A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry
Interesting thought re audits, PM, firings, and quitting - sm
Posted: Jul 24, 2014
MTs have been leaving this profession in significant numbers in the last few years due to the pay, the lack of work, companies going out of business, voice recognition, and especially at MM with audits, performance management, firings, and disgruntled employees. At the same time, you seldom see or hear of new MTs signing up and going through the schools to get certified. The New MTs board is a good indication. You also seldom see advertisements these days for MT training (for good reason).
Companies who are hiring want second and third shift, and very experienced MTs (with their very low pay), doing the dirt work that is still left. I am assuming that most of us left in the MT world are the somewhat older and most experienced. Due to my age, I have just decided to hang in here until all is gone. I live in a small rural community and have tried applying for jobs that I am very well qualified for, but I believe age discrimination is alive and well. I have always worked M-F day shift. I have always been able to make enough money to sustain my needs. When I have to, I will draw on my IRA until SS age.
But when people like us are gone, quit, or fired....who is going to be around to do the work? How long will the little work that is available last? I am not going to take a job working all night for such little money. That is my preference. I am too old. Will we eventually become in short supply as well. If so, will that drive wages back up? If the MTSOs cannot make enough money (even MM) and they go out of business, what happens then? If transcription never truly goes away, but the MTSOs do, will we be considered the cream of the crop and offered top dollar again? I hope I am still around to see it. I hope the tables turn and we can name our specialties, our shifts, and our pay. As they say, what goes around comes around. Can MM really afford to continue their current employee practices, audit practices and requirements, restrictions, cut benefits, and low pay, etc., etc.? What happens when they desperately need help and advertises for jobs that no one responds to? Makes you go hmmmm.... I wonder if this will happen in the next 5 years, 10 years?
MTs being in short supply won't drive wages - back up, because MT jobs are -
[ In Reply To ..]disappearing altogether. They will even disappear from India, eventually.
The entire healthcare industry is going to face a lot of upheaval, and eventually a huge shakeout in the not-too-distant future. I don't need all that drama, so am walking away from any job that is healthcare-related. It's just too unstable, and only getting worse.
MT profession - mt
[ In Reply To ..]I think I disagree about MT disappearing although it might disappear from the US. This seems risky, though, to have no one in the country who works in this profession.
Saving for retirement - TXMT
[ In Reply To ..]I am also too old to get another job in the small town I live in. Been an MT for almost 30 years and it's hard going to a job interview now even though I know I could do the job better than others. I thought I would love this job until retirement, but it's just a paycheck now, hoping I am closer to retirement when the job crumbles and it will. Right now I have about 2 years pay saved so I can wait longer until applying for social security. I know I am better off than others, but the future is still scary.
Future - anon
[ In Reply To ..]I think times are getting tougher as we go along. Just going to buy groceries now costs more than it did just 2 weeks ago it seems. So, I'm not sure how much of a "safety net" would be enough for the times we're facing...So you're right on, the future is kind of scary. The best to you and to us all...
I never thought I'd see the day when I can't - afford meat. Or fish. Or cereal.
[ In Reply To ..]A package of eight frozen hamburger patties costs $12+. A box of dry cereal (which is only half full is between $4.50 and $5. People keep saying salmon is supposed to be good for your heart, but just looking at the price tag on fresh salmon is enough to give me a heart attack.
Get yourself a copy of The Tightwad Gazette. - sm
[ In Reply To ..]The book is a bit dated but loads of advice on how to trim that budget, especially the food budget. Hope this helps!
