Need Opinions--Sorry, it's long.

• Need Opinions--Sorry, it's long. - Amy
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Does anyone use software for transcription that has the automatic faxing and e-mailing so the doctor's office doesn't have to pay staff to do this? 

Was it expensive for you to buy - does the vendor charge you a per line fee or any fee for this - is it easy for you to use - and do you feel that the doctors like this kind of software and its faxing and emailing of transcripts to referring physicians functions?  Also, do you have names of companies you could give so that I could possibly check into this?  I am currently using a phone-in system but I thought an automatic faxing software would draw in prospective doctor clients. 

Any opinions, good and bad, are welcomed.   Thank you. 

Does anyone use software for transcription that has the automatic faxing and e-mailing so the doctor's office doesn't have to pay staff to do this? 

Was it expensive for you to buy - does the vendor charge you a per line fee or any fee for this - is it easy for you to use - and do you feel that the doctors like this kind of software and its faxing and emailing of transcripts to referring physicians functions?  Also, do you have names of companies you could give so that I could possibly check into this?  I am currently using a phone-in system but I thought an automatic faxing software would draw in prospective doctor clients. 

Any opinions, good and bad, are welcomed.   Thank you.

I'm still firmly of the opinion that it does suck.  I hate it.  The poster who said it's just a mess to clean up, is absolutely correct.  That's the whole problem.  Some doctors are great,  others are so-so, and many are just a mess.  You waste more time backing up and correcting, and could have typed it by hand in the first place with less grief and frustration.

Yes, maybe it is the wave of the future, but as many bad dictators as there are, there are always going to be people needed for them.   Let the ones who love speech rec go for it.  It might help some, saving some people's hands, and boosting production somewhat, but I'd really like to talk to the people themselves who love it and supposedly have great production, rather than just seeing a generic sheet of numbers that the supervisors wave around for show. 

No, it was not the Dragon program, and not a national company. 

This is not on just a few providers, it's about 70% of them in a quite large facility, ESLs included right along with the stumblers and mumblers.

Correct, the supervisors are pushing this program so hard, to save money. Yes, it can be a great help to some, but not to all. 

Medical reports can be extremely complicated, and are in no way comparable to social work reports.  One person, consistently dictating all the time, compared to an assortment of 20-30 dictators/speech patterns at random, with different types of reports?  No, there's no comparison. 

All in all, it does suck to work with.  And if I'm not taken off the program at the end of three months, then I will probably quit.  It might help me somewhat, but I doubt it's going to boost my production that much.  We'll see what happens.  To me, it's not worth the stress and frustration. 

I am SO sorry for reposting this. If I knew how to remove my other post from the pressure valve, I would... I do not want to get in trouble for multiple postings, so PLEASE forgive that mistake. I just don't think that the PV gets as much traffic as this board, and I really need some help right now! 

Can I get an opinion from someone who is experienced in this business?  I am a relatively new MT...  I have only been doing this job since March 2005, so less than a year. 

I work as an independent contractor at .08 per line.  My employer is a really nice person, but she will frequently need help over the weekend.  I have always said sure because I want to make myself valuable to her.  However, I have always done as much as I can do comfortably and still have time with my family over the weekend. 

I did an extra 1000 lines this weekend, which takes me about 6 hours because I am still new and research everything if I am not totally familiar with the terms.  I got an email this morning saying that, basically, I had not done enough to help her and she ended up doing "most of it" herself.

My feeling is that she is the owner of this business.  If she overextends herself as far as taking on work and she has to work all weekend to get it done, that's what she has to do as the owner of this business.  If she wants to pay a weekend differential to me, then sure... I will make plans with my husband to take the kids on his own and I will work all weekend now and then.  But if I am working for the same rate, I am not willing to work all week and then work all weekend too and miss out on my husband and children.  Isn't it customary and expected to offer a differential for working weekends and holidays?

I am a bit miffed because I gave up most of my Saturday and an hour or so on Sunday to help her out, and now I am criticized for not doing more for the same pay. Any input from you experienced MTs?

I am sitting on my email reply, but it does have this in it:

"I am happy to help as much as I can over a weekend without a differential, but I will need to do so around my family's schedule."

I need to reply to her email, but am not sure what to say. Thank you in advance for your help.  

