Same situation here. When worked in-house or for physicians offices,
Posted By: It's SO one-sided. on 2007-02-22
In Reply to: Who has moved from company to - wonderin'
never as much as a single episode of no work available. Much to my dismay, I have found out that MTing from home for a nation is so unpredictable, in so far as what your paycheck is going to be every week or 2. They all say "there is plenty of work," which is probably factual. However, the nationals are primarily interested in pleasing the client with their promised swift turn-around-times. What they forget is that if it weren't for the MTs, there would be no turn-around-time whatsoever. It's really very discouraging and quite unfair. Most people try to adhere to their monthly budget, which is impossible when one never knows how much they are going to make from one week to the next. We ARE the providers, not peeons, and resent being treated as such.
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I also have two offices w/mult physicians on tapes, but going digital this month (sm)
at my encouragement. I am training them with a consulting fee by the hour. They were resistant, very old fashioned, but after multiple problems with a few docs dictating over each other's tapes, and the cost of gas, paper, and everything else... I encouraged this. In fact one service just added another physician and I told them I could not handle their transcription anymore, but they said whatever I can do to continue, so we are going digital and longer turn-around time. It will be a time saver and more cost effective for me right away. I will still be going in to the offices probably twice a month because I feel the personal touch is really important. I also work PT for a national, by my choice, as I feel it keeps me on my toes with different types of transcription. Also the national is a guaranteed paycheck via direct deposit every 2 weeks, whereas my own customers, thought good money, well sometimes they are late. 
Not house, but control situation...sm
sounds so familiar! My ex-DH and I have been fighting also, because since he allowed his brother, the brother's daughter and her two children, and our youngest daughter to move in with us, I feel TOTALLY left out of any decision-making. Argued for three hours yesterday - I'm making plans to move out!
I have never worked in a situation like this, but my thinking is --sm
if you are working, getting above the mininum required, and even getting the incentive rate you have nothing to worry about. If for some reason a report takes longer than 'they' think it should, you should document why. You sound like an extremely good worker so you should have an idea of how long each report should normally take and document anything that puts you over that time limit--research/difficult doctor/whatever.
The management may just be justifying their jobs. I agree with your take on leaving high producers alone and dealing with the others individually. Good luck.
Yeah, cant hurt to ask. I've worked in a similiar situation and I have never been turned down for
Just give him what you have told us..increase in work and wonder if your salary could be adjusted accordingly. Getting a raise from a private doctor is way easier than a national transcription company, let me tell you. Good luck.
It was the same when I worked in-house
Slow at the beginning of the summer. After the Fourth of July, people started coming in for elective surgery and things like that and work picked up.
It used to be really slow at Christmas, but with high deductibles on most insurance policies, December was fast becoming the busiest month of the year when I left.
ask yourself what you did when you worked outside the house. NM
.
When I worked in-house
at several different hospitals, we would bring a problem dictator to the attention of the supervisor, who then would present it to the HIM manager. Most of the time the problem dictators got better after a discussion with the manager. If it costs the hospitals EXTRA money, believe me they will take corrective action. Money talks!
Sometimes, there are very legitimate reasons for corrections, as we all know, and I don't think Frustrated was upset about the legitimate ones. There is a lot more of this careless dictator crap going on at teaching hospitals, but at least they have an excuse, they are new to dictating and usually feel quite bad for making so many corrections. If they realize this and make an effort to be more careful, I don't have a problem with them, but there's just no excuse for the long-time dictators who carelessly make the MTs jobs more difficult.
While a certain amount of addendums or mind changing does happen, an "abuser" should always be brought to the attention of management. No one knows about these dictators unless an MT brings it to the attention of those in charge. Frustrated has a right to complain! I feel her pain!
I had a dictator (on an account at an MT service) who made 10 different corrections to her reports on a regular basis & I am not exaggerating. I had been instructed to join them altogether (in a time-consuming fashion) and fed up finally, I flagged them ALL separately for QA. The transcription manager gave me a hard time about it, but I fought back. However, when I talked to QA, she told me I did the right thing and that the hospital was having a "discussion" with that particular dictator as there was NUMEROUS complaints. Dictator cleaned up her act a bit after that & I didn't have much more trouble with her. 
Whe I worked in house, we use to have sm
that problem all the time. HR would interview folks and let really GOOD folks go because they didn't know what they were doing. We werent' really interested in typing speed, we just wanted to know about their MT skills. They use to let some really good folks get away. Also where I worked, if HR said you couldn't hire them, I don't care how good they were or how much experience they had, we couldnt hire them.
It has been going on forever that the people in charge are not even MTs!
Where I work now, the supervisors, recruiters, etc are all MTs themselves, so we speak the same language! I think its like that on alot of other jobs, the bosses don't even know the jobs.
As far as referring a friend, everything has gone to computers and there is no "personal touch" anymore either! Very sad.
