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

Rate of Pay - amm

Posted: Jan 08, 2012

Wow, I'm an independent contractor and was looking at the job seekers board to maybe take on another part time job. The rate of pay is still 7 to 8 cents per line?? This seems a bit ridiciulous. I mean 10 years ago when I started with an online company, this is the rate of pay they started you out at! I work for local doctors and charge starting out no less than 11 cents per line, especially as an independent contractor where you get no benefits or paid time off. It bothers me that transcriptionists won't band together and not put up with this rate of pay especially ones that have been doing it for a long time. I have over 20 years experience. I can't imagine sitting and transcribing for less than at least 10 cents a line starting out.

Maybe I've just been self employed and transcribing for my local doctors too long and out of the online transcription business. I think I'm pretty fortunate and will just stick with what I'm doing!

Even if US MT band together, what about Indians, Pakis, - Filipinos, etc, etc, etc? nm

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It seems this is coming full circle - - sm

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I just watched a program the other nite regarding this very thing. The Indians, Chinese and other low wage earners are demanding higher wages more comparable to here. Steel prices and fuel have gone up to incredibly high prices, too, so our companies are realizing that by the time they factor in the rising cost of labor, fuel, material and shipping prices, it's not enough of a price break to keep sending it over there; hence, they are bringing it back home. I see this happening in our field. Not right away mind you, but in a few years. The workers with our jobs in other countries aren't afraid to stand up and demand a fair wage, and are getting it. Why aren't we?

OS - JW

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The ortho group I have here in town had a bad experience with an MTSO and brought their work back to local people. The hospital here also does not outsource and hires local people and I commend them for doing so. They don't like the MTSOs and neither do I. I am being .12 cpl for my work.

If we band together for higher pay, that will just push more - work OS. nm

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I don't believe that - sm

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more will go overseas. Many hospitals and doctors don't want their work going overseas. It is fear everybody has of banding together and doing something about it that lets them get away with it. Nobody will call their bluff.

They want cheap. They dont care where. NONE that I - have told the truth, cares where it is done. nm

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My neurologist typed during my consult. - Rabbits

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He saw on my intake form that I do MT and wanted to know "where on earth I still had a job". He's part of a large practice and the mgt decided they would use VR and/or type their own. He wasn't even using drag-and-paste templates but typing as I told him my issues. He hates VR (he does his own and edits) because it is slow. From his our brief visit, I could tell VR probably wasn't suited to his way of speaking. BUT, he explained, each of the 10 doctors was generating $20k in transcription costs and they've saved lots of $$.

I let him know what this is doing to those of us in the field. He had no idea that those of us still MTing were now being paid very low wages. He also seemed to be unaware that VR can be done via an MTSO nor how it takes just as long, if not longer, to edit the output. All for 3-4 cpl. His eyes really did pop out of his head on that.

Rabbits - Old Pro

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Considering your neurologist's time is valued at about $400 an hour, he is not using it well. I am surprised that the practice manager permits that. I am glad that you let him know how things are. I suspect that many docs will go back to traditional transcription, I really do. I started with a new internist and my first question was "Is your transcription done in-house?" She said it was. I will not go to any physician who sends transcription to an MTSO who sends it overseas. I just will not. And I tell them so, too.

That's how Transtech won the KLAS award - Anon

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Cheap, cheap and cheap. That's all the hospitals care about these days and the MTSOs. So, TT does it cheaper than anyone. Have you seen the CRAP in the patient records???? Hope those aren't YOUR medical records. Sad, truly sad.

That's How Transtech won - Anon - LeeLee

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Thanks to all this advanced technology, I actually was the recipient of an EMR record of another patient with a "normal" physical exam being loaded into my eletronic chart in error. I had been in a car accident with severe injuries. They never corrected this error, despite my written request to do so several times. As a result, the insurance I had at the time gave me major, major problems because they believed the doctor "could not possibly have made such an error". They actually had insisted that I was examined physically, and I jut was not aware the exam had taken place...what a stupid comment. It took me 4+ years of intensive therapy to get back to my normal...no thanks to the idiot that caused me the problems to start. Obviously, I will not divulge the MD name; however, it is the single leading physician in my area for that particular specialty. Pretty scary.

I had the wrong person's PE in my chart when - I was being admitted to

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the hospital, but it was the fault of the RN. She never took my vitals but decided to write some down. I kept wondering when they were going to check my temp or give me some Tylenol. Finally, I asked for some, and they said your temperature was normal. Uh, no it was almost 103. Not to mention she put a borderline hypertensive BP on my chart, and when they actually put me on a monitor, mine was beeping because it was low. Even after I told them, I still had wrong vitals dictated for my chart. Really annoying. I think I have seen almost as many human errors as EMR, and it seems nothing at all gets done about these either.

