Rural America wages
Posted By: Country girl on 2006-03-02
In Reply to: Hospitals in my area pay MTs $7.50 - $8.50/hr. It's a shame. ..sm - Marie
Last year interviewed for two transcription jobs. Neurology office $13.50, hospital $16.00. (the most I have ever been offered) I was offered the neurology position, but declined and the hospital job was given to someone with less experience, i.e. less $$$, they were hoping to add an addition MT on, but did not. I have over 15 years multispeciality office transcription experience including running my own business for 10+ years. I basically learned on the job, sort of fell into transcribing 20 years ago. I am also a Certified Medical Assistant (silly me, actually went to school for that), I have worked in physicians office over the past 20 years part-time doing medical assisting and transcribing and worked my way up to $11.50/hr. Unfortunately in the office MAs are being replaced by regular high-school graduates, $7.00 per hour, etc, and of course they can do transcription too.. ha ha. Since I live in a rural area the opportunities are limited and each position would require a lengthy commute and with high gas prices that is just crazy, so I decided to go employee with national. Since I get paid by production I can make more $$$ that way overall but the cpl rate is not nearly what it should be, you just keep working harder for the $$$. I would not recommend anyone get into this field by choice as technology will eventually whittle us away to almost nothing. If you want medical, go for the top.. doctor, RN, nurse practitioner, PA, etc. Decent wage and some respect, too.
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I worked for a rural doc. So much fun! :)
We even had a patient in the waiting room one day that brought in a paper bag with baby chickens in it as it was too hot to leave them in the car. Nobody in the waiting room gave it a second thought.
It was great fun to work there. They called it a "medical center" but it was in an old house with less than state of the art equipment. The country folk swore by "Doc" and "Doc" didn't think twice about going out at 3:00 a.m. to make a house call.
He never would have dreamed of asking for a co-pay up front and even let one farmer's wife pay with fresh baked pies.
They sure don't make them like they used to.
P.S. We still had typewriters back in 1994. :)
I have the same problem and we are not THAT rural....sm
It is very frustrating to feel so limited in your job choice b/c of something like that. I have never really had any major problems with my dial-up and have been told by two different techs. that I have excellent connection speed considering it is dial-up. Frustrating though....
rural hospitals
If this is an extra job I would certainly make it worth my while. I worked at small hosp. for 5 yrs that did not want to work us from home. Kept saying they could not but I knew better. Eventually I went off on my own and have been home since. We had 3 FT. They hired 2 in my place and 1 PT for wknds. I type at night now to catch them up. They still had 1 PT and 4 FT, but I charge them 15 cpl. I clear in 5-8 hours what they all 4 do in 1 day, literally. Still did not want to put me or others at home. Want me to drive 45 miles 1 way to type, after I've pulled my reg. 8. Now what I do, whether they know it or not, I dial up on my C-phone into thier system and type at home, save it to disc (they monitor email + HIPPA) drive over for about an hour and transfer work into thier system. So if they have a phone in line you might check with them about on call stuff being typed at home, especially if this is stat work. It will certainly get back to them quicker. This is just fear of the unknown. This same hosp. has now, instead of firing those not doing work and hiring a good worker or paying them OT will pay me double the amount. They have also moved the weekend girl to FT and are letting a file clerk/PT IC do the weekend x-rays and still want me to help. That's 5 full time typist and 2 PT for a 43 bed hosp. Thier may reason was not to put thier network on home computers, which they all ready do. Won't give me network access but have given it to the weekend girl. Plus they are paying a consultant out the wazoo to tell them why this is not working!
If you are going to be on call, make sure you have set days or hours that you will be on call and that you are compensated. Don't let them just pay you for the work you do. Your time is worth money also. In other words don't sit home all day 3 nights a week waiting for a phone call and get paid for 1 hours. I have done this in the past where I worked and was on call on weekends for x-rays. There might be 1 or 21 or none. I got paid by the hour. If there were none I got paid for 1 hour for showing up. Ask an x-ray tech or someone who gets on call pay. They get a flat rate for being on call and then they get paid for the individual call.
