To MTSOs or QA Managers
Posted By: me on 2006-01-25
In Reply to:
I recently took over QA for a small company just purchased. Previously there had been essentially no QA rules. If any of you could send me examples of how your QA is set up, the percentages you deduct for errors - common, critical, etc., it would be most appreciated. Any rewards given for high QA or deductions would be appreciated as well.
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middle managers/acct managers
Most of the time they have no control over what is going on either. They are employees just like the MTs who do what the upper crust tells them to do. They have no control, none of us do....
Yup ... smaller MTSOs, local MTSOs (sm)
local doctor's offices or clinics! Don't get discouraged!! :)
Another example of how managers
This is part of an e-mail from a QA Manager, for crying out loud!
Please note that when you get feedback from a QA specialist, they go by these guild lines if the account allows and it is of the utmost importance to take note and change transcriptoin style if it does not reflect these guidelines.
Managers are just that - managers
they make schedules, they place people on accounts, and manage workflow. You really don't need to be an MT to do that. I myself would never want that responsibility of handling all the disgruntlement, complaints, sick days, time off, blah, blah, blah. Of late, I notice more companies are going to the concept of having a team lead who also types, handles the schedules, does evaluations, etc. everything that a manager would do. I personally like this arrangement better because they know where you're coming from because they're right there with you. Teamwork really does work best, makes people more productive and is less intimidating.
I'd be right in the managers office. That's just not right.
l
Amphion managers
. . . and if you know the salaries those women make to hound you about line counts, you would flip!
Most have office managers.
They are the ones who deal with hiring people and services like transcription. Most times the doctor has no idea, and don't want to know. That's why they hire the managers!
So I am the one doing the labor and get 8 cpl. Frank and all the managers
need a little something-something for all their "hard" work. We MTs are so 
Of course you second this. That's what MQ managers do. Doesn't make it right
or relevant. Keep putting out those fires of MQ discontent, or at least until the big guns with the lawsuits put out MQ for good.
What a crummy job you have to defend big business against the little guys who are just trying to make a living. Kinda have to sell your soul doncha?
I didn't think former bank managers
made any mistakes.
DQS only does what it is told to do by the account managers -
Whichever company you work for can set up DQS to count lines any way it wants to. Hence, if your line count seems incorrect it has nothing to do with the DQS program itself, but with how the company you work for manipulates how various Keystrokes or lines are counted. The same olds true for how many jobs you pull at one time. Both of these features are able to be manipulated by actual people.
You misunderstand. I'm overhearing the managers
talking about other employees, and I've told them I can hear them when they do it. So you want me to "get over it" that they talk about other employees in front of me? Am I supposed to get over the facet one of them left a copy of all the employees' pay rates on the printer for hours? What if your info were being leaked around an office where you worked? Would you get over it?
I found a new job, and I'm helping some of the other employees find new ones, too. Seems more logical and helpful than "getting over it."
More like 90% are completely inept managers.
I have one currently who is good but the rest have been the pits, pits, pits. And they're getting worse.
Beef about account managers
I'll say right off which company I'm talking about, it's DTS out of TN. I'm not mad, just at the point of head banging. I'd really like to know what it is that some account managers do and where they get them. I transcribe on several accounts and without fail, not one of them seems to know anything about the account. One particular one, "GK", I'll email with a question and IF she answers back, it will be somebody else's question, an "I don't know" or "where did you read that" (well DUH I read it in the account instructions). You get doctor lists that came out before modern medicine was invented and after requesting new ones 10-20 times, you just give up (some you can't get online). Then you get emails if you leave a blank for a doctor or feedback from QA that they can't find them either. Two accounts are GONE just this month, wonder if this has anything to do with it?
K-Mart managers...Good money! Yes!
You have GOT to be kidding. I don't know about TODAY'S wages, but K-Mart, (or Safeway or Target, etc)managers USED to make GREAT money!! Yes, they DO prefer a 4-year business degree. These are/were not low paying jobs. Minus the business degree, one would have to play "work up" and it could take 20+ years to get up that high. The pay was about 4-6 times higher than a beginning school teacher last I knew.
