Need advise/guidance from experienced MTSOs. See inside.

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My mother-in-law owns her own business and I'm an IC for her along with two other companies. She just lost a pretty good size account to India. In the last two months, she has had two phone calls from offices inquiring about her transcription. They were referred by word of mouth from other doctors. In the past 20 years that my MIL has been doing this accounts have always been dropped into her lap (so to speak) and there was no effort involved on her part. I keep strongly encouraging her to follow up with the doctor or office manager and then drop by with some samples of work and just to introduce herself. I feel that she is not aggressive enough and has lost two accounts due to this. It could be rates too I'm not totally sure.

Let me give you the scenerio from the last couple days. Two days ago the doctor herself called and spoke to my MIL. Unfortunately, her grandson was screaming in the background, but besides that the conversation went well. The doc is very behind and needs someone right away. My MIL called yesterday to fu and the doctor was with a patient but the woman on the phone sounded glad to hear from her. There was no return call yesteray and my MIL feels she should drop it that she didn't get the account. I feel she should go to the office this morning and introduce herself and bring a few samples of her work and even pick up the tapes if it were to go that well.

I need help convincing her to follow through with this. Over the last 20 years things have changed and that MTSOs need to be a little more aggressive or the accounts will go to the next MTSO that is.

Since I have always been an at-home national service employee, I am completely ignorant as to what I would need for equipment/software in order to set up a system so that I wouldn't have to pick up/deliver tapes. I live in a rural area so it is several miles to the nearest large town and would like to be able to eliminate the need to travel back and forth daily to pick up and deliver. Can you give me any information on what I would need to do this and how expensive it would be to set it up? Thank you so much

If you work with a call in system, would you be willing to share if you like it/don't like it, how your transcriptionists acess their work (internet or through the call in system), where did you buy your system and is it efficient, etc. Thanks.

I appreciate the good tips about the company board, but my situation is unique. I currently have more than enough work to keep me busy; however, I may be interested in getting a business license and picking up a few more clients and having my cousin (who just graduated as an MT) work under me where I can supervise her work.

If I were to start my own small business, I would like some sort of website and would need a method for my clients digital files to be sent back and forth which is HIPAA compliant (my MD now insists on using email, which I have told him is not secure).

I emailed sitefever earlier today and they showed me an online demo of this file management system they have under development, which they said should get released before Jan 2006. It seems really easy to use, and it is designed for MT's and their digital files. They said the cost is only $60 per year, which seems like a really good option. And, best of all, it's HIPAA compliant!

So, just sharing with you all some things I learned today just by asking a simple question!

I learned the hard way years ago out in my garage with no AC on a Royal typewriter, stacks of black carbon paper, a typewriter eraser, the aid of a good medical dictionary plus a kleenex or two to wipe the sweat off my brow and you know what? I'M STILL TICKING! I have so many accounts and doctors screaming to sign up I can't find girls fast enough but I would say to you to save your money and time about school. Invest in a good computer, a medical dictationary, learn to use google as a backup and for any questions but ..... DO invest in a good AC unit! Hee Hee!

If you are asking because you were approached about a job please feel free to e-mail me for details of reasons not to do it.

First, send your grievances to your employer in writing. Give them a chance to rectify them. (Yes, I know you may already have done this, but there is a procedure for these things.)

Sever people have mentioned starting blogs. That would be a good place to share the answers everyone receives (if any) from the employers. THEN would be the time to talk strike, if the employers' response does not address the issues.

It's easy to get carried away with enthusiasm, but you don't what to shoot yourself in the foot.

I really enjoy reading the posts here. I am getting back into transcription after being in for over 15 yrs and out for about 2. I have a new (1st) grandchild that I love to death and babysit quite a deal for my son. She is 16 months old and loves me to spend all my time with her. Now that I am going to be busy transcribing; how do those of you with small children keep them busy or balance working around them. This is my main concern with coming back to transcription; how to let her know Grandma cannot occupy her every waking moment now.

Well, it's time to put the old one out to pasture and get a new one. Computer, that is. I really want a laptop so I may travel with husband to clinics and now follow games and a daughter (cheerleader) going to college. But my primary use will be at home. Do any of you laptop users have any trouble with the monitor going out from over use? I was told it would be best to hook up to another monitor (already going to hook up another keyboard) for everyday use at home.

