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fired for input of single wrong digit. - cmc

Posted: Oct 11, 2012

The system I worked on required me to input the identity of the dictating physician as a number, not a name. I missed a digit, inputting a 6 instead of a 9 as one of the 3 digits. This caused the report [an operative report, in the body of which the dictator/surgeon's name is spelled out] to be sent to the wrong physician for signature. I am told I am now in violation of HIPAA and I am fired from the account. Since it is my only account, I am fired, period. Ah well.

Weird, I was "fired" today too..... - anon

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and I was "fired" for errors I made my very first day on the account, and was still on full QA. Now that really makes me feel badly. Where should we go to have a drink together?? It has been a horrendous day! I feel your pain at the unfairness of it all!

For anon - - sbmt

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Wow - they must have hired too many people and just needed to let someone go because that doesn't make any sense at all. I know you will both find better places to work!

I tend to agree with this.... - anon

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The account I was hired for was a brand new account for them with upwards of 70 doctors. They started hiring massive amounts of MTs, myself included, without even testing, only based on "experience," which I thought was odd, but needed a job desperately at the moment and so did not question it. They told me that they were not sure of how the workload was going to go and did not know what to expect. Neither did I. The work began coming through the system very slowly for a few days, and I was on full QA. QA appeared to be doing their job, what with feedback on any "errors" etc. which was minimal. Within 3 days, I was off of full QA and allowed to send dictations directly to the client. No feedback, negative or otherwise, from the client. More work began coming through and I was content, being able to work all day and get a half way decent line count. I also learned during this time that QA was "punitive", where they actually "penalize" you by taking lines away from you if you send anything to QA at all. I was told by QA that anything I sent to them, if they opened the files at all for any reason, I would lose 1 cpl for doing that. I was not happy with that, but since I was getting no negative feedback at all from anyone, I felt reasonably comfortable that I was doing okay. Then a week and a half into the job, blam! I found myself terminated unceremoniously and the reasons they gave were documented as "errors" made on my very first day on the account, which, in my mind, if they were truly errors, QA should have caught and not sent to the client without being "fixed." and I should have been told of these "errors" so they would be corrected in the future. So, I tend to agree that perhaps they overhired on the account and were just getting rid of people to increase the workload for those left, and to minimize what they needed to pay out. Needless to say, I too am devastated, and now once again jobless entirely and looking once more for something to pay my bills with. I am not married and do not need "supplemental" income. I need full time work to support myself. I thought I had found it. What a waste of the last 12 days! The person who hired me....the "director" did not even have the courage to do the "firing." She had the QA person do it instead. I feel badly enough about the whole situation, so I really do not need any negative comments saying that I must have been a bad MT or anything. A little compassion would be nice. Thank you all for "listening."

Fewer MTs does not mean they have to pay out less. They pay X per line. - Doesnt matter if 1 MT or 10 MTs sm

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are doing those lines, it is still going to cost the company XX amount for those lines. They dont care if 1 MT makes the money or it is split between 10 MTs, doesnt affect what the MTSO has to pay out.

Makes a BIG difference if they're paying for benefits, though. - Just saying. NM

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Had you read all the posts, you would know OP was IC, - thus, no benefits. Just saying, too. nm

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Uhhh, I've read all the above posts, and... - (SM-Martha)

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....no, I don't see anything that states the OP was an IC. The OP said this was their only account, but MTs working as employees for an MTSO often refer to their different facilities they're assigned to as their "accounts." Is that what you're talking about?

What are you--the scolding captain? It could very well be that the OP was indeed an IC, but why scold people who are just trying to contribute to the conversation? Maybe you could let the OP comment if someone else has misunderstood their situation.

unceremonially dumped - cmc

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Augh. Yes, I do know your situation and sympathize. I too am my own "breadwinner" and have been abused financially. I was docked the entirety of the report, plus loss of the account [and my job]. Also they claim that attachments were missing from my last invoice so I will be waiting an extra 2 weeks for that check, leaving me 4 weeks with no money whatsoever FOR THE SECOND TIME IN AS MANY MONTHS. [Last month the check was "lost in the mail."] At this rate I am now less than a half step from homelessness. This company has pushed me to the edge and now they are giving the final shove.