Because owners, managers, and CEOs are all trying to cut costs
so they can make as much moolah as possible. EVERY OTHER JOB I have ever had provided on the job training, EVEN the salaried professional white collar positions. Going to school or college does NOT train a person to automatically step into a position knowing everything. Nurses, doctors, lawyers, managers, HR directors, personal bankers, vice presidents, all of them had apprenticeships, internships, training, or worked their way up. MT is the only field I know of where nobody is willing to train or mentor newbies. The training at my last MT job consisted of an emailed two-page explanation of how to pull up their jobs. That's it. No account specs, nothing. Go live on day one.
Real Life 'Dilbert-type' Managers
"My boss spent the entire weekend retyping a 25-page proposal that only needed corrections. She claims the disk I gave her was damaged and she couldn't edit it. The disk I gave her was write-protected." (CIO of Dell Computers)
Quote from the Boss: "Teamwork is a lot of people doing what I say." (Marketing executive, Citrix Corporation)
My sister passed away and her funeral was scheduled for Monday. When I told my Boss, he said she died on purpose so that I would have to miss work on the busiest day of the year. He then asked if we could change her burial to Friday. He said, "That would be better for me." (Shipping executive, FTD Florists)
"We know that communication is a problem, but the company is not going to discuss it with the employees." (Switching supervisor, AT&T Long Lines Division)
We recently received a memo from senior management saying: "This is to inform you that a memo will be issued today regarding the memo mentioned above." (Microsoft, Legal Affairs Division)
One day my Boss asked me to submit a status report to him concerning a project I was working on. I asked him if tomorrow would be soon enough. He said, "If I wanted it tomorrow, I would have waited until tomorrow to ask for it!" (New business manager, Hallmark Greeting Cards.)
As director of communications, I was asked to prepare a memo reviewing our company's training programs and materials. In the body of the memo in one of the sentences I mentioned the "pedagogical approach" used by one of the training manuals. The day after I routed the memo to the executive committee, I was called into the HR director's office, and told that the executive vice president wanted me out of the building by lunch. When I asked why, I was told that she wouldn't stand for perverts (pedophiles?) working in her company. Finally, he showed me her copy of the memo, with her demand that I be fired and the word "pedagogical" circled in red. The HR manager was fairly reasonable, and once he looked the word up in his dictionary and made a copy of the definition to send back to her, he told me not to worry. He would take care of it. Two days later, a memo to the entire staff came out directing us that no words which could not be found in the local Sunday newspaper could be used in company memos. A month later, I resigned. In accordance with company policy, I created my resignation memo by pasting words together from the Sunday paper. (Taco Bell Corporation)
"As of tomorrow, employees will only be able to access the building using individual security cards. Pictures will be taken next Wednesday and employees will receive their cards in two weeks."
(This was the winning quote from Fred Dales at Microsoft Corp. in Redmond, WA.)
"What I need is an exact list of specific unknown problems we might encounter."
(Lykes Lines Shipping)
"E-mail is not to be used to pass on information or data. It should be used only for company business."
(Accounting manager, Electric Boat Company)
"This project is so important, we can't let things that are more important interfere with it."
(Advertising/Marketing manager, United Parcel Service)
"Doing it right is no excuse for not meeting the schedule."
(Plant manager, Delco Corporation)
"No one will believe you solved this problem in one day! We've been working on it for months. Now, go act busy for a few weeks and I'll let you know when it's time to tell them."
R&D supervisor, Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing/3M Corp.)
outsource overseas...and QA and managers "above" MT, period. It was parallel to the old EdiX
too bad, because they used to be awesome, then lost of lot of people skills and adopted the edix mentality...
I hold no grudges, just giving you my own opinion, my own experience. I moved on and am in a better place...
MTSOs
You are not wrong but in my opinion, you are giving them too much credit. The reason why they don't do what you ask is because most of them are not concerned with making your life easier; rather, they are more concerned with figuring out more ways to cheat you and to make your life more difficult. Then when you get disgusted and quit, they will just get somebody else in a very short time to replace you because you are very expendable. And it goes on and on in the same vicious cycle.
MTSOs
You know, there has to be a market between the dastardly corporate MTSOs and small transcription companies. It seems to me that if a talented, aggressive MT with a good business sense could find a way to create a "team" approach to the transcription business, perhaps one could find that niche and sell "team transcription" to good accounts that the MTSOs screw up and have cheated. After all, you have to believe that with the scandals in the transcription corporations - over billing, sending work over seas without informing the client, a lot of trust is lost by some of these unsatisfied accounts. I say, find a way to market to those clients in a "team group" and find the right price, somewhere a little lower than the MTSO charges and go after those accounts aggressively in a group. There is a market there you know.
more than most other MTSOs pay.
it is not kosher to share on public forums what a company pays.