Yesterday, I received an announcement in the mail regarding the graduation of a long-time ex-friend's daughter's graduation...wheew!

My question to y'all is...the last time this ex-friend and I spoke, we were not on good terms..and actually, she wasn't really a friend.  She was an MTSO that I worked for for about a year.  Turned out (and long story short) she was a crazy person!!!  Anyway, I was very surprised to receive this announcement.

What would y'all do? Send the girl money?...I have nothing against her, though I don't really know her that well...trash the announcement and forget about it, or what? I am by no means going to attend the ceremony, but should I even acknowledge the receipt of the announcement?

I feel like the "friend" just...like my daughter said...went through her address book and sent everyone in it an announcement...probably just for gifts...your help would be so appreciated!

I don't believe I am looking for acceptance or any such thing from my mother, but rather I truly care about my father and aunt's health.  I think sometimes people are very close to a situation and may not be able to see outside of themselves. 

Also, I never said, nor do I believe, that an MT has anything on a NP.  I only believe that we do have some medical knowledge and can sometimes pick up on things.  Years ago my dad had a constant cough.  His doctors (IM, card, pulm) or my mother couldn't figure it out.  I asked if he had started any new medications and he had started an ACE.  He changed meds and his cough was gone. 

I have to think a little more about this, but I do appreciate all the help.

I am considering filing harassment charges against an MTSO for which I used to work.  I left the company 3-1/2 years ago to start my own company with another Transcriptionist (who also worked for the same MTSO).  We had both signed a non-compete contract and had no intention of violating that agreement.  When we were contacted by three of the MTSO's former clients, we consulted an attorney who advised us that while we could not solicit the work we were free to accept the work being offered (in the contract, the MTSO had not only attempted to prevent us from soliciting its clients, it also attempted to prevent us from accepting work from its clients if offered).

Two years after we had both left the MTSO, we both received a visit from the local authorities who had received a complaint from the MTSO stating that we were operating a business out of our homes without a license.  This was proven to be unfounded as we had closed our company the year before (we both went to work for other transcription companies).  A couple of months after the complaints were filed, the MTSO then filed a lawsuit against us (as well as three other former transcriptionists who had worked for the same MTSO) for breach of contract. The judge ruled in our favor and the lawsuit was over.

Fast forward to now:  I received yet another visit recently from the local authorities stating that another complaint had been filed against me by the MTSO for operating a business out of my home without a license.  Again, this was proven to be unfounded as the company no longer exists and I am now considered an employee, not an independent contractor. 

If I file harassment charges, would I just be adding fuel to the fire or stamping it out, as is my intent.

Thanks for any and all advice!

I had doubts myself, guess that's why I asked.  I will continue to brainstorm for a new name.  Thanks to all that replied!   

My brother-in-law is a very sensible, smart and  hard-working man, and my sister has always so cautious, especially when it comes to her children. But somehow, the past couple years she is able to turn and look the other way with her son. And my brother-in-law will not tell his son  to get his head out of the clouds.  Their philosophy is, they survived the "hippie" years, so they know their son will be "fine".   Perhaps it is just to hard for them to deal, so they are too easy on him.  I know it is not my business, but I love them and sometimes I have a hard time keeping my mouth shut.  I need to learn to keep quiet.

Do the majority here think that our supervisors and managers are out of touch?  Before you laugh, this is a serious question.

As we type all these crappy soundfiles, static, ESLs, Christmas carols in August, and on and on, do you think that our managers who were MTs x years ago would really be able to produce as much as they expect us to do day in and day out? What they did in the past isn't an apples-to-apples comparison any more than if we do that.  This is a "today" survey of sorts.

The main reason I ask this is naturally as above (the out of touch/too far removed thing), but beyond that, now that we have all the "perks" of the digital age, why do we still have all these audio problems and everything else we endure on a daily basis?  Why have those problems yet to be resolved, seriously?

I thought about this over the weekend as I had an entire shift of one doc, who always uses a horrible phone or something. The end result is always leaving quite a few blanks--and that's after QA goes over it. 

This isn't a diss session.  It's more a fact-finding one.

Thanks for reading this and adding comments.

Employee salaried position, 52K year, at home with benefits for QA specialist doing full edits, feedback and monthly QA audits.   Do you think this is a reasonable salary?

This is salaried, not hourly! 