One strategy I use for anything I buy, food or - - Miser
[ In Reply To ..]otherwise, is to try to make it so that everything does double-duty. Whether it's a piece of clothing (Goodwill or eBay, no retail stores for me!), furniture, or an item of food, if it can be used, re-used, morphed into something else and then re-used again, then that's what I buy. I created extra space in my bedroom by selling my standard queen-sized bed, and buying a twin-sized loft bed in order to build upward and create storage/living space underneath. I put over-the-door shoe racks on both the closet and the back of the bedroom doors: The closet one holds shoes, the bedroom one holds tools (hammers, saws, nails, screws, and other hardware). I stack big Rubbermaid-type storage bins into a makeshift cat-tower for my kitties. I use lots of tortillas as burritos, quesedillas, wrap sandwiches, and pizzas. Cheese is expensive, but necessary. My main meat is chicken, which is usable in a million ways. I buy only small amounts of perishables like fruits or veggies, because otherwise I don't use them fast enough and they rot and go to waste. I combine car errands and carefully plan out my route when I do drive, in order to use as little gas as possible. We're in a drought, so I use and re-use water sparingly.
I learned to sew, and do a lot of repairs or repurposing of clothes. For example, I bought a long velvet maxi-skirt at Goodwill for $4. I cut it to knee length and hemmed it, and now have a nice "little black skirt". Then I took the remainder of the material and made myself a matching shrug sweater out of it. A friend showed me how to make arm-warmers (great for when you don't really need an extra layer, but your arms are cold) out of knee socks. You just cut off the toe for your fingers, and the heel for your thumb, and voila!
I have several pairs of pantyhose in the same colors, and if one leg gets a major run in it, I cut that leg off, and pair it with another one-legged pair of the same color. The doubled-up panty parts of the pantyhose also work pretty well for "tummy-control", too! Another take on that is to buy thigh-high stockings with elastic tops, if doubling up pantyhose is too uncomfortable.
I color my own hair, and get the best results by going 2 shades lighter than my natural shade. That way I don't have to do it very often. If my hair needs trimming (it's long), I just trim it myself.
Crazy-Glue is my friend. There are many things I would've had to throw away, but that glue came to the rescue. Duct-tape is another good ol' buddy, too. Wire coathangers can be cut and used for all sorts of things: Tools to reach between furniture to retrieve items, to temporarily tie up a drooping muffler under the car, or to make utility hooks for shower items, storge, to hang a hummingbird feeder, etc.
Whenever I receive something on paper in the mail that I don't need, and has a plain white back, I cut it into quarters to use as scratch-paper. I re-use tinfoil as much as possible. I water down shampoo and dish-washing liquid. I don't make long-distance phone calls; I email instead. My cell phone has only the lowest use package ($10 with Consumer Cellular). I don't have texting capability (who needs that? I have email!), and don't need a smart phone because I can use my computer for that. It's not like I travel or anything - I'm almost always home. No cable TV, just regular broadcast channels. If I want to see a movie, I don't pay for it, I just wait for it to come to TV, (LOL - even if that means I have to watch the movie in Spanish or Vietnamese!)
I check out the free ads on Craigslist frequently. Usually there's nothing of interest, but every so often, there's something I need that I don't want to pay for - such as a small end-table or some clay plant pots.
I've also found many great websites and videos online that have instructions on how to take something leftover, such as plastic jars, etc., and turn them into something useful.
Where there's a will, there's a way!
Our library is a great source for recent movies and its FREE! - sm
[ In Reply To ..]You should check with your local library if it's not too far away.
Strategies - Fatigued Fingers
[ In Reply To ..]What an inspiring post! I admire your ability to stretch things out and make them last. This is a post worth saving!
Another strategy for dinky, overcrowded freezers: - sm -Miser-
[ In Reply To ..]When my tiny freezer is in dire need of defrosting, and has shrunk to roughly half its normal capacity, I often find the ice tray will no longer fit. I've come up with a way to make a few ice cubes at a time while waiting until I get around to defrosting:
You know those little cups that come with little single-serving sizes of ice cream? Or applesauce? I save them and fill them with water to make ice cubes. They can be tucked into those few odd, small bare spaces that may be left in the freezer.
Better still, the resulting ice cube is bigger, and takes much longer to melt. So you'll only need one cube per drink, rather than multiple smaller ones.