Its time to get a job outside of MT - CTMT

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MT jobs have become "supplemental" or "a little extra money" type jobs. You cannot support yourself or a family with them anymore. They do not care who you are, what your circumstances are, they just let you go with no notice. Its way too volatile to live this way. I am lucky that my husband is the breadwinner and we can live on his money. I am making about $800 a month, pitiful I know, because there are barely any lines, when there are lines, other MT's gobble them up, can't blame them, we are all starving for work. Once I get a car, I am getting out of MT, I don't see it coming back, and no new should bother learning MT unless they know it will just be a "little extra money here and there" not a career.

That's all I was making a month when I was "kindly" let go. - backwards typist

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due to no work on ALL shifts. I was very disappointed because I thought I'd be there forever and really liked the company at the time.

also fired - anon2

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I was also "fired" for errors I made my first day on an account while on full QA. I still can't figure out how that worked. I was devastated. It got worse after that and then started to get better, but my heart is not in it like it was before. I have such a hard time forcing myself to sign in every day and the 0.35 cents a line is not helping any. I have a job interview on Tues, but am torn.

I'm sorry, guys. The current glut of applicants allows bad - people (who are always with us) to indulge.

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in whatever meanness and/or stupidity is dominant at the moment. Of course, they almost always have a cover excuse to justify their actions to themselves, as well as others.

When they're employees themselves, you might see if you can offer a little "feedback." Hiring costs money, firing viable employees loses money, substantial amounts. If you feel like it, report the incident to their bosses, very professionally and in specific detail, as a little goodbye present to the company. :)

Fired - sbmt

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Seriously? I'm thinking that is bound to happen to almost everyone at some point. I know it would be just a matter of time for me! I'm sure you will find something else. Good luck.

fired - MT

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What company is this?

Crazy - MT

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How is that doctors can make (human) errors on patient names and referrals/ccs themselves, medication errors. etc., yet MTs getting paid literally PENNIES are penalized so harshly. It is unbelievable what this career has deteriorated into.

And this was you only error with this MTSO? Had to believe good - MT would be fired over 1 error. nm

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x

Something Doesn't Fit - One Error?

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I know that MM cares more about the ADT and that privacy issue than they do about patient's accurate medical information in the document, but I still don't think 1 privacy boo-boo (it's not like you were snooping where you didn't belong) would get you fired.

If that was seriously the only thing, then I would fight that.

yes, ONE error - cmc

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I am not going to say that I have never submitted a report with a "small word" omission or a misplaced punctuation mark. I have had feedback on 2 or 3 occasions on such in the nearly 2 years I am with this company. I have also caught countless physician dictation errors - is there a balance there? That there may have been at any point in time a couple of minor errors does not make me a "sloppy MT." It proves me human. As for fighting it - not really sure how to do that. I was on board as an INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR, though I was working prescribed hours, etc.

No, there is no balance between making errors and - catching dictator errors. When you SM

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sign the contract, you are agreeing to correct dictator errors and making no errors yourself, even though no MTSO expects 100% error free. So, no. Correcting 3 dictator mistakes does not cancel out your 1 mistake.

Well, not really. Post says couple of minor errors at any point. - So there was no just one error. nm

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yup, true enough - cmc

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So, I guess I'm done for. At my age, it's nearly impossible to get any other job. No one is interested in hiring an old lady. This is the only job I know of with zero tolerance, kind of interesting.

Of course, zero tolerance! This is people's lives involved here. - I would hope zero intolerance for errors. SM

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And no I am not perfect but I strive to be so as an MT. But I dont think should be posting fired after one error, when that is not the case. If it were truly ONE error, you would still be there.

