Need some good advice, please

 I'm looking for an Internet-based software for my home MT service, one that can be accessed from any web browser, can e-sign, auto fax, let the docs' referring physicians go to the site, log in and read their patients' reports, and offer a complete accounting of lines charged on a daily, weekly, monthly, etc., basis.  Also software that will allow the doctors to search transcripts by any criteria; i.e, patient name, their date of office visit, names of meds prescribed, and the like.  Also, one that could also be integrated into EMR without any problem in the future.

Does anyone have any good ideas? 

Also, any idea of the intitial outlay and the per-line charge the vendor would charge on the average?

Finally, I'd be very interested in reading about the type of software you currently use and if you and your clients are happy with it.

Thank you much.

Britta in Las Vegas

• Need some good advice, please - BR
  • software - Patti

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There's a very large insurance company here in Boston that wants me to handle their transcription - very little medical terminology, and the typing would be pretty darn simple.  The head of the company seems like a really nice, down-to-earth guy; the work will be plentiful; and there would also be an opportunity to get in with other branches of the company as well doing their offices' transcription.

I know as an IC we are to set the rates, and I normally charge on a per-line basis; however, they are adamant about paying a per-page charge - currently pay $2.50 per page now to a service they detest.

What do you feel is a fair per-page rate to charge them?  I really want to be fair, but I use an Internet-based platform that charges me 1.5 cents 65 cpl.

Any and all suggestions are welcome, and thank you so very much!   

I'll just keeping trudging along. Learning and living.

...they will pay your average pay for term of contract.....

Okay, Patti -- fess up.  What's your web site or fan club address?

Administrator -- We need to give Patti her own board!!! 

I think this advice is great.  Maintain your professionalism and integrity.  You are worth 14 cents a line.  I also live in the Northeast and charge 13 cents a line for a psych account, which is very easy, but if I were doing family practice, I would probably charge 15 cents per line, as that is what the other MTs in my local area charge.  Good, quality, dependable service is hard to find.  I think they will be back.  Get out there and market yourself and find another account.  You’ll be fine. 

Lynn

I need a bag of salt and vinegar chips and something chocolate and a Coke so I go and I get them and I eat and drink them and then I'm fine.

I normally don't even care about that stuff, but when that junk food alarm goes off, I feed it because I guess I need it?  I'm not overweight except for that one week a month.

I have been doing MT now for almost 3 years.  Previously to being hired, I had never done MT before, but I had worked in a hospital system and public health for a total of about 19 years and I had a Bachelors Degree to boot, so I was hired.  I worked for a medical clinic that housed about 100 doctors of varying specialties. 

The QA person never helped me, nor did I get training--I was pretty much on my own. 

Reports were pretty simple, so I was able to get by without anyone helping me.  However, the boss was a horrible woman, a supervisor of medical records who was ALWAYS firing people for any little infraction.  If she didn't like you, you had even more problems. 

She didn't like me, so she made my life hard.  I was short 100 measly lines of a goal she set and she made my life h-e-l-l.  She constantly wrote me up about it, even those I was sooo close, but other people that she liked, didn't have to have to meet goals. 

Anyhow, I got fed up and quit.  I got hired at a hospital in acute care--a friend who worked there got me in.  This time, I had feedback.  Unfortunately, acute care is something I had no experience with and now my issues are QA. 

You get "dinged" for any mistake and I can't pass QA!  I've been there for 5 months, but I'm scared I am going to get fired.  NEVER have I ever had to worry so much about my performance or getting written up and/or fired. 

I've been having nightmares I am going to get fired.  I dread opening up any emails I get from QA--a fellow employee checks mine and she is VERY anal and dings me for everything.  I feel like they think I'm not "getting it" and I believe they are circling the wagons to get me fired. 

I feel so dumb when I get my QA feedback.  How could this be? I know I'm NOT dumb and can do this job.  Certainly someone who made the Dean's List at an acredited school, has enough intelligence to excel at this, right?

I'm just ready to give up.  I'm scared to quit, as the job market and economy is pretty poor, but with my work experience and education, I've never had a problem getting hired.  MT has been the WORST choice ever for me.  I have a small child, so I thought this would be a good fit for me, but it's been a disaster.  Is this the way it's going to be?  Am I expecting too much of myself too soon? 

