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

I cant take it anymore. What can we do - about this situation

Posted: Aug 29, 2013

Reading these posts, watching women post about how to work the system to keep their piddly minimum wage/unemployment coming in while MM finds yet another way to screw us over. It makes me sick to think of what we have become. The experience we have, the expertise we are still expected to have, and yet we sit here discussing how to keep getting our minimum freakin wage. Do you not all see how WRONG THIS IS? All we do is complain, or let them beat us down until we quit.

How is it that a bunch of educated women like ourselves can let this happen? There absolutely must be some part of what they do that is illegal. I refuse to believe that forcing us to sit at a desk all day to get in x hours is in any way legal. Not to mention all the other atrocities they have inflicted on us in recent years.

Has anyone asked a lawyer to look into any of this? Maybe someone has a family friend/relative who is a lawyer they could contact? Does anyone else care enough to pursue it? Or has MM won already and we're destined to just complain here until we're all fired or quit?

I'm personally not content with that anymore. I'm sick to death of this garbage. If I quit, they win. Dont they win enough already?

I called my local labor board - working on it

[ In Reply To ..]
I posted the link below. Call your local rep too. It's all we can do for now. I think before too long, MM is going to realize that this policy is not going to work.

need the link - not showing in your post. - nm

[ In Reply To ..]
Nm

I meant an earlier post - but here ya go

[ In Reply To ..]
http://www.dol.gov/whd/

"Some part" of what they do is illegal? - How about MOST of what they do?

[ In Reply To ..]
Instead of paying their workers a fair wage, they're taking all that excess profit, and after buying themselves new cars, boats and vacation homes, they're spending the rest of the wad on FANCY CORPORATE LAWYERS so they can sidestep as many labor and minimum wage laws as possible.

What can we do? You cannot get blood out of a turnip - And 2014 is getting closer

[ In Reply To ..]
You can't expect them to give you work they do not have. Period. Not all medical facilities are on EMR yet, putting it off until the final hour I guess, but 2014 is right around the corner and we are going to see a very significant decrease in work across the board in the first to second quarter.

According to CEO, their transcription profits are way down; thus, the lay offs. They are in fierce price war with Nuance. Most small and mid sized MTSOs will not make it through the next year. Look how many acquisitions M*Modal has made in the last year alone. They are not done I am sure, but don't count on all of us having work. Even if you have 100 reports in your que, if they are all only 4-5 sentences long, what good is that? I believe the only things remaining for transcribing or VR will test certain tests and surgery reports.

I have been through this waiting game before with another MTSO who went under for the same reasons. No good is going to come of this. VR did not save them. What can we do? Simply stated, get out. Many, many facilities are hiring MTs directly again. They already got ripped off on their return on investment for the stupid systems, which they hate, why do they need to pay inflated prices just to have an outside service edit for them? Try to go back to work directly for the client.

I doubt the DOL is going to want to get involved with a business that is declining every single day. They are dropping like flies. M*Modal would have to let half of us go for there to be enough work for the other half. These recent practices they have put in place will not help them. How many people can afford to hang around with such little work and low pay? Many of us will likely be unemployed, on UE, or in another job. The new 1,500 line requirement is going to bite them. You can not require 1,500 lines of work if you do not have it for them to do. This is also the reason for the 99.6% accuracy rate. NOBODY does that, and I mean nobody. Yes, you may pass one or two audits with that score; but also, with that score requirement, if you audit enough reports by any given MT, you can actually find enough to make them fail. That does not make you a bad MT, it makes you human.

Remember, you are employed AT WILL. You can be let go AT WILL, and you can leave AT WILL. The golden handcuffs makes this hard but we better all start thinking about this a lot more seriously, and the sooner the better.

There is blood, but it is not out of a turnip, it is out of a pig. - dnr

[ In Reply To ..]
There is plenty of work still, but it is all being sent off shore!! Which is due to the cheap CEOs and doctors' groups choosing cheap over quality and integrity of patient care. The doctors should be ashamed to affix their signature to these reports --based on what I observed in patient medical records.

if what you say is true - done

[ In Reply To ..]
then why are they still hiring and hiring and hiring?

I don't understand why you say that - EMR

[ In Reply To ..]
the way I understand it, the reports I transcribe are already going into EMRs.

1500 line requirement? - musta missed something

[ In Reply To ..]
x

It is 150 lph x 8 hours = 1200 - nm

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

yep that's what I thought - whew they scared me lol

[ In Reply To ..]
x

Better check on that. E-mailed said 1500 on 09/01/2013, and 99.6 audits - Received about 1 month ago NM

[ In Reply To ..]
x

hrm. I don't see it. - n/m

[ In Reply To ..]
you have a reference for that?

150 lph and 99.5% quality per MModal Intranet - JustMe

[ In Reply To ..]
I just checked the email from Shaw received about a month ago and it references the MModal Intranet which states the new policy is 150 lines per hour and 99.5% quality. This is located under Departments, Human Resources, Policies, and then in bottom right-hand corner in the section titled HR Policies for Medical Transcriptions, click on Med Trans-Performance Management Policy.

take it anymore. What can we do - about this situation - Anonymous

[ In Reply To ..]
Too bad we cannot go on strike like the Fast Food Workers today, but it would probably backfire on us but hospitals would probably use newer software programs that do not require MT at all.