Actually, I live in a rural community sm
and left a hospital where that was very good pay. Starting wages for MT was $8.00 an hour with a 25 cent raise every year if you were lucky. $11.50 would be like gold for the transcriptionists that work there.
Just moved to a rural area
Have a satellite dish, no cable. The phone company out here does not provide ULD. One job I would like you need ULD, and the other you need internet access, no satellites accepted. Does anyone have any ideas? Is there a way you can get even dialup without having to use long distance?
Rural doctor situation...
I hate going to the doctors office. My daughter has had a sore throat for a week and went in to see doctor this morning, sat there for three hours. We have gone through six different pediatricians/primary doctors in 11 years. How are they suppose to know if there is something really wrong. Doctor looked at her (daughter, 17) throat and asked why she had not had her tonsils out. Did not ask her history. She has not had a throat infection in over 10 years. As a toddler she had frequent throat infections and naturally large tonsils and doctors never once stated they should come out. Now, she is worried. She is a vocalist and does not want to that to effect her singing. Anyway, I'm getting off the subject here. We went in to see the doctor in clinic to find out he quit Friday and there is an interim doctor (who we've seen in ER and who has filled in for other M.D. in the past and like a lot better than current M.D. Too bad he is not staying). Is it that inconvenient for doctors to locate a practice in a rural area? Our area might not have much but we are only 30 minutes away from one medium city and 45 minutes away from a moderate one. Our little town is now down to one doctor when at one time it had 4-5 family practices. We have a hospital, but no doctors. LOL.
Thanks for letting me vent, but this is really getting riduculous. The doctor today did inform me that he was trying to recruit either some doctors finishing their residency or maybe some middle aged doctor from the N.O. area that would like to start over. We have great facilities, just no doctors.
I give, where in rural Georgia
are you talking about? I think I could put up hearing that more than I can with what I hear out of the Atlanta stations, at least it is not butchering the English language - just maybe their own language like I had mine from moving from Tenn. I understand that nexted above- I have heard that and even worse. I have a daughter-in-law who is parapro right outside of Atlanta (Jonesboro) and supposedly they are not to correct children when they speak incorrectly- she says heck with that and does. Can we say ebonics?
I'm not in a rural area. I'm in a big city and everything is SM
outsourced. My beloved company, run by a very decent man, was bought out by Edix. I thought they were bad until Spheris took them over. God help us.
Then there is the large community hospital, who has a "sweetheart deal" with another outsource company. You would not believe the garbage that goes on in this field.
Regarding unlocked doors, rural or not
My sister once left this true-crime book at my house and I read it, I guess because I wanted to have nightmares for a week. It was about serial rapists (WHY does she read this stuff?) Anyway.... one thing I noticed was that almost ALL of these perps walked into people's houses thru their unlocked doors, usually in the middle of the day. Sure your husband may be right about if someone wants in they'll get it, but just like anyone else, criminals prefer to do things the easy way. Why help them?
I'm an IC for a mid south rural hospital...
Although I get paid per minute of dictation, I have done the math and I make 10-11 cents per line. Patti is right, it doesn't matter per line or per minute. Its what you make per hour. I do radiology and the basic four every day with the same dictators with a new one thrown in every now and then and have been doing so for 13 years and make anywhere from $20-35 an hour working average 5-6 hours a day. Did not ask for a rate increase until my 8th year in which they balked at and began looking elsewhere. Two years later asked for another rate increase in which they readily agreed to but keep better track of what I do. Better to start low and become valuable to them than start too high.
IC working for a small rural hospital
I have worked for a small rural hospital as an IC for 9 years, this year I asked for a raise. Hospital thought about going to a national until they found out how much they charged. They contract their transcription themselves.
