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

DTS/Transcend merger - from current peon

Posted: Mar 03, 2011

I came in with the merger of MDI a year+ ago. I almost got an ulcer reading some of these posts, seriously. While you must consider what you see here, especially when there is an abundance of similar opinions, be aware, a small percentage of the company's MTs post here.

I will offer my advice. Treat it like a death of a spouse. Mourn your loss and look towards the future. Don't make any big changes for 1 year, or at minimum 4-6 months. Go with the flow. You will probably get a better deal going in with the original merge than if you jump ship and try to come in later, as they will be honoring certain promises to you.

I have my gripes, don't misunderstand. I don't like every response I've gotten. But having been doing this for over 30 years, I have also been in various situations/companies. This is a stable company and a big one, which is not a minor deal these days. They pay on time. They are well structured. They are responsive and overall fair. Their pay is industry average, (which is pathetic for the skills required). They have good benefits. There is the opportunity to move up if that appeals. I find their QA to be overall better than most, etc. I am fortunate to have a great TL.

It is a tough job market out there. You may find it to be a good experience, and if not, you can request team leader or account changes, or just leave. Have a plan B as you go forward, but give it a try. Wishing you the best.

I totally agree with this post as former MDI - MT NM

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x

Well Said... - another peon

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I too came from a merger but it was years ago. Everyone has a different experience with Transcend. I have had my ups and downs but there have been more ups than down. I like my job. I like the company - even though you get a cut in line rate for editing, the pay is still okay - they pay on time - benefits are okay - and one of the best things is the flexibility. Everyone from DTS (and other places who are considering Transcend) should keep in mind that there are over 1500 MTs that work for Transcend and if you notice the negative posts, they are usually the same people. That is but a small group. I do believe that your success at Transcend depends on your attitude. I was not thrilled with editing but now I look forward to it. I would rather edit than type. There is some truth that some regions are tougher to work in than others but if you are truly unhappy, they will find you a new "home". They don't like to see any MT go. I saw the posts by Deb and Rebecca on here and have worked with both of them. They both know the business, know what they are talking about and are here to help all of us succeed. So for all of you MTs from DTS, please give Transcend a chance. After a while if you decide for yourself that you don't like the company, then you can find something else.

totally agree with prior posts. - CardioMT

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I have been at Transcend for 3 years.. the account I was on for the past 2 year decided they wanted to go overseas to cut their cost. I needed to leave that region and go to another Transcend management worked hard to find a region suited for my particular expertise and placed where "I" wanted to go. I can say nothing more than as stated before... give them a chance ... I have had a good experience with them ... especially coming here from a small MTSO who did not pay... the best of luck to you all and welcome aboard...

DTS MERGER - TYPESALOT

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I've been with Transcend for almost 4 years and have had nothing but positive experiences- I've been in this business for well over 20 years and I would dare anyone to find a position in a STABLE company and still make the kind of money they did 20 years ago. I was the biggest downer on editing/VR and OS but it is a fact of life- the big difference between Transcend and other MTSO's is the fact that they are honest with their employees, something I was hard pressed to experience elsewhere. I've worked for many large companies and Transcend is by far the most honest and the most approachable- something sorely lacking from previous employers. Your questions are answered timely and honestly. Any change is scary, I speak from experience having been part of 3 mergers with other companies- give them a chance before jumping ship

All this mgmt begging to stay? Read: Please stay long enough for us to train our offshore MTs - to take your job...

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...at a fraction of your pay, or VR to take away most of your pay - but please don't leave before we can give the client a smooth transition!!!

And that is exactly what it is. - sm

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Offshore and VR will cut the need for as many MTs on each of these DTS accounts, but they need a smooth transition until all is in place.

Me three - in the trenches

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There is no way to know what your individual experience will be until you give it a try.

And, by the way, no account goes offshore unless the CLIENT okays it. It is not Transcend's decision.

Unless the client okays it? Then who pitches it... - and pockets the profits?

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Everybody saves money on the MTs' backs!

How would the client know their account was offshored? - confused

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Why would Transcend tell a client their work is being done out of the US if they can do it without the client becoming the wiser, and then just tell us it is the client's decision?

Because the customer has to agree to - their work being done

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by offshore, in which they pay a cheaper rate. They also have the option to go offshore on their own directly. Using the US transcription company allows them the cheaper rate and not having to deal with the issues that may arise with the offshore vendor. The US company is responsible for that.

Offshore - Anon

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Work cannot be sent offshore without the client's permission!!! It's a little thing called THE LAW and HIPAA. You do know what that is right. An audit trail???

I worked for the old HealthScribe and they DID send work offshore - without client knowledge.

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There are no laws or specific HIPAA rules mandating companies to tell clients who is accomplishing the work or where it is being accomplished. I was friends with an MT who worked on site at a hospital that HealthScribe was doing overflow for. My friend was VERY surprised when I told her I hadn't worked on the account for several weeks and then got it kicked back to me DAYS out of TAT after the foreign transcriptionists couldn't handle most of the dictators on the account.

