Warning: Do not read if you are bitter, angry or a bad MT. Long post. sm - Fed Up MTSO

I think it's time to hear from "the other side", so I volunteered myself.  If you don't like it, too bad, but I will tell you the truth about how most MTSOs feel.  Through the years, I have gotten to be friends or at least friendly with many other MTSOs, some who have sold their companies and got out, some who sold their companies and came back and some who have never sold their companies.  I have been an MTSO for 24 years, and I was a transcriptionist and transcription supervisor for 3 different hospitals for 11 years prior to going out on my own.  Because of that, I have seen transcription evolve, change and change again several times, from typewriters with carbon paper to computers to VR.  I have seen the rates I charge my customers go from 22cpl (gross line) in the 80s and early 90s down to current rates of 11 and 12 cpl (65 character line).  I have a good-sized company (just over 100 MT's) and earn a comfortable living.  I am not one of the mega-giants and never will be, although I know a few of the people who either run or own a few of those companies, and they feel the same way that I do about most things.  The one that we do not agree on is offshore, but that is a personal belief, not a business decision. 

There are few things that we all agree on:  We need our transcriptionists and want them to be happy.  We want our employees to be able to make a decent living and to be able to pay their bills, support their families and go on a vacation or splurge occasionally.  We want them to be able to enjoy their jobs and be proud of what they do, regardless of the impression their friends and family have of their chosen careers. 

Our accounts are more educated than they were in the past, and they have a lot of pressure coming from above them, from their superiors, from their board of directors, from the government.  Their departments are under a microscope from every angle, including finance, compliance and insurance companies.  They have TAT deadlines, chart review and reimbursement issues.  Because of all of those things, they demand more from transcription, whether an in-house staff or an outsourced company. 

Transcriptionists often get the brunt of these changes and tightened requirements.  As MTSOs, our job is to make sure that our employees have enough work to stay busy during their shifts, keep contract requirements to the letter and do a daily juggling act. 

Here's where I am going to hit some resistance but it has to be said:  TRANSCRIPTIONISTS NEED TO ADAPT TO SURVIVE.  Spend less time whining and complaining and more time improving your skills, including time management.  Learn new technology and embrace it.  Complaining about VR is not going to make it go away.  Spending all your time and energy complaining shows in your job.  For every person that does nothing but b*%&#h and moan, there are 20 that do their jobs, improve their skills and enjoy what they do.  Guess what?  We know who's who and we know who we want to stay and who we want to go.  We are willing to go through 5 or 6 people to find the 1 employee that shines, the person who will stay for years and will do what they are supposed to, when they are supposed to, the person who will help when needed and who understands that there are ups and downs in volume.  We will make sure that those employees have the best accounts and have work when the volumes are down.  We will make sure that they have a decent line rate and the ability to hit their lines so that they have PTO and benefits.  You don't often see those employees on these boards because they either don't have time for the drama or they are tired of being accused of being cheerleaders or suits.  Yes, they are often treated different, treated better, than others, but it is because they have earned that right. 

I also believe that this is a time of weeding out for MTs, no matter which company, no matter whether in-house employees or service employees.  EMRs and front-end voice recognition have decreased the total volumes out there to be transcribed, but because the hospitals and clinics are now required to provide an electronic record on each patient and each visit, the volumes have increased to balance those other things out.  There will always be a need for transcription, and there will always be a need for MTs, whether in straight transcription or in editing.  But the best will have jobs and make a good living while others fade away.  WE WANT THAT TO HAPPEN.  We want happy employees who like their jobs and make a good living, but we want the 10% that is miserable to find a new line of work.

If you are a great transcriptionist who is looking for a good job that you can stay with and make a good living but are trapped in a bad situation, look elsewhere and keep looking until you find what works for you.  If you still love to transcribe, there are companies that want you and will make sure that you have a good position.  Just like we have to weed through MTs to find the good ones who are a good match, you have to weed through the companies that are not a good fit for you.  Don't believe everything you read on this board.  I am lucky that my company is not mentioned here often, but when it is, I cringe because I know that someone will turn ugly; sometimes I even wonder if that person ever worked for my company, as it seems that every company is bashed in similar ways by what appears to be the same few people.

The bottom line is that the sky is not falling, MTSOs are not sitting in golden palaces and transcription will be around for another 20 years.