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Serving Over 20,000 US Medical Transcriptionists

also, I work for a national - not my own clients! nm

Posted By: anon on 2008-04-17
In Reply to: me again --- - anon

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Oh, bull. I'm with a large national and those clients whose work is offshored
That one statement is bunk.

(1) Don't work for a national. (2) Don't work for a national. (3) Don't work for a nation

If you still want to stay in MTing, which is a dying job, go to a hospital and apply to do radiology.  They sometimes hire people just out of transcription schools.


But don't work at home thinking you will make any money at all - even with 20 years of experience - the nationals have wrecked that. 


Be under the umbrella of protection at a hospital.  That way when your computer breaks, the weather is bad, you are sick, there is no work - you will not be without a paycheck. 


The nationals are selling a line of BULL.  Gradually they have taken what used to be our built-it benefits------------> and moved it over to their pockets and called it their PROFIT.  They are not brilliant - but they are unethical thieves.



We may care what our work looks like & how correct it is, but many clients don't. They want words
j
My clients hold the work for me. Of course, I rarely take off unless I'm sick. What's a vacati

I have one client for 11 years, another one for 15 years. They wait...they don't want anyone else doing their work. Are they spoiling me or am I spoiling them? My vacations consist of a 2 day fishing trip. One day to the site, 1/2 day fishing, and back home again.


If I'm sick, they understand. I still do the work, but at a pace that won't make me sicker. I sually catch up in a couple days.


I work for a national
and I have a ton of doctors (clinic and hospital).  I type 1000 lines in 3 to 4  hours.  I don't have a lot of normals.  There are some but don't use them on a daily basis.  I just put my nose to the grind stone and make myself sit there for a certain amount of reports before I let myself get up.  It can be done.
do you work for a national?
Then why do you work for them if they are a bunch of crooks stealing from you?  That is the only alternative to my theory, if they do not offer benefits, make you test even when you are seasoned, do not give raises, with no good reason other than they are greedy thieves?  It doesn't make sense to me. 
no. work for a national. nm
x
Currently work for a national

and all I currently know about the ENT office is that they have some system in place currently in-office that the doctors dictate into using a phone.  Their work is currently done in-house by 1 full-time MT who is retiring and 1 p.r.n. MT.  I currently use high-speed (cable) internet but might possibly be soon moving to a location that would only have satellite for high-speed (or dial up).


When you take on too much work. Getting 2 PT job offers plus have FT with national (sm)

Two local doctors offering me 2-3 hours per day each, plus the FT (about 6 actual hours of typing a day) with a national. 


One doctor is orthopedic, the other vascular surgeon (H&Ps in office).  One is a mumbler, the other has a lisp.  The national job is radiology (fairly easy - would be faster if I could master IT, though).


What should I do?  Am afraid I will take on more than I can handle and at same time, refuse a job that I later will regret.  I need the money, needless to say.  Anyone ever face this? 


Well, I work for a national, but my account
is a big hospital, doing acute work. It was a heck of a way to learn starting off, but I know it will benefit me in the long run, just one of those days!

Closing in on my 2 years now, I thought about maybe applying at a hospital inhouse here that hires starting out at $20, but once you add all the expenses (not counting any deductions), you come out to about the same. It's just not worth it. It would probably be less stress considering I would work set hours instead of all the crazy ones I have been doing, but then you have to add in at least 2 hours of drive time to that each day. It evens all out I suppose.
I average $32,000. I work for a National. nm
xxx
looking for part-time Emdat work, preferably with clients in the East Coast
I have been making an average of 10,000 lines per pay period (bimonthly), on QA-optional status, but my accounts are based in the West Coast while I am in the East Coast. I usually work from afternoon to night to reach my daily goal of at least 1000 lines, which is not good for my family.

I would like to find part-time work to keep me busy in the mornings instead of nights. I prefer clinic accounts, ESLs or American dictators. I am willing to take a test anytime especially in the mornings EST.

Thanks!
Has anyone asked for a raise lately? How do you go about it? Work for a national and have not
increase for five years.  Just pumped some gas and realize my cost of living is going up but my pay is stagnant.  How do you go about asking for a raise?
Don't work for a national. Find a small
MTSO that pays well. They are out there, as long as you hold up your end of the bargin. I left my hospital job to work for a national, several nationals now but who is counting. I found a small company and finally am making the $$$.