Thank you in advance for all opinions!

I visited a school yesterday.  I can't justify paying almost $12,000 to go to school to get a $10/hour job.  I'm going to take the advice I've gotten, get a book and study, and take the certification exam on my own, and then start pestering pharmacies.

Thanks, everyone!

them. 

I have a feeling you think the money we b*$ches are all ponying up is going to let you live in the lap of luxury with your new bundle of joy, but you should really consider whether you will be happy living with almost enough, but never plenty. 

You are at a crossroads in your life really.  You have abilities and skills that can lead you to success, or you can choose to live off the hard work of others.  Choose carefully and live with your choice.

Please tell me if I'm wrong here.  I will try and make it short.  Okay, so I work as an LPN for a doctor and I also do his transcription AT HOME for an extra check (IC status) and I work for another company doing transcription on the weekends.  So, out of the blue he and his wife (office manager) decide that they no longer can "afford" transcription, so they want me to do the transcription during my 8-hour nursing shift.  They don't want to take away any of my duties, they just want me to work harder I suppose, and they said I could do transcription in between patients and things such as that.

I told them that I didn't feel that was fair and that I do make a considerable larger amount doing transcription than my nursing pay and it's really not fair to double my work and keep my ONE pay.  Well, the wife explained it to me and she said that even if they asked me to sweep the floor, as long as I was getting my salary that was required for that 8 hours, then I would be required to do so.  Okay, so I get that........BUT.......everybody working in the office knows how to sweep the floor and that would be fair.  I am the ONLY person that knows how to do transcription, so if EVERYONE can't do the transcription, then why should I be required to?  It is like they are using an extra "talent" that I have, for lack of a better word, to profit on it. 

I feel like what they are asking me to do would be in comparison to if I was also a hair stylist and they REQUIRED me to style everyone's hair at work for no extra money.  I mean doing transcription is a whole extra craft, but they feel it is the same as if they asked me to take out the garbage or sweep the floor.

Am I wrong?  TIA for your opinions.

I used to make $70,000 and up a year and did so for most of the late 80s and 90s (one girl used to make six figures a year working 7 days a week!)  Because we were making more money than the supervisors and Medical Records Directors in hospitals, they began to switch to transcription services which were sprouting up all over the place.  Plus AAMT came into existence and even though in the beginning it claimed it was to fight for transcriptionists (although assured us it was NOT a union), they eventually morphed into an organization that was more management friendly.  They developed the "guidelines" and the 65-char line.  That was the beginning of the end for those high-end wages.  Then all those mickey mouse transcription schools popped up, and now outsourcing overseas.  YES, we're complaining. 

We said he's a MORON and we're not giving him any of our hard-earned money.  He has a right to his opinion.  However, I'm not giving him one red cent of my money because I don't agree with his private opinions that he's been so publicly vocal about.  My opinions is that he's not good looking, he's not a great actor, and his personal beliefs are such that I don't want to contribute to his material wealth.  I merely tolerated him before because he was in the movie I happened to be watching.  Now, forget it.  I won't watch Woody Allen movies either because the nasty old pervert married his stepdaughter.  That's just wrong on so many levels.  And that's my opinion that I'm entitled to.

Threads change as conversations evolve.  We don't have to stay on topic either.  Besides, refusing to pay money to see a Tom Cruise movie was on topic to the thread.  However, the discussions on this board have gotten completely off topic from transcription.  I liked it better when all these current events were on a separate board or the politics board.  Life's too short to worry about what all the rich and famous are doing.

Plus, your generalization about people who vote according to their favorite celebs but don't seek help for depression was way off base.  That was such a completely asinine statement that I would really love to see your facts and research to support such a theory. 

Just wondering if anyone out there has had any expierences with TransformMT (good or bad)?

What, in your opinion of course, do you consider being unfaithful to your spouse? I know this is a LOADED question, with many different opinions.

Is it having a full-blown affair (you know what I mean...we are adults here)?

Is it simply talking to/seeing someone without your spouse knowing, but not being intimate? Kissing, talking, becoming emotionally involved?

Do you think one must *go all the way*, to us a teenager's term, before it would be considered an affair?

I really need some help here...I'm going through a very hard time right now and need some support. I don't want to go into my personal details here, but just need opinions...thanks everyone!