I asked my son, recent business grad - he said its illegal sm

[ In Reply To ..]
As for recourse, I have no lawyer friends and no money to fight this..I would think that if we all called the labor board, then something would have to happen.

Exactly what is illegal - need the language for research - dnr

[ In Reply To ..]
It can be difficult finding the right words to use during a case/law search. Any input from your son would help my search. I'm only a beginner when it comes to law (a field I am in school for - still early in schooling)

TIA!

Until I talk to him again,,I remember - him saying. sm

[ In Reply To ..]
it comes under human resources course he took..and the conversation was about them making us use our own leave when we are required to sign onto a shift and commit to a shift and they cannot provide us work..Im just going to call the labor board on my day off, but I really have nothing to complain about, I rarely run out of work.

If you quit you win.they win by you schlepping 4 them - IMANMT2

[ In Reply To ..]
It's over. It was a great ride but we didn't oil the machine and it broke down.

I find it funny that women complain when they aren't respected. Women (after eons and eons of conditioning and self-conditioning) don't demand or more appropriately, command respect as a group. I think deep down, subconciously, we actaully believe the crap they've fed us.

If this were a male dominanted profession (never have I wished more for more men) VR and India would never have happened ... because they wouldn't have been nearly as accommodating as we have and continue to be... to LET it happen. They have always needed you. It has been evidenced again and again, what they aren't willing to do is pay you for your services.

What? Oh you're going to phase us out? Well, let's just hang on with our not-so-manicured-nails-on-these-wages and stay for the last drop until we are completely given the boot, like a tiresome girlfriend you just can't get rid of no matter how badly you treat her. It's the midnight call.

It's a nasty ripple effect and it's starting to disturb my part of the pond. Well, I have a phrase I wish every one would repeat after me. You want me to edit VR, but VR is WONDERFUL, it's PERFECT... you surely don't need ME, you have your VR (or Indian). Have fun with it. I'll flip burgers at McDonald's first. Because, bottom line the gist is this.... they want you to work harder, some errors are okay?, twice (at least) as fast for less than half the money. OMG sounds GREAT! Where do I sign up?

What set up the demand for cutting transcription costs, the same monster that allowed us to work from home. Greedy MTSOs overcharging. But they couldn't have done it without us. It is partly our own fault, okay, maybe more than partly, more than half surely, because we were/are an integral part in this transition, they could NOT have done it without our cooperation and agreement.

To quote Eddie Murphy, "you brought that on yourself." We did, every bit of it.

What you can do - What I did

[ In Reply To ..]
What can you do? Get some training, get a new job, and get out.

Why, oh why, do you stay in that situation?

You are not prisoners. Recognize that and just leave.

Leave - mt

[ In Reply To ..]
It isnt easy for someone who needs a paycheck to "just leave".

This is how I did it - No, it is not "easy"

[ In Reply To ..]
I studied a new field while working for MM. I kept working for MM while looking for a job. When I found one, I started working in it while doing MM's work -- what little was available -- in the evening. When I was sure that everything would work out, I quit MM.

It isn't easy, but it is possible.

Similar Messages:

Jan 18, 2010

I have had 6 (SIX!) reports come through, all having the same mush-mouthed, fast talking, whispering, ESL doctor. Oh, and the sing-song thing is really about to make me blow my stack. I swear, he is so bad that I can't even understand the patient's name!!!! I am going to pull my hair out. Yep, I feel it coming. It takes me forever just to get through ONE of his reports. He gets so many blanks that I honestly feel sorry for the QA person that end ...

Apr 25, 2011

Working at .075 cpl for ScribeRight I made a whopping 12K in 2009. Wow - let's all run out and take MT classes to jump on that bandwagon. Anyway, I quit my MTSO pimp and went to work for a well-known Italian restaurant chain in 2010. I work in the kitchen 6 hours a day for 5 days a week (Mon-Fri lunch shift with no nighttime or weekend shifts) and make about 15% more than I did as an MT. I am not an IC anymore but rather an employee, so I saved a bunch on my social ...

Feb 27, 2012

My bubble has been burst. I was with eTransPlus when the Q swallowed them up and then I left. Now, I'm with another MTSO and it's awful. I've only been MTing for 5 years. I was an office nurse (LPN) for 13 years before that and I wanted a change. My first job was with a great company and then the huge acct I was on was bought out by an MTSO, so I had the choice of being laid off or going to IC status. I chose to be laid off thinking I could draw ...

Aug 01, 2013

I just cannot do this anymore with MMmodal. I cannot sit here for 14 hours a day for 800 lines. I am completely broke, have no food in the house, and am more depressed than I have ever been in my entire life. I'm in a constant state of panic, have been sending out applications and resumes, but am so far in the hole financially I will never get out. I just don't understand how a company can do this to people and live with what they are doing. I cannot even ...

