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

Sad news from Vermont - sm

Posted: May 26, 2010

http://www.timesargus.com/article/20100526/NEWS02/5260344/1003/NEWS02

Now our job pool is going to get smaller. :(

Can you just give a general idea of what this is? - Sleepy

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Some people (myself included) don't like clicking on outside links without knowing what they are.

Thanks!

not the OP - but I read it

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a hospital in VT just went to EHR and laid off the whole MT dept permanently...said they were obsolete:(

That's terrible. - Sleepy

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Thanks for the synopsis.

Another reason why I'm getting out of MT all together very soon.

Thanks for posting--I just put it on my FB page... - Hayseed

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I get a request from a friend or a family member nearly once a month asking me how to get into the MT field....the allure of working from home just so tasty sounding to each of them.

They don't believe me that this career is on it's way out. I would never recommend anyone to pay money for an MT course these days, HOWEVER, I would also not recommend leaving it if one is already trained in it and enjoys it.

Technology is a witch. It has changed the shape of everything, for better or for worse. I remember when being a telephone operator for "Ma Bell" was a huge score and where is that? Like everything else, the human is being replaced by a machine. :(

You said it right, "like everything else" and no better options replaced any of it - Another Viewpoint

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I think MT is being phased out in certain areas, obviously, but for other areas it's busier than ever. I know that from personal experience. If you aren't in the right place with the right skills, it can be devastating. Another thing is, we all have different job needs. Never would I tell a person to get into MT if they have 5 children and want to work from home. I also wouldn't tell someone to get into MT if they are used to making $100,000/yr. On the other hand, it's still ideal for some people, who have the skills and circumstances that are right.

As with anything though, who am I to tell anyone they should or should not make a certain decision. It's personal and different for each of us.

My gut feeling is that it's going to be rough for a time, and then those who survive or going to be better placed than they were before the economy shattered, before companies resized, went bankrupt, reorganized, readjusted, modified. Nobody knows exactly what MT will morph into, but the skills will always be valuable, if you have solid skills. Just another viewpoint.

Sad - nan

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I copied and pasted the article for you to read. This is absolutely horrible.

BURLINGTON (AP) â�� Fletcher Allen Health care hospital is laying off 23 people, their jobs in dictation transcription rendered obsolete because of speech-recognition software and electronic record-keeping.

Mike Noble, spokesman for the Burlington hospital, says the jobs â�� which were full- and part-time â�� are no longer needed because speech-recognition software means providers don't have to dictate their notes to be typed and edited anymore. The layoffs, which were announced Tuesday, take effect June 25. Three other jobs were vacated through attrition and four per-diem positions were eliminated, bringing the total to 30 positions that were cut.

The software was introduced last fall, following the hospital's implementation of an electronic health record system that allows physicians to directly input information, which cut the volume of transcription work by 27 percent.

It cut the volume of MT work by 27% - So look at who lost their jobs

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It really does pay to be able to do all of it so you can be part of the 73% that stays. If it's like changes we've had over the years, those who survive end up better off than they were before. Let's hope so. Nobody knows how things will turn out, of course.

Sad - flyingfingers

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Just a few comments. I am not understanding if they laid off the entire department or 27% of the staff in anticipation of a 27% decrease in volume. I have been down this road and was in a situation where they let the entire staff go before implementing an outsourcing company. There was a big article in our local paper how progressive this organization was, but they then ended up looking like idiots when a few weeks later they realized they made a huge mistake, could not get the interfacing to work with the outsourcing company, quality issues, etc. and tried to hire most of us back. I definitely think VR is here to stay, cutting the demand for MTs, but I hope qualified MTs will still be needed to edit, etc. In the case of Fletcher, my guess is someone has to justify their big expenditure on this new technologyS. Should be interesting to see how it works out. What looks good on paper does not always work out in the big scheme of things.

Wouldn't they still need editors though? nm - formervter

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nm

editors will be some of the 73 percent left. - nm

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nm

Yes, probably for at least the next 50 years. - evolved

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That might be enough time to configure every possible dialect, slur, cough, spit, chew, stutter, redo, etc.

Please see my posts under New MT for ideas and brainstorming!

