MTSOs...What, if any, TASP do you use?
Posted By: see message on 2006-06-01
In Reply to:
I don't like the one I'm currently with and am looking for some other options. What do you like about yours? You may email me if you prefer.
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It's not misleading at all. We provide a TASP service to MTSOs at a rate of 1 cpl. Please leave o
abbreviations that are interpreted as foul...i.e. WTF. USATasp is owned and operated by MTStars. If you have questions, feel free to email me directly.
Yup ... smaller MTSOs, local MTSOs (sm)
local doctor's offices or clinics! Don't get discouraged!! :)
Looking for a TASP
I am looking into Sten-Tel as a TASP. I am starting my own service and want to be able to offer a fully digital solution to my clients. So far, everything from Sten-Tel sounds great, but I would like to hear from those who use them or any MTs that work for a company that uses their technology as well would be welcomed.
1. Is the system easy to learn and to teach to others, both MTs and dictators?
2. Can you get your line count right after a report and with the simple click of a mouse or is it a very detailed process.
3. Can you be a productive MT - 300+ lines per hour if you average that elsewhere?
4. Any faults you have found with Sten-Tel.
5. If you have used another TASP and Sten-Tel, which was your favorite.
6. Is it easy to add new dictators or new MTs.
7. Is it easy to assign the work to the correct MT.
8. Can you type a report yourself if needed right from the job list or do you have to assign it to yourself first?
TIA to those who reply. Any other info would be helpful too.
Are you sure you want to use a TASP?,,
with a tasp you keep paying and paying and paying; consider Bytescribe's DocShuttle system. You could have Dictator for your docs, then Admin and Client for yourself, plus an FTP site for less than $600. You could earn that back in your first month. Also I am surprised you have to cover the paper, but you can buy in bulk from OfficeMax or whatever and get that covered. It would be toner that would eat you alive. Plus how do you ascertain if they aren't using the printer freely for whatever they feel like? Seems to me they can cover the paper and ink for crying out loud. You may want to bid quarter cent cheaper to get out of that. Also if they sent you a standard contract it may have something in it about you needing to have insurance. That is something you can line out and sign off. Just tell them virtually no MTSO carries that insurance because there is virtually no liability for the MT's - the docs are responsible for the content of the report. Any liability for an MTSO comes mainly from employees and IC's wanting to sue you for some sort of -ism. Good luck!
TASP.. anyone use a TASP or have SM
comments or recommendations? TIA.
Those of you who use a TASP - which do you
but I hate the initial expense of it, I hate the hassle of having to maintain it and have a service contract, I hate worrying about thunderstorms and electrical outages and phone outages causing downtime, I hate having to bother with the whole thing.
I have considered a TASP but am hesitant for a few reasons:
1) My doctors seem to like the idea of dialing a local number, not an 800 number. I'm not sure that they would like having to dial an 800 number.
2) With my system, I can customize the greeting.
3) With my own system my doctors don't have to go through a bunch of prompts to dictate. I have one who dictates just short 1-minute notes all day long after he sees patients. He likes to dial in, punch in 11# and get right in. He would have a problem with having to go through a bunch of prompts every 15 minutes for every short note.
4) I don't like the voice greeting on the TASPs I have heard. I'd like a voice like the Dictaphone lady on the Dictaphone systems, something like that. Some of them sound like electronic voices or repeat the doctor's name back when they log in in an electronic voice, and I just don't like that. One has a voice with an Australian or some sort of accent. What one just has a normal pleasant voice and not something that sounds strange to the doctors calling in?
5) A couple of TASPs I know of also have transcription companies. I don't want my dictation going to a TASP that also owns a transcription company. How do I know they won't be soliciting my accounts if they are getting the voice on their system?
I would like to see a site where someone has researched all the TASPs and gives an overview of each, including the costs, options/services they offer, and a review of the TASP.
Those of you who use TASPs - do you have any input? I have listened to a demo of idigital and also the Bytescribe TASPs but honestly, it was so long ago that I don't remember what the voice sounds like or what the prompts were like. I have heard Metroscript's and it is one of the ones with lots of prompts and the electronic voice and I'm not crazy about that. I don't think I've heard any others...
