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

Venting about some responses - MT

Posted: Nov 05, 2013

I keep seeing responses here saying they have no idea why people are upset over VR coming or EMR showing up, etc. etc. Why people are down on this profession.

Does anybody LOVE to earn poverty wages?

Do people look forward to losing their homes?

DUH........ Who are these people who post these statements? Are they the ones with the husbands who support them and they haven't a worry in the world. I often feel like turning around and saying:

"I have no idea why some people think it is OK for other people to grow broke in a one-respected profession which requires a lot of knowledge, intelligence, and patience."

There, that said and having gotten it off my chest, I think you all for listening to my vent.

That would be once-respected, sorry for the typo - MT

[ In Reply To ..]
Sorry about that but I was in a rush when writing this! But you get what I mean.

totally agree, don't know how much longer - I can do this. nm

[ In Reply To ..]
x

same here. nm - wannie

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

same here - nm

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

I posted as one who has used EMR for years and - also VR but supported my kids

[ In Reply To ..]
by myself, divorced. Hate to tell you, but having a husband does not always mean he supports you financially. My hospital started EMR probably over 15 years ago and I noticed absolutely no difference in my pay nor how much work I had, very seldom ran out. Doing same hospital work for outside company and they are always asking for OT. I never even came close to losing my home. I don't make now nor have I ever in this type job made poverty wages. I have not gone broke but will say this, if I were close to it I definitely would not stay in this job which apparently you and others are willing to do. Vent less and work more, how about that?

your truth is not the - only truth

[ In Reply To ..]
your situation is not like some other's situation, and some of them are not just venting to vent, and working more sometimes is not an option when the work is not there to do! how compassionate and judgmental of you! ugh.

We are not all in the same boat as you . . - poppy

[ In Reply To ..]
I've been doing this job for 16 years now, I'm single, have no financial help at all now (or ever in the past), have a house, car, pets, etc., and I'm doing just fine. I'm not rich, but I have what I need. We are not all in the same boat here . . . some of us have been able to find good transcription jobs. I work for a hospital, not a service, which makes a huge difference in the pay. So, stop calling some of us liars when we really do have good jobs. They are still out there!!!

Glad you have a transcription job - you are happy with.

[ In Reply To ..]
Believe she was referring to how VR has destroyed transcription -- wages, respect, etc., and it has.

Probably just corporate moles. - Gossip Girl

[ In Reply To ..]
X

no, the axe just hasn't fallen on us yet - Old School

[ In Reply To ..]
I still make $32,000 a year doing MT. No it's not a fortune, but it's better than minimum wage. I know it can't last but for the moment, it's reality. I don't know why you would assume anyone making $32,000 would be lying, because it's certainly nothing to brag about.

I'd love to make 32K, I'm lucky to break 25K - clb

[ In Reply To ..]
And yes, I'm lucky enough to have a husband with a FT job who supports me (not just financially). I'm also lucky I don't have kids to support. I do however have a mortgage, CC debt, medical bills, and a dog to support. But we manage. We both took a pay cut in our lines of work but the "good" side of having less money is realizing what you can live without. But yeah, this as a career to retirement, um, NO

i totally agree. My last wages were awful and they kept going down - Backwards Typist

[ In Reply To ..]
due to VR and NJA and, of course, over-hiring..

By the time they took all the deductions of taxes, insurance, etc. out, I was depositing around $500 A MONTH in my checking to cover bills. I had even stopped contributing to my IRA because of the low wages but it didn't help.

It must be nice when people can live on $500 a month, huh? If I had a husband that would contribute to the household expenses, it wouldn't have been so bad.

.

