Newbie to C-phone, have questions! help!

I have been offered a job which will require a C-phone.  I have dial-up and broadband, I understand it will use dial-up?  and ULD?

Will I have to be online (via phone) the entire time I am working?

or do the files download onto my computer?

and if so, can anybody give me an idea with dial-up how long it takes to get maybe 140 minutes downloaded?

I have used proprietary software to download via dial-up (before I was blessed with broadband) and it took forever for me to get my work downloaded, so I'm a bit concerned about that.

Any C-phone basics you care to share would be so appreciated!  The job sounds great but am trying to figure out how much it will cost me to go to this C-phone set up, time and money both....

• Newbie to C-phone, have questions! help! - MTwa
  • I use a C-phone - clhmt
  • A c-phone is just a phone, with headphones sm - helper
    • my question - C-phoner
      • I only worked for one company that used a c-phone sm - I never did
  • You cannot download files via your c-phone. You will dial into the dictation server SM - Tinks
    • Was told working directly in MS Word...sm - MTwa
      • unlimited long distance sm - USAmls

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Hi,

Are there any reputable schools ONLINE for medical transcription?

Also, are there any ONLINE schools that help you to get work after completing the courses so you can gain experience?

On average, how much does the average medical Transcriptionist make yearly?

Thank you very much!

Marie

Hello,

I am graduating soon and beginning to test and interview. For BTDT Transcriptionists, what kind of questions should a prospective employee/IC ask during an interview?

Thanks!

I just recently went back to work in the office at a local hospital. We type in both Meditech and Cerner, depending on what you are typing, i.e. Medical Records reports versus Radiology.  We are currently typing blindly in Meditech, meaning we do not have access to our line counts and must depend on management to give us our totals.  In Cerner, we are able to run a line count report and print out a hard copy of our line counts at the end of the day.

We are finding that 800 lines in Cerner equals about 500 lines in Meditech.  We are not paid per line nor do we have an incentive plan, but we have a new HIM Director who would like to institute an incentive plan and the administrator over our department has laid down the law and decreed that all transcriptionists not making minimum in the department will be written up.  Problem is according to Meditech line totals that we have been given, that would be about half the department.

The transcription supervisor has taken our concerns to the new director who told the MT Supervisor to hold off on writing people and has taken home all the line counts from the last month and she is going over them with a fine tooth comb this weekend.

I am not a very trusting soul by nature, so I am doing a little research on my own.  I've been in this business for about 15 years.  I started out in a hospital and have worked for a few services at home and am now back in the hospital setting.  So I know a few things about line count and I consider myself to be pretty well informed on trends and technology in the industry.   I would like to walk into our next department meeting armed with as much knowledge as possible.  So I have come up with some questions that I would like some fellow MTs to answer, give opinions, and maybe even direct me to websites or individuals who could give me a better understanding of Meditech and Cerner.  Here are my questions:

1. Is it possible for an MT to have access to her line count in Meditech or is strictly a management function?  Any MTs that work in Meditech on this board, do you currently have access to your line counts and if so, how do you check them?  Is it an option on the main menu after you log into Meditech?


2. How is a line defined in Meditech?  (i.e. 65 cpl, with spaces, without spaces)


3. How is a line defined in Cerner?


4. What abbreviation Expanders work with both Meditech and Cerner?


5. Examples of incentive plans (if anyone would like to share that with me that would be great, if not I completely understand).


6. Measuring productivity by minutes of dictation versus typed lines.




1. What would be the minimum minutes required for an 8-hour day?


2. How would one structure an incentive program based on minutes?

I was thinking of presenting the idea that we keep track of productivity using minutes instead of lines since there is such a discrepancy in Meditech.  I also worry that if an incentive plan is put into place and we are still typing blind into Meditech, what's to keep management from shaving off a few lines here and there?

Feel free to email me or post here any responses.  Either is fine.  I really appreciate any input, comments, or just plain old supportive posts would be nice too! 

difference.  Also, have you tried a different headset?  Also someone told me one time that there is a microphone under your volume control on the right corner of the C-phone.  It's a tiny hole.  If you break off a Q-tip and stick that into the hole that will squelch a lot of background noise and that worked as well.  As far as getting your C-phone service, I heard that Dictaphone is "sunsetting" C-phones at the end of this year.  Meaning, they aren't going to service them anymore as they are considered an obsolete technology.  So, I would contact Dictaphone and see what your options are.