High phone bills - sm
[ In Reply To ..]With Ooma voice-over-the-Internet type phone, monthly phone bills average between $3 and $5 a month (you pay for state tax onlyl) & that includes long distance. (The initial charge is for the Ooma set-up box that gets plugged into the modem but they had a special $30 rebate, so the one-time charge was about $110, but after that phone bills only $3 to $5 for state tax.) (So far, so good---easy to set up and calls sound crystal-clear.)
if you are paying that much you are shopping in the wrong places - try Dollar Tree or Dollar General
[ In Reply To ..]I buy bread, eggs, cereal, fish sticks, pasta, frozen french fries, juice, etc. at the Dollar Tree. I look at all the sales papers that come in the free paper on Wednesday and shop the BOGOs.
That's at Grocery Outlet, which is the cheapest - store in my area. Also, - sm
[ In Reply To ..]I can't stock up on things in bulk when they go on sale, because I live in a very tiny place, and every inch of storage space is already filled to overflowing. My refrigerator is also tiny, with an even tinier freezer compartment. There's only room in it for about 6 frozen dinners, an ice tray, a small package of Tater Tots, and a small container of ice cream.
Our Dollar Tree doesn't have that much food - has more other stuff. I still buy certain things there, but steer clear of things like milk and eggs there, as too often I've opened a brand-new milk or cracked open an egg, and found it to be spoiled.
I dont think you have a full grasp of the industry - very shortly there will be no need for MT
[ In Reply To ..]Even as we speak some facilities have programs where the doctors wear headsets, speak into them, watch the computer type out the report. They make corrections with a finger swipe on the screen. The MTs that are left are here for the facilities that have not gone to that level of technology yet. MTSO companies create and sell this techology but are now focusing on remote coding. MT as a career will cease to exist in 10 years or less.
Your last sentence is false. You have no way of - phooey
[ In Reply To ..]knowing that will be the case in 10 years. What statistics did you use to come up with this? Any valid data you used or surveys or just off the top of your head is what I'm guessing.
All I can say is - sm
[ In Reply To ..]I went to my new doctor..she looked at occupation and said damn you guys still exist, thought they were doing away with you? and listed to me how EMR is going..and the trend towards med students entering reports for the docs..Says it is too expensive to keep us..So I take that as pretty compelling evidence that we are not long for the world
One doctor does not a statistical anaylsis make. - nm
[ In Reply To ..]x
Believe it's a viable career if you like. A lot - of us did, and it came back to bite us.
[ In Reply To ..]nm
You're right - eom
[ In Reply To ..]I was at a doctor's appointment in 2008 and she said the same thing to me when she saw my occupation. MT is not a viable career and anyone who believes that it is either is not paying attention or is unwilling to accept facts.
except you are forgetting that - mt
[ In Reply To ..]no physician is ever going to sit down and type out the OR they just did, or the trauma consult in the hospital. In other words, clinic MT work may disappear, but acute care will not.
Acute care is disappearing too. - sm
[ In Reply To ..]Every hospital system in my area has already done away with their MTs as they are no longer needed with the new systems. The last hospital to employ MTs has just this year made the switch, and the only jobs around here related to MT are for scribes, which pay minimum wage, or for temporary jobs entering the charts into the EMR.
It would be nice to think we couldn't be replaced and there would always be the need for acute care MTs, but that would be delusional. The writing is on the wall. Only a fool would ignore it.
MT profession - MT
[ In Reply To ..]Why would they use scribes when they have people editing at over 99% accuracy, plus keeping the reports in TAT. We make minimum wage. I can't see point-click taking the place of narrative dictation. How can that be? How often do we use standards? Not much. I also can't see physicians doing clerical. If it were so easy for a doctor to wave his/her hand at the screen to correct the ASR, why don't we have that technology at MM?
because 'the sky is falling' gets more reads - mt
[ In Reply To ..]I have been an MT for over 30 years. Around 25 years ago, the first version of Dragon Naturally Speaking appeared and the wailing and gnashing of teeth began. There have been many advances in VR over the years, and the MT job has changed, but it is still here and not going anywhere soon. In fact I know more people in the business than ever. Some people handle change better than others, and in this job you need to role with the change.