Oops, should be zero tolerance for errors. Good thing I - am not working. nm

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Zero tolerance - life not endangered by a copy

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I think the MT above was just stating that she had had minor errors in her reports before (as any MT has had). There are no perfect MTs just as there are no perfect humans. I also think the "zero tolerance" mentality for this is a little extreme. People's lives are involved in our job, but sending a copy to the wrong physician is not going to put anyone's life in danger. At my company we are allowed 3 HIPAA violations before being terminated. You have a warning and then training twice before you would be fired. I think that policy is reasonable. Zero tolerance would be great if we were all perfect, but that just isn't the case. To look at it in a different perspective, if a nurse gives a patient the wrong medication or does not give the medication, they are given a medication error, but they are not automatically fired. If a patient lost their life or suffered a very bad outcome, they might be fired, but there isn't zero tolerance for errors. A nurse's job has a much greater effect on patient safety than an MT's job does. My young son with type 1 diabetes went to school and there was a substitute nurse who did not give him his insulin at all for lunch that day and nothing happened to her (and that was her second dosing error for giving his insulin). Why hold MTs to such high standards that other professionals involved in direct patient care aren't expected to maintain?

So others make mistakes makes it ok for MT (or anyone else - for that matter) to make mistake? No. SM

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Two wrongs dont make a right. That nurse that makes a mistake, should be let go. Just because she isnt doesnt mean MTSo should overlook mistakes, especially if it isnt the first and only mistake.

To err - is human

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EVERYONE makes mistakes. The mistake made by this MT wasn't enough to justify her being fired.

But this mistake, plus any others she may have made, might be. - OP said there were other errors. nm

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One or more errors? The OP... - (see message)

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....did say he or she was fired for this ONE particular error. So, they are correct in saying they were fired for one error. Lay off the heavy handedness over that being an inaccuracy, just because a few small errors may have been made over a period of time.

In my opinion, this is an MTSO's way of being able to let MTs go when they've over-hired, without having to support an unemployment claim since the person was let go "with cause." I know of no other business in the United States that operates the way MTSOs do....it's despicable.

You need to read the whole thread before posting. - OP was IC so SM

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there would be no unemployement. If this was the only error she probably wouldnt have been sacked but she says she made other errors, we all do. My guess this was just the straw that broke the camel's back. And I betcha her count of her errors would not be the same as the MTSO count of errors. And MTSOs, just by the fact of being an MTSO, is not always wrong.

Wow, you're pretty touchy! - (SM-Martha)

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I did read the whole thread before posting (not that I've ever seen that there's a law that you must do that, BTW, so I'm not really sure one NEEDS to); but I had read it all earlier, and, frankly, I could have forgotten if one of these many posts mentioned that the OP was an IC. If you're not the OP, why would you care enough to take someone else to task about this, anyway?

If you work for an MTSO, and you love the way you're treated and the work you do, that's great--I'm happy for you. But we all have the right to post about our own experiences with MTSOs, and, in case you haven't noticed, there are a lot of negatives that go on at quite a few of them.

When you get hired, do you tell them you are human and thus - you will err? nm

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Try telling that to HR after you have been sacked. Do ya think they - will then rehire you? nm

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Just because a nurse makes a mistake, it does not - wannie

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mean she should be let go (if no patient harm was done). Reprimanded, yes. I worked as a nurse in a nursing home before moving to MT. Mistakes are made by EVERY single one of us. We ALL make mistakes every day.

Of course. But it is mistakes that get us fired and MTSO - choise as how many mistakes are too many. nm

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Doctors really care about HIPAA with their "copy to Dr. Jones in Chicago" - Morgan

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This happens often (sm) - Annie

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Most MTSOs are run by CWEs (cowards with no ethics). They cringe at the thought of advising a doctor of his or her non-stop HIPAA violations and total disregard for accuracy of the patient's medical record, yet they misappropriate their hostility to the MTs who are the last to deserve such treatment. They can't admit their errors (overhiring) putting many MTs at considerable expense to meet the service's technical, software, Internet connection and other equipment needs, then not provide the work. Rather than admit their errs, they create these violations to get rid of MTs. I was fired for leaving two spaces between sentences when we were never told not to. This was after providing over a year of excellent service.

It is unfortunate that these MTSOs will meet their own demise by not having the savvy to manage and maintain morale,not having a clue how that enhances production and accuracy.

