutes. Again, that can vary, but it's a good rule of thumb to go by.
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.
If it's different for each report, my guess (only a guess)
would be no. I think the macro would work if it was the same each time, but not sure if it will if the documents are different each time.
It can vary from company to company.
If a company is on one coast and you on the other it can affect shift time, meaning usually if you want to start work 9-10 instead of 11 you could for 3rd shift, etc.
i'm sure it will vary from person to person.
I recently did the same thing and am loving it! The freedom from time clocks, the better company, make losing the benefits well worth it to me. You need to set up a plan to have $ set aside for taxes though. I should have done this years ago!
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.:)
Own accounts
Do a search on this as we extensively discussed this about a week ago. You have to be ready to do all types of accounts using all types of equipment. The more money sounds good but there is a lot of work to it, no relief for time off, a lot of non billable time. You have to realize that if it is just you will be be seeking out either a one to two doctor clinic as that is about all you could handle at first. Most of these smaller clinics use tapes, you print, pick up and deliver. But if you are going to limit yourself to digital only then you need to expore setting up your own FTP site, know how to transfer back and forth and it is usually a larger clinic which would be hard for one person to handle. I think you need to do a little more investigation and there is no "book" to buy it is through a lot of hard work, sweat, tears and perservence that you keep doing your own accounts. Like I said you are sick, no one to do your work and often times the office understands the first time but when you are new, a second time and they look elsewhere. They have a hard time understanding sick children, relatives, power outages, disc failures, etc. until you have built a reputation and rapport with them. Has taken me 20 years to so do. Good luck, use your own common sense and brains and do a flyer, brochure, letter introducing yourself and send them out. It can be done but it take a while to get started and keep going.
Own accounts
Well how did this office contact you? I would get this one under your belt and use them as a stepping stone and a reference and go from there. It works the same in this field as in any other field you want business, you go out and advertise, do flyers, make phone calls, etc. Most will not come to you unless you have been established for years or have an ad in the yellow pages, etc. So start with this one since they have contacted you and go from there.
I am an IC with my own accounts -
I get 17 cpl for transcription and 12 cpl for editing VR, all acute care.
Getting Own Accounts
Hi, I would like some info on where to start in getting my own accounts as in what kind of equipment required, where to begin, etc. Also, what do you charge, etc.
I have 17+ years of transcription experience working for others, want to try something different.
Own accounts
Have had several contacts to me regarding own accounts. I don't mind sharing general information, etc.but please do not ask me for samples of my brochures, flyers, business cards, etc. and ask for a step by step procedure to go through for obtaining your own accounts. I am not a consultant you pay for those fees. If you have been in the business even working for someone else for many years, then you should have a basic idea what is needed with regards to equipment, etc. No one can know you have a service unless you go out and advertise it. Get your name out there and let them know you are available. I am not being mean but I had to do a lot of learning along the as well as time spent in research and development and if you want to do this there is no easy way. Guess I could write a book and sell it. As for rates, if you are working for a small MTSO in your area add on 25 to 35% of what your rate is currently. To me, I would rather start out low and raise in a year or so to get the account, the experience of doing my own clients, etc. Patti
Getting new accounts
Talk to your hospital medical staff coordinator and ask if you can sponsor doughnuts for the doctors lounge on a certain day. You get an estimate of how many dozens you need, pick them up, deliver them to the lounge and then the hospital puts up a board saying the doughnuts are compliments of "XYZ Transcription Service." You leave a stack of brochures and business cards on the table so they get into the hands of the doctors and not the office managers. You'll get business quicker by impressing a doctor than you ever will by impressing an office manager.
The accounts I currently have are *sm*
small and I use a call-in system for them. This account would be quite large. My first thought was to get the account and use a call-in system and switch to something less expensive later on. I find it strange also that they expect the vendor to provide the paper but that is what it says. In regards to what someone else posted, am I allowed to request a copy of the prior bid?
getting accounts
I work as an employee, but have a friend in another state who developed her business by going in person to Dr.'s offices, introducing herself as someone who will do overflow work when their regular Transcriptionist gets behind or goes on vacation, and leaving a business card/flyer. That way she is nice, polite, and doesn't come off as cutthroat. When she does get the call, her work is so professional that many switch to her permanently.
My own accounts
Surgical oncology -- 28 minutes = 568 lines -- 65 minutes with proofing and printing.
Internal Medicine -- 64 minutes - 2 docs -- 950 lines - 2.5 hours
3 Psych consults -- each is over 30 minutes, 400 to 450 lines per consult, 1 to 1.5 hours for each report. Depends on how may tests are done.
With pick up and delivery I put in 8 hours today.
Maybe she has other accounts you know nothing -sm
about and she would have given you one of them. You cannot ask her that is for sure. As for telling her where you went, not sure that is a good idea since it was her client. I hope you are an employee for them and not an IC. She may think your filched her account if she finds out. Also read the find print in your contract with her if you have one, there ususally is a clause about taking work from one of her clients directly yourself (non-compete clause), if so you may have a big can of worms on your hands; I don't think it matters that they approached you when it comes to a non-compete clause. Good luck.
Own accounts
Own accounts have been doing them for 5+years. Lots of saved phrases. Will be doing psych this afternoon and will do probably 1000 to 1200 in 2 to 2 1/2 hours if the reports are 10 to 12 pages each. Just gotta go out there and get your own small office accounts.
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