Tired of tapes, I want to go digital, sm
Posted By: OldTimer on 2007-08-21
In Reply to:
 I have been picking up and delivering tapes and transcription for almost 20 years. I'd like to know if any small MTSO would talk to me about how to set up a low-cost system for doctors to record digitally and send it to me. I just don't understand what equipment I would need and how to go about the process. I'm a little embarrassed to be asking this as I know most of you have been using digital equipment for years, and I hope I don't get ridiculed for being so behind-the-times. I do not intend to go to Lanier or Dictaphone and pay exhorbitant prices. I want something simple and cheap. I have 2 part-time MTs working for me from their homes. Can someone tell me if there is a company that provides low-cost equipment? I don't even know what I'd need.
Complete Discussion Below:  marks the location of current message within thread
The messages you are viewing
are archived/old.
To view latest messages and participate in discussions, select
the boards given in left menu
Other related messages found in our database
I do tapes and digital. And I was told if I'm not logged into the digital system, they assume I&
BUT she wants me logged into the system by 9:30 a.m. So I'm confused too. I've decided that I may come back to her and just say I'm not going to do the tapes anymore. I hate the tapes anyway. The voice quality is horrible, it fades in and out. It takes me twice as long to transcribe their tapes than the digital.
Digital vs tapes
If they are used to getting their printed notes/letters back it might be somewhat of a battle to get them to change to print them off, etc. Also decent digital records run in the $175 range and if you are buying them for 15 PT's that is a lot of money. The best ones run $400. But they will also need a designated person that will upload their files to your FTP site. A call in system to handle all of them, depends on how many will dictate at once and how many phone lines you will need can run for 4 lines between $5K and 10K. So you have to balance the cost vs your time of picking tapes and delivering back printed material. Also if they come on board, you put out all the money and then they decide to go elsewhere you will have a lot of equuipment left. I am trying to get my docs (5) of them to switch over to digital but it is like pulling teeth. So decided if they want to continue with tapes there is not much I can do as they are a well paying accoung. If they did go digital I still would deliver the finished product as I like the mileage write off and getting out of the house. I was mainly doing it for better clarity and "no broken tapes." Patti
Are you on tapes or digital?
on tapes or digital
My doctors are still on tapes, but they won't change and I make pretty good with them.
That's why I convert tapes to digital sm
as soon as I get them - no more hassles!
Tapes and digital recorder
I courier for the tapes, the digital files I recieve by email, encrypted of course.
I still record but not onto tapes.. onto a digital recorder. sm
I use a skutch box hook up to the phone and recorder. Make sure you're muting out room noise, a speakerphone and mute button do the trick quite nicely.
Copying tapes to digital format
Has anyone ever attmpted to do this? I am getting a little overwhelmed with the amount of work and want to get some subcontractors and feel it would be easier to go digital rather than delivering the tapes, etc. Thanks for you help and opinions.
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. 
I get tired of daily grind. I get tired of having
horrible dictation/dictators and not able to produce lines, which directly affects my paycheck. I don't mind doing the difficult stuff, and I pretty good at it, but it is stressful and I find it very hard to budget when you never know what your paycheck is going to be. I hate being tied to having earphones on all day. I have children at home (I homeschool and don't have toddlers running around) and my DH works third shift so he is home during the day. I try to work around all this, but can't always. If I had a "desk" job I could be part of conversations at least, but having to have the earphones on you can't do that. I get tired of being sedentary, my feet swell, my shoulders are tired, my elbows hurt, etc.
I stick with it because of my children, and also because I like the flexibility. I don't have to be up at 5:30 to get the kids up and ready for school, I don't have to fight traffic to get to work at 8:00. It is a trade-off. Sounds like you just need a break.
Tapes
Can you reuse the same tapes (standard size) over and over? I have been for a while and I was wondering if they eventually get bad.
Thanks!
Tapes
Tapes are great, they fly. Working for a national also, 50% of the time and tapes the other 50%. Enjoy the tapes much more, make much better money (gross line count, not 65 ch). Have always set my word expansions up in Word itself. That way, no matter who I work for I use my own version of Word and my expansions are always there. Enjoy the tapes. Hope this helps. PS. They print at the site for me.
This happens a lot with tapes too.
I have noticed that with digital there are more safeguards. When the office downloads the files to their computer they usually save it on their computer. Once they send it to you, you save it to your computer too. Sometimes the doctor erases the file before all this happens, but when the doctor erased a part of a tape there was no backup then either.
From below regarding tapes
Okay, I started typing today on tapes picked up yesterday. (I deliver between 10 and noon) So I could have done then yesterday but had graduation for nephew. So I started today at 5 o'clock and it is now close to 11. I have typed, printed, showered, made deliveries and pick-ups, went to bank, know what I have to do tomorrow and made $201. No sudden files sent, no sporadic files sent, have the complete day's dictation , and can schedule the rest of the day and tomorrow morning the way that I want. So this works for me and I appreciate the input from Tikki and all, but will keep doing this if they want to continue to use tapes. All my accounts are within a 4 mile radius from each other and the majority at one of the hospital medical buildings so it takes me 35 minutes to do the deliveries from walking out my front door and coming back through. I respect everyone's opinion and hopefuly you respect mine. I get exercise as it is half a mile from my car to home round trip. -- Live on the river in a floating home. Patti
I'm still doing tapes too!
