A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry

I guess karma is a Mmodal BK - anon

Posted: Mar 08, 2014

If this company wasn't so darn greedy, maybe they wouldn't be in BK now. Buying out all these little transcription comipanies and making everyone work for the big and mighty MM. Now what?? Idiot management!

I don't think it's really surprising. - see msg

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For a company of this magnitude, that built it's empire on transcription alone, eventually something like this was bound to happen with more and more hospitals moving to systems like EPIC, the need for transcription services are diminishing.

The idea to expand on their technology with Fluency and VR in an effort to stay afloat and keep up with changing times and technology didn't come fast enough and unfortunately, the profits and growth of their technology services aren't thriving enough to pay the bills.

It's unfortunate, but it's further proof of what's being said here on a daily basis, MT is not what it use to be. A company the size of MM has to have a heavy hand in technology in this day and age and that technology needs to be a big money maker to keep the company afloat.

Does this mean Nuance is the winner in this - battle royale?

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I wonder if because Nuance has the technology and the MTs if that means they in essence came out the "winner" in this silent battle between them and M*Modal to be the biggest and most powerful.

But who knows, maybe Nuance will be in financial straits next.

This business just gets crazier all the time.

I am sure this sounds petty, but - Linda

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I'm really glad something bad happened to them. I was part of the MQ line count ripoff several years ago. I nearly had to go BK myself. I just wish the CEO would get his pay cut, etc. but you know that he has a golden parachute. I would not be surprised if the trend would be to go back to little transcription companies. Hope so!

EVERYONE NEEDS TO READ THIS - Informaticist

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You need to read what that article said. It is the same thing I have been warning about. Just as you didn't hear what I said, you aren't hearing what the article said. You keep thinking the tide will turn back to you. That is NOT going to happen.

MM is losing transcription business to front-end, on-the-spot transcription software like Dragon, and to EHRs. In other words, clients are already moving away from human MTs and toward electronic means. Believe me, they are not going back to it.

I think some of you keep hearing the wrong message because you just don't know what they are talking about, so I'll explain.

EHRs allow doctors (or scribes) to type it themselves, use point-and-click templates, and talk straight to the computer to document. THE REPORT APPEARS INSTANTLY AS THEY DO THIS. The process is integrated with their review of the patient's record, so they do this WHILE REVIEWING, not later on. They are able to import medications, labs, reports of imaging, etc., and history, ROS, etc., from other reports. They can do this AS THEY READ THEM. The report is ready to be signed BEFORE THEY GO TO THE NEXT PATIENT. It never gets lost or on the wrong record because it is built right IN the record the doctor is reviewing.

They are NOT "dictating" and waiting three days for an MTSO to return a report that they have to profread, correct, possibly redictate, and sign. No one in medical records has to mediate this process, look for reports, post papers on charts (no paper at all), ask for copies, fax anything, or spend any money on a dictation system or MTSO.

They are NOT dictating into a telephone, not dictating into a dictation system, and there is NO ONE EDITING this work. There is no MT. There is no ME correcting any VR's transcript because there is no VR procducing a transcript that has to be corrected before it goes on the chart.

This should be a very loud wake-up call. Now is the time to find a new job.

You CAN use your skills in other fields, particularly in HIM, so start looking. Get some relevant training. There are loads of jobs associated with EHRs, both in and out of medical records. You can do many of them.

everyone - mtinmi

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This sounds really good on paper, just like VR did, which is still a mess, but will it work, or is it only to save money with less patient care. The few drs I have heard from hate it, they trained to care for patients, not a computer operator. It seems the human factor of patient/physician is a thing of the past.

It IS working NOW - This is not future speculation

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It makes no difference what some doctors want or don't want. This is ... now ... today ... what facilities are using. IT IS WORKING NOW.

My facility has been fully electronic for more than 10 years. No paper records. Our doctors use this and don't think twice about it. To them, it is the norm. It is ALL WE HAVE. They can use it or find another hospital.

Doctors who complain about EHRs mostly object to having to document at all. They don't like that they can't get away with backdating delinquent says-nothing scribbles, blaming transcription for "losing" their dictation, and all their other "I'm a god and you can't touch me" crapola. They can't simply rip pages out of the record and rewrite them to cover up for their errors. They can't add orders in three days after they forgot one, nor can they blame the nurses for not writing them down.

