Thanks for your response. You made some very good points. sm

• Question for small MTSOs - sm - Dizzi
  • What if you brought on a combination MT/QA person, and - sm - Flibertygibbit
  • I guess it depends. Do you also do - some of the transcription? sm
    • Thanks for your response. You made some very good points. sm - Dizzi
      • Are you finding errors when you check them? - sm
        • Don't always find errors, but need to be sure, so have to check. - dizzi

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Your post is encouraging.  Maybe we need to study these people you mention and learn the ropes from them. 

Yes, I've seen the pictures of the MTs in India.  Reminds me of typing class in high school.  And that's what I'm saying, just like you -- how long can this last?  You question how long before they get carpal tunnel.  Great point!  How long before they get burned out?  You can't work people like that, not at this job where you have to listen so intently and be so absolutely correct.  Transcribing a difficult dictation is akin to doing a hard math problem.  The brain can only take so much at a time.  Couple that with trying to understand a dictator whose language is not your primary one and speaks in slang or idioms you never heard.  If they work the overseas MTs like that, there's going to come a point where something has to give.  The quality of their work might suffer, even the good ones, due to burnout.  Will the American companies still want them?  How desperate are they for our work?  Desperate enough to endure those conditions?  Do they have other choices?  We see them as the foe, and yet as you say, we are turning into that kind of situation with many of our companies but we do have other options, fortunately for those who want to pursue another career. 

The medical record must endure.  There must be good MTs.  You can't work people to burnout either here or overseas.  In this country, you need to make the job inviting in order to keep the workforce up.  Lowering salaries here is not how to do that.  Running sweatshops there is not how to do it either.  Something has to give at some point.  Then maybe people will take us seriously again and this job will be what so many of us want and need it to be. 

You're right about the middle class.  Something has to happen -- this is affecting too many jobs, too many sectors of society.   

According to the BOS:

1.  You are supposed to substitute mL for cc.

2.  When quanity and unit of measure immediately follow a heading such as estimated blood loss, use numerals.

Okay...here goes...

So, currently I work in-house at my local hospital.  (Probably shouldn't mention this cuz it's rude, but just trying to give accurate information)..I make 16.47 an hour, plus benefits.  I love my job and it is supporting me and my husband (who is in college at the time...graduating in JUNE!!!)...So, it's worth it.  However, I have to deal with a LOT of crap from the other MTs in-house.  Lots of bitterness, competitiveness, bi*chiness, etc.  I am dealing with it because I know I am not going to do this forever.  Which brings me to my next point:

Don't stay in this job for a long time!!!  You won't go anywhere with it, if anything you will probably get laid off due to outsourcing.  I, myself, am starting school for medical coding.  I will be done with school ($2000) in June and then get started in my new career.  If have been a medical Transcriptionist for 6 years and have done everything from psychiatric to internal medicine to sleep studies as an IC (and it's not worth being and IC in my opinion because of all the taxes you have to pay...big bucks) and my best job yet has been working in-house at my current job.  However, like I said, MTing is not going to get you anywhere fast.  If you want a job that takes you to the next level, go into coding.  There are a lot more career opportunities out there and you can eventually work from home being a coder as well. 

If I had to do it over I would have gone straight into coding (except for the fact that I got a lot of medical experience working as an MT).  Good luck to all of you who decide to stick with MTing, but I don't think it will reward you in the future.  I believe it is a dying profession and we all need to move on while the opportunity is here. 

I pray for all of us to be able to support ourselves and our family!  I know it's tough out there and we all are struggling to make end's meat.  Just keep on keepin on and we'll all make it through some how. 

That is, if you have a reputable daycare that is organized with caring people educated in childhood development. My neice was recently changed from a nursery (2 yrs old) because she was found lying on the floor in a corner at the nursery by her mother who came to pick her up at 5:15 p.m.. She had a 103 degree fever, and no one had bothered to call my sister about it. Anyone knowing that child would know she would have to be sick to be lying around when other kids are present. The new nursery is the different in night and day. She gets a report every day from what the child eats to even how many times a day she poops. It's wonderful and the child's attitude when she gets home... a world of difference. My sister thought she had a caring daycare, until she moved. Now she knows what one is really like. To all who have to put children in daycare, KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON IN YOURS!

Also, you second point, the shyness... I was also raised at home by my mother and never put in daycare and I was "painfully" shy when I got to school. I had a hard time throughout my school years because of it. Now as an adult, I don't think there is anything holding me back, but I had to work hard to get out of the shyness. I think because I was at home, I didn't know other kids but they knew each other and I never seemed to fit in.

1.  You can go ahead and cash the checks you received and it 's guaranteed money.

2.  You can wait and join the class action suit if you haven't and not cash the check; however, remember that in class action lawsuits the only true winners are the lawyers.  They end up getting most of the money in the end and generally the plaintiffs end up with a very small amount.  It irks me to see things like class action suits that results in the attorneys receiving millions of dollars in legal fees and the plaintiffs end up with less than  $100 because the legal fees ate the money available up.   Look at people who sue insurance companies over automobile accidents for example.  Say an attorney gets them $500,000 - well the attorney gets $250,000 for legal fees and the injured party receives $250,000 - and in situations where they receive large monies it's generally because the person is going to have permanent health problems related to the accident that future insurance companies will exclude paying for.   $250,000 isn't a lot of money if you have an injury that will cause chronic problems throughout your life.

3.  Remember that if you do join the suit that this will probably be tied up in court for years so don't expect a quick settlement if they do decide to settle.  Agreeing to settle a case outside of court doesn't mean the defendant is guilty - sometimes it's cheaper to settle out than to continue racking up costs associated with the lawsuit.  

As a note I don't work for MQ - I've just been out there in the legal world to see very commonly that what people think will happen isn't what happens in the long run.  The best you'll get is checks for any amount you weren't paid properly and possibly some interest, but don't expect to get a truckload of cash because they messed up your paychecks.  Instead if you wait on the lawsuit then you may end up having to share the back wages with the attorneys. 

Both points were addressed and specific solutions to both problems were given. Obviously, there are those readers, such as yourself, who only want to focus on one of the problems. I don't feel a need to lecture anyone on financial planning. I am simply offering a solution to helping this person overcome her problem for the future. Please trying offering a suggestion yourself instead of pointing a finger at those who do.

I did some research on HIPAA compliance with companies who offshore to India.  From the looks of it, the American-owned companies can be prosecuted for violations.  Also, it appears that India has similar laws and can prosecute their own citizens who violate confidentiality.  I definitely think there is more to the story than just people typing from cafes with no rules or laws.  Being that offshored work is big business in foreign countries, it would be to their own advantage to prosecute anyone who violates confidentiality.  I imagine there are laws in place already.

This statement was my favorite, and I do hope a lot of companies read this survey and learn from it!

If you are going to claim you type this drastic amount and not give the reasons why, then you are creating a falsehood for all of the newbies.  They'll feel so inadequate, and that is not fair.  We should be a team, not to try to see who's faster or better.  I mean, look at that ridicious shotty/shoddy crapola!  Who the heck cares??  It will all boil down to the physician's preference anyway!  I often wonder how many times I've typed a report and my initials get removed before it goes to the physician so some hot shot MTSO owner gets all of the credit for my work??  Uh oh, do I really want to open that can of worms?????  Tinks don't go anywhere.  If anon2 feels the need to leave, then so be it!  There's plenty more out there with an opinion we sure all have an opinion, don't we?