Some docs don't like to change. If you have a good relationship with the office staff, then they shouldn't have a problem using digital. Most doctors do not want voice recognition because they want their reports edited. If the doctor is a taper user, he very well may adjust to digital and just have his secretaries upload the dictation to send to you. You may have to spend some time in the office instructing them on how to do it. You may want to Google "FTP sites", and see where that leads. Good luck!!!! 
sum tapes
Does anyone still use the Sum Tapes and Transcript keys for practice? If so, what is the copyright date on them? Mine are 1994. They seem to be a little out dated. Does anyone have any newer ones?
tapes
I agree, I do tape accounts, a small one, but they do treat me well. I also type straight from the doctors notes on a major account, nice people, too. We make a good living.
Tapes
I have had that happen a couple of times and I have a friend that just transfers the entire tape to a new casing and attachs that. Only rarely have we lost any dictation or have it become so distorted that we can't hear it. Perhaps a couple of sentences. Guess I have been lucky. But again, I would write to Maxwell and tell them that you got a bad batch or lot number. Good luck.
YES you can fix the tapes yourself
see entry above; OPERATE ON THE TAPES.
tapes to wav/mp3
there is a program online - inexpensive - that you hook you tape player up to your computer, play the tape and have ability to modify the tape sounds, editing etc - play it as a wav or mp3. Polderbit is the one I use - you can Google - tape to wav and many will come up
tapes
I have been with them for 10 years and they have only asked for me to reprint twice, that's not bad.
You have tapes -- how do you log in
Guess I am a little slow. You type from tapes, you deliver back on paper, how do they know when you log in???? You don't have to log in to retrieve the dictation nor send it so please explain to me. Guess my old age is catching up with me as I don't understand.
Tapes
This may be a sillyquestion, but I have always worked digital, so I don't know this. How are tapes played with a foot pedal? Thanks
Tapes.....
That sounds really HIPAA compliant.
Tapes
You're right, this isn't very common anymore. However, people do still do it. Myself included. I charge by page. I charge $5 a page. This is how it works: I type everything in Word, then get the line count from the Word statistics. I divide this by 55 (55 lines per page) and multiply by 5. This is how I bill. I just make up a bill in Word and sent it to the clinic twice a month. You will have to get a machine with a foot pedal that plays cassettes though, and those are not cheap, but you can make pretty good money if you charge this way.
GOOD LUCK!
old and tired
maybe you need the 14 bucks an hour to pay for those conference calls. i hear the editors have to pay for them all by themselves.
Thank you Tired... :)
tired of it sm
Not asked or told to do this. Told they are "sound file reconversions" where the sound file is "fixed" and then the report goes back in the pool. Sorry don't buy it. If the sound is that bad, why do the report? Why not send it to get the sound file "fixed" at the beginning? Think its someone trying not to send something to QA. They are always the difficult dictators. Also was told that the sound file issues were resolved.
You are SO right... I get so tired of...
listening to people complain about this country.. We have it so good here that we are totally spoiled. It's shameful. If these people would take a tour around the world and then come back here and compare our medical care, they would stop this nonsense. Even in developed countries like Italy, things are a little weird. I lived there 20 yrs ago and a friend had a car accident and ended up in an Italian emergency room instead of the army hospital. The treatment? A big glass of wine while sitting in the hallway waiting forever to be seen. Forget the undeveloped countries, they barely have anything. Even in Britain their facilities are not quite what we expect here. We are spoiled.
tired
definitely feel the same way. 23 years is long enough. wish i could do something else that made this kind of money.
.......tired!
I get tired of....
being sneezed on. First of all, it hurts my ears if it is too explosive and secondly, I feel like I need a shower. Is it too hard to turn your head and/or hold the phone away from your face?
tired QA
You were "not so perfect" at one time yourself......so unless you have a masters degree, don't be so critical i.e, you have been there yourself. Beside, if it were not for mistakes or uncertainty, you would not have a job either!
Like I said - I'm tired of them not
speaking English to a point where you can at least "partly" understand. My job is to type what I hear. I'm not trying to "turn their accent into English anymore!" -- I don't get paid enough "downtime" to figure this out! -- Especially at $10/$11 an hour!!!!!
can you tell how tired I am right now
actually, I did not "do" her . . . I did do some work for her though -- and still do sometimes
Tired..