Just as there are no rules preventing a company from offshoring period, there are none requiring them to tell a client. In HealthScribes case, it's obvious they were pocketing the profits from charging the client the same rate but using the cheap labor side of the house to attempt to do the work.

If we individually REFUSE to take or keep offshore and VR editing jobs - we will reclaim our profession and income.

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Let the silent revolution begin.

It will happen naturally anyway since we can't keep an American standard of living on those low editing wages - let's make it happen sooner rather than later, by choice rather than by personal bankruptcy.

Do you really think that by refusing these jobs, MTSO will throw - up hands and give our jobs back at higher SM

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wage? You REALLY think that?? If we dont take jobs, OS and VR will continue to do the work. You think if US MT dont do the work, it will just not get done? Surprises me the number of MT who think we are so important we have the power to do what auto workers cound not do, even nurses havent been able to stop flow of OS nurses.

Spoken like true mgmt shill. I worked on-site editing CBay work for a med group - so I KNOW the junk that OS turns out

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...which would be hilarious if it were not so God awful with basic words being mistyped, like typing "wine" instead of "one" every time the dicator said "one" (never mind BOS rules about spelling out numbers). This garbages was transcribed by an offshore person then edited by another CBay (OS or American so they claimed, but CBay began laying off their US MTs and with the level of garbage that we got back, I know it was mainly OS doing the editing, too). The medical practice still needed to employ me and one other person on site to FURTHER edit that crap! I've never edited VR, but stories about having to be patient while VR got "trained" and the MT having to edit 1/4 of the "typing" show it to be no better.

It has nothing to do with how "special" American MTs are. It has everything to do with how qualified we are to do the job, do it right, do it with quality, and do it with efficiency - the FIRST time around.

No shill here. Ed of 10+ years of doing OS. And it IS getting - better. As stated before, bad OS SM

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MT/VR editors are getting weeded out, leaving the good ones. Just recently, MTSO has OS sending right to facility, bypassing me. They ARE getting better. And the drs just want a piece of paper to stuff in a chart, at the cheapest price possible. I am in the same boat as everyone else. Why would I state my experience is something it isnt. But my experience is OS and VR are getting better. Others have posted the same. If OS was so bad, what would I get out of saying it is getting better. You are so angry, you cannot see the truth. Btw, cant you get more original than crying Management every time something is said you dont like?

You've been editing OS 10 years and it's only "getting better" - after all that time?

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At that rate, it'll be 50 years before might be able to come close to one-stop-shop efficiency of having the work done by a competent labor force (as in don't need 2nd and 3rd editors to produce a quality final product).

Better to the point of bypassing me. IMO, it took ONLY - 10 years to get to this point. SM

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When I started the OS at my MTSO was so bad I couldnt see how I would ever be not needed. But 10 short years from then, that is exactly what is happening. And why are you jumping all over me. This is my experience, my reality. It is not right or wrong. It is not my fault. It is how it is. May not be that way YET where you work, but it will get there. It is not something I wish, I is how I have seen things go.

The sad part is as the OS gets better the - domestic quality becomes

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worse. Believe it or not, there are bad domestic MLS, just as there are offshore MLS. I'm not management and I'm not pro offshore, but it is worth pointing out because many are under the assumption that the offshore quality is so much worse than US work and that is simply not the case these days. Sad, but true.

domestic quality - DITTO - OMG

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DITTO - why do all MTs think they are so much better. Granted I am an MT and I would like to think I am better, but after being asked to help in QA I got a huge eye-opener on some American MTs. What I found out later is the MTs work I was QA'ing only had clinic experience and one speciality at that - they had no clue and were actually working on a specialty account of their choosing and still couldn't get it right!

Your shill post makes no sense. Why would a suit post such as I - did about MTSO giving us jobs back?

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You cannot see the forest for that one tree. Open your eyes and look at the BIG pic, not just what is on YOUR PC screen.

No one called you a suit - open yours eyes and look at a dictionary. - nm

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nm

A plant, a suit, a shill. No what. Again, look around that tree - and see the forest. Dont get so SM

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tied up in the minutia, look at the big picture. It will help you see how to steer your course around the developments of the current MT industry. If you cant get past the little name calling issues, how are you going to be able to figure out what you need to do in the big picture to make this industry work for you. Just as OS bad MT/Eds are getting weeded out, same is happening here. I think the ones that yell the loudest and stomp their feet the hardest are the ones who dont have the skill set to become one of the fewer MT/Ed that WILL be required. The ones that have been sliding along, doing one thing, and that not all that well, that are so upset to see the changes that are here b/c it means they will not be able to do 1/2 azz work and get away with it.

Above--- no should be so. - nm

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x

Sending work offshore - Ex-Transcender Too!

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What I have done, but who knows if it will help, is that anytime my husband has an appointment with a new doctor when we get there and sign in I ask how their transcription is handled and whether it is sent offshore. When I asked that question of the receptionist of the last specialist we went to and she said their work was sent offshore I told her we would not be keeping the appointment and that we would be making an appointment with someone else. I explained to her that I was a transcriptionist and had been for over 20 years and that I was finding it hard to take care of myself and my family due to the work being sent offshore. She and everyone else behind the counter looked at me in shock and we turned around and left. I don't know that it will do any good, but I sure felt better!