I would not think many MTSOs would want to
x
No, it's not just the MTSOs (sm)
The actual doctors don't want to pay more than minimum wage for transcription either. As an independent, I've had doctors balk at 12 cpl (which is BELOW what the MTSOs are getting, believe me) and I've lost business because I wouldn't take $6 an hour or what equated to 7 cents a line.
So where am I at? Making peanuts working for MTSOs who are getting 15+ cents per line as a middleman for these same kinds of physician while I'm making a paltry 7-8 cpl. It's a no-win situation.
Help for new MTSOs? sm
I have questions about proposals, equipment, and what to charge in order to get started. Are there any web sites out there to help me in this? I have books that I have read, but they go over the basics of start-up MT services.
You should run this by the MTSOs and
see what they think.
This is why the MTSOs have gone so low
single mom, does not want to work away from home. I bet they love reading postings like yours. They have women where they want them, just lower the rates because these people are saying they cannot leave the house.
When MTSOs overhire, this is what happens:
There are actually MTs who work to support their family or supplement their income to meet the customary lifestyle. When MTSOs overhire, leaving the MT with very little work, I have observed this - Jobs are done hurriedly. When extra foot work is required (due to discrepancy in report, incomplete info provided, etc.), the MT who is desperately trying to meet their bills will skip the job or disregard the need to research and go on to the next job. This is extremely dangerous for everyone concerned. At times, it is weeks before the incomplete report is realized.
I do not fault the MT entirely. When the MTSO overhires, they are setting themselves up for this. I do believe 98% of us want to do a really good job, especially those who have been at this for years. But, I have noticed this more and more, and it will, MTSOs, come back and bite YOU.
When you have a dependable employee who can be counted on for production of a certain amount of work, provide that to them.
MTSO - When you get a new account and hire top shelf MTs initially to get the ball rolling and make a splashing impression, do not replace them with lower rate MTs afterwards - it is obvious when the company is hiring nonstop and they already have MTs sitting at home idle for hours at a time. And this creates, MTSO, the "disgruntled employee" who may make every attempt to ruin your reputation each time they can.
I have just come home after being in house for a few years and after three months, I see this happening with my company and, according to the board, it is widespread. It is an issue that needs addressed before someone, namely the patient, is hurt by it.
Unfortunately MTSOs now do good if....sm
they collect 15 cpl. With the pressures from overseas vendors the pricing has dropped to 12-14 cpl. In the "old" days (prior to say 5 years ago) the going rate was 20-25 cpl and of course companies could afford to pay 10-12 cpl easily.
Wellll, I don't know about MTSOs, but JLG -- Please SM
was helping with our hospital transcription.
We got paid $1.50 a minute if we did 2500 minutes a month ($1.75 a minute for all minutes over 2500).
JLG got $3.25 a minute. I saw the bill. I saw it with my own eyes. I nearly fell over. And to boot, it was horrible transcription, FULL of ridiculous errors, blanks. And we had to convert the text files. It was such a bunged up mess.
I lost all my trust at all in the hospital since they were paying us HALF of what they paid a service. I even contacted JLG to see if I could hired to work on MY hospital's account. They were going to pay me 7 cpl. What a joke.
Any Medikin using MTSOs out there?
I am in the process of opening my own mid-sized transcription company. I am still in the process of deciding what TASP to go with as I do not want the hassle of maintaining my own equipment. I have been looking at Medikin's website and am very impressed with what they have to offer for the price. If anyone is currently using or has used them in the past, could you please post your experience here.
Good MTSOs are even
more difficult to find than good MTs. Many of them have negative attitudes and expect indentured servitude in exchange for peanut wages. Many of them have limited, at best, technical or MT knowledge. We get tired of the ranting emails that don't even apply to us from a PMSing or menopausal females. Disorganized, poor communication skills, cheap, selfish, zero management skills, lack of a formal education, lousy platform, personal life issues conflicting with job performance. You'd be able to find good MTs if you were a good MTSO.
From an MTSOs standpoint
no, I'm not one ... just throwing a coin into the playing field ...