Backwards Typist, you and I used to email - some years ago and having husband

[ In Reply To ..]
as you and I both know does not mean that husband contributes to the upkeep of the household. I was married to a man who was on dialysis. He could not work, yet I was married. If your husband has health issues which makes it impossible for them to contribute, then all on you for everything. People that make statements about being married, as in the venting poster, are they the ones who have husbands who support them, having a husband does not mean you are supported! I wrote trying to give my position about people being scared about EMR and VR because I have been on a system with EMR for years, no changes, VR is mostly my work now and I can still make a lot more than minimum wage. My job is almost on a weekly basis, 2 to 3 times a week, asking for people to work OT. I work on a platform that is almost 100% accurate or pretty close to it. We are not allowed to erase and completely retype a report. That may be why VR "catches on" better, I don't know but what I am saying is if a younger person cannot make a living here then why beat a dead horse, does no good. I am just like a lot here, I have lost jobs before when being outsourced and this was a job in the 80s that I made $58,000.00 a year with. How do you think that felt? The next job I attained was $20,000.00+ less to start with but if that second full time job not enough, then I found outside jobs to do and supplemented my income. I know about your situation and I am not saying everyone can work 24/7. Have you tried SSI or any disability, been able to get help for yourself? I wish you well, sorry you are having trouble.

Why People Panic at EMR/VR.... - Hanging In There

[ In Reply To ..]
A lot of the MTs that post here work for transcription companies, not in-house or directly for a hospital. When VR comes in, they cut the wages/line count reimbursement by more than half. So instead of an MT making 0.09 or .10 cpl, he or she now only makes 0.03 or 0.04 cpl. That seems to be the going rate these days for VR. That is a HUGE difference. Not to mention most of the platforms are crap and you have to do so much editing that it would have been faster to just type the whole thing from scratch. And then there is the whole overstaffing issue that a lot of the larger transcription services love to do, so there is barely any work. So why do MTs panic you ask? Because if they are working for a transcription service like most of us are, they know they're wages are about to be cut by more than half. That is the reality for most of the people who are venting. To answer the other snide remark about venting less and working more, well most companies will not let you work more than 8 hours a day or 40 hours a week anymore and sometimes as crappy as these platforms are you would need to work 10+ hours a day to come close to what you made before VR. Oh yeah, and that little pesky overstaffing issue I mentioned before so there isn't always enough work to even put in an 8-hour day. Lastly, a great deal of the venting isn't coming from "younger" MTs. This is the reality for MTs who have been doing this for 10 or 20+ years, 40 years old and up.

It is great that you still have an MT position where you are compensated what you are worth and valued as an employee, but you have to understand that is YOUR reality and not the reality for most others. So try to be a bit more understanding and less condescending.

Maybe you think I am one of the younger ones - could not be further from the truth

[ In Reply To ..]
I work for a company. I do VR at 4 cpl and most of what I do is VR, very seldom straight. Let me say that age 65 is years past me now. I am not allowed to erase and retype a report, just not allowed where I work. I make good money. There is almost always overtime offered, probably at least 3 times a week. The leads send emails saying can start early, stay late if you would like. I have never seen an email in probably the 5+ years I have worked for this company telling us to only work 8 hour days or 40 hour weeks for that matter. When outsourced from my job my pay also cut. I spent time figuring up how many lines at 4 cpl would I need to do in a day in order to make what I considered a decent/liveable salary. Where I work takes a beating most times on this board. I just let it go, never answer about you are so wrong because I know what is there, hours available, VR that is unbelievably good with very little correction and yet others run this particular company down. I have lost jobs that paid me extremely well. When I lost jobs, it was way more than 10 cpl that I lost. I had base pay plus production. Been there, totally done that. I stand by what I said about EMR totally. It made absolutely no change in my work load nor my inhouse job at that time. Outsourced several years later when VR came. I will not say what I could make if I work a 40 hour week because first of all others call you liars here so telling a truth just gets you called names and I will leave that out. Others mention you're a suit. Not naming any company names so don't know how that plays out in the scheme of things. As far as the valued as employee, don't know so much about that. Just another worker for them.

