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Serving Over 20,000 US Medical Transcriptionists

reliable LD service

Posted By: Snow Bunny on 2007-11-21
In Reply to:

I am feeling totally frustrated. 

I was using Vonage with little problems, but switched back to AT&T Call Vantage 'cause is was $20 less and I was supposed to get a second phone line. Well, never got the second line and I've had problem after problem. The main problem is with the Express Enterprise system that I call into "communicating" with my C-phone. Sometimes the call is disconnected. Sometimes it doesn't "hear" the key pad when I press the numbers (i.e. to sign off on a report). Sometimes it will suddenly rewind to the beginning of a report.

I thought the problem was on my end, so I shelled out $$$ to replace the foot pedal, headset, and C-phone ... nope, that didn't solve the problem. Called AT&T and they said the problem was with the DSL line. Had that tested and was told it was working correctly. Purchased another DSL modem (another $100) and that didn't solve the problem.

Called AT&T for tech support and they said "The C-phone is not supported." Well, gee, it was before!!!

Anyway, you can see why I'm grumping.

Is there *ANY* service out there which won't kill my wallet but won't give me the problems I'm having. Again, Vonage was pretty good, but it still was quirkly, and it cost $65/month. A dial-up service (www.onesuite.com) is terrific (no problems), but it's 2.9 cents per minute, which will be $200-300 per month. Don't want to spend that. And AT&T .... yuk!!!

I'm open to any and all suggestions. What's reliable without breaking the budget?




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Reliable Internet Service
I also used Earthlink for a year with problems like yours, switched to Verizon DSL with worse problems, looked into Comcast, also in my area, which was highly recommended. I had to get rid of Verizon as I kept losing service, they actually blamed it on electrical appliances in my house (not true), so I switched to my town's local cable company, have no problems with that. I would try Comcast before Verizon DSL. It is really aggravating when you keep losing internet connections and after many calls they still cannot figure out why. Good luck.
Reliable Internet Service? Currently using Earthlink and very unhappy.
I've been using Earthlink as my ISP but this past year the service has gone downhill.  I've been without service at least four times this year for anywhere between a few hours to a day.  Plus all tech support is out of the country so you spend more time than necessary asking the tech to repeat the instructions.  I'm looking at Verizon right now.  Comcast is not recommended.  Thanks
We have decided to add this to our current service not have a new service. It will be easier to sm

keep track of and will just be a different department. 


It looks like we will work out details over the next 6 months, talking with community college program directors as well as a few of the distance-learning course leaders to work on the recruiting end.


We will train current staff to mentor if they would like to do so and want to work in the office.


We are still working on production requirements, goals to set, pay, benefits and other fine details but we have 6 months to get it all in place with three months to pull it together after that with a tentative start date of 09/01/06.  We need to build the building as well, although that is already at the blueprint stage in a spot next to our current office. 


We did not want to cause flames and bashing by listing the company name as there are always so many negative people on this site, but we are national with over 200 transcriptionists, located outside of Chicago (40 miles west) and have the best team of transcriptionists around!


We will have an "official" announcement after the first of the new year. 


Thank you for all of your feedback and suggestions!


They can say that, but I have gotten more reliable
information here than from my CSC, so what does that tell you?
I am a reliable IC, but I can say

where the MTSO promises work anywhere from p.r.n. to asking how much can you take on?  I understand this business waxes and wanes, but sometimes it is just easier to give one IC one particular dictator to be responsible for and then if more help is needed ask if that IC has the time to help.


Another option is to make sure the IC is aware of how many minutes she/he will be receiving.  I have had that happen as well where I thought I was getting say 15 minutes, and then was given 60 minutes.  By the way, your higher pay rate is great because most small MTSOs only are willing to pay 7 cpl. 


I like to learn accounts sometimes just to offer vacation, illnesses, etc.  Please feel free to e-mail me if you are in a bind, and I can provide you with my resume.  I have many, many years of experience in a lot of different specialties and am also flexible in regard to volume.  I also tend to offer Sundays as an option since my work week runs Sunday to Thursday. 


An IC needs to be reliable.
I had an IC who would have situations crop up throughout her day that kept her from doing the work that she accepted. I had to find someone else because she just didn't understand that accepting the work was her committment to doing it. A simple, "I'm not available..." is the correct way to handle the situation than just not doing the work and thinking an excuse would be make everything better.
I have Compaq which is very reliable, but
I wish I had gone with the Toshiba. The only reason is that it was much lighter and easier on the hands when lifting and carrying. Other than that no problems with the Compaq.