In 1995 I was making 12 cpl for a small, rural
Changes were gradual. First, we were allowed to start working at home at 12 cpl, instead of the hourly wage. We still were employees and had the same benefits. This saved the hospital money in overhead and we were all happy. Then they started using outsourcing services for holidays and weekends. Gradually, the whole MT dept was phased out and we had the option of going with the service handling the hospital transcription or finding another job. The service kept us at this rate of pay for a short time and then gradually started implementing "incentive bonuses" and lowering the line rate of pay. It evolved over the years to what it is today. Starting line rates were lower and incentive bonuses done away with. Health insurance is contingent on production, but their platforms crash regularly (as do many, many others) and we either have to work extra to make up the loss or just eat the financial loss altogether. The services overhire to make sure that their TAT is met, which means unstable availability of work, which in turn affects production, in turn affecting benefits.
The logic today behind all the changes is the "lack of experienced MTs in the U.S.", thus the need to hire people outside the country, who have even LESS experience with the English language and slang medical terms, at half the price of hiring American MTs. The MT field in general has to be able to compete and so must lower their rates to keep clients from going offshore at half price. And now with the advent of VR, the MTSOs using it try to justify the cut in line rate to the fact that we're no longer "typing", we're "just editing." It's been a gradual evolution, but not in a positive direction.
And in all of this, AAMT has not come to the aid of the transcriptionist. It has furthered the promotion of offshoring and has developed ways to enhance the MTs adjustment to VR instead of enhancing the MTs value and amount of worked involved in VR. When the AAMT doesn't step up for the very ones it says it represents, why would the ones using the services respect, understand, or value the MT either?
It is pretty rural where I am too, but the sprawl is coming - sm
My friends in the area (been here 8 years now) are people from the old school my kids went to, now a couple parents at the new PS they are going to and my neighbors. I am lucky in that I live on a private road with 14 houses on it. It is our own little world/community and we all get together now and then and have about 2 big parties a year (Daytona and 4th of July). I am close friends with one neighbor. I don't really have a "best" friend here (they are back home where I grew up in PA who I see 3-4 x a year) that I go shopping, etc. with, though Mary and I do things now and then with our kids. See if you can get friendly with your neighbors, good to have a local support system in place if you need it. Maybe a local library or club. Our area is slowly building up, have a supermarket now 5 minutes away versus 30, a local library, 2 dance studios, martial arts, a couple restaurants, Curves, movie store, etc. Try to get involved in some local club or activity, great way to meet people, or voluteer down at your local elementary school 1 day a week or something, they can always use some help. I keep very busy with work, Curves, taking the kids to dance (there are adult classes too), library trips in the summer, etc. I am pretty social though I don't mind being by myself either; so I try to keep a happy medium, but getting out and involved in something is the key to meeting new people. Give it a shot.
Do you think a company pays less for rural pay than city?
Does not make sense to me.
I am am in a rural area with lots of trees - sm
so when I had Bluesky (or what ever the name it) come out they said too many trees for the satellite. My one neighbor just got Directv high speed.....she also has lots of trees. So I may be looking into that (have Directv now just not the internet hookup). But I currently use a Sierra Wireless Aircard 875U. Unlimited and costs me $67 a month. It is through AT&T but I know Verizon has it too, as well as Sprint. You need to make sure it works where you are first though, but their websites can help you there. I love it. Not as fast as DSL but a huge step up from dial-up. I have it set up to use on my desktop, laptop, my backup desktop, and my daughter's computer. The only thing I have with it is it does not work everywhere...when I try to use it on my laptop...unlike the commercial where they show the guy in the middle of Africa or wherever he is. But I have been very happy with it.
I worked in a rural physician's practice for years.