Sending work offshore - All shook up - OldHat

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Gee, I bet word spread around to all the doctors offices and they are all shook up! Good effort, but really ?? I hope your husband's didn't miss anything important because of this.

Sending work offshore - Ex-Transcender Too!

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No, I'm not stupid. It was for an ENT evaluation, and I was able to get him in to a different doctor that same week.

The other thing I have started doing is if I call customer service for any business and realize I am probably talking to someone offshore I ask if they are in the United States. If they say they are not I ask to be transferred to someone in the United States. Normally, I am transferred to someone else that speaks perfect English and appears to be in the United States. If they say that is not possible, I hang up. I don't know if it is going to do any good, but like I said before it makes me feel better.

I agree, GOOD EFFORT. If even a handful of people did this each time... - ndmt

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they checked in to see a doctor, especially in the midst of a crowded waiting room, it would send a message to the doctors that it's not acceptable.

Good effort - not - Oldhat

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My point was - it certainly won't hurt anything and although the doctor's office was taken aback at the time, doctor's offices are not going to lose business because of the their patients who happen to be an MT leaves - no matter how many MTs out there. Their practices are running off of many more patients than just an MT that happens to go there. Most of the doctors are Indians now days - are you guys for real! All shook up was being sarcastic - it's a waste of your time and anger. My bet says the office never calls you back to beg you to come back and they will stop offshoring - I mean really - you are naive enough to think that!

I got your sarcasm. I got that the status quo is just fine with you. - ndmt

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I got that you accept being helpless. However, each person who disagrees with offshoring and makes their physicians aware and accountable will make others aware and accountable. Sitting quietly does nothing. There are physicians out there that are not from India and are not spending your money offshoring your profession. Nothing will fall off if you have to find a new doc who supports the country s/he practices in.

There is hope! - Ex-Transcender Too!

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Have a nice day!

Offshoring work! - Ex-Transcender Too!

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Have a nice day!

Ex-Transcender Too - Oldhat

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I don't think it's a waste of time either when you use your energy somewhere where it will do good - offshore is not your biggest problem honey, it's EMRs and doctors who would rather use a computer than dictate and are typing their own work! Get a clue! MTSOs are losing business due to this and the company you are working for is no different, they are at risk as much as all the MTSOs. So whether it's offshore or not, transcription is going to be a thing of past in the not so near future! Use your energy on that!

Wow! - Ex-Transcender Too!

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I for one try to look for the positive in any situation and try to keep my options open. People that always think they have to have the last word amuse me. Have a nice day!

There is Hope! - Ex-Transcender Too!

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Have a nice day!

I guess you do not need to work. All this will do is reinforce the fact - ???

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that they all rely on offshore and VR to do the work and if you refuse to do it, there are 10 people standing in line for your job. Why don't you propose a doable solution rather than some far-fetched pie-in-the-sky hallucination?

It's not about whether I need the work. It's about the MTSOs needing YOU. - As evidenced by recent mgmt begging...

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...of MTs to pretty-please not quit and give new employer a chance after merger.

If you believe you have no power, then you are 100% right.

It's not pie-in-the-sky to say "I won't work for less than..." - many people of all professions hold themselves to that type of standard. And if you suddenly find yourself pay-slashed or laid off and having to scramble for a new job and taking low pay, it's not pie-in-the-sky to resolve in the interim to do something to change your situation and find that better opportunity.

Whether you believe it or not, you DO have power.

And of those 10 standing in line for your job - sm

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Only about 1 out of those 10 is worth anything as an MT. This is coming from knowledge of a recent hiring spree at one of the national companies who hired all of those 10 MTs who were standing in line.

Look at the word board sometime and you'll see what I mean. QA on these new hires was/is a nightmare and we're talking basic MT 101 type of things. The company I work for is low on the payscale for these new hires, and believe me, they're getting exactly what they're paying for!

Amen To That....sm - anon

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I too am a QA and let me tell you about MT's that are NOT new grads and the mess that I see every day. You want to know why the pay scales are going down, that's one of the reasons. QA prices are going up! The blanks and the mistakes I see are just basic knowledge, basic common sense, referencing etc. If you are a really good MT why don't you try for a QA job to make more money. It amazes me that people would rather whine about making no money than really doing something realistic about it. The economy sucks, and I realize that the pay rates have gone in the toilet, but I know PLENTY of MTs that are still making damn good money being GREAT MTs and those of us that did not want to stay MTs made the jump to QA. There is always something you can do and there are ALWAYS other professions if you are really that unhappy!

And some QAs are just unreasonable. I got docked 1 point on an evaluation because I - transcender

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accidentally had 3 spaces between a word. I am sure that 3rd space killed the patient. I am also sure that the nit-picky a versus the on the audits is really going to make a difference. You get the VR trainer saying do not change things if it is minor, then you get the crappy QA people who think they are god and control your life forever, along with the nasty ROM who says you are going to be penalized for the rest of your life because you did the above. You catch hell if you send a report to QA and you catch hell if you do not. As bad as the sound quality is on some of these reports, you are in a catch 22 and doomed to failure.

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