TASP
I have a friend who has an ever growing MTSO and she uses MetroScript. Now let me say that she is a very "anal" careful, and I mean very, very, very careful person. She will not use anything until it has been researched to death. So I would definately give MetroScript a big thumbs up. She loves it!
Anybody know about using Medikin for a TASP?
MedRemote wants 4 cpl, and as it usually takes a while to be paid for new work, I need to start out with a lower cost. Their web site says they start out at 1.7 cpl and it goes down from there depending on how many lines you do. Just wondering if anybody could share their experience, good or bad. I do not have money to buy equipment outright at this time so am looking into this alternative.
Any responses greatly appreciated!
Can anyone recommend a TASP out there?
I am trying to decide which company to use. I am looking for reasonable cost and good quality. Thanks in advance! 
What type of TASP do you have? nm
nm
anyone used Chronicle as a TASP
Any feedback is appreciated as our hospital is interested in using them for server management.
TASP recommendations?
Anyone use a TASP (transcription application service provider) they can recommend? I'm thinking about trying MetroScript. Any input on this company or others would be appreciated.
but do you download from a TASP?
13 cents per line / TASP --nm
x
tasp phone rates
A high end no minimum volume virtual toll free # is .07/minute. The voice mail goes right to my e-mail in a wav. file. Why can't the tasp do this for less $ with the volume they would get from an MT biz?
I'm just curious why it's so high. :) Is it the security features that cost so much? The file hosting seems reasonable but the phone rates are high.
Anyone use TASP or work for MedEDocs?
Wondering what their platform is like to use (I know it's a version of MTWorld). Anyone use their TASP application as MTSO application? Thanks for any info.
TASP recommendations requested
Can any IC's recommend a really inexpensive, easy to set up TASP that offers digital and phone? I have used Emdat and like it, but it is expensive. I have used Bayscribe and love it, but their spellchecker is worthless. Something that works with MS Word would be great. Recommendations?
Have two great TASP recommendations
http://www.scribe.com/scribelite.aspx
Above is link to website of Scribe Healthcare Technologies, they have a "lite" version of their platform for smaller services. I've been using it since March and absolutely love it. The people at Scribe are great, questions get answered almost immediately, tech support is excellent. Our doctor clients equally appreciate the features of this platform. I would definitely contact Scribe for info and free demo. I'm so glad I am using this for my MD accounts.
I also use Metroscript for some other type doctors that don't need "auto signature" on their reports. Metroscript is equally terrific, have been using them for 3 years now. These folks are equally the best, perfect for a smaller service too. They will walk you through the learning curve very patiently. Find them at www.metroscript.com. Good luck to you.
Downloading DSS files from TASP
I will need to download and play DSS files from a TASP system. My boss says I will need to purchase a player and program from Olympus to do this. Others have said I can use Bytescribe or Express Scribe with my USB pedal. My question is, if that's the case, how easy will it be to transfer from a TASP and play them on one of these players. My boss is making it out to be an impossible task. She said others have tried other programs and other foot pedals with either partial success or no success. Any help would be appreciated. The pedal package is $300 and who can afford that? Not I! Thanks and happy typing!
Metroscript is best TASP for this application
www.metroscript.com
Recommendatios for a TASP for digital files
I am thinking about getting my own clients and have only been able to Google 3 TASPs. DocShuttle, Medikin, and idigital. Are there others?
A TASP is basically a company that owns
your clients call in and dictate on their system, and you pay them usually based on the minutes of dictation. That way you don't have to put out the money for a system of your own but you have access to a system. Metroscript is one, Bytescribe has a TASP, and the owners of this site also have a TASP although I don't recall the name - but if they would like to post the name of it under my post that is fine with me. There are others as well.
don't use TASP's period. Why duplicate the internet especially when it is free...I use
Docshuttle, and an FTP site. Docshuttle can be set up to be entirely automatic at the doc's end, which makes it so much easier to get the file to and fro.
Which TASP companies allow remote users to transcribe online?