He eventually ended up joining a group. He still has his office in the same place, but is financially part of that group. Unless they join some sort of group/organization so that they can get group rates on lab, insurance, etc., it is really hard for them to survive. The community lost its hospital several years ago. You said your community has a hospital, but is it a full-service one? Our next nearest town with a hospital is about 35 minutes away. Now the 2 hospitals in that town each have satellite physician clinics in our little town. When I was working for this physician, we had a total of 4 doctors in town. Now, through these satellite clinics, we have a good number. Before this physician joined this group he recruited numerous physicians over the years. Unfortunately, he was not able to assure them enough of a salary and benefits to keep them. There is simply not enough money coming into these small clinics. They have to satisfy Medicare and insurance regulations, just like the big clinics. The recruited physicians all eventually left for greener pastures after being actively recruited by other facilities. One physician I remember tripled his salary when he left there.
just some information for MTs in rural areas where high speed is not available
Hi all,
Was just on the Sprint website a little bit ago and checking out wireless cards for my laptop since I will be moving to an area that doesn't even have landline service available yet. Sprint is now offering a wireless card that is a USB card and apparently will work with both a laptop and a desktop as long as you have an available USB port on your computer. Might be something to think about 
Yep, I agree 100%. I live in such a rural area, though, that my neighbors, the natives, think I'm
NUTS cause I keep my dogs in the house, and actually still walk them on a leash in my yard. We all have about 2 - 5 acres minimum each of woods in our neighborhood, and no real dog laws at all! Dogs run at large 24/7, which is no picnic for me with my dogs on leash, either! And they ALL keep them outdoors, tied up with the chain and the smelly old dog house. I think they just look at dogs strictly as deterents? Not sure really, come to think of it! Cause even if they were getting robbed, Fido couldn't get off the 6 foot chain! Oh well! I used to be sad all the time for the plot of the dogs here, but I can't save them all! Only my guys!
You must live in a metro area because rural areas pay even less per hour.
Of course you can buy a big house for 130,000 in a smaller town and the same amount won't buy you a pot to pee in, in a place like San Diego or the D.C. area. It's all relative.
Opinions please! I have been asked by a small rural hospital to do their overflow. SM
It is clinic notes that are pretty easy to type. Some of the work is digital and some is still on tapes. They want me to come in and pick up tapes, and they want me to print and deliver reports when I pick up the tapes because they don't know much about setting up a remote printer. I made an introductory offer of 12 cpl for the first month and then 15 cpl if we both feel like continuing to work together. I felt that since I am going to be out the cost of gas and ink, my offer was more than reasonable. Well, they countered with a flat 12 cpl period with a one year contract and then we reevaluate at that time. While I was mulling that over, she called back and asked if I would be interested in doing some radiology for them in addition to the clinic work. So basically this account will keep me very busy and is not going to be just overflow.
So now I'm back to thinking 15 cpl and because they balking, not offering the introductory rate anymore.
What does everyone think?
The phone line has to support DSL signals. Most rural lines don't due to distance from central of
x
I live in a small rural area and they housed some evacuees at a nearby military base
crime went UP in our little community that previously HAD a ~very low~ crime rate. It is a FACT. I'm not saying all NO residents are like that, but MANY seem to be.
My mom was raised in conditions like this poster describes. Mom's parents died when she was 7 (father) and 9 (mother). Her teenage sister (newlywed) raised her and 4 other siblings. They had next to nothing. Not ONE of them turned to a life of crime. Not ONE even graduated high school but they still made good lives for themselves. Life was rough for them, but they didn't blame it on everyone else and cry around about what the president should be doing for them. It is all about RESPONSIBILITY and taking what life throws your way. IMO.
$25/hr. = Low Wages?
I think at $25 per hr. I'm making a bit more than the manager of the French Fry Department at Mickey D's...
QA wages
Anyone out there have an idea of what a QA person should be paid per hour if working at home?
wages
If you keep abreast with current events/news pertaining to the economy you will find that ours is not the only profession whose wages have not increased from levels in the 1990s. It is a lot of people as well who have to leave their homes to go to work for maybe the same that we make every day.
wages
I am not putting you down but if you have been in this business for 20 years and have been reading this board --give me a break you should be able to project what you will be earning especially if you have had your own accounts. Especially if you have seen your wages go up and down, cannot believe you are asking this if -- like I said -- you have been in this business 20 years.