And just look at what MT has become as a result - of those early VR versions.
[ In Reply To ..]Remember how easy it was to get a job 25 years ago? And the living-wage pay? Now, in 2014, that job has become a joke, and the joke is on US.
MT is not a viable career. - eom
[ In Reply To ..]If you want to have a nice roof over your head, have reliable transportation, eat healthy foods, wear nice clothes, make sure your kids have their needs/wants attended, MT is not a viable career. If you enjoy poverty-level wages, constant PM audits, running out of work, voice-wreck-ognition, etc., then MT is would be a fabulous fit. The only people doing well in MT are the owners and they do well by making sure that the people who do the work get shafted. It has nothing to do with being able to accept change and everything to do with companies like MM and Nuance screwing people. My advice to new MTs is to find something else, and to established MTs, cut your losses and get out ASAP. Leave it so that the cheerleaders can stay on and get pimped out. They love it.
Scribes are just a passing phase, and are - mostly low-paid MD students/PAs.
[ In Reply To ..]I've seen the ads for scribes in my area, and no way would I want to be on my feet all day tailing the doctor, still doing sort-of transcription on a less-than ergonomic setup, and subjecting myself to viruses, etc. for a lousy $10-12/hour. Nope.
If you believe that, you're kidding yourself. - They CAN, and they DO type OR notes.
[ In Reply To ..]
I don't believe you. - eom
[ In Reply To ..]I don't believe you.
Okay. - *
[ In Reply To ..]nm
if MT was still a viable career - they would still be teaching it
[ In Reply To ..]and yes we all know that there are some greedy and deceptive schools out there still teaching it with promises of making big money for the stay at home mom, but the community colleges are no longer offering it. If MT was really in demand, they would be.
Our local community college started offering MT and coding again recently. - nm
[ In Reply To ..]x
This doesn't surprise me. - eom
[ In Reply To ..]It's all about the bottom line. They will convince some poor, unaware students to come and take the courses . . . MT is a top-paying field, collect the monies for said courses and then send poor, unaware student out into the world owing money for courses taken to get a job that won't provide them with the income needed to pay off tuition.
I don't think it'll cease to exist in 10 years. - I give it 2-5 years, TOPS.
[ In Reply To ..]
I agree - I retire in 23 months
[ In Reply To ..]and I hope it lasts that long, but I'm not holding my breath.
Grasp of industry - Anonymous One
[ In Reply To ..]Well, I guess it depends on the facility. We have a fully functional EMR and about 30% of our providers still want to dictate narrative reports. We outsource but require 2 on-site MTs to do QA and cover stats because they can't meet our turnaround time. Troubleshooting technical issues requires another full-time person. We have been looking at bringing MT back on site. Speaking into a headset and making corrections with a finger swipe - we don't have anything that sophisticated and it is time consuming for our providers to edit their own dictation, they prefer direct patient care. More than technology, offshoring and cheap labor is what is killing MT. Our department would still be fully staffed if they had not found people who were able to do the work for pennies on the dollar.
globalism - MT
[ In Reply To ..]I wish our politicians would find a way for us to be competitive in the global market. It seems unwise to lose professions and know-how in the US. What if we are not always on good terms with these countries. You never know.
That's what I thought was going to happen when - I hired on at a medical facility - sm
[ In Reply To ..]that had a skeleton MT crew, and was claiming to be "slowly" phasing into EMR with a few MT editors.
WRONG. That's what they TOLD us, but our purpose for just 4 short months was to catch them up on dictation, train the system, and then get DUMPED.
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