I work at a doctor's office now where we just went through a training for a new EMR. You can pull in a patient's ROS, PE, anything pretty much from any of their prior visits. Wonder if your doctor maybe pulled in you last PE and neglected to change it.

It's a HIPAA violation if the MT makes a - anon

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such as that but if the doctor does nothing seems to happen. We have a terrible platform with glitches that cause another patient's records to come up just as you enter the report field on the correct patient. All of us have typed reports on the wrong patient because of this. It's three strikes and your out. NOw that we know this program does this, we're more vigilant. However, the doctors have been dictating reports on the wrong patient and nothing happens - no violation, no warning.

And of course, most of us don't get paid for demographics - IAMT

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so we are being held accountable for correcting the mistakes entered and spend time on the search to find the correct patient at NO PAY. Gotta love the fact also that MTs evidently are considered the bottom of the totem pole and evidently will be fined, makes less money all the time staying in this profession, but the dictators, mostly highly paid physicians, are not evidently not fined. HMMM. Something just doesn't seem right here.

Just saw this and HAVE to agree - XTT

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I was mortified by what I saw in previous reports that had been put through to the client. The most horrific work by MTs I'd ever seen. If I didn't know better, I'd have sworn I went to sleep, work up working for MQ and was looking at Indian-produced work. No exaggeration.

The couple of times I did try to point out the most ridiculously glaring errors to my manager/team lead, I got some canned, "Oh, we'll look into and address it when we get a chance, thanks" (paraphrased). I knew the email I had sent with the job #, etc., had been a total waste of my time and effort.

The only thing I can't figure out is, aren't these MTs EVER subject to a random QA audit? Are the QA people overlooking all of this haphazardly done, slipshod work and pumping it right on through even on audits?

I did work on one account where one particular dictator never failed to mention the horrific job of transcription he was seeing on his reports. At one point, he even strongly suggested that "someone take a few transcription classes so they actually know what they're doing." OUCH. I reported his comment and the job he referred to (I looked it up and, yep, he was right, horrible quality), and hopefully someone took care of it.

Anon isn't kidding when she said this work being churned out is horrible, to say the least.

I do. The way to win accounts in the first place is underbidding the rest. - and that is taken off the cpl.

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rate of pay - ltdn

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I had a chance to get out of VR and back into regular transcription work. Doc was paying 10.5 and asked for my bid. In order to make it worth his while to make the switch, I offered him 9 cpl. I have his work, and his partner's work, and I couldn't be happier. I realize that I'm worth more, but you know what? I was getting 4 cpl for VR/SR and it sucked. I would've probably worked for 8 cpl just to get paid more than I was. That said, I am a wicked fast transcriptionist, so I make good money. If you're just so-so at it, then you may be able to get through twice as much VR as regular transcription and make what you need. Me, NEVER AGAIN will I go to VR....what a waste of my time!

happy for you, love to hear when people get their own accounts. - best wishes for bright future NM

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Pay rates - JW

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amm: I can relate to you. I worked for 24 years and made 15.00 per hour then was laid off. I had to move to a company and made .8 cpl. I worked so hard for 10 to 12 hours a day and messed up my left wrist and never made what I had before. I am very disappointed in working for MTSOs which I did for 3 years and was miserable the whole time. I found an office job here where I live and am paid .12 cpl when I get work which has been next to nothing lately because of holidays and being a "trickle down MT." I am hoping for an in-house hospital position but won't know for a few weeks. The only places you will be paid what you are worth are the accounts you get on your own or an in-house situation from my experience which is 30 years.

And point&click is sucking up all the in-house - positions. Cant win for losing. nm

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Pay rates JW - say what

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I find it incredulous that someone with 30 years experience can't make $15.00 at 8cpl. $15.00 is low for a production-based MT (even if it's paid hourly). I venture to guess you were "spoiled" by working for an hourly wage and just can't cut it in the production world. That has nothing to do with the MTSO and everything to do with your skills.

You'd only have to do 180 lines an hour to make that $15 and if you can't do that, I would encourage you to keep looking in that haystack for a gig willing to pay you to transcribe slowly and stay employed.

re: Rate of Pay - frustrated

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The line rates are getting ridiculous. I have seen a few job listings where they are paying 5-6 cpl. The problem is people are willing to charge the physicians/clinics practical nothing in an effort to under bid, not to mention the companies that outsource overseas, which ultimately screws us all. There are some transcription companies in my area who are charging their clients 9-10 cpl and if they use the more popular platforms, they are paying the platform company 1.5+ cpl, which means in reality they are making 7.5-8.5 cpl themselves and therefore only pay their MTs 5-6 cpl or so. I understand that they are trying to get clients, but the underbidding has hit a ridiculous level and I feel like lynching these places who are so willing to charge such a low rate knowing that it will hurt the entire profession. I am still in shock at the going line rates these days. I made more 12 years ago when I first started out.

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