Younger person with follow up on pay, today - the first hour I have done

[ In Reply To ..]
was 610 for VR and 33 for straight transcription. If you add that up, it is $27.04 for the hour. You can do VR and make a decent salary. You need to find a place that has a decent platform. I have both ESLs, not simple ones at that. Now rest assured, will probably slow down for the rest of the day but still I wind up with a decent salary like I stated earlier.

Let me say, not a younger person but person - who said further from the truth

[ In Reply To ..]
Not young here at all, young at heart perhaps.

Just to clarify, I wasn't trying to take a dig... - Hanging In There

[ In Reply To ..]
..at you. But you asked why people get so panicked over VR and I was trying to explain the negative side of what happens to a lot of MTs and why they vent so much on here. I know good money can still be made, even on VR, but the MTs who come on this board to vent, unfortunately, aren't with those companies making good or even decent wages. You're doing just fine and that's all well and good. But you have to understand that is not the case for many others.

Case in point, a good friend of mine and I were working for the same company. It was mostly VR, very rare straight typing. She worked on an easier clinic account that required very little editing and was able to do roughly 300-350 lph. She was (still is) making pretty good money. I on the other hand worked on a more difficult acute care account that was mostly ESL and required a ton of editing. I was fortunate if I could get 220 lph. For me it sucked and I had to move on. My friend is still there and things are working out great for her on the clinic side. Same company, 2 different people, 2 very different realities.

I would never call someone a liar or mean names out here just because things are going well for them. But if you come on strong out here with the "I don't know why" etc, etc, well, you might have to duck..lol! I just wanted to explain that people in this industry are frustrated with good reason and they don't need or appreciate someone else making them feel worse by rubbing salt in the wound. While I don't really think that was your intention, that is how it is perceived and thus the backlash that you have experienced.

Basklash? What backlash? I did not experience - that. I do acute care also

[ In Reply To ..]
No clinical notes here at all. I have also been called a liar, have you not seen here. I am a big girl, have no problem with what others say but this is certainly not what I call backlash. I will say again. People hit the panic button, some say going broke,and I say best to find out where you can make money, what place has excellent platform in order for that to be achieved. I have read these posts for years and years and people seem to want pity rather than doing something about it.

Fine. Whatever. Moving on. Next! - Hanging In There

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

Similar Messages:

Jun 13, 2010

It is very disappointing to see that 134 people (so far) have read my post and only 1 person has responded. What is up with that? Please note I fully expect a bunch of responses to this stupid post but not to the important one further down. ...

Dec 31, 2011

I'm not sure where to start, and I don't usually respolnd to this (gasp) crap. I am a professional and I carry myself as such at work. You might also find it interesting that I went to a private liberal arts Quaker school for college. The thing I find perplexing is that the folks bashing Patti didn't answer her question or even remotely come close. Why attack her when you don't have an answer to her question? I find nothing about about the term " ...

Nov 09, 2009

We are trying to pick a new typing package to interface to Meditech. Right now we are using Dictaphone EXText. What is your favorite to type in?? ...

Jul 11, 2013

x ...

Mar 02, 2010

How can an MTSO which whom an MT has an actual contract suddenly decide to impose new rules, penalties and fines without actually negotiating a new contract? Is this really legal? This is in response to the new HITECH law, but I think that HITECH is just a scapegoat that the company is using to do what they always wanted to do. I don't want to mention the name of the MTSO because I am too scared to do so at this point, and I have not made any HIPAA errors that I am aware of, bu ...

Mar 25, 2010

yesterday at the end of a chart, one of my docs starts going off on the general state of the world, the state of healthcare, etc. He said he couldn't wait to get out of this *beepity beep* profession and then apologized to me because he knew my job was on the fast track to nowhere. Also said many of his staff were being sent home due to low census and cutbacks on hours/pay. (Remember that nurses/techs are in BIG DEMAND according too all the gov't w ...

Aug 17, 2011

I had such a bad day today and am feeling quite sorry for myself. I cannot believe I have been doing this for so long and am making so little money. I tried to look up things online about the transcription business and came across an article that was pretty interesting. It's pretty much what everyone says on this site all the time, but in case anyone would like to read the article, it is at mttoolsonline.com/2011/01/26. I am really ready to leave this ...