MTSOs
You are not wrong but in my opinion, you are giving them too much credit. The reason why they don't do what you ask is because most of them are not concerned with making your life easier; rather, they are more concerned with figuring out more ways to cheat you and to make your life more difficult. Then when you get disgusted and quit, they will just get somebody else in a very short time to replace you because you are very expendable. And it goes on and on in the same vicious cycle.
MTSOs
You know, there has to be a market between the dastardly corporate MTSOs and small transcription companies. It seems to me that if a talented, aggressive MT with a good business sense could find a way to create a "team" approach to the transcription business, perhaps one could find that niche and sell "team transcription" to good accounts that the MTSOs screw up and have cheated. After all, you have to believe that with the scandals in the transcription corporations - over billing, sending work over seas without informing the client, a lot of trust is lost by some of these unsatisfied accounts. I say, find a way to market to those clients in a "team group" and find the right price, somewhere a little lower than the MTSO charges and go after those accounts aggressively in a group. There is a market there you know.
more than most other MTSOs pay.
it is not kosher to share on public forums what a company pays.
I would not think many MTSOs would want to
x
No, it's not just the MTSOs (sm)
The actual doctors don't want to pay more than minimum wage for transcription either. As an independent, I've had doctors balk at 12 cpl (which is BELOW what the MTSOs are getting, believe me) and I've lost business because I wouldn't take $6 an hour or what equated to 7 cents a line.
So where am I at? Making peanuts working for MTSOs who are getting 15+ cents per line as a middleman for these same kinds of physician while I'm making a paltry 7-8 cpl. It's a no-win situation.
Help for new MTSOs? sm
I have questions about proposals, equipment, and what to charge in order to get started. Are there any web sites out there to help me in this? I have books that I have read, but they go over the basics of start-up MT services.
You should run this by the MTSOs and
see what they think.
This is why the MTSOs have gone so low
single mom, does not want to work away from home. I bet they love reading postings like yours. They have women where they want them, just lower the rates because these people are saying they cannot leave the house.
When MTSOs overhire, this is what happens:
There are actually MTs who work to support their family or supplement their income to meet the customary lifestyle. When MTSOs overhire, leaving the MT with very little work, I have observed this - Jobs are done hurriedly. When extra foot work is required (due to discrepancy in report, incomplete info provided, etc.), the MT who is desperately trying to meet their bills will skip the job or disregard the need to research and go on to the next job. This is extremely dangerous for everyone concerned. At times, it is weeks before the incomplete report is realized.
I do not fault the MT entirely. When the MTSO overhires, they are setting themselves up for this. I do believe 98% of us want to do a really good job, especially those who have been at this for years. But, I have noticed this more and more, and it will, MTSOs, come back and bite YOU.
When you have a dependable employee who can be counted on for production of a certain amount of work, provide that to them.
MTSO - When you get a new account and hire top shelf MTs initially to get the ball rolling and make a splashing impression, do not replace them with lower rate MTs afterwards - it is obvious when the company is hiring nonstop and they already have MTs sitting at home idle for hours at a time. And this creates, MTSO, the "disgruntled employee" who may make every attempt to ruin your reputation each time they can.
I have just come home after being in house for a few years and after three months, I see this happening with my company and, according to the board, it is widespread. It is an issue that needs addressed before someone, namely the patient, is hurt by it.
Unfortunately MTSOs now do good if....sm
they collect 15 cpl. With the pressures from overseas vendors the pricing has dropped to 12-14 cpl. In the "old" days (prior to say 5 years ago) the going rate was 20-25 cpl and of course companies could afford to pay 10-12 cpl easily.
Wellll, I don't know about MTSOs, but JLG -- Please SM
was helping with our hospital transcription.
We got paid $1.50 a minute if we did 2500 minutes a month ($1.75 a minute for all minutes over 2500).
JLG got $3.25 a minute. I saw the bill. I saw it with my own eyes. I nearly fell over. And to boot, it was horrible transcription, FULL of ridiculous errors, blanks. And we had to convert the text files. It was such a bunged up mess.