This should make you happy...they can't dictate from their car. They can't dictate from their phone. They can't dictate from the toilet. They can't dictate from in bed with their girlfriend. They can't dictate with screaming kids in the room. They can't eat, slurp, chomp, belch, curse, yell, or anything else anymore, because the software won't tolerate it. Unless they have special remote access, which we don't usually give them, they have to do it in front of a computer in the hospital.

THAT is what they don't like... that they are now personally responsible and can't weasel out of it.

They also don't like that we know when they cheat, lie, fabricate, and everything else because we built the detection capability into the software. Medicare is on their cases about it, too.

You really need to educate yourself on this, because you are years behind. Instead of waiting for things to go back the way they were, get yourself up and find a better job.

Many of us were told back in the late 80s - to prepare ourselves

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to go back to school and get training in another field, that eventually computers would put us out of a job. I don't feel that it's anyone's fault but mine that I didn't listen.

WhereAreTheJobs - TrainedForWhat

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Many people did seek further education (I, for one). Some people have BS, BA, masters and Ph.Ds, but it does not necessarily make you employable in this economy. MT is a highly skilled position one that many wish that they under their belt. I have seen many nurses burn out and turn to MT over the years and have a hard time with it. IMHO, experienced MEs will always be in demand. MT is like a foreign language, it takes years to learn and MEs will always be in demand for their knowledge and experience.

in demand for what? you are kidding yourself. - thats like saying a seamstress will always be in d

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I have never used one. have you? what in the world would us ex MTs be doing? As scribes? they only pay a little over minimum wage.

if someone has the degrees you describe they either are not looking hard enough or unwilling to be mobile. Jobs are out there you have to be willing to go to them.

Exactly ... MTs/MEs will not "always" be in demand - XYZ

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I'm not sure what you mean there. MTs/MEs are not even in demand NOW ... what makes you think they will be in demand even a year from now? Are you expecting this industry to go back to the way it was?

Did you read the post made by the person earlier this morning describing how EHR works? There is no editing ... no dictation ... no transcription. Information is input into the patient's chart right then and there during the visit. There is nothing to "edit" anymore.

Not sure what you mean, that MEs will always be in demand because unless you know about some big reversal of technology the rest of us don't know about, the "editing ship" has already sailed and it's not coming back.

WHERE ARE THE JOBS - Jasmine 215

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I believe the jobs to pursue are:

Nursing, accounting, computer programming, maybe engineering.
Any clinically-trained healthcare positions, like Medical assistant, Pharmacy tech, x-ray tech. etc.

for the love of god do not become a medical assistant - better to be an LPN

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they are paid better and it's only 1 year. a medical assistant is a 2 year plan and it is an absolute JOKE. I can't even believe they offer it.

I don't agree with you. I've been searching - (sm)

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for another job for several years now. I was looking both in and out of the MT profession, in order to finally escape working for a crummy MTSO. I want to get out of MT. I applied for many jobs that I knew I could do, but the ONLY job that had any interest in my skills was another MT job. I took it, and half a year later our transcription department was closed, and they went to an EHR using both voice rec and doctor input. I have decided that I'm going to abandon my MT skills, even though they span 35 years. I no longer want them. They are worthless, because no employer cares about them. Therefore I no longer care about my MT skills, either. They are dead to me.

My doc loves it - warned me to find other work. nm

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x

You make tons of sense and I hope everyone reads your post - anon

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It's information that I think is hard to grasp for some who have been in this business for a while because no one likes to hear that their field is going away and never coming back. I've been saying the same thing as you - it's time to accept the reality that this field is NEVER going to go backwards to the way it used to be so we either have to accept the NJA/layoffs as our new reality or we have to accept that it's time to learn a new skill and move on. There is no other choice.

Having said that, in your post you mentioned getting other training for EHR or for other fields in HIM ... I'm probably not the only one curious to know what kinds of fields fall under the HIM department of a hospital so can you (or anyone else) give a few ideas for other types of work done in HIM besides coding?