Good luck to you.
Why do you say $20/hr? I work for a national, and at 11 cpl, 300 lines per hour, sm

that's $33/hour.  I'm not driving a Lexus or anything, but I'm comfortable.  Generally speaking, find a mid-sized national, big enough to have enough work for you all of the time, yet small enough to care and realize that quality work deserves quality pay.


They are out there.  Good luck!


Our hospital laid us all off and I went to work for the national that got the bid. nm
x
Yes, midsize national. Low work. Overhiring. nm
nm
The national I work for has a no blank policy. sm
Plus you have to have 90% no blanks to QA to get bonuses and to maintain full-time status. This is very hard sometimes with some of the dictators that dictate from across the room, while the ward is going ape, and this all right next to the telemetry monitor and the ringing phone or at home with the yapping dogs in the background.

But I have found our QA to be forgiving and understanding, so I am getting more comfortable. I think they have a high standard so we will step higher, but they understand the reality, which I think is good.

DH says he definitely would not go through what I go through to be sure there are no blanks, but I am hoping that in time it will get easier, and I will get more productive, and I think it is.

I work for a national, and we're allowed
.
Question: If you work for national that provides computer,
can you ask their Tech support to move their files onto the laptop computer?

One other question: If you are required to have HSI connection for dictation and files, do you have access to that and how?
I'll bet I work for the same national! While I have great dictators, seriously they never say the
same thinge twice, save one surgeon who always ends his op reports with the same paragraph, which, of course, I have in my expander.  I mean it - there are probably 30 doctors, and I never ever get a repeat or any pattern at all! Again, I have a huge expander that I've set up on my own over the years, and rarely type more than a few words "longhand", but I still am not hitting over 200-250 lines an hour.  Oh well! At least I have great dictators, right? 
when you work for a national, you sign a confidentiality agreement...?
the same rules would apply, and you must have signed a confidentiality agreement with whomever you work for. you can be fired, if breached.

my opinion, as a professional, you transcribe it and mums the word...

when I worked in a hospital, someone was caught 'sharing' information about the CEO from a transcription report, and was fired on the spot.
Actually, it is quite easy to skip jobs, and I work for a national. sm

Depending upon the account, just press the appropriate number on the C-phone, and *poof* you're at the next job.  In my case, I have no "proof" per se, but when jobs skip from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. then to 1 p.m., etc., and then it gets back to "normal" when you get to the non-ESL docs where I guess they stopped working.  it's not too hard to figure out that someone took what they wanted and left the rest.  It doesn't matter to me.  As has been stated, the MT who cherrypicks cheats himself/herself out of the chance to master everything and assure himself/herself of a larger pool of work.  That goes also for those who limit themselves to only certain work types.  Sure, we all have our preferences (I prefer admit notes and consults), but if you can do everything, then you're more likely not to be one of the ones coming here complaining of no work.


Just my opinion, and you know we all have one.  Happy Friday the 13th!   I have the weekend off for once, and it is actually beautiful weather here.  Yippee! 


I work for a national, $600 yearly deductible and 15-30 copay
nm
How do you do 2000 a day? Do you work for a national or small company? nm

nm


If you work for a national, what difference does it make where you live?
If you work locally, then yes I think it makes a difference. I work for a national, live in the boondocks and still do well.
The one national that I am aware of, employees would be thrilled to work just 8 hours a day. They

:)


Can a national require full time MTs to work overtime?

?


I don't work for one of the larger nationals, but a good-sized national and

in 5 years the hospital system has been down twice and my company wasn't able to pull work and the company's system was down once for a hurricane and once the power was out for part of a day.   I never went a full day without work.


I think maybe some of the nationals are poorly managed and they use "server down" as an excuse for no work.  For a company that depends on their servers for their livelihood I don't believe they actually have the much down time.  I don't think most companies pay for downtime. 


 


I work for a national. Most of the time the voices are pretty good, but

I have been getting some of late that have background noices, door slamming, people talking,  Sometimes the doc will stop talking but the noices sound so close to him that it is annoying.  Do you think the sound card would interfere with my company's computer?  It sounds nice to have even though it does not help the background stuff.   I guess that is a good question for tech.  Thanks again! 


