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Paying MTs by the minute of dictation - Mary Roach

Posted: Apr 17, 2014

Just found this very interesting article about how MTSOs should consider charging by the minute instead of by the line. I imagine that would be a good idea for transcriptionists, because we would then be paid for the time we actually do transcribe versus by the line we may or may not transcribe. I remember wayyyy back in the golden days being paid by the minute (of dictation, and that was far more profitable for us as transcriptionists. Brace yourself, as this article refers to us as "transcribers," which we know are actual machines, not people. We are transcriptionists! (I'm sorry if the link does not work. You may wish to copy and paste it in your web browser or do a search for the article.) Hope this helps. http://mmodal.com/articles/the-end-of-the-line-does-the-metric-for-transcription-billing-need-to-change/

oops - Mary Roach

[ In Reply To ..]
I do apologize for the missing closing parenthesis in the third sentence, which was meant to state (of dictation).

We would at least be paid for some of our "volunteer work" (sm) - Rose

[ In Reply To ..]
Admins would finally crack down on doctors not exerting the effort to press a Pause button. We would be paid for sitting and waiting for them to finish chewing, reviewing labs, blindly fishing through their EMR to look for medications or allergies, having conversations with others by phone and in the office. I'm all for being paid by the minute. How can these dictators actually feel it is acceptable to have an employee work for free??? It's time these dictators got a wake up call.

Absolutely...we should have always been - paid like this

[ In Reply To ..]
that is by the billable minute, not piecemeal by the line which we have zero control over. Don't know how on earth anyone ever thought our present pay system was a good idea, even greedy MTSOs.

MTSOs charge by the minute, but that doesnt mean squat - for the MT. MTSO will pay what they choose. sm

[ In Reply To ..]
They now charge by the line whatever the going rate is, but we still get 4, 5, 6, 7 cents a line because "that's what the market is..."

MTSO gets more, doesn't mean you're getting more.

I get paid by the minute - and I LOVE it!

[ In Reply To ..]
I definitely make more than I did getting paid by the line. Its also great when you get those doctors that dictate half a report then change their mind and start over...then do it again.

It's also great for when they forget to hang up and you listen to music for 20 minutes. Last week I had a report with 4 lines of dictation and 20 min of music. It was a good feeling knowing I was still getting paid for my time while I sat and listened.

At first I was worried about taking a job where I got paid by the minute, but now I would definitely prefer it!

I prefer being paid per minute - mter

[ In Reply To ..]
I prefer being paid per minute as well as the above poster. Doctors stop all the time and have conversations with others, talk to their nurse girlfriends, set the phone down instead of using the pause dictation button b/c they refuse to learn how to properly work the equipment or many times they hang up the phone and don't do that properly. I listen to jazz for a few minutes and sign off the job. Last week I got a 5 minute report with and additional 35 minutes of music and a couple of 10 minute reports that were actually like a minute. The nurse came by and hung up the phone. So, yes, I prefer being paid by the minute.

It would only be good if they paid us MORE - than we make now. Which - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
of course we know isn't gonna happen. We all know how these guys operate. They would likely find the changeover from per-line to per-minute a good excuse to lower our pay still further.

even less? - Mary Roach

[ In Reply To ..]
I am afraid that would mean paying MTs less to the point of their being volunteers or the MTs actually having to pay the MTSOs to work. :)

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