A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry
MTSO's - Is this the best I can expect? - TeeJay
Posted: Apr 05, 2011
After 20 years of hospital-based HIM transcription, they gave us away to Medquist. I feel set up for failure by not getting consistent hospital accounts and never having a chance to learn a specific account. Communication with management is - absent - unless they want something from you. I also find the pay and line count methodology to be deplorable, to say the least. I have VR experience, but find that Medquist just turns on literally EVERYTHING to VR, and most of it requires such extensive editing that I am becoming very resentful of the fact that I get paid only 4 cpl for such extensively edited reports. I guess the point is they would rather pay you less, so nevermind the fact that you are working just as hard. This feels like sweat-shop work and I'm depressed and discouraged and on the verge of having to bile bankruptcy.
What I'm asking this group is this: Is Medquist the "norm" for the MTSO employers, or can I do better than this somewhere else? If Medquist has become the standard for medical transcription, its time for me to step away from the keyboard and go back to school and I will not waste any further time applying for transcription positions elsewhere. I have loved my career as a transcriptionist and would be profoundly saddened to have it end, but this is unacceptable. Any and all opinions welcome, along with any recommendations for good MTSO's to work for and the ones to stay clear of.
TeeJay - Been Around
[ In Reply To ..]No, Medquist is most certainly (heaven forbid) the norm. Do some research about them--look especially at the lawsuit of several years ago brought by MTs for their allegedly cheating the MTs on line counts. MQ is horrific. I worked for them for several years and it was a terrible experience. There ARE good companies out there. Which you should embrace and which you should stay clear of is highly subjective, but the word on the streets from other MTS is that Transcend is much like MQ in many ways; that WebMDX is good, as is Amphion, as are Archivus and New England Medical Transcription and Landmark. If what you are doing now feels like sweatshop work it is because that is how MQ regards its MTs--as subhuman. Truly, you can do much, much better. When I quit MQ, I said I would rather clean toilets than work there ever again, and I meant it. The good side is that there still are decent companies out there. It's kinda like dating--you have to kiss a lot of toads before you meet the right one. Good luck! I hope you find what you are looking for.
TeeJay - correction - Been Around
[ In Reply To ..]Whoops, it is late on the East Coast! I meant to say MQ is certainly NOT the norm. Too sleepy. Time to get us all to bed.
TeeJay - Been Around Too
[ In Reply To ..]I totally agree with Been Around!
Not all MTSOs are like MQ, but way too many - of them aspire to be carbon copies.
[ In Reply To ..]I know mine does. I'm sure the big-shots at my place have pictures of MQ execs plastered all over their walls. They probably even have a little shrine to MQ in the Executive Washroom.
Carbon copies - Nick
[ In Reply To ..]You must work for Transcend! :) And, I would say that the washroom is the appropriate place for the shrine!
no, not transcend, its - smsg
[ In Reply To ..]acusis
Not Transcend - Nick
[ In Reply To ..]I have never worked for Acusis but one of my friends did--and she hated it.
Find a midsized to small company if possible... - anon
[ In Reply To ..]and keep your fingers crossed. I'm content enough where I work (Diskriter) and hope things hold steady for awhile till I can retire down the road (ha-ha). I'm frankly not too confident I won't have to go through another shake-up sooner or later. Too many years left to work. I look at the community college courses offered and can't get excited about a "career" change at my age.
MQ is the armpit of MTSOs. They are way too big and have... - ndmt
[ In Reply To ..]too many people trying to manage all the other people. As an MT, you are the revenue stream for all that managing. I don't think MQ is the norm yet, but in the next few years I believe they will lobby strongly to buy up every small to mid-size MTSO they can. It will be MQ (CBAY) and Nuance who own the transcription industry.
I remember specifically applying with Spheris about 4 years ago as my hands were giving out, and I was interested in trying VR. They were still thinking about implementing it and would get back to me (which they did about 3 months later). Fast forward, and Spheris doesn't exist anymore and everybody does VR. What is true today could be drastically different tomorrow.
If you are looking for something right now so you can leave MQ, I would suggest TransTech. VR rates are all pretty much the same but they do have an incentive program which helps. However, for a long-term solution, I would consider having a backup degree in something hands-on in the healthcare field.