The main thing is virus protection software and Spyware protection to protect the new laptop once you go online.

Reliable Source Jobsite
WORDS OF WARNING:  If you receive an email from The reliable Source Jobsite asking you to register for their site - DON'T DO IT.  This is supposed to be a job database for all types of clerical work.  However, I recently registered, realized I had registered at an incorrect job databased and asked for  a refund.  They stated I was not allowed a refund and that I was trying to get something for nothing.  I then filed a complaint with PayPal.  Later that same day, I received an email and also a telepone call stating that if I removed my complaint from PayPal, they would refund my money.  I did remove my complaint.  However, after my emailing them numerous times inquiring as to why I had not received my refund yet, they basically stated, "Ha, ha.  We're not giving you a refund, never had any intention of doing so, and you cannot reopen the complaint with PayPal."  I did contact PayPal and I could NOT reopen this complaint.  After resigning myself to the fact that I'm a member of this database, I decided to use it.  However, even though I have paid for this membership, I still cannot use it.  The User ID and the Password they issued me are incorrect and will not work.  I have made several attempts to email them regarding this matter, however I receive no reply.  It is for the reasons above I thought everyone should be made aware of this - UNRELIABLE SOURCE JOBSITE
Reliable Source Jobsite
gnat is right. Tell us the URL and perhaps we can all band together (for once) and help a fellow MT. Hey, it's worth a shot.
Reliable Source Jobsite
For those of you that wanted there website it is:
www.freewebs.com/wahtelecommuteemploymentservices - I hope you guys get this okay. If you can't get it off of here, feel free to email me. My email is: tousuns@rochester.rr.com
I want to thank all of you. You would not believe how they acted on the telephone with me. Since tricking me into cancelling my complaint they lifted my user priviliges. I emailed them four different times and they do not even extend the courtesy of a return email. However, they still have my money and will NOT return it. Thanks for all of your help.
anyone know if this is a reliable source for this information? thanks...

taken from their site (I especially like about the outsourcing and 'robot transcriptionist' : 








Allied Health Profession of the Month - March 2005
Medical Transcriptionist contributed by Paul D. Mason, Oxford, NJ



What is Medical Transcription?


Medical transcriptionists (MTs) are the miracle workers of the medical records! They turn doctors’ daily dictation tapes - rough, hurried, harried, mumbled, muttered, highly technical, and always absolutely crucial - into clear, concise, polished gems of documentation. They work this amazing transformation every day under tight deadlines using just a simple tape or digital audio player, a computer, and a stack of medical books and online reference sources.


Jobs Outlook – “Boom”ing?


Remember all those “baby boomers”? According to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), job opportunities for MT’s will be good - growing faster than the national average for occupations through 2012, with the demand fueled by the increased healthcare demands of a growing and aging population.


It’s not hard to see that lots more senior citizens needing lots more doctor visits means tons of new medical records to be generated! There’s going to be plenty of work out there to go around.

Then there’s the big “O”: Outsourcing…


There has been a steady stream of news lately about various US industries improving their bottom lines by replacing American workers with low-wage overseas labor – skilled jobs like computer programming, telephone help desks - almost any job that can be performed remotely.


In medical transcription, however, issues such as little or no foreign enforcement of US privacy laws, instability of foreign labor, lack of English fluency, expense and uncertainty of adequately training foreign labor, etc. can greatly complicate foreign outsourcing and offset the initially perceived cost savings.


Legal questions have even begun: The California legislature has discussed prohibiting all California industries from using foreign outsourcing involving confidential data, mainly because it is simply not possible to guarantee privacy outside of the country.


The BLS states that foreign outsourcing should not significantly impact the medical transcription profession in the US.


Robot Transcriptionists?


Another MT industry buzz involves new technologies such as speech recognition technologies (SRT’s), computerized “smart” data entry forms (EMR’s, CPR’s), etc. that promise to automate or eliminate traditional transcription work. Several software vendors have been very successfully selling tools of this nature to various industries and have been making noise to promote their use for medical transcription.


It is becoming apparent, however, that the complexity of medical diagnosis and terminology combined with the life-and-death importance of accuracy will prevent large-scale acceptance of these technologies in the medical field for the foreseeable future.


According to the Medical Records Institute (an organization that promotes the adoption of computerized medical records systems), most current research shows that penetration into the medical field by EMR’s is only 5-8%, with SRT’s at less than 1%.