Wages
I don't know about anyone else but I make the same amount of money if not more doing VR than I used to doing transcription, at least when there's work. Lately the middle to end of the week I have nothing to do! I personally am only doing this while I finished my bachelor's that I needed to apply to grad school which I start this fall when I'll quit. I don't think that VR will ever replace MTs entirely because it just is too important to have perfect medical records and VR just isn't perfect especially since doctors do dumb things like talk to other people, correct themselves, mumble, etc.
wages
Just know from my experiences in the last 25 years that doctors are notoriously CHEAP... Do the best you can and if you can't get as much or more money than you are making now, I'd stay where you are. Just my humble opinion. Been there, done that many times.
wages
Wages also depend on where you are located. In house jobs and small independents are going to pay less in rural and struggling areas because they can. In rural areas jobs also depend on who you know. They would rather pay a untrained local rather than a trained outsider. Speaking from the voice of experience.
the wages were no more than they sm
are now when I started, the books were just as expensive. you buy one at a time and build from there. A good reference library is a MUST in this business. If you can get by with the internet search I guess that's ok, but I see people who are not searching at all.
I think 90% of the questions would be answered if folks would invest at least in a Medical Phrase Index. Sorry but its part of the job.
wages
What no one says is that MT wages are considerably lower in rural areas and small cities. Do not be specific but it would help if geographic locations, were mentioned by posters if making more.
Biller wages
Can someone give me a ballpark figure of how much a biller would get that has no experience? I've been offered a possible job, and I got a feeling they are going to ask me how much I expect to make.
I don't think cutting wages is against the law.
Not paying overtime for employees, inappropriate classification of statutory employees, etc., those items fall under DOL.
If cutting wages was a crime, then the airlines, factories, hospitals, virtually all businesses would be under "investigation" and in grave trouble.
What are you trying to accomplish with your post? Just put information out there about a company you won't name? Wanting advice? Truly, I don't understand what you are wanting in reply.
radiology wages
If you are thinking of working for a large teaching hospital where they have 10 page Neurointerventional reports, large MRIs and CTs , etc, you will surely find yourself regreting working for per page. I currently make $200+ per day doing radiology. Today I did 112 reports and tho I won't see my exact lines until tomorrow I know I am over the $200 mark. You do the math. Last month I pulled in $4000.
here's an even better link to see ALL about wages in USA
http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/wages/minimumwage.htm
Slave Wages
I dont know who you work for but I make about $25-30 per hour. I work two jobs and 10-12 hours a day and on weekends and I make between $6000 and $7000 per month. I know that is excessive for hours but I am trying to pay off my house, car, etc and I am spoiling my 3 kids rotten!!
I type radiology, which I believe is the easiest and fastest to learn and type.
yearly wages
Last year had small MTSO two part-time IC's working for me, worked as employee parttime in clinic. Worked 50 hours per week. Made -- myself not counting what my IC's brought in -- $62 K. Starting June 1st, quit the employee position -- divorce attorney fees paid off, no IC's and keeping my 4 accounts, will work 25 to 28 hours per week and make approximately 40K from these four accounts per year. If I get stuck and need more will do overflow for another MTSO. But too many headaches and time to take some time for myself. Looking forward to it.
Patti
Cannot bellieve wages.
Many companies now only want to pay 6.5 to 8 CPL. This is even for seasoned MTs. Even ICs are not offered much more compensation. I have friends working at WalMart making more than some MTs. If you type 200 LPH at 7 cpl that is $14.00 an hour, but the health insurance is very expensive at these companies. You must have over 98% on QA scores, but they don't want to pay more for quality and experience. Plus many jobs are IC and you have higher taxes. I feel that wages have been falling steadily in the past years and continue to fall. No wonder there is a shortage of experienced MTs (so I hear). More likely it is a shortage of experienced MTs that want to work for such low wages and no raises in the future.
falling wages...