I need help as I don't want to make anyone sick LOL. Baby shower tomorrow night, my co-host who was making the deviled eggs along with other things broke her wrist this morning...soooo, I am in a time crunch and would like to know if I can make these things tonight (36), just boil them tonight, maybe do the prep just fill them tomorrow?? I usually make them & take them or serve them, but don't know about preparing them this 24 hrs ahead of time.

Thank any of you experts in advance for your opinions..this is so much easier than trying to call Betty Crocker

HON. RON PAUL OF TEXAS
BEFORE THE US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 11, 2005

Henry Lamb- A Great Freedom Fighter Documents how your Dietary Supplements are Under Attack

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to read "Your dietary supplements: Under attack again" by Henry Lamb, which I am inserting into the record. Mr. Lamb explains the threat to American consumers of dietary supplements and American sovereignty by the Codex Alimentarius commission, commonly referred to simply as Codex. The United Nations created Codex to establish international standards for foods and medicines. Just last week, representatives of the United States government agreed to a final version of Codex's standards on dietary supplements which, if implemented in the United States, could drastically reduce Americans' ability to obtain the supplements of their choice. Members of the American bureaucracy may be hoping to achieve via international fiat what they cannot achieve through the domestic law-making process--the power to restrict consumers' access to dietary supplements. American bureaucrats may gain this power if the World Trade Organization, which considers Codex "guidelines" the standard by which all other regulations are judged, decides that our failure to "harmonize" our regulations of dietary supplements to meet Codex's recommendations violates international trading standards! This could occur despite the fact that American consumers do not want to be subjected to the restrictive regulations common in other parts of the world, such as the European Union.

This article is typical of Henry Lamb's work. For almost twenty years, beginning at an age when most Americans are contemplating retirement, Mr. Lamb has worked to expose and stop threats to American liberty, sovereignty, and prosperity. Mr. Lamb became involved in the battle for liberty when, as the CEO of a Tennessee construction company, he founded a state association of contractors to work against excessive regulations. In 1988, Henry Lamb founded the Environmental Conservation Organization to defend true environmentalism, which is rooted in the truth that there is no better steward of the environment than a private property owner, from those who used the environment as a cover for their radical statist agendas. Since 1992, Mr. Lamb and ECO have focused on the threat to economic liberty and self-government posed by the radical global environmental agenda.

Henry Lamb works to further the cause of liberty by giving speeches around the country, editing an on-line magazine, making numerous television and radio appearances, and writing a weekly column to inform his fellow Americans of the latest scheme to undermine their freedoms. Mr. Lamb is the model of a citizen-activist, and all who wish to become involved in the battle for freedom can learn from his example. In conclusion, I once again urge my colleagues to read Mr. Lamb's article to learn about the need to protect American consumers from Codex, and I thank Mr. Lamb for his tireless devotion to the cause of freedom.

YOUR DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS: UNDER ATTACK AGAIN (from WorldNetDaily, June 11, 2005)

(By Henry Lamb)

The Codex Alimentarius Commission sounds like one of those shadowy, sinister organizations conjured up by one-world-government nuts to scare people.

Truth: It is!

The Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization created this commission in the early 1960s to set standards for food safety and to ``harmonize'' the laws of member nations. The commission was endorsed by U.N. Resolution 39/248, which says:

``When formulating national policies and plans with regard to food, governments should take into account the need of all consumers for food security and should support and, as far as possible, adopt standards from the ..... Codex Alimentarius. .....''

The Codex Alimentarius Commission consists of delegates from 163 member nations representing 97 percent of the world's population. It meets every two years, either in Rome or Geneva. Between meetings, the commission is governed by an executive committee that directs the activities of its many committees.

Of immediate concern is the ongoing effort to bring dietary supplements in America under the control of standards set by this commission. Dietary supplements generate a $17 billion industry in the United States, which affects more than 150 million consumers, according to Congressional findings (H.R. 2485). Proposed procedures and standards could virtually destroy this market and deprive millions of Americans of the supplements they want to use.