Wouldn't having only ICs working "for" a company mean less liability. IOW, if MQ phased out the SE status, could that take a potential monkey off their back?
OTOH, they can hire all the ICs they want, but if those ICs only work for MQ, they're still considered SEs ... correct?
small MTSOs
There's a great online resource for MTSOs of all sizes, varying benefits and pay, and variety of work. It's called www.MTJobs.com. Sign up to be on their mailing list. There are usually at least 50 companies listed on each newsletter, which comes out twice a month. Good luck in your search, and prayers for God's healing of your medical problems. :)
Patti or other MTSOs...
Hi,
Need to get my own account/s instead of relying solely on the national (guess who). Getting a client in my area is probably the easy part. The hard part is the logistics of software, paper, etc. Not having dealt with this stuff working with a national, it is the *simple* things that are a mystery to me (and others, I suppose). I hate to even inquire about transcribing for someone, not knowing what equipment I will need, what software, kinds of paper. I am sure I would come across as an idiot (like right now, maybe?)
OKay, well, I looked online at Dictaphone and it looks like there are mini, micro, and standard cassette units (not to mention digital online programs), so I guess you WOULD have to find out which the client prefers before investing in one, and I know you can get them on EBay, but what else? Does the software come with the transcriber? I don't suppose you can type them out in Word? I suppose one can buy a medical spellchecker. Then you need paper if you are going to print them out...what kind? Anything else? There are so many variables. I suppose I should first contact the two MTSOs that I know locally and ask for overflow work. That way, they could help me learn about this stuff.
No slamming, please. Very sensitive tonight as I just received a call from my Supervisor, very nicely hinting that I need to bring my line count up but, as we talked and now, hours later, I have *no jobs* on my screen. Pretty hard to get that line count up with no jobs!
Thanks for any tutoring and/or advice. 
MTSOs AND RESUMES
As a recruiter, it is nice to have the references already listed in the resume.
To all MTSOs. please help with answer..sm
I have been a Transcriptionist for 14 years and I am looking to become an Editor. I have experience in many specialties. The problem I have is most places want an experienced Editor to fill their positions - how do I get a chance to become an Editor without any experience. I have asked my company that I work with now about a position but they too want an experienced Editor. Please help! My poor hands need a break. I love transcription field and want to stay in it. I am just wondering how long my hands will hold out. I have every resource that I need for the position - last year I bought the COMPLETE set of Stedman's reference materials because I know how important it is to have good, reliable reference materials.
Any and all information would GREATLY be appreciated! I am just looking for a company that will be honest with me as I will be with him. I am easy to get along with but would really like a chance to go in this direction.
Thanks and hope you all are having a great weekend!
don't feel sorry for MTSOs sm
the person I work for is making hundreds of thousands profit off all of us and I'm being paid higher than 8 cpl. Don't feel sorry for MTSOs
MTSOs...What, if any, TASP do you use?
I don't like the one I'm currently with and am looking for some other options. What do you like about yours? You may email me if you prefer.
Ungrateful MTSOs
I know how you feel. I worked this way for years. Just Friday night as I was at the end of a report, I got a call that my son had been in an accident and was being transported by ambulance to the hospital. I signed off the report and shot a quick email to my supervisor that I had to leave to go to the ER. I had a nice email the next day from both my supervisor, as well as our QA person inquiring as to how he was doing and not asking at all - "when are you going to be able to work again" that note was so very appreciated, as most that I have worked for would have only inquired as to when I would be up and running on "their" work again - their only thought being on how I wasn't producing during a bad personal time and how they couldn't afford for me to take too much time off. I appreciate you, for what that is worth, and I hope that you will one day find a compassionate MTSO to work with. There are some out there, but they are very few and far between. By the way - my son is going to have to have surgery, but his life is intact and we will get through this setback.
small MTSOs
Ditto. I am not at all happy with the nationals.
An exception to MTSOs
I see that my post has been removed. Perhaps it was too inflammatory. . In all my "trying out" of companies across the board, I can say that there are a couple of exceptions to my post about MTSO's. One of them is the owner of Keystrokes. I do appreciate this company for being above-board, line count appears to be accurate and pay is always correct and on time. There are still a few good ones out there.
Any in-house MTs or MTSOs...