I lost all my trust at all in the hospital since they were paying us HALF of what they paid a service. I even contacted JLG to see if I could hired to work on MY hospital's account. They were going to pay me 7 cpl. What a joke.
Any Medikin using MTSOs out there?
I am in the process of opening my own mid-sized transcription company. I am still in the process of deciding what TASP to go with as I do not want the hassle of maintaining my own equipment. I have been looking at Medikin's website and am very impressed with what they have to offer for the price. If anyone is currently using or has used them in the past, could you please post your experience here.
Good MTSOs are even
more difficult to find than good MTs. Many of them have negative attitudes and expect indentured servitude in exchange for peanut wages. Many of them have limited, at best, technical or MT knowledge. We get tired of the ranting emails that don't even apply to us from a PMSing or menopausal females. Disorganized, poor communication skills, cheap, selfish, zero management skills, lack of a formal education, lousy platform, personal life issues conflicting with job performance. You'd be able to find good MTs if you were a good MTSO.
From an MTSOs standpoint
no, I'm not one ... just throwing a coin into the playing field ...
Wouldn't having only ICs working "for" a company mean less liability. IOW, if MQ phased out the SE status, could that take a potential monkey off their back?
OTOH, they can hire all the ICs they want, but if those ICs only work for MQ, they're still considered SEs ... correct?
small MTSOs
There's a great online resource for MTSOs of all sizes, varying benefits and pay, and variety of work. It's called www.MTJobs.com. Sign up to be on their mailing list. There are usually at least 50 companies listed on each newsletter, which comes out twice a month. Good luck in your search, and prayers for God's healing of your medical problems. :)
To MTSOs or QA Managers
I recently took over QA for a small company just purchased. Previously there had been essentially no QA rules. If any of you could send me examples of how your QA is set up, the percentages you deduct for errors - common, critical, etc., it would be most appreciated. Any rewards given for high QA or deductions would be appreciated as well.
Patti or other MTSOs...
Hi,
Need to get my own account/s instead of relying solely on the national (guess who). Getting a client in my area is probably the easy part. The hard part is the logistics of software, paper, etc. Not having dealt with this stuff working with a national, it is the *simple* things that are a mystery to me (and others, I suppose). I hate to even inquire about transcribing for someone, not knowing what equipment I will need, what software, kinds of paper. I am sure I would come across as an idiot (like right now, maybe?)
OKay, well, I looked online at Dictaphone and it looks like there are mini, micro, and standard cassette units (not to mention digital online programs), so I guess you WOULD have to find out which the client prefers before investing in one, and I know you can get them on EBay, but what else? Does the software come with the transcriber? I don't suppose you can type them out in Word? I suppose one can buy a medical spellchecker. Then you need paper if you are going to print them out...what kind? Anything else? There are so many variables. I suppose I should first contact the two MTSOs that I know locally and ask for overflow work. That way, they could help me learn about this stuff.
No slamming, please. Very sensitive tonight as I just received a call from my Supervisor, very nicely hinting that I need to bring my line count up but, as we talked and now, hours later, I have *no jobs* on my screen. Pretty hard to get that line count up with no jobs!
Thanks for any tutoring and/or advice. 
MTSOs AND RESUMES
As a recruiter, it is nice to have the references already listed in the resume.
To all MTSOs. please help with answer..sm
I have been a Transcriptionist for 14 years and I am looking to become an Editor. I have experience in many specialties. The problem I have is most places want an experienced Editor to fill their positions - how do I get a chance to become an Editor without any experience. I have asked my company that I work with now about a position but they too want an experienced Editor. Please help! My poor hands need a break. I love transcription field and want to stay in it. I am just wondering how long my hands will hold out. I have every resource that I need for the position - last year I bought the COMPLETE set of Stedman's reference materials because I know how important it is to have good, reliable reference materials.
Any and all information would GREATLY be appreciated! I am just looking for a company that will be honest with me as I will be with him. I am easy to get along with but would really like a chance to go in this direction.