The European Union Directive on Dietary Supplements, which becomes law in August, severely restricts the types and quantities of supplements that may be legally sold. Most forms of vitamins C and E, for example, are not available, or are available only in extremely small doses. If current plans proceed on course, American consumers are in for a shock.

How can this little-known international commission control what consumers buy in the United States?

An even less-known agency, deep within the bowels of the U.S. Department of Agriculture is responsible for U.S. participation in the Codex Commission and designates delegates to each of the commission's committees. Barbara O. Schneeman is the delegate to the Codex Committee on Nutrition and Food for Special Dietary Uses.

The effort to regulate dietary supplements has been under way for more than a decade. In 1994, Congress adopted the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, which kept supplements beyond the reach of the drug police. In the past, Codex recommendations have been non-binding. Now, however, the Codex Alimentarius Commission is teaming up with the World Trade Organization to bring international enforcement to the dietary-supplement battle.

Ironically, it was primarily the U.S. that brought the WTO into existence in 1994, as the successor to GATT, the General Agreement on Tarriffs and Trade. The WTO agreement specifically requires that the member nations--including the U.S.--conform its laws to meet the requirements of WTO decisions. Failure to conform results in stiff financial penalties. The Codex Commission and the European Union want the WTO to enforce Codex standards, which fly directly in the face of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act.

Pascal Lamy of France was just selected as director general of the WTO. Lamy served as a member of the French Socialist Party's steering committee and was chief of staff and representative of the European Commission for President Jacques Delors. Since 1995, he has served as a member of the Central Office of the Mouvement Europ�en (France) and as a member of the European Commission, responsible for trade.

The Codex Commission will be meeting in Rome July 4-9 to adopt the final rules on dietary supplement use. Dr. Carolyn Dean, president of Friends of Freedom International, will attend this meeting and return to the U.S. just in time to present her report to the Sixth Annual Freedom 21 Conference in Reno, July 14-16.

The Codex Alimentarius Commission's reach is much broader than dietary supplements. Its committees are also working on standards for pesticide residue, labeling of all kinds of foods, food additives and nutrients, veterinary medicine and drugs, as well as standards and methods for analysis. The function of this organization is to establish standards for all food worldwide and to enforce those standards through the power of the World Trade Organization.

Few people know that there is such a thing as the Codex Alimentarius Commission. It was created to promote food safety in international trade. It is on the brink of becoming an Orwellian bureaucracy--far worse than the worst fantasies of the one-world conspiracy theories.

The Codex Alimentarius Commission is neither fantasy nor theory; it is real.

http://www.house.gov/paul/congrec/c...05/cr071105.htm

I truly love interviewing with these companies, then trying not to spew coffee out my nose at the line rates offered. Some of those rates were even for IC with no benefits or tax withholding. I'm about ready to quit MT and let them offshore because rates have dropped so much since I started. It's wonderful being offered the same rate to do ESLs and upper level work as what I made 10 years ago as a newbie. It's getting to the point where you can't make a decent, honest living anywhere any more.

Thank you for taking the time to write your thoughts about experienced vs. new MTs. I think you're right-on. I see myself in the set-in-my-ways attitude sometimes. I'm not speaking for anyone else, of course. I can only speak for myself. Change isn't easy for me, but I've tried very hard to adapt and think I'm doing okay. This industry is changing fast and furiously, and if I want to stay in it, then I need to be able to go with the flow. Otherwise, my job may well end up in India.

I am an experienced Transcriptionist but I have always worked as an employee. I now have the opportunity to pick up a side account as an IC.

I really need some help and guidance on how to create a contract and what needs to be in that contract. Can someone please give me some advice?

I have been doing this for 15 years. Did my time in the office before going home and still learning every day.

I feel that I am above average at what I do, in the past 11 years on my current job, not one QA audit below 98%. I also have a 2nd job to make ends meet and in the past year, my monthly QA audits have been above 99%, twice at 100%. The 2nd job is OPs only and paid less than the 1st job.

I work a schedule at both! I do not complain and take pride in what I do. Of course I look things up. I do not abuse QA.

Thanks for you advice about trying to find a job like yours that never posts ads because no one leaves. That should help a fellow MT find a home.