Yuppers. When I worked in-house in an ER, you
would NOT believe the stuff we saw. Hamsters were common, though gerbils were preferred due to their tail. At the doctor's loung in the ER, the docs kept a list of the top 10 most outrageous cases. They wouldn't go into detail - just post a list of top 10 weird things, no names, just 1. Hamster. 2. Harmonica. 3. Pea., etc. Hamsters/gerbils were always up there, and a baked potato wrapped in foil held the #1 slot for a long time. Mother and fiancee came in with the guy, and none offered a word of explanation or an ounce of embarassment. The guy just needed help with a baked potato. That stayed at #1 for a while til I left. I can only imagine what the list says now...
I worked in house for 2 years
and when I went on Maternity leave they set me up from home. I started working for a national in January. My other at home position went VR and they brought all the jobs back in house. I couldn't go back into the office as I have two little ones and the cost of daycare is outrageous. What's the sense of working then?
Hi Janna..when I worked in-house SM
We got paid hourly plus incentive pay. Anything over 1100 lines a day was paid an incentive rate of 5 cents per line (plus your normal hourly wage).
So, if I typed 2000 lines in an 8-hour shift I would make:
$16.50 x 8 hours = $132
900 lines (1100 to 2000 lines) x 0.05 cpl = $45
Total for the day = 132 + 45 = $177.
We had a maximum of $1000 a month that we were allowed to earn in incentive pay.
Hope this helps you!
Chickadee
When I worked in house and used Meditech sm
only the person with administrative access, the lead MT or the supervisor could do that. They had access to all functions in corrections, the MT did not. Could be different where you work.
I've worked in-house and at home ....
I find that even when you're in-house, with the nature of the job, there's no time for chit-chat. When I worked in-house we had production minimums and there was incentive to earn if you produced, so who has time to talk? I'm with you. I'm happy being here in my comfy clothing without all that aggravation. Let is snow, I don't have to drive in it!
Never worked in my house RadGuy w/5 brothers
I still crack up at the time my dad came home from work to find my 2 eldest brothers room a shambles with clothes strewn all over the place. Being a senior and junior in high school their clothes WERE prize possesions..until that day when they got pitched out the window into the backyard full of mud from all the spring rain.
Now that one worked as they never ever let a pair of shorts even touch anything but their dirty clothes basket. Now, I'm using the same standard on my boys and just the uncles telling that story keeps them in line
in-house great idea & worked
When I was working in-house our hospital imposed for $50 fine on the docs for EACH delinquent chart. You can bet that got them to dictate on time. I think more hospitals should follow that example. it is better for everyone involved but mostly for the patient, who has info on their chart needed for continuing care.
I worked in house in a doctor's office and it was the same for me...
and I had to answer phones, make copies, et cetera, basically was an MT/secretary...and I hated it...I am making much more money now working at home part-time...
when I worked in house learning MT the first shifters were just like the mean folks here
x
And I disagree with that. I've worked home and in-house,
Everyone is different and some people don't rely on jobs to provide social interaction. When it comes to my job, I prefer being at home working independently without a lot of interruptions and enjoy the freedom of working from home. If I were stuck in an office with rigid hours, then I'd be resentful. Personally, I loathe being stuck in an office full of catty backstabbers and love the solitude of home. When I want to socialize, I call one of my friends.
You also have to be able to let QA remarks roll off your back a little, but that only works if you don't have the threat of being docked or terminated as a result of those QA remarks. Find an MTSO that doesn't hold those things over your head (yes, they do exist).
I do think the key IS where you work, but not home versus office - it's finding a company that values MTs, not sees them as mere production machines. They are few and far between, but they're out there. I lived through my share of bad apples in this biz before finding the good ones, so I speak from experience.
Before I started my own business, worked in a hospital in-house with taxes taken out & then went hom
was getting with shift differential 23.80 when I left. Your pay seems extremely low, you could make more as an IC seriously.
You are so right. Its up to the physicians and
also your local competition. Its all about offering the physicians something better than the competition - better rates, better TAT, and if your competitors are certified, you can bet that's part of their "sell"...But you could never predict the certified issue until you check the waters. Good luck to you! Its not that hard to pick up a local account or two. Enjoy!
Do you think ER physicians actually do as thorough
a physical exam as they dictate or do you think they fabricate a lot of the details of the physical exam?
Not all physicians are like that .....sm
I work for very generous, kind and caring orthopedic surgeons who see patients, with little to no income, and charge them nothing. They ask for no payment and nothing in return. These docs would give you the shirt off their back.
Not every physician cares only about money.
It is bad enough for the ESL physicians but
today I had an ESL PA dictating and when she dictates hypertension she says hypertensions, as in the patient has hypertensions and heart disease is diseases and lukemia is well you catch how it goes EXCEPT if you have the patient's wife, then she says the patient wife or the patient daughter. I am TICKED
Is it just me, or are physicians getting worse
with dictation. I transcribe several that use speaker phones to dictate. I think ER docs are the worst. Not only do they use the speaker phone, but that talk at a rate of about 150 miles per hour. Do they not realize (or maybe they just don't care) how difficult they are to transcribe. I really don't understand why the companies we work for allow this. 