I remember a few years ago (see long story) - See message

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Administration of a huge hospital decided that they would let their MTs go and replace them with SR. They promoted it to high heaven in all sorts of journals and business publications. Everyone was so impressed. Two years later the doctors hired their own transcriptionists back, throw out the equipment, and refused to use it.

Speech recognition is better now and they have learned from those false starts that the transcriptionists are needed for editing. People who know how to edit their own work well and have been doing that for years seem to be able to make the switch IF they want to. It's a matter of disposition and motivation. Same with the administration of these places. If they get it in their head that it's going to be a certain way, they're going to toss out the baby with the bathwater. They may have to go look for it later, but, they tend to overrreact. WE tend to overreact.

There are no 73% left! The 27% reduction in work was before the layoff. - NM

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x

Fletcher Allen is a big hospital but... - sm

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I can't believe they have THAT many MTs to begin with! The attempted VR back in the early 90s with absolutely no success, but back then, VR was realtively new and not as good as today.

Fletcher Allen tends to overdo things anyway. Years ago, they hired this company called West Hudson and paid them millions of dollars to help them find ways to save money. None of their ideas worked and the hospital was out big bucks in the end. It used to be a cute little hospital, but has just gotten way too big for it's own good.

Not that I wish job loss on anyone, but having that many MTs seems a bit excessive for that size hospital to begin with.

It does seem excessive but not if it was split up by each - department.

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For instance, we had a few MTs in each department and there were probably 10 or 12 departments that needed staffing especially in the hospital where there were lots of ancillary services provided, i.e., stress testing, colonoscopies, etc. Each department had a few MTs to staff it.

A lot of hospitals tried to find ways to cut their dead weight or bring up the morale by hiring motivators. None of them ever seemed to work; I sat through 3 of these seminars including a man that was so-called employed by Disney for their employees - you know the happiest place on Earth!

Hospitals are also very top heavy. Leads, assistance managers, managers, manager of managers, assistant to the CEO, etc. Cutting that would offer much more in the way of saving money, but of course those people in those positions think they are very much needed - you know to make the decision on who at the bottom of the cesspool needs to go.

Healthcare is a dirty business, but somebody's got to do it.

We went through plenty of CEOs as well during our layoffs. This way they came, they laid off, and then went - no harm done right? NOT!

What a waste of nice office furniture. I was called up, but I guess my salary was so low and the fact that I never abused sick time led to me making the cut - you know since I hardly made a stink or was noticed by anyone unless of course I needed a day off, then the stuff would hit the fan!

Great points! - sm

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I agree completely! I worked in a hospital with only 16 beds, but we did tons of office notes, basic 4, etc. and only had 6 people in the whole transcription department. Even they downsized though and sent most of their work to another state, so I think there's 2 people in the department now. I was fortunate enough to get out before the cuts happened.

I had an Administrative Assistant position that was impressive UNTIL - the Hospital Adinistrator

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I had a great Administrative Assistant position until the hospital administrator's niece wanted it, and got it.

Yes, that many MTs for a 562-bed hospital is excessive. sm - websta

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They were overstaffed as it was. Knowing hospital MT jobs, they probably had 23 MTs putting out 25%-30% less work than the average MTSO MT and probably stayed backlogged.

They pay their at-home MTs well though, 11.5 cents a line with. sm - VTMT

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employee status. A few years ago they couldn't find enough qualified MTs and contracted with an MT school (M-TEC?)with subsidies from the state of Vermont to provide the course free.

Isn't Fletcher/Allen part of NWMC? - born there

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NorthWestern Medical Center - That number must include all the little outlying hospital transcriptionists as well - maybe?

That happened in Houston too, promoting SR, firing MTs, then rehiring them when 100% SR failed - Moderation In All Things

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I remember hearing that speech recognition was 100% perfect and would replace every single MT. I heard others say it would never be useful at all. The truth, as usual, is somewhere down the middle.

ALL MTSOs will not do everything the same way. ALL hospitals will not make the same decisions. All MTs will not be (remain) successful. All MTs will not fail. Common sense and history tells us that not everything "they" say is going to happen ever really happens. I've long since stopped believing everything "they" tell us.

Ya, because "they" don't "know". "They" say alot of things. The - saying. nm

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.

FAHC has 562 inpatient beds, not so little and...sm - oldtimer

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cute, rather a very up-to-date university medical center that is very well respected in the region.

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