I have 2 clinics still on tapes, love'em! Also work for a national. Like that too. nm
nm
The midsize national I work for has a nice tiered incentive plan sm
for employees, not sure about the ICs.  In order not to qualify for one of the incentives, you'd have to transcribe at LESS than 150 LPH.  Pretty easy to make bonus each pay period.  The faster you are, the bigger the bonus.
I didnt ask for ANYTHING. Merry Christmas and watch your back when u work for a national.
thats MY point.
Been at home for over a year now and I switched to night shift. I work for a national. Started out
working the night shift and sleeping in shifts during the day. My kids are way older but that doesn't mean they don't interrupt me. Besides, there the phone issue, more interruptions, the dogs bothered me a lot, too. Love them dearly but, oh so spoiled. It was taking me 10 hours to do what I can do in 8 on nights, plus I manage to get more sleep, if you can believe that. I still get supper on the table, vacuum, laundry, etc. So far it is working pretty good, so I think I will put in for permanent night hours for awhile. No sense in working 10 when I can work 8.
The national I work for usually offers jobs to the in-house people when they acquire an account. nm
nm
A small national is a national company that is smaller
than a big national.  There are a few "big" nationals, where they have hundreds, if not thousands of employees.   I work for what I call a small national, only has about 30 employees.    An MTSO could also be considered a small national. 
I went from national to small back to national
My large national has all the resources and money to operate successfully and have decent platform, etc., to work on, the small company did not, and I went back to the national.
To get own clients or not....
I have thought about getting my own clients, but working for a company, if I want time off, I can easily arrange that and know there will be co-workers to cover the accts.  If I get sick, the company will find someone to cover the accts.  I don't have to worry about the billing, tech support, trouble-shooting, complaints.  Maybe someday I will chose to give up what life I have and get my own clients, but for now I like being an IC for a company.  This way, I am a great employee and an even better boss. 
My clients...
Consist of clinics.  They all get 48-hour turnaround time guaranteed, and anything STAT (a TRUE emergent STAT) they need, it's done at no extra charge.  Radiology gets four to eight-hour turnaround for obvious reasons.  The rest of the clinics don't need a 24-hour turnaround time because let's face it, their staff basically sit on it, and I'm not going to break my neck so they can just sit on it....
Clients
Hello!  I'm new to the board but not to MT.  I've been working from home for my own clients for 10 years.  I wondered if others who do the same have ever experienced a situation I just encountered and wondered what your thoughts were.  I had a client whom I transcribed for for two years, then he moved and started back up in his practice and called me and I've worked for him for an additional year in that new practice.  When I noticed recently that I hadn't received his dictation as usual, I questioned it, i.e. was he on vacation, did they lose a tape or what?  The receptionist said he must not have dictated yet.  I found this off as he usually dictates each day he's in the office.  A week had gone by w/o work so I called and asked and the same girl said she'd have his wife (who works in the office) call me because she didn't know why there wasn't work, etc.  At this point I got suspicious and had asked the recep. if there was something going on I should know about. She said they're working on this new software and maybe they just got behind.  New software? I talked to his wife and "I" mentioned this software.  She didn't.  I asked if this affected my workload and she said 'yeah, probably quite a bit.'  I asked if she would please let me know AHEAD of time if they were going to make this transition so I could prepare and plan (she had just made it sound like they were just looking into it and kind of testing it out, NOT that they'd by any means started using it full-time).  She said oh certainly they would let me know ahead of time.  Then I pressed a little more and finally she told me he'd already been using it for his patients and when I asked if I should replace his work, she said yeah, probably because he really seems to like it and will probably use it.  I don't know what the software is but I hate it just because it took a big client from me.  But I"m also wondering if this is common practice for a physician just to outright not tell an MT that they weren't going to use their services any more.  I mean, not only did they not give me notice beforehand, but they hedged on admitting it when I came right out and asked.  I find this incredibly rude and inconsiderate, especially when I've been a faithful MT for them for three years.  I"m just dumbfounded at this behavior.  Has anyone experienced this?  So now that leaves me in the lurch with bills to pay with an already tight budget (hubby in college, two kids, high heat bills, blah, blah, etc.) and me looking for work to fill in the gap.  Sorry I ranted and rambled.  I'm just really upset by this and wondered if anybody experienced being treated this way and/or knows what this software might be and if it poses a threat to any of us.  Thanks so much!
Own clients
This has been discussed many times with many different opinions/ideas.  You might do a search as there was quite a heated debate on this about two months ago.  I have a brochure that I send out with my card.  For those I am very interested in I do stop by in person or if anyone calls inquiring I stop by in person.  You have to be prepared with equipment to do tapes or digital and some may inquire about a call in system.   You may have to pick up and deliver, provide your own paper.  Be prepared to do any type accounts.  Your rate will depend on the area you are in and can be anywhere from 11 to 16 cpl from what people say on this board.  You have to be prepared to have some back up if you get very sick or have an accident and for vacations.   You will not get any benefits, will not getpaid when the doctor takes a month off to go to Spain.  It will be a tough go at first until you esablish a rapport with the office staff.  But I like it and have been doing it for 18 years.  Just did a report and have made 4K more this year than I did last year so things are looking up for me.  Good luck.   Patti 
One of my clients for whom I have done only
tapes for has given me a CD to load onto my computer.  I haven't put it on yet but I'm wondering if you all can help.  It's an Olympus CD and looks like it's for .wav files which is what he intends.  He says I should be able to load this onto my computer and then after that, he can email me voice files.  Now, is this correct and what will I need to have in order to play and transcribe his voice files?  I have a Bytescribe pedal. Please tell me I won't have to buy a different pedal for this! Thanks in advance for any help!
want to get own clients