I drop at the site of something being cut open so I didn't make it through a nursing degree, but I am considering x-ray technician or something like that as my backup plan.
you can do better.....sm - tiny
[ In Reply To ..]I worked for Medquist about 6 years ago. I was not happy there and I left for 2 part time jobs, one in office locally and an MTSO from home. The MTSO I typed for at home was great and I had no problems with them. Also, I have not seen any complaints about them on these boards. If you want their name email me privately, I don't think we are supposed to put company names in our posts. The only reason I quit that MTSO was because I got a full time hospital job, or I would probably still be with them.
the Q - hideous1
[ In Reply To ..]I know you are discouraged. This is terrible what you've gone through. My experience has been that if you are willing to branch out into different sorts of transcription you can find places that will pay a WHOLE lot better with consistency in the types of reports. If you'd like some leads, I'd be more than glad to email them to you. Also, as far as MTSOs go, YES. You can get better pay and more respect from some of the other ones. Some are just as bad, but there ARE good ones out there. Don't let this get you down. Step out of this box and send your resume to multiple dictation/transcription companies. You'll be surprised at the response you recieve. Best wishes, and don't be sad. It can and will get better. You've just got to put effort into finding a different company - cause it won't get better where you are at. I was with them for 8 years. I was made to feel nobody else would hire me, and that I should be thankful for my job with them. It was so refreshing when I stepped away from them and found multiple other places that will respect you and pay you more. Best wishes!
MQ vs other MTSOs - AnonToo
[ In Reply To ..]So glad this question has been posed! I got away from MQ years ago for all the reasons u stated, and more. YES, there are other good companies out there but it takes some effort to glean through them, like anything else. Go to the grocery store and end up spending 20 minutes looking at ALL the cereal boxes...too many choices! EDOC Marketing is one of the best out there, they are everything MQ is not. GO out there and claim the right to work as a happy MT.
MQ - mimi
[ In Reply To ..]I am just getting ready to start back up with MQ and am very excited. I got the hours (no weekends) I wanted and also the pay (which no one else will pay as an employee! Much, much better pay than Nuance, who is another larger company.
mimi - Ex-MQ
[ In Reply To ..]Good luck with that.
MQ - mimi
[ In Reply To ..]I worked for them before and absolutely loved it. I am going back there because I haven't seen anyone who can pay me what they will and I have a Monday through Friday job which is almost impossible to get as an employee!
Thanx all! - TeeJay
[ In Reply To ..]I want to thank everyone for their comments. @ Mimi: My entire group who were eaten by MQ (20 transcribers) were told we MUST work at least 4 hours over Saturday and Sunday, and this was company-wide policy, and we are all constantly under intense pressure to sign up for extra weekend work. This is also the lowest paying job, especially for VR lines, I have ever had. I had been told to watch for MTSO "plants" on this site... Hmmmm. But, anyway, thanks to everyone for the encouragement and the information. I am eager to get MQ scraped off the bottom of my shoe as soon as possible.
MQ - mimi
[ In Reply To ..]I can guarantee you that my work days are Tuesday through Friday, no weekends, just holidays that fall on my work day. My pay per line is quite high for straight transcription and the ASR rate of 4 cpl is the norm, nothing new. I can also tell you that I am not a "plant" by MQ. Getting excited to start my training next week!
tsk, tsk. You should know better. No one on this board is allowed to be happy. - you should be as miserable as the others
[ In Reply To ..]Please don't claim to be happy or excited. That is not allowed. If you say you are, you are a suit, management, a CEO, an MTSO or a liar. Shame on you. You should know better than to be happy.
MQ - mimi
[ In Reply To ..]You got that right. I just know that sometimes you have to negotiate and you get what you want.
Happiness - Pollyanna
[ In Reply To ..]Thanks for starting my day off on a positive note. Being happy or unhappy is a personal choice, some of us choose to be, some enjoy being miserable but it affects one's health (mental and physical) after a while. I've been called stupid and worse in this forum for not going in that direction. When my niece was younger, she had a sign in her room that said, "I don't know how to be happy, they didn't teach me that in school." Whenever I think of that, it makes me chuckle. Enjoy your day, everyone, and thanks again for the thread.
MQ promise to Mimi - AnonToo
[ In Reply To ..]Let's see how things turn out with the pay and days asked to work 3 or 4 months from now.
mimi - Nick
[ In Reply To ..]Mimi, if you actually believe that, I have a beautiful bridge in Brooklyn I will sell you for fifty bucks!
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