Thanks and hope you all are having a great weekend!
don't feel sorry for MTSOs sm
the person I work for is making hundreds of thousands profit off all of us and I'm being paid higher than 8 cpl. Don't feel sorry for MTSOs
Ungrateful MTSOs
I know how you feel. I worked this way for years. Just Friday night as I was at the end of a report, I got a call that my son had been in an accident and was being transported by ambulance to the hospital. I signed off the report and shot a quick email to my supervisor that I had to leave to go to the ER. I had a nice email the next day from both my supervisor, as well as our QA person inquiring as to how he was doing and not asking at all - "when are you going to be able to work again" that note was so very appreciated, as most that I have worked for would have only inquired as to when I would be up and running on "their" work again - their only thought being on how I wasn't producing during a bad personal time and how they couldn't afford for me to take too much time off. I appreciate you, for what that is worth, and I hope that you will one day find a compassionate MTSO to work with. There are some out there, but they are very few and far between. By the way - my son is going to have to have surgery, but his life is intact and we will get through this setback.
small MTSOs
Ditto. I am not at all happy with the nationals.
An exception to MTSOs
I see that my post has been removed. Perhaps it was too inflammatory. . In all my "trying out" of companies across the board, I can say that there are a couple of exceptions to my post about MTSO's. One of them is the owner of Keystrokes. I do appreciate this company for being above-board, line count appears to be accurate and pay is always correct and on time. There are still a few good ones out there.
Any in-house MTs or MTSOs...
...or MTs who used to work in-house, have doctors/clients who want you to call them by their first name and insist on it. I'm in California, so I'm used to the first name stuff - though I was raised by "formal" parents who insisted that I call everyone by Mr. or Mrs. or Dr., saying I should do so even when I became an adult, particularly with customers or clients. But I still want to keep it professional...just my pet peeve I guess.
IC is just a ruse that MTSOs use so they don't have to
pay employment taxes, etc. I've never worked an IC job where I was truly an IC. They tell you there's 24 hour turnaround, but they really mean 8 hours or less. The MTSOs tell us how to do the work and with what equipment/software, when to work, etc. That is NOT an independent contractor! They expect you to sit there doing nothing if there's no work, but have a conniption fit if you need a day off. I went three years working six days a week without a day off.
The IRS definition of an IC is "Who is an Independent Contractor? A general rule is that you, the payer, have the right to control or direct only the result of the work done by an independent contractor, and not the means and methods of accomplishing the result."
MTSOs - Need hep with new account please....SM
I had my meeting with the office manager of my new account. With the system I use now for my other account (Word-based), the front desk receives my completed transcription via a secure transfer program, downloads it, and prints it.
The problem I have is the new office wants eight computers to have access to the dictation. With the way things are now that would mean all eight would have to download the transcription in order to have access to it. This would work, but I do not feel it is the easiest thing for them to do and I want to retain this account, so I want to find something that is easier that would allow all eight to have access to the dictation.
I believe what I’m looking for is something more like a web-based program where I could upload the dictation and then the eight people could have access to the dictation that way. I’m not familiar with FTP sites or what other options are out there. What I need is a way to transfer my files to the office where all eight people/computers could have access to it, make any changes if needed to the dictation where all eight people would then have access to the final dictation. Does anyone have any ideas? I’m totally willing to put a little money into this, but I just don’t know where to begin. Are there any MTSOs out there who use a program that sounds like it fits my needs or any ideas to guide me in the right direction.
Any help/ideas would be greatly appreciated. TIA
You sound like most MTSOs who don't
Experienced MTs are worth their weight in gold because they can produce and produce fast.
An inexperienced MT needs to be molded and shaped and in no way can produce the amount of work an experienced MT.
Just in those two sentences I've summed up my opinion of this industry at this stage in the game with formal training way before AAMT came about and producing quality documents.
It's do or die!
It's sink or swim!
All of this hogwash you've typed is a waste of time. Offshoring is going on because it's cheap labor and not because they're good or put forth effort.
The amount of knowledge and skill comes from transcribing real documents by real dictators and not by books or prefab practice sets.
COME ON!!
This is all, of course, JUST MY OPINION! I'm making loads of money in this field because I have the skill set and the only feedback I want is from the physician himself! Thanks and have a nice day! 
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