I know very little about Lanier equipment.  I've not used it as extensively as Dictaphone.  Is there a local appliance repair place in your area?  You might ask one of those places to take a look at your equipment and see what they think.  Kinda scary, cause they could do more harm than good, but maybe worth a shot.

Not much help, I know.  But I thought I would share what tiny bit of obscure knowledge I do have. 

Anyone else experience this problem with their C-phone?  Is there a problem with my C-phone?  At first I thought it was my telelphone line and called the phone company.  They sent a technician out to replace the lines and check the house, but the hum is still there on the C-phone.

It's driving me batty!

through cable, have you tried to take an incoming call?

We only have one phone line.  I rarely get/make calls and when I do we have cell phones.  I just started working with a C-phone and got digital phone.  I can go a month and my phone not ring, so far have gotten 3 calls today, but I'm afraid that if I try to answer the phone that I will lose my report. 

I guess I could pull up a report and have my husband call on his C-phone and test it that way and then if I lose it no biggie. 

i glanced at the main responses to your post, not all of them.  But i disagree to an extent with what you've been told.  I have 30 yr experience, for however much weight you want to ascribe to that.

You've heard that practice makes perfect.  That is not really true.  Practicing things CORRECTLY "makes perfect".  You can do something over and over and over, but if it's done wrong, you are not improving your game.

Depending on how much the paycheck is an issue, you may wish to find another job before quitting this one.  But the longer you do things wrong, the more disservice you are doing to yourself.  It's also hard to break established habits.

This is all said assuming you are sure you are being steered in the wrong direction, ie, these directions go against good MT training and/or against the BOS in important ways. 

I have no doubt that some companies hire poor or inexperienced QA personnel, contrary to another posters comment. 

My suggestion is to look for another job.  It may take a little time and be a little frustrating, but what you gain by starting off with good QA and building a good foundation, cannot be found in the situation you describe.  Part of the good foundation is on-the-job experience.

Believe in yourself, make sure your premise is correct, and then do what is right for the long-term.   e/m me if you wish.

It is not rigors, it is boogers...as in "green boogers..."

And no, not a newbie by far...10+ years!

Re-read my post.  Said it is possible.  Also said that I am older and have older docs.  Have also done EMR.  There is a need -- just need to find your niche.  As I deposit my checks I will remember "It is possible" though not everyone believes.

could someone give me some tips/inside info on how i can get into this field on a part time basis? i have 9+ years of medical coding/billing experience - 4 yrs. specializing in OB/GYN and over 5 yrs. PT/OT and Orthopaedics. is it possible to get hired on experience alone and no classes or certification?

thanks!

 You sound like a very conscientious person.  An inhouse position in a small hospital may be the best thing for you to start out with.  I worked in two such hospitals as a newbie.  My first supervisor helped me tremendously, although at the beginning I thought she was nit picking me to death.  I still think of her often and praise her training.  As far as big MTSO's, profit is the bottom line.  They are there to make money.

Doctors really couldn't care less if you can understand them or not - they are in a hurry, they want it done right now, and you/we are supposed to "know" what they want.  I worked as a pharmacy tech before MT'ing and one doc from the Phillipines hung up on me when I refused to calibrate an antibiotic!!  Like I was a pharmacist - sure I was, making $6.00 an hour - NOT. 

Trust your instincts, keep putting out quality work and keep looking for that right fit.  You'll find it, but probably not in a large MTSO.  GOOD LUCK!! 

It is so good to see people speaking positively about the job hunting world for a newbie!  I just got my first job 2 weeks ago, and have continued testing, and got a better paying job just 2 hours ago.  I was beginning to think that I made a HUGE mistake getting into this field, but I knew that I really enjoyed it, so I kept up hope, and it paid off. 

I know that I won't be making a HUGE salary, but I am so grateful to the people out there that look at potential instead of experience.  I have faith in the newbies that are willing to put hard work into this field.  I know that some people got into this to "have an easy job working from home", and that's not the case for me, and it does not seem to be the case of the post above mine.

I have two small children, I am 25, my husband does construction, and we are a hard working very happy family, and I am happy I decided to get into the field.

I have nothing but respect for all of you seasoned, experienced MTs that have paved the way for us, and I hope you know that we do aspire to be as seasoned and experienced as you.