I use it and have for years. It's reliable and cheap
at least in my area. I can call anywhere in the country and talk for as long as I want for around $50 a month. I have two phones and just forward calls from one phone to the other when I'm typing an account that uses the phone.
Why not? There are plenty of reliable resources
There are also other search engines. I am not trying to be rude, I really don't understand why you cannot work without Google.
Magic Jack - is it reliable? SM

I have seen discussions about this on these boards and I was wondering just how reliable is it.  I currently have Vonage which is costing me 30 bucks a month.  I've heard a lot about Magic Jack and unlimited long distance and it would save me a bundle in the long run; however, I don't want to ditch Vonage because it works great.


Mind you, I don't use my Vonage line for transcribing.  It is strictly my business/personal telephone voice calls only.  I found there is a lag when using my C-phone with Vonage that drives me nuts.  I have DSL through the local phone company and so have an analog phone line through them.  That is the phone line I use for my fax machine, transcribing, etc. 


I'm looking for a way to trim some of the fat off my home office budget.  I need/want two phone lines period.  I won't have it any other way.  I didn't sign a new cell phone contract in lieu of a prepaid cell phone.  At this point, I have a new job with a hospital and I won't need to be using a C-phone.  Everything is digital and through the PC. 


So here's the short answer - is Magic Jack reliable and functional?


Home Depot far more reliable than Lowes...sm

and as I know it, Home Depot does not use *subcontractors*..........


Home Depot all the way!!! 


i have wildblue and connection is very reliable to me with no trees, but sm
especially if you will be going through VPN, it won't be very productive for you cuz the VPN slows down the download rates. i am connected at 100 mbps but that is nothing. download rates are extremely slow, sometimes as slow as dial up.
How reliable can they be if you still have to check their work after all this time? Just getting th
does not make them reliable.
I have a cheapie Netgear--totally reliable for 2+
nm
also bought from them, very reliable and loved the headset NM
NM
Anyone recommend a good, reliable online...sm
pharmacy that they, themselves had used.. with no ripoffs?  I know there are many reputable ones out there but also many scamful, dangerous ones.  I know they are generally not cheap, but I need to know I'm getting what I ordered.
What is the advantage to having a book over using reliable Internet sources?
and yes I KNOW not to believe everything you google, but there are reliable sources.  Why buy a book every year?  Not arguing at all, just want to know your rationale.  Thanks!
no facts. rumor from an MT poster. really reliable huh? who would have access to this info
bet Frank doesn't even know.
I've had Bellsouth for a couple years now. Reliable and no problems. nm
xxx
Attn: MTSO - re: your earlier post for a reliable MT that was removed
I replied to your earlier post, as did a couple of other MTs, however, now I see that your message has been removed.
I just wanted to try to touch base with you again.
If you are still looking for help and would like to contact me you can do so via replying via email to this post.
Thanks....

I wonder why your post was removed before?? Moderator, info?
Satellite users for MTing - it your connection fairly reliable- I cannot get DSL and about to give u
nm
I'm horrible with math myself but was told several years back by a pretty reliable source
that w/o spaces is about a 17% reduction in pay - and I would say the figures you gave pretty much leads me to believe this may be true.
My telephone service is VOIP, but it s through my cable service, along with my cable internet. .
We have had VOIP for about a year now and I love it. I really can't tell a difference in traditional service, except the price. One of the best calls of my life was to Bellsouth to cancel our service!
I am not asking for a service, I AM the service looking for recorders
nm
It is a service job and they should
help parents with small children and also the elderly. I think a normal healthy person with "more than a bag or 2" should not have them help them out to the car. It causes the cashier to have to bag, therefore delaying the progression of the line.
PS on Cox service
Did anyone ever receive any surprise charges from Cox, as this is what I plan to use to offer online service to others, i.e., long distance, etc.?
Do you have your own service? I ask because
that it is possible, especially since she has some educational background in the medical field. I certainly would not waste money on an MT course in this day and age (at least not if I am gauging the career opportunities available to MTs by what is said on this board).