Hi Everyone,


 


I have over 2 years’ experience in medical transcription and really want to get my own client(s).  I feel that I am finally ready to take that leap.  The question I have is – how do you go about talking to potential clients?  What is the best way?  Mailings, calling, just going in?  Should I make business cards?  Unfortunately all of my doctors offices (family, ob/gyn) husband's GI doc and daughter's pediatrician are all EMR.  Ugh.  So that's no help. 


 


I’m not really afraid of what to charge or contracts, the rest is what has me stressed the most.  Should I buy a program like DocShuttle or will they basically tell me what they want?  I have been with nationals and small  MTSOs alike and just am not sure how to go about everything myself. 


 


You can feel free to e-mail me with any advice also.


 


I really appreciate the suggestions/help!!!


Getting own clients
I am currently transcribing for GI docs who are using the EMR system, I love it. There is barely any paper for me to handle, I fax everything right from their system to the referring physicians, once in a while I will get a physician who doesn't have a fax and so I need to mail. The final copy goes right into their system. I am currently working from home through my business. They had the equipment installed at my house, fortunately for me, I was with them for four years before I went on maternity leave and have been doing it from home for the past two years.

I also transcribe for ENT docs in my area, before I went on maternity leave I asked them to use my digital phone in system (really didn't expect them to since they were 'set in their ways' but they agreed).

As far as getting new clients, I would get some business cards printed out, and some fliers stating what equipment you will use, i.e. tapes, digital; will you be dropping the finished work off, and also turn-around-time. Then if it were me, I would take these to local doctors, speak with the office manager and offer your services, may be you can start off by offering to cover vacations (I know how hard it is to get coverage for yourself on vacation. You might have to start small and work your way up, but at least it is a start.

Well that is all I can think of, I hope this is helpful to you. Good luck!!
Best way to get clients? sm
I want to market my service in my area. I have gone to offices before in the past, but they sometimes get annoyed. I have also done mailings and get no response. Is there another way to get the OM's attention that maybe I overlooked? Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Some clients won't go there
Some doctors have such rotten dictating habits they know running their reports through ASR will result in utter garbage; they have TAT to meet and they know if they take the time to have those reports extensively edited post ASR its just an extra step.  Some clients know for them it will be a time and money waster; it is the MTSOs that are pushing for all ASR, not the clients.  Many hospitals have tried ASR inhouse and end up scrapping it and going back to MTs.  Its a lot like outsourcing in that many people are on the bandwagon, but there'll always be some that refuse to ride it.
Clients have the right to not have an
MT transcribing that reports if that MT continually makes mistakes. Not talking about the ones QA catches, but the reports that are sent straight through without QA and they catch the mistakes on their end and have to send it back. The client I am assigned at my MTSO has said that certain mistakes will not be tolerated and those that make those will not work on their account. They have the right to pull the account from the MTSO if their wishes are not followed by the MTSO.
getting own clients

Does anyone have a sample letter that I can look at to try to get my own accounts?  I would really appreciate the help if there is anyone willing.  I just need something to get an idea of what to cover in a letter just to get my foot in the door.


Thanks in advance.


I don't have any of my own clients...sm
so I have never had this problem. They said you were no longer transcribing his letters. Does that mean you are still transcribing other types of reports for him or is that the only type of report you did for him?
If the secretary called you before and asked questions about "How often ARE you coming to get work" or something to that effect, then it leads me to believe he was not happy with you for some reason. Sounds like he found someone else to do his work. He could have found someone to do it cheaper, who knows? I hate to hear you lost this client. I know money is tight.
Why not just get your own clients?
Just curious why you would rather subcontract when you could just get your own clients and make more money instead of paying a middle man.
I just heard clients are now
very interesting, indeed.