You should blame Congress, they make the laws. nm

• Tax vent sm - A Nonny Mouse
  • 35,5, supporting only one person - and you can't make it?
  • Just how much do you think you are worth? - and how much is enough??
  • A Nonny Mouse - Anudder A Nonny Mouse
  • Well, my husband and I paid 58% last year in taxes. I swear! sm - I'm with you!!
    • Hard to believe what you read sometimes - Reading your post
    • I agree. Do you remember the 1970s with a 70% tax rate? Gives me a headache... nm - Atlas Shrugged
  • not to mention, mr, bush likes to call this "living the american dream" - sm
    • You should blame Congress, they make the laws. nm - Colts fan
  • AMEN! I feel the same. I grossed $31,000 as an IC. sm - Another bit by IRS!
    • If you think that's bad, just wait 'til we get "free" health care. NM - Colts fan
  • That's dowright shame! Bless you Heart! I hope there is a change soon, this is getting ridiculous - RettaB
  • 35,500 a year is darn good money to me!!!!! - escarole
    • Ummm and you live in America? You need to set your sights a little higher than that hon - Ummm
      • you need to realize your role, hon - a trained monkey could do our job--that's why o
        • not mine, hon - put down your OWN job
          • nope I went to a brick-and-mortar school and hand an - internship at a local clinic.
      • I have been trying to prepare for this, dont buy milk anymore, etc. nm - Colts fan
  • You did not say your age but - Older here too
  • ahh...the fleecing of america! sm - another anon
    • There is one - Ron Paul - and he does walk his talk. nm - ColoradoMT
      • yeah, but unfortunately, he does not have --sm - ks
    • And the more people want from the government -- the more you pay - Patti
      • BUT, you are brilliant. Keep up the good work! You are my hero for today! nm - The govt hates people like you
      • It's called redistribution of wealth, government produces nothing, sm - Colts fan
        • Doesn't that make you sick? Entitlement programs my a**. I would like sm - Ummm
          • At some point the tax is going to be so high to pay for these "entitlements" sm - Atlas Shrugged
            • We keep rewarding incompetence and punishing hard work - another Ayn Rand fan
              • ditto and double ditto - Atlas Shrugged
          • Sounds like my some of my daughter's friends. nm - Colts fan

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among other things.  Basically, federal law states that an employer is not required to offer paid time off or paid holidays.  An employer doesn't have to pay you for time not worked.  It states quite clearly that PTO is an agreement between the employer and employee upon hire.  So, if you have an agreement with your employer stating you accrue PTO and get certain Holidays off with pay, then upon termination or resignation, you are entitled to any unused time you have accrued.  However, since not mandated by any state or federal laws, if an employer refuses to pay you for any unused PTO, you will have to take legal action, likely in small claims court.  You will probably eventually win, but you have to decide is it worth all the trouble and legal fees?

When you actually get right down to it, labor laws really don't do much for the working class.  We are not guaranteed anything except minimum wage and a safe work environment.

After thinking a while about some of the posts I have read here regarding pros and cons of unions, I decided to actually sit down and write my congresswoman about our work being taken over by ILPs.  This has nothing to do with ASR, just ILP.  Maybe if enough people write to our representatives, that would be a start to doing something proactively to try to save our profession and maybe, just maybe we could see things turn around in the next year and keep our jobs here in our own country instead of sending them overseas..  If anyone is interested, here is a copy of the letter I have sent and you could use the same letter to send to your congress person.

Dear Congresswoman/man _______,
I am writing to you regarding the issue of U.S. jobs going overseas to foreign countries.  Specifically, I am a medical Transcriptionist (MT) working out of my home for a large MTSO (Medical Transcription Service Organization) named _____ and am personally experiencing the downfall of the MT industry due to several factors, one of the largest being that our work is sent overseas to India.  I frequent a website, mtstars.com, specifically for MTs to express their thoughts on a number of issues regarding the MT profession.  You would be very interested to read some of the posts written there and get a good idea of the frustrations of MTs due to our work being taken over by International Labor Partners (ILP).  I consider myself a professional in the health care field with the knowledge that I have acquired over the years to contribute to excellent quality patient care.  An accurate medical document is a legal and very important part of the health care industry and can positively or negatively affect patient care.  Disturbingly, MTSOs are becoming less and less concerned about quality patient care and are instead focusing more on saving money by sending our work overseas because it is cheaper.  As a MT working for a MTSO, I get paid on a production basis, per line that I transcribe.  As an example, I get paid ____ cents per line whereas a MT in India is paid 2-3 cents per line.  Yes, it is much cheaper for the MT in India but at what price are we sacrificing U.S. jobs?  We need to keep our jobs here in the U.S.  For one there is the issue of patient confidentiality.  Many times there are Social Security numbers, addresses, phone numbers, and other personal identifying information that is being sent to another country.  In watching the news, India lately has been in political turmoil by terrorists.  Imagine what would happen if those terrorists obtained personal information from medical records data.