Again, having a problem beleiveing MTSO would fire good - MT over one error. SM

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As found with OP, if you look closer there is always more to the story than one error. And MTSO uses IC, they dont need a reason to sack someone. They can just lock them out, without even an explanation.

as it turns out - cmc

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I find I am not sacked after all; I apparently "misunderstood" the fact that I was locked out of my ONLY account. Anyway, I am now back in. And as a further bit of information, I am a "good MT," and have been doing this for well over 20 years. And yes, they would have no qualms whatsoever about getting rid of me, no matter that you have a hard time believing that a "good MT" would not be so cavalierly dismissed.

Good for you. Not surprised, any MTSO would rather keep a good - MT than sack for one error. nm

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so (finding this hard to believe) - longtimeMT

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First you complain that you were fired for one error, swear you're a great MT, blah blah blah. The people who found it hard to believe you'd been fired for one error, were right as it turns out.

Then, you say, no you aren't fired but they would fire you at the drop of a hat. Why stay there? If you'd already "left" in your mind, why not just stay left? Why not find a job with a company that wouldn't fire you over one error (even though your company DIDN'T fire you over one error).

Nah, sounds like someone needed some attention today.

wow, are you always so kind? - cmc

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or is this some kind of a special day for you?

well, all this 'uproar' and then oops, NEVERMND. - shakin head. (nm) MTme

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`

Hi, Annie - were you an IC or.... - (SM)

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...an employee? Either way, it doesn't matter. What happened to you--being fired for putting 2 spaces between sentences--is ridiculous, particularly if you were never told NOT to. So many of us MTs have used the 2 spaces between sentences for decades, and that's a very hard habit to break. In no way do I see it as a way to pad lines, if that's what the MTSO thinks. I've heard that younger folks learned to just use one space, and that that's either preferred by some or at least considered acceptable. Even though it's acceptable now, though, I still think it makes documents much easier to read with 2 spaces between sentences. I'm all for progress, but that's an example of being penny wise but pound foolish.

I've always produced impeccable documents (for my job--maybe not on a message board, LOL!), and I would be shocked if I was fired for 2 spaces between sentences, considering what great work I do otherwise. I'm sorry this happened to you.

A little more info... - Annie

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I was an IC for a small service who landed one of the Cancer Treatment Centers of America facilities. I was warned before I started doing this account that the client had never been happy with any transcriptionist on this schedule. There was a HIM manager and client transcription supervisor who were total bears to work for. The client wanted us to stick to the BOS, but they 3 single-spaced pages of exceptions to the BOS. They would make some up as they went along at which time you would get a nasty QA with big red checks all over it with tons of exclamation marks with a false statement like "YOU HAVE BEEN TOLD REPEATEDLY NOT TO DO IT THIS WAY", which was not true, as I noted every new rule they made and stuck to it! I shared these communications with the service and they completely sided with me on every incident. This was when MTSO started using editors. I was being paid .07 cents per line for editing as a standard rate had not been established, and this rate was fair considering all the editing required. I have a feeling they saw what other services were paying editors and decided to can me for that reason, claiming it was because I left two spaces between sentences. Afterall it was kind of crazy to permit the two spaces for over a year and suddenly object to it.

If anyone is hired for the Cancer Treatment Centers of America and the facility starts with a "T" - beware!

They didnt have to fire you because of that. They could have just said - we are lowering rate for editors, take it or leave

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Two possibilities: Legal phobia or it was more enjoyable for them to blame. - Annie

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Doncha think this is stretching a bit? - nm

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MModal's HIPAA training - downtime

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We have annual training and they make it clear that it will be the end of the world as you know it if you accidentally send a report to the wrong doctor. I don't know if that's true, but that's what they imply.

Damned if you do... - Morgan

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In my situation the doctors are completely clueless that their MTs are all over the nation. They are constantly dictating "cc to Dr. Smith" which is a guessing game. We are not allowed to communicate with the doctors to get a first name. MTSOs are afraid to address this HIPAA violation with the doctors responsible so it call falls on the MT who is blamed for not being psychic.

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