I am NOT saying that just anyone can sit down and type, and being an MT is as easy as that. We all know that it is not. However, I was able to break into the field almost seven years ago by having a mentor from a local transcription company (I am in GA too, btw). If you are planning to provide her with work and review her work, provide feedback, etc., then there is no reason why she cannot do it, unless she is just not cut out for it, which you would both know pretty quickly. If she is cut out for it, then it sounds like it could be a great opportunity for both of you, if you are wanting to grow your business. If you are not going to do this for her, she will likely have a really hard time finding a job, unless someone else is willing to do so, and if you are working for someone other than yourself, then you likely do not receive a high enough rate to be able to pay her a decent wage and still earn something for editing/mentoring. (Certainly not saying that you don't -- I obviously have no idea what you make, but not many people who are transcribing for others make enough to share that way :).)
My service is actually going to be (sm)

Comcast here in the next couple weeks.  Verizon is offering a 30-day free trial.  In the meantime I will keep my cable internet just in case I'm not happy with Verizon.  My cable internet service has been very frustrating for me, as far as not being available at least once a week for a couple of hours, always during my normal working hours.  So, I guess it's worth a try. 


ASP Service
Finally :-)I am negotiating with one doctor to be my direct client. For that I need some ASP service where he can dial in as toll free and I can get dictations thru FTP. Anyone please recommend some best ASP with minimum per line cost & reliable. Thx!
do you still do this service?
If so, are you happy without the middle man?  Right now I don't have extra money to fall back on so maybe I should work PT with my present company and try do 1 account for now until I feel comfortable doing my own.
So what service do
you use for your car?
Could you tell me what the name of the service is?
You know, if it's "AT&T Small Business Plan" or something. I just want to ask for the right thing. About how much do you pay total for it? Thanks so much for the help!
Which service you are using?
I am interested, if it's .07/min.
Every service does it different.
I have found what is correct with one account, is wrong with another. Also, I try to give them what they want. They hired me for my help with their work and they are the boss. If I feel I am making good money, they can have it the way they want. If they want to be that picky, go ahead, as long as it is worth the money for me.
Have been looking into another service as well (sm)
I have Comcast and it is on and off sometimes, depends on if they are working on it. I am dreading the winter weather, because its out more than its on it seems. I looked into FiOS with Verizon, it is not available here yet, but their high speed is and they want a 2 year contract. Won't go that route to lock myself into something I may not be happy with, if u find something, let me know, but Comcast isn't the answer in Bucks County area
I don't know if it's possible with a service. nm
s
How's that for service?

A strange thing happened today.  My husband, who is a hospital-employed MT who works at home, got a phone call from a doc at the hospital.  It seems the dictation system was down, but he needed to dictate.  He proceeded to dictate over the telephone while hubby transcribed.  He dictated both an H&P and an OP note. 


It was strange, but kinda cool.   


LD Service
You may want to try magicJack (visit www.magicjack.com) - the service is $20 per year for unlimited long distance.  Phone plugs into your PC via USB port.
For the fax service on your
computer, you have to pay a monthly fee which can add up. If you do a lot of faxing, it may pay off. If you do not fax often, just buy a fax machine. Bought one for $39 recently, saved 70% at new egg.
AT&T is the worst service, but what else do you
expect. It is all handled by those dumb east indians that think they have everyone fooled by making up American names.
Not in the service but hubby is...sm
Im sorry that your husband is in such a mess but there are other ways of handling it. My husband is just finishing up a 20-year career and I know very well the things that go on. Your husband should have used his chain of command...that is what it is there for. My guess is he will get a court martial, probably go to the brig for a while, and get a dishonorable discharge.
Okay to work for more than one service.

Is it okay to work for more than one service at a time? Do you have to be IC to do that, or can you mix and match with employee status?  Is a small service better to work for, generally, than a national?  If you work for a clinic can you also work for a service at the same time? Thanks for any input.


 


 


Working for more than one service.
Thanks for all the input. I appreciate the help. I don't like to put all my eggs in one basket.

Sale of MT service
Can you please post contact info? Possibly very intereted here. Thanks
Looking for dependable DSL service
I have had Adelphia and now have Bellsouth both with connection problems. It seems everytime I turn around my internet is down and not in my area but with my puter. I have to use Bellsouth webmail cause my outlook is always getting hung up. I call and they have to set me up with a new ISP# to get connected again. Very frustrated. Anyone out there have a good DSL to recommend. TYIA.
Is this service in Wisconsin???
x
IC vs SC vs Service continuation see sm....

I was reading the posts below....I've been an MT for 14 years with 22 years of medical experience.  I am working for less than 9 cpl on some of my accounts.  I would love an explanation of what the difference is between IC and SC.  I take work from another small company..they do not EMPLOY me nor do they offer me benefits but I have always assumed I was an IC in this case.  In reality I am subcontracting from them as they do not pay any taxes or anything for me, right?


I would love tips on how to increase my production.  The company I was working for lost my major account so I need to make some changes and would love to email with other MTs who could offer me some advice!


Thanks in advance!