Another issue is the quality of the completed transcribed report by an Indian MT.  These reports are to be transcribed in the English language as they will legally be placed into a patient's medical chart here in the U.S.  Indian MTs just cannot have the necessary proficiency of the English language to be able to accurately complete a legal medical report so that it can be easily read and understood.  This will ultimately have a negative impact on quality patient care and could seriously endanger the life of a person who is ill and in need of medical attention and treatment.

So many U.S. industries have gone overseas and good American people have and still are losing their jobs.  Long ago it used to be the fear in the MT profession that hospitals would outsource their work to a MTSO and a MT would lose his/her job.  That fear became a reality and now most hospitals are outsourcing a portion, if not all, their work.  Now the fear is that MTSOs are outsourcing all their work overseas and more MTs are losing their jobs or are just plain quitting the MT profession altogether because it isn't a viable occupation in which to make a decent wage to actually live on.  Many MTs who just a few years ago were making $40,000 to $50,000 a year are now faced with the reality that they are making just minimum wage, all due to the fact that MTSOs are trying to save money by sending work overseas for cheap labor.  It is abhorable to think this is happening in our country, but it is.

I am writing to you today as a plea to do what you can to put a stop to this.  We need government protection to keep our jobs here in the U.S.  I don't know what the answer is - more taxes for companies that offshore, eliminating offshore altogether.  It just is not right that U.S. jobs are being sacrificed and eliminated by being sent to foreign countries all for the sake of saving money.

Thank you for taking the time to read my plea for help.

Sincerely,

You go girl!!  My thoughts exactly....

I've learned to take a more pragmatic view of the problem rather than blindly placing all the blame on the doctors themseves.  Rather, I place the majority of the blame on the shoulders of the government and the insurance companies for driving up the costs not only to patients but to the providers.  Practices have found that they've got to cut back somewhere. Some have turned to EMR, some are using voice recognition, and some have resorted to going the cheapest way possible, offshoring, to create the documentation REQUIRED by insurance companies and the government in the first place.  Though we may debate the morality of sending American jobs overseas, they're not doing anything illegal.

The biggest problem I have with offshoring, as my friend once put so eloquently, is "I wouldn't want my medical records to go to some country we're going to be at war with in a few years." (thanks, AK!) We Americans are expected to abide by government-imposed HIPAA laws, but does that extend to offshore companies?  They say they are HIPAA compliant, but who really knows? Which "government" agency watchdog do we have to protect our privacy in these other countries?  Gee, we're having such a problem with identity theft, wonder why?

I've taken to asking any new physician that I go to who will be typing my medical record after this office visit.  If they say they sending it to some really cheesy company in India or even refuse to tell me who, I walk.  How many of you do the same thing?

"Anonymous" and "Untouchable?" 

Don't speak for me.  You don't know me.  I have always wanted to deal directly with the MTs.  There are other QAs who agree with me, too.  But we have been told in may meetings that just will not happen.

Of course, I would imagine the anal ones who should not have their QA jobs would not like to do that, because they could not back-up their corrections.  But I stand behind mine.  I would rather talk directly to the MTs -- lack of communication is good for nothing but misunderstandings and bitterness. 

I am not out to get any MT.  I will not make a change in your report unless it is an outright blatant medical terminology mistake or a formatting error.

Why are you so mean?  You don't know me.  I wouldn't be nasty to you.  I have never done anything to you. 

Bitterness is not good for anyone.  Why don't you place your anger towards the QA who is giving you troubles?  Turn that QA in.  Keep doing it.  If more MTs would speak up, then the ones who should not have jobs will be held accountable.