I just feel like there isn't any learning curve anymore.  I feel so all alone, I can't talk to my co-workers about it, because they never share their QA scores or line counts.  I'm so freaking frustrated and stressed about this.  Any advice on my situation? Is this the way of life for an MT? Thanks

And for listening to me boo hoo about being laid off or dissolved as the suits at the hospital like to call it.  Anyway, I have officially accepted a QA Editor position with a service and I'm actually in a more positive frame of mind than I was last week.

I got my laptop all set up and ready to go with a laptop stand for plenty of ventilation, I put off buying any kind of wav player and just downloaded ExpressScribe for the time being, and I didn't saturate the market with my resume, but picked only a few places to apply based on suggestions and information you all gave me here.  And I did all of this because you ladies gave me such good advice.

I just wanted to say what a great place this is and it is very, VERY wonderful to have a place to network, socialize, fellowship, or just plain gab with colleagues and friends. 

but I am really getting frustrated.  I left a company who bumped me off my ERs (which I did for over a year and were my 'bread-and-butter', and the more I complained or asked about it, the worst dictation I got, etc.  This was a change of management in which that company went down-hill fast, anyway, as far as the treatment of MTs. 

so I left, and now at the 'new' company I am still doing 5, 6 accounts.  Forget ERs, I am told. 

the question is, I am working on so many accounts, and even accounts with different management, different QA.  I am embarrassed to mention I just did a report using the SPECS FROM THE WRONG ACCOUNT.  Luckily, I had sent the report to QA, but I get a note from the QA like 'read the specs' (stupid) is how it sounded.  Yeah, I did, but for the wrong account. 

these companies do not see how making people work on so many accounts is going to be huge negative for them in the long-run.  they risk mistakes like this, not me. 

how does one keep it all straight, and why do we have to?  the only people who are having success, are people who will take any kind of abuse, it seems, and are just making the best of it.  does that mean only the aggressive will survive in this business? this gets more ridiculous all the time. 

not to mention, pay and money - LIVELIHOOD - severely diminishes the second week of pay-week.  anyone else notice that?  first week I am flying on the primary, second week in I am like getting scraps, working on 4, 5,6 accounts - there goes all I worked for in the first week. 

so these ladies typing 300+ lines/hour and making $50 thou a year, like so many boast on here, how,where, when ????  I am not getting it, and I am a 99-100% quality MT, working 35 hours/week.  every company I have worked with, my paycheck is totally dependent on the manager, period. 

I have been an MT for over 10 years.  I also am getting burnt out, tired of my job, day in day.  However, I do love transcription and make excellent money at it, have grossed over $50,000 per year the last 5 years.  I decided to go back to nursing school and am very happy with my choice.  However, over these 10 years of transcription I have had my ups and downs.  My biggest issue with being at home working is lack of socialization, being home day in and day out with just the kids and the animals really gets to a person, sure hubby is home at night and thinks working from home is the easy life, thus the return to school and boy has my overall enjoyment of life changed once I realized I was the problem, not everyone else and I needed to find myself again.

Anyway, my biggest advice to you three-fold:

1.  Get into counseling for yourself, find out who you are and what your needs are, whether or not you think you need to, I sense you are feeling overwhelmed and need someone other than your family to talk to that can be nonjudgmental to your feelings and needs.

2.  If you're only making $100 after you pay preschool you can either keep doing it and be miserable, or quit because you are lucky enough to have a husband who can support the family without your income. (See how fast his mind changes just by losing the income you do have as to whether your job means anything.)  Or look for a different company or office that you like more and are more productive if you really want to do transcription (lots of fish in the sea as far as companies).

3.  Find a local "mom's" group where you can get out and socialize.  MOPS (mother's of preschoolers) is an excellent one that is nationwide, they have a website.  Also Mom2Mom is in a lot of areas.  They provide a once a week time for moms with kids the same age to get together, socialize, (some offer spirtual guidance some don't) and each week a different mom takes a turn watching everyone else's children at the facility that hosts it so the other moms can talk about things they have in common.  Every stay-at-home and work-from-home mom needs to socialize with adults, without their kids, or they will have a nervous breakdown eventually no matter how much they love their kids.

Sorry so long but it does get better but you have to take the first step at making yourself happy.