Jul 31, 2012

OK....this is what really pisses me off.....we are asked to "know" 75 pages of acct. specificis, 20+ pages of MTS specifics and the BOS, PLUS each individual acct. has their own way they want things, plus being "English Majors" for these reports and you are only paying us 4 cpl!!!? I used to LOVE this job field but am really starting to hate it. Been doing this for 15 years. I hope it all gets outsourced to India so the docs really have something to complain about, then I ...

Jul 30, 2013

Gotta vent while awaiting manager response. I do this report yesterday that required a cosigner, who I could not understand the name of. The resident goes on to say the name of the cosigner again at the end of the report, but I still could not understand it (ESL). I pend the report because of lack of knowing who the cosinger was and today I did one of those wonderful CPSE cirtical error emails because I did not put in the cosigner. It gets better, the QA puts in ...

Sep 12, 2013

Something else ~ since I have no work during my scheduled shift. I too got an email from my TSM (or whatever they are called now) asking if I could change my Wednesday to Sunday. Thought it was strange just out of the blue, but as I sit here with no work and barely enough to get my time in yesterday, I am starting to wonder something. Do y'all think that India requested more work during the week and that is why they are scrambling around asking for us to ...

Sep 19, 2013

No responses needed.. I just have to vent in the middle of this dictation where the dictator, a nurse, whispers the whole way through the dictation (not just this one but all of her dictations) and says "uh" at least 4 or 5 times per sentence in this very long dictation. I am ready to pull my hair out! Thanks for listening!!! ...

Sep 18, 2014

ARGH! Doing a LONG report and this doc must've gotten NO sleep last night b/c she is constantly trying to dictate THROUGH HER YAWNING....soooo frustrating. Also, I consistently get outstanding audits and after over 10 yrs with MModal, MedQuist, whoever they were before that (can't remember), I have yet to get employee of the month....WTH?! Soooo over this job and this company! P.S. I really like my current supervisor...even though the working conditions keep getting worse, I feel like ...

Apr 16, 2010

This is what this doc says: Certainly if there is any rhythms increase, worsen, blah, you know, whatever (chuckles), we will reevaluate at that time. It doesn't make any sense and I don't even know what to type. I'll probably get dinged on something by trying to make it make sense. He's making me crazy. ...

Oct 21, 2010

I actually like the job. The dictators are fine. I'm a month into the job and now in the comfort zone, past the breaking-in period. But this is my first time doing voice recognition, and the pay is too low. I really didn't have any experience in knowing an acceptable rate for VR. It is my fault for accepting the pay, because they told me what the pay was before I accepted the job. I'm not trying to blame my job at all. But I was just too eager to be getting a ...

Jul 27, 2011

I have been observing a lot of comments made on this board and have heard many comments from others about the MT profession across the Internet. Sadly, most comments ring loud and clear with the all too familiar vibe, such as: “Times are tough” and “You have to make adjustments” during these tough economic times. Yes I get that part of it. I also work at a MTSO and I know from firsthand experience that it can be tough -- especially when our pa ...

Jul 18, 2012

I just have to vent.....the thing that I cannot stand most about this job - even more than the pay, the lack of work, etc....is when the dictator CHEWS GUM when he/she is dictating. The sound of someone smacking their gum, whether in person or on the phone, makes me CRAZY. I am positive they do not do this in front of patients or other doctors...but since we aren't 'real people' to them...they just smack away. I can barely get through the report. OK. ...

May 17, 2013

I'm looking for things I can take to a pawn shop to hock today in an effort to pay my electric bill before shut off so I can keep working. I'm forced into bankruptcy and ask risk of losing my home due to the miniscule illegal wages we are paid for editing. The MTSO has not even responded to my last questions about account preferences, and notification of a technical error in the software, yet has the nerve to send me a snarky email bitching about my 100% accurate report for a mistake ...