I ask the physicians! Haven't had one yet
who didn't tell me what they were already being charged. You should be able to call the MT department at your hospital and ask around there too.
About incompetent physicians...
Yes, they are definitely out there and getting scarrier day by day. Actually, the great majority of them are quite pathetic.
local physicians
I was wondering if any one knows if local physicians would rather hire certified MT to do their work from home. I am thinking about supplementing my income with a national and wondering if this would be a good way to go. Any insight into this would be greatly appreciated !!
Prospecting physicians??
I currenlty have one account of my own and am an IC through a very small local transcription company. However, I want more of my own accounts. I have sent letters and am willing to do more. Does anyone have any idea on what it takes to "land" an account? Thanks so much for any ideas/help/suggestions!!
Physicians by State
www.healthcarehiring.com. Scroll down to the bottom and you'll find all of the states. This is a great site to search by state, and you can search by specialty even within that state. It is in alphabetical order, which is very, very helpful. I love this site myself and use it every day. 
Yep, been there,done that. Many physicians today
have gone to EMR. I talked with one not long ago who said I needed to find another line of work since EMR is replacing the MT. Even my own personal physician uses EMR.
We are either being replaced with technology (EMR or VR)or work is going offshore. Somehow for me, editing is really not something I am interested in, as I would rather transcribe.
Hopefully, others here will be able to direct you and encourage you, perhaps giving you ideas of how you can obtain clients. Much success in whatever path you choose.
We have many Muslim physicians in the US.
Would you be so quick to condemn someone who had a problem with "We took a moment to praise to Allah"? Would you be as tolerant as you claim to be in that situation?
The physicians used to have to be bribed
to come in and dictate charts, have seen for myself. I would love to know how it went from not wanting to dictate to suddenly everyone getting out their EMRs and typing away.
My take on how these physicians dictate
I question and I mean question about every day whether the person coming in as physician is really that. I have 1 that basically cannot string a sentence together, changes sentences 3, 4 or 5 times each sentence. I have physicians who pull the same stuff, going several paragraphs down and then asking you to add or delete something. I get really ticked when I hear all this and don’t hold my cool. The person in the room with me usually hears my ranting and raving. It is hard enough to get through the ESLs, mumbling, crunching, snorting, eating, sucking, sniffing, sorting papers and the list goes on without putting up with this. One change that was made at the hospital I work for was to tell dictators they could NOT use a cell phone to dictate. It worked. I only wish I were in charge so I could tell them more about how to dictate!
Offices are different.
Your supervisor should be able to email you a rundown. My office has many different incentives, in fact, I have a hard time keeping track of them!
Why are all offices not ran the same?
x
I've found that most physicians who
dictate at such a ridiculous pace are trying to make up for other deficiencies....you know like "male menopause" where the older guy goes out and buys an expensive sports car, etc., etc. Seems most of the speeders on my account are DOs, NOT MDs.....guess they feel inferior in some way.
Physicians are willing to share their knowledge with (sm)
anyone who will listen. They love young bright eyed students. I expected the MT world to be just like medicine.
Why is cost the only issue? It is unprofessional to only think about money. What about pride in the profession and wanting to share knowledge? Isn't that how professions advance and grow?
I am surprised.
State Licensure for physicians
I use the State licensing agency for whatever state the physician is in. I just Google State License or Health State licenses and it brings that particular website up and then I do a search. Great Tool!
When do physicians give feedback to MTs?
x
I have heard American physicians say that. What is the
big deal? You know what they mean.
A lot of physicians refer to their patients
as heterosexual or having same sex partners, it is very relevant in some aspects, as in exposure to AIDS/HIV, etc.
physicians pinching pennies
while making over $100K a year (after insurance premiums), for a service that is tax deductable.... they really dont have a clue...
To my knowledge, you can't print the physicians'....sm
list and I doubt they are in there by specialty, too. You can print the contents of your ESP file if you save it to your desktop and then print it. Hope this helps.
There are no dictators, physicians, nurses, PAs or the like
who don’t dictate on the VR I use, wish I did not have the crap dictators as you call them but they are not left out on my end. I really, really hate it now when I do get a straight report to type I am so happy with the VR I do. I think before long most big places will go that route, little ones not so much as I think VR costs quite a bit.
One of the Ohio offices
I'd rather not say which. Been there years.... it's gotten worse, not better!
How do you change offices?
?
it seems to be all offices, have you signed
up for IPAY? I have not gotten a check yet either, but there is a statement there for 09/02 which obviously is not a regular paycheck
incompetent offices
Geez Mandy, you must work for the same place I did before I left LOL.
Offices need not comply .. but
we find that most do for the continuity in care issues that any practitioner faces.
A great site for referring physicians
that includes credentials and you can search by state is:
http://www.healthcarehiring.com/physician_pennsylvania.php
Down at the bottom you can change the state. I have used this site quite a bit.
Good gried!!! Plenty of physicians
mispronounce terminology, medications, etc. that they are not familiar with in their specialities. Get a life and find something worthwhile to gripe about. Did you understand what they meant? Apparently so, so just do the work.
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