Unfortuntely, it is true, falling wages for MTs and experience plays not part in it. But, there is a reason for it....as we all are aware, hospitals have chosen to cut their debt by outsourcing medical transcription to India for 1/4 the cost it would be to pay us here in the states. Let's face it...MT jobs here in the states will soon be absolete, and thinking about the wages ever getting better, forget. My advise is for all MTs to seek another source of income before it is too late....i.e. perhaps going back to school or seeking one of the higher paying jobs or at least equal to medical transcription such as Walmarts, Meijers, restaurants, etc...and eh...even get medical benefits, vacation time, etc....I currently receive none of that from my employer and was also told to take a pay decrease as of this 12/02...along with everyone else, so was paying us 10 cents per line, but little trick to that, lines are 70 characters per line with spaces included....everyone does 65 characters with spaces...now from 10 cents to 9 cents and 70 characters per line...hmmmm, I figure I am making 8 cents a line now. Yes indeed, I am out of transcription after 25 years coming this income tax refund check. Transcription has become a degrading job!
quality vs wages
While I do agree that there is a vast majority of MTs who are of extremely poor quality, there also are very high-quality, well-seasoned MTs like myself who are tired of making the same wages we made 10-15 years ago. If there is such a discrepancy in our work quality and ethics, these corporations (who, by the way, are not slacking at all in their 6-figure income pockets!!!!) should pay MTs based on quality and experience, not just experience alone.
IS ANYONE OUT THERE BESIDES ME INTERESTED IN FORMING A NATIONAL MT UNION SO WE CAN GET BACK THE DIGNITY WE HAVE LOST?
I remain,
tired
quality vs wages
YOU'VE JUST VALIDATED MY INITIAL COMMENT....
THAT'S EXACTLY WHY WE NEED A UNION!!!!!
I keep hearing about low wages
Even 8 cpl at 200 LPH is 16 dollars an hour, which is not a bad wage, and that is what many of the large services pay, plus you get benefits and get to stay home. No high gas prices (3 dollars a gallon or more in places).
I don't do that much of it but my wages have pushed me
nm
Those wages posted below seem
Why all the complaining about low wages? And we have the option of saving gas, etc., working at home. I don't get it. If so many are making even over 30 or 35, and up to 60 thousand, what is the problem? I would love to make 40 thousand a year. I would be totally comfortable on that, but don't make that. But it is my own fault, I let other things interfere with my work (especially family). I am so busy taking care of my family, it cuts into my production.
hospital wages
I'm testing at a local midwest hospital. Does anyone know what fair wages are for a newbie at a hospital.
For anyone that is an IC can you tell me why your wages earned are not the same as what your are cr
my accountant explained this but I cant remember the reason we dont get the full amount of credit and can you tell me what percentage we dont get credit for.
But for the same wages/benefits?
I've never seen anyone end up making more when they transfer from a hospital to a service. Its just part of the general downslope of wages, technology and globalization. Always keep Plan B.
Wages in general
In looking over *** jobs, under the pay/compensation it seems everyone is putting "competive wage/compension". Can anyone give me some idea of what that means....I am currently getting 8.5-10 cents for IC work. I have 10+ years and made it at Healthscribe for 5+ years, which was definitely the worst work ever. Can I do better? I had my CMT and let it expire years ago.
Wal Mart wages
I worked there at a little more than minimum wage but most unskilled businesses pay only minimum wage. The scheduling is bad but no worse than any other shift work. Also unless you have worked there you have no right to put down Wal Mart.
Yes, that's true regarding wages...
being stagnate, but I tend to disagree that the 'average' cost is between 11-13 cpl (I think that's what was quoted). I believe it is quite a bit higher than that, more in the range of 15-18 cpl or even higher. At any rate, I cannot see how wages can go any lower than they are now. I really enjoyed Julie's recent blog post regarding the curriculum forum (I'm sure you had a chance to read that). I think she was right on regarding the future of MT.
Then DON'T work for "newbie" wages
If you were better, you'd be making more. Bottom line.
Slow people do not make money.
Bad attitude people get less work/jobs.
Good MTSOs do not hire poor MTs.
Why are you griping. It's your own doing. Life is what you make of it. If you deserved more, you'd be making more.
Type faster, make more.
Start your own business, make more.
Qualify for a good MTSO, make more.
If you're not earning it, the reason lies with YOU.
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