May 22, 2013

Verify our pay when we have no idea what the breakdown of the production incentive is?? (Better me, Better we....HAH) At least with Webmedx everything was laid out, tier by tier.... I was able to set goals and achieve them, not now though. This is just stupid. ...

Sep 07, 2013

I just finished a day where half it was spent on an ESL dictators doing short progress notes using VR, so had to change almost EVERYTHING. No lines to speak of. Had to pend almost all of them because some of the ESLs just do not enunciate numbers and heaven forbid you make a mistake. EVERYTHING is the transcriptionist's fault. I worked in hospitals for around 20 years. In the hospital you could use your expander for speed and got&nbs ...

Nov 12, 2013

I am so sick of getting emails daily from TSM and QC regarding new updates, changes, complaints! Its not our fault that things with this new updated, state of the art fluency platform are not updated correctly, that should have been done by them before we started typing! Quit holding me back by having to read, read, read more changes, etc. I hate what transcription has become, I remember the days where I just sat and typed and never, ever heard from my supervisor back then. &nb ...

Feb 24, 2011

I swear, these so-called intelligent doctors have no common sense at all. Let's see how much noise we can have in the backgroun and talk as fast as we possibly can to see if the transcriptionist can get my dictaion right. This guy talks so fast I don't even know how he can get the words clearly out of his mouth, then he must have called someone on speaker phone because I can hear the phone ringing and ringing and ringing, and then his pager goes off which of course he pulls close ...

Dec 20, 2011

Venting session! I am a part-time work-at-home transcriptionist employed at a local hospital as "resource". When I started a couple months ago we had over 1500 jobs in the "cue" with mandatory overtime ... then along came EPIC. The regular employees are working in 2 hour shifts so everyone can get a few reports in ... having under 75 dictations has become the norm and there isn't enough work for them ... and I have had no work for 6 weeks. ...

Jul 29, 2012

I started with a company recently, (within the last 2 weeks), that was all straight typing (yea!), but verbatim and I do mean verbatim. Most of the reports had the headers built in, and I did them in the order dictated. However, there were certain things in the operative reports, where they wanted things put in a certain place. I got that part, after receiving emails from the QA team and put the headers, where I believed they wanted them to be. The headers that were ...

Jul 12, 2014

I am so sick of logging on in the morning and getting the same crap dictator day after day after day. With his mmmmmmmmmmmmah before every other word (like he's trying to think of what to say), saying "next paragraph, next paragraph, next paragraph" and he has no idea whatsoever of where a new paragraph should start, and saying "period, period, period" like I don't know where a period should go, is it any wonder I'm going nuts in this job? I won't even mentio ...

Jul 14, 2014

I just came across "Benzapril" listed as a medication that Speech Wreckignition picked up. Granted, that is how this doctor pronounced it, but it should be "benazepril." (Also notice that the original was capped while the correct is lower case.) Now, I've seen this a couple times, and from what I understand, the speech system can't just "make stuff up." Someone has had to have physically type that out in straight transcription (either when it was learning) or c ...

Apr 29, 2010

First put us on VR. Hey, good deal! I like VR. Then then cut our pay in half and make us use a new program. No big deal. It's supposed to be the best! I can live with it. I should still be making the same if not better. Uh-oh. Problems with the program. Support can't straiightens it out but, hey, I'll live with that! Just gotta learn to get around the quirks. Oh, wow! No work. Pay going downhill. Hey, new accounts coming on line. Yippee! Maybe I can finall ...

Nov 04, 2011

My back up account went to EMR, and those people are full time on my primary, and there is absolutely no work. They said they were working on placing us in different locations and trying to acquire more work, but it has not happened in 3 weeks. Aside from being worried how I am going to pay my bills, which I was even when I had work; I have to say that I am starting a feel human again. I used to sit in front of the computer waiting for work to trickle through, but now I h ...