...or MTs who used to work in-house, have doctors/clients who want you to call them by their first name and insist on it. I'm in California, so I'm used to the first name stuff - though I was raised by "formal" parents who insisted that I call everyone by Mr. or Mrs. or Dr., saying I should do so even when I became an adult, particularly with customers or clients. But I still want to keep it professional...just my pet peeve I guess. 
IC is just a ruse that MTSOs use so they don't have to
pay employment taxes, etc. I've never worked an IC job where I was truly an IC. They tell you there's 24 hour turnaround, but they really mean 8 hours or less. The MTSOs tell us how to do the work and with what equipment/software, when to work, etc. That is NOT an independent contractor! They expect you to sit there doing nothing if there's no work, but have a conniption fit if you need a day off. I went three years working six days a week without a day off.
The IRS definition of an IC is "Who is an Independent Contractor? A general rule is that you, the payer, have the right to control or direct only the result of the work done by an independent contractor, and not the means and methods of accomplishing the result."
MTSOs - Need hep with new account please....SM
I had my meeting with the office manager of my new account. With the system I use now for my other account (Word-based), the front desk receives my completed transcription via a secure transfer program, downloads it, and prints it.
The problem I have is the new office wants eight computers to have access to the dictation. With the way things are now that would mean all eight would have to download the transcription in order to have access to it. This would work, but I do not feel it is the easiest thing for them to do and I want to retain this account, so I want to find something that is easier that would allow all eight to have access to the dictation.
I believe what I’m looking for is something more like a web-based program where I could upload the dictation and then the eight people could have access to the dictation that way. I’m not familiar with FTP sites or what other options are out there. What I need is a way to transfer my files to the office where all eight people/computers could have access to it, make any changes if needed to the dictation where all eight people would then have access to the final dictation. Does anyone have any ideas? I’m totally willing to put a little money into this, but I just don’t know where to begin. Are there any MTSOs out there who use a program that sounds like it fits my needs or any ideas to guide me in the right direction.
Any help/ideas would be greatly appreciated. TIA
You sound like most MTSOs who don't
Experienced MTs are worth their weight in gold because they can produce and produce fast.
An inexperienced MT needs to be molded and shaped and in no way can produce the amount of work an experienced MT.
Just in those two sentences I've summed up my opinion of this industry at this stage in the game with formal training way before AAMT came about and producing quality documents.
It's do or die!
It's sink or swim!
All of this hogwash you've typed is a waste of time. Offshoring is going on because it's cheap labor and not because they're good or put forth effort.
The amount of knowledge and skill comes from transcribing real documents by real dictators and not by books or prefab practice sets.
COME ON!!
This is all, of course, JUST MY OPINION! I'm making loads of money in this field because I have the skill set and the only feedback I want is from the physician himself! Thanks and have a nice day! 
Yes, like why do MTSOs allow padding to
x
Question for ICs or MTSOs
I'm curious (for those of you who wouldn't mind posting anonymously) what do you charge for various types of transcription services?
-StudentMT
Hospitals vs. MTSOs
I am applying at both a hospital for a prn position and with an MT company for part time work. I have the option to work in-house with the hospital, which I may do because I have to drive 25 miles to the city to bring my kids to their preschool anyway. My question is, what are some of the differences between working for a hospital and working for a company? (Pros and cons for each) I have less than 2 years experience, and some of that time was spent doing chiropractic transcription, so I am concerned that I might need more experience or training for the hospital work. Is it more difficult to work for a hospital? Thanks in advance for any comments.
sorry- we love our MTSOs
I was questioning how MTs say that they can type 1200+ lines a day thinking they must get spaces.
I love the company I work for and would never trade the owner for her job. I know she is available 24/7 and I wouldn't wish that on anyone-not worth any amount of money to me.
Yes, I do love the freedom of being an IC. I would like to know if my counts are in the ball park if they are 100-110 lph/no spaces or if that is low. I use a lot of Expanders and have always felt the amount of work I do is adequate but sometimes not so much when others are saying they do so much more.
Are there really MTSOs out there that pay .12 to .14 a line?
I am maxed out at .095 a line for incentive pay at 18,000-20,000 lines per pay period. TIA for any information!!
the same is true for MTSOs as MTs
If you are not getting compensation, why are you staying in the business? Quit griping and do something constructive. The MTSOs are losing ground just like the MTs so get over yourself.
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