I know what you are talking about.  I understand.  I see it myself when I look at completed reports and I see what some QA are doing.  It is wrong.  But not all of us are the same way with our jobs.  I have always tried to be professional and helpful to the MTs.  I leave notes with info that they might need concerning the particular report, and even thank them for their hard work. 

I am sorry you feel so hateful towards someone who never did a thing to you. 

I wish I could also put it out of my head and get over it, but it still bothers me.  My MIL doesn't get it and has never wanted to. My mom was the only one who ever really understood before she died a few years ago, but only because she would ask me and wanted to know. My husband tells me to let it go, that they'll never understand. That includes his sisters and brothers. I'm 38 and still care about silly things like that. I do need to let it go and know that we are doing good by my working at home. I've seen all my three kids' firsts just by being here, and that's what is important. I've even mentioned to my MIL what I make in the past and still doesn't seem to care or want to know, just will say "oh, really?" and then move on to the next subject. When everyone is talking about having to work the next day at a holiday party, I keep my mouth closed now and say nothing. To them, I don't really work. I feel like a crazy person if I do mention working, like I have an imaginary job, so I quit talking about it. It's funny now because SIL's daughter went to school for this and is currently looking for a job, so they'll have to start understanding it better.  I'm glad to know I inspired her.

it didn't cut the mustard and you want to blame somebody else? You know, one report will not get you canned.

I do feel sorry for you, again.

As for the *blame game* - most states and MOST judges don't care....they don't care if your spouse is caught in bed with people.  Hopefully the OP's state is like that.  Many states today are *no contest* states.  If you want a divorce, you can get a divorce in most states with no contesting.  If the OP's state is not like this - is not a *no contest* state, the OP needs to file for a divorce in another state, where the OP would need to get residency status in that particular state (using someone's address who you know real well). 

...for taking another transcriptionist's word over mine regarding a situation involving only the two of us. I blame my employer for overlooking the fact that another Transcriptionist was 15 minutes late EVERY SINGLE DAY for five years, had temper tantrums at work (even the employer said she needed anger management classes), and antagonized the radiologists - and yet still, somehow, I was the "bad guy" and that employee was the golden child. I blame my supervisor for being IN THE SAME ROOM and witnessing the cold and cruel way the other transcriptionists treated me, when I had nothing but pleasant things to say to and about them, and still allowing the manager to "let me go" when it finally came down to a choice.

No, I didn't fit in. I don't lose my temper at work. I don't try to turn people against other employees. When there is a problem at work, I have the courage to address it and calmly try to work it out. I treat other people with respect and dignity.

You're absolutely right. I didn't fit in. But I should mention - I left there August 28, 2005, and they STILL have not filled my position, nor have they filled the position of another employee who left at the end of December 2005. What does that say about who "fits in" at that department?

Most schools will not use corporal punishment any more period.  Believe me, there are some kids at our school that could use a good whack on the backside.  However, the school district then would have to worry about assault charges from parents.  Teachers aren't willing to risk their entire careers over a bad apple.

The 4th grade girl who brought a handgun to my child's nice suburban school got suspended for three days and counseling.  The 5th grade boy who brought a knife was led off in handcuffs by police, but he was back in school the very next week.  Now, he's an angry high school kid who has to take a special class with other "angry" kids.  The kindergartener who stabbed my kid's teacher in the face with a metal mechanical pencil last year wasn't removed from her classroom at all.  Instead, they brought in a "behavioral specialist".  It wasn't working, but I told the principal if my children were in any of these kids' classes again, I'd be sending all my kids to private school.

Can you post a link?

India is notoriously lax on privacy, intellectual property, etc., types of laws.  Their judiciary system has always been at or near the top when it comes to corruption also.  It is easy to bribe your way out of trouble.  I know this.  I have family over there and hear plenty of stories of what goes on that would never get by in the USA.  The offshorers take chances in third world nations (not just to say India, there are others like Philippines, Pakistan, etc.).  They take these chances because of the fact that the labor is much cheaper.  They cross their fingers and hope for no trouble and since the USA has not outlawed sending its citizens' personal information to other countries, they are allowed to do so and they choose to boost their profits in the meantime.  It is what it is.  They are in business to make money.  Just like the subprime mortgage lending mess ... banks turning a blind eye to unqualified borrowers to make a  quick buck.  Now the chickens are coming home to roost for the banks.