Also, how does a person go about getting training in EHR ... are there courses you can take at a community college for this, or is it more specialized than that?

BTW ... thank you for your help. Everyone here needs to listen to your message, not just "hear" it but really listen. We've been talking about this time coming for a long time and it's here. It's not going to be good enough to jump ship to another MTSO because there are far too many MTs and too few lifeboats. Every MTSO out there is facing the same fate and if this can happen to the 2nd largest in the industry, it can happen to ANY of them.

It's time RIGHT NOW to get out of this industry.

Resources - sm

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I have been posting resources for more than a year! I can't count how many times I have listed HIM job choices and EHR training here.

For HIM jobs, see the AHIMA website. Look at the links on the top of the screen. They are very clear. There is a career map of possible jobs and routes of advancement, explanations of the field, and salary surveys.

If you can't find it: http://www.ahima.org/careers.

Www.healthit.gov

www.healthit.gov/providers-professionals/participating-community-colleges

I guess I've missed it before ... thank you for posting it again :) - anon

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Maybe I've been one of the "comfortable ones" and have skipped over those posts in the past, but those days are gone.

I'm running, not walking, to get out of this God forsaken field. The *beyond crazy* quality expectations pushed me to the brink but the bankruptcy announcement was my absolute breaking point. No way will I ever (EVER) continue to work for a company that files bankruptcy - I don't care WHICH kind it is - where my wages could easily be seen as a "bill" they can't afford to pay.

Thanks again for the information ... and for posting it so many times. "When the student is ready, the teacher appears". Heading over there right now.

I hang out on the coding board - Ask questions there

[ In Reply To ..]
Nm

TimeIsOfTheEssence - MELive

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While EHRs seem to be working for some, it is still a very time-consuming, grueling task for doctors to be responsible for and as we all know VR is not always a piece of cake.

Experienced MEs will always be needed IMHO. Doctors will get sick of having to be responsible for vitals, meds, etc. They see 50 patients a day in the clinics. Picking up a mic is a lot easier.

Maybe ... but there are already waaaay too many MEs and not nearly enough jobs - anon

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Again, it's the "life boat" analogy. There are thousands of MEs and only a few dozen jobs. The ship (transcription industry) is sinking and everyone here is literally flinging themselves on to the few jobs (life boats) available. How many times a day does someone post on this board that they have put out "dozens" of resumes at other MT companies and never hear back from a single one of them?

It's because for every single job available, there are hundreds of applicants. To make it worse, the companies KNOW this and are giving the job to the lowest common denominator - the ones they can pay the least for the most ridiculous quality and production requirements.

How many M-Modal MTs? - BH

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Does anybody know how many MTs M-Modal has? All I know is the number on my account. It would be interesting to know how many MTs this company has if it goes under.

I'm not sure, but ... - anon

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It used to be around 10,000 about 10 years ago at its height. Now, I'm guessing it's been reduced to only a couple thousand.

No, you CANNOT use your skills in HIM - Rags

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I've been looking for some other jobs that can use my 30+ years of medical experience. Unless you have certification as an RHIT, you can't just move over into HIM. You ALSO cannot keep working out of your home as you need to do a face-to-face internship of sorts on the job in their office.

Sorry, Rags, that is incorrect - sm

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I don't know what jobs you were looking at, but an RHIT is NOT required to work in HIMS. There are a lot of jobs you can do right now. Maybe they are a little lower than you would like, but you can further your education from one of them.

There are other credentials in HIM, too, that don't require an RHIT. CCS, CCS-P,CPC, CPC-H, and others.

There is also an RHIA, which trumps almost all of them. A huge number of the best jobs require that. The RHIT isn't enough.

Nobody is saying your current skills are an exact match, but they can be used. They are a starting point. You have to be willing to make an effort.

You are correct that there are few at-home entry jobs in HIM. If you can't leave your home, it isn't the field for you.

The only thing left for an MT to do in HIM is - poorhouse

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scan actual paper into whatever system they're using and answer the phones in the department. Maybe the person who handles requests from attorneys for records? I'd avoid healthcare altogether.

I did have to go into BK so their turn - nm

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x

Apparently they did not save enough money by taking away our PTO. nm - Sunflower

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xx

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