Sure understand your feelings of delight with your grandchild. I feel the same way about my 2 grandsons, and over the years have barely been able to hang onto transcription at home while providing them with everything under the sun to keep them busy while I attempted to work. They also have turned out to be very artistic and creative. They are 11 and 14 now. The main thing for me was a HUGE amount of patience and not getting stressed when they interrupted, just smile and as quickly as possible return to typing. I did "interact" with them face-to-face every 15 minutes for a couple of minutes when they were little, and it seemed to work best when I worked in the same room they were playing in. Of course, at 3 they started pre-kindergarten, so there were 3 free hours to work, then soon enough all-day school. They finally learned to not over-do the interruptions as they got older (one thing was when they understood they get to buy "toys" with the money I am mysteriously making.) I really do not think there is a "balance", I just keep trying. Also I think there is a "bit-of-a-difference" between grandparenting and parenting rules. (If we don't make our kids TOO mad at us!) We really get to do all the good stuff and joy!!
tired of this
This job does render us socially isolated unless we make real efforts to make friends and our lack of friends makes us rather vulnerable too, i.e. husband attacks and no one to come to our rescue. Your husband sounds rather immature and you seem to be in the role of his wife/mother. You certainly deserve a break. My first and only marriage ended because I was in the same situation. Now I am alone but at least I can be free from the tyranny of a man/boy so to speak. It's your call. Weigh the pros and cons and then take some action.
I'm tired of MTs who cannot SM
look up the simplest things and who leave 20 or 30 blanks in a report. When I was an MT, if I sent ONE job to QA in a month I felt like I failed, but today's MTs have no pride in their work at all.
tired
I've recently been sending applications and resumes to non-transcription companies locally. Guess what. They see on my resume that all I've done for the past 20 years is transcription, and they don't think I'm capable of anything else! It's very disheartening.
Erased tapes
They request that I erase the tapes and I have disabled my erase on my machine, I just accidentally somehow picked up two tapes that were not yet transcribed -- I have two bins -- two different colors --but was in a hurry and picked up the wrong ones and pushed them right through the eraser. Today when I went to transcribe I found two tapes that had already been done in the "To be transcribed" bin and had been delivered and the ones that I knew had to be done were nowhere found and so I am by process of elimination assuming that is what I did. I remember erasing two tapes and it was the wrong two tapes. I am so organized and have always had this fear and so after nearly 20 years it finally came true -- one I could accept but both of them -- that is the problem. But can't fix it now. Thanks for your input.
Erased tapes
Good for you!
Maxell Tapes
Just thought you would find this of interest. I know we don't use tapes too much, but all these years of trying to fix broken tapes - I contacted Maxell about a tape that blew off the spool on side B. They guarantee their tapes, just mail back to them at a N.J. address - link below - via regular mail from NV to N.J., and it was returned within 3 days - not only do they fix it for free - but send it back via Federal Express, at their expense + give you a free tape. Wow! Joyce
http://www.maxell-usa.com/Content/Pages/Page.asp?Section=maxellusa&department=aboutus&Line=maxellcorp&Product=contact
How about the docs that use the tapes sm
to dictate, then use the call in system, put the phone by the recorder and re-record the whole stinking tape via the call in. To me, that is the worst. It turns out to be 30-40 minutes of dictation and they sound like they are dictating from the grave. Yuk.
practice tapes sm
As usual, your answers are so much appreciated. I love this site, helping others is so important, I do it whenever I can as well. I believe in karma. Thanks again!
I was on my way to pick up tapes. nm
nm
Practice tapes from?
I have heard practice tapes some give out that are almost perfect dictation- definitely not what you run into when you transcribe. Are you doing the "goodie" tapes or are they the real McCoy? The practice ones I have heard put in their periods, paragraph. Ha, very seldom hear that in real. What kind of work will you do, speciality or the 4s? I have my equipment as fast as it can possibly go and my salary has gone down in the past 4 years 20,000$ from the constant outsourcing the companies are doing. My speed is between 130-140 wpm and I make good only because I have my nose to the grindstone most of the day. By the way, independent as well but my company asked me for certain hours and which days. I have seen numerous posts on here saying you do not have to do it -but I wanted to work for this particular place and I accept it.
practice tapes from...
Practice tapes are real; slurring run-on sentences, gurgling muffled words, you name it. But, she gave me the printed reports to go with them, so if I really get stuck, i can look at them and find the answer. If you don't mind my asking, how long have you been in this, and what's your cpl? You work for an agency? Yes, my speed is concerning me. Thanks for your reply.
Maxell tapes
Just FYI - if they break, Maxell will repair, send back via FedEx and give you a new tape - beats Dr. having to redictate, if you are still working with tapes. Joyce
I just had to comment on the tapes...sm
I've been MTing for 10+ years and just in the last 1-2 years the tapes the docs have used are coming off the spool at the end of the tape. My doc got so mad and asked me to fix if I could. I would take these things apart and Scotch tape the tape back onto the spool. I have fixed about 10 of these now. Some were Maxell and some Sony I think. I wonder if any of you have had this happen. That's all. Just thought I'd share.
CAN'T UNSCREW SOME TAPES
Unfortunately, some of the newer tapes don't "unscrew" anymore, or at least there are no screws there. Last time I paid someone to fix one it was $85.00. I used to fix these myself, but wonder if anyone knows how open the newer tapes without screws?
copying tapes
We did that for awhile because I was trying to help a friend to start out in the business and I also gave work to other people on the internet, but it is a lot of work. Thank God, my husband did most of the work, but thanks, but no thanks.
|