Mar 03, 2014

The endless berating of my work and the poverty level wages that go with it are more than I can deal with anymore. I'd take a job doing most anything to get out of this drudgery. Unfortunately with years of doing this, it's hard to even get a job at a hamburger joint! ...

May 17, 2014

2 in 1 day: VR: scrotal tenderness s/b: throat tenderness (the patient was female!) VR: no tomatoes s/b: no organomegaly I have to laugh at this job or else I'll cry. Geez! ...

Jun 19, 2015

I sometimes watch the boards and see number of people discontent with Nuance and looking for something else . In the back of my mind is "maybe they leave and I will get more work." Feel bad having this attitude, but ... WHen this grid started out I was making significantly more than I had been. Now of course the OOW situation has put a stop to that. I also think QA has gotten a little more aggressive towards us. We are turning on each other like a pack of wolves. ...

Oct 21, 2009

How do you search anything on here anymore? If I want to check past posts on a particular company, etc.? Did they do away with that? If so I don't think that was a great idea. I like to be able to look up info here by doing searchs of old posts first to see if my questions were already answered. I don't want to waste someones time if they just answered the same question last week, etc. Can I still do a search and if so how? Thanks! ...

May 11, 2010

Lately I have talked to many friends who are all disillusioned with their careers. The state of the economy has made it worse, but I really think the problems existed before that happened. They come from all walks of life and all occupations. Everyone seems to want out of whatever they are doing. The ones I have spoken to include teachers, attorneys, nurses, doctors, police officers and of course MTs. Anyone out there know someone with a great and (as stable a ...

Sep 03, 2010

Just thinking out load, so please bear with me. I took the summer off to evaluate how I feel about restarting back to work into the MT field. I have many bitter-sweet feelings. Over 24 years ago I started in the MT industry and have done this working out of my home. I have raised my kids basically alone working a job that I absolutely thrived and loved doing. Now, it doesn't even pay us minimum wage for our Years of knowlege and skill sets we ha ...

Jun 17, 2011

Low pay, poor benefits, expected to work your fingers to the bone every day for pennies while the supervisors take several days off a month, inconsistent QA. Plus, the fact that I am a very shy, introverted person and need to be around other people at a job outside the house. I will never be able to support myself on an MT salary. I am getting out of this business. It's sucking the life out of me. ...

Nov 19, 2010

This doctor is absolutely disgusting. I have umpteen jobs for him and he is constantly coughing and snorting up his snot. I can't take it any more. It is so gross. He sounds like a snorting PIG. On top of that, he's constantly forcefully flipping through the pages of the chart and it must be right near the microphone because it feels like it's going to break my eardrums. All I can do is keep calling him nasty names...he's such an idiot, jer ...

May 31, 2011

I started in this profession back in the late 70s, learning "in house, on the job," my first job working from home, was when my kids were approximately 9 and 11 and obviously, not infants. My mother was dying at that time, and I answered a local ad in the paper to pick up tapes in 1997 and transcribe for 5 cents a line. Fast forward to the early 90s, we now have the "Lady Madonna Syndrome" -- meaning, I want to stay at home with my six or more children, home school and be SUPER mamma ...

Jan 06, 2012

I guess I just need to vent/rant for a minute. I have been an MT for over three years now. I seem to be one of the few who prefers VR over ST. I worked for Spheris before MQ gobbled them up, and I thought they were a great co. to work for. They paid 5 cpl for VR, which is pretty good if you can edit 300-400 lph. Then came the Q, and it was okay for a while, but then the Spheris accts. were offshored and there went the Cornerstone accts., and Cornerstone was a great ...

Feb 29, 2012

Having a really bad day. Waiting to hear back on a job interview. Thought I would have heard by now. Don't feel like I can take one more day here. Tried to log onto the "Ask You-Know-Who" thing. Gave me some excuse about why it didn't work. Anybody know how to e-mail him directly? I have nothing to lose at this point. Don't think I will reallly be losing anything in benefits. I may as well not have them now for all the good they do. Can't go to ...

Aug 12, 2013

to know........ I questioned my TSM about those figures at the end of your time cards, the QA percentage? Mine kept going up and down in HUGE margins week after week. From 1% clear up to 18%, then down to 11%, back up to 25% and on and on and on. So.....I confronted her about it. THIS is what she told me...."I am a stickler for figures and your previous TSM didn't keep a lot. This will change in the upcoming weeks as soon as I get a handle on them.& ...

May 17, 2014

I just cannot hack this job anymore. I am seriously considering just giving my notice effective immediately. I'm tired of these mush mouthed, rude, inconsiderate, etc ad nauseum. I'm tired of getting nitpicked over stupid crap like punctuation or hypens or semi colons. Do I have something to fall back on? No. Would I end up on the street? Most probably. But a weight would be off my shoulders and I would not have to dread clocking in. I would not have to dread looking a vandymu ...

Nov 21, 2014

It's just all I can do to sit here and type these boring reports. Been doing it for 33 years so please, no comments about how I should have investigated it before I got into it. I loved it when it was inhouse. Been home now since 1999 and I'm just so freaking bored. Stop every 5 minutes just to surf the internet or check my email. I cannot keep my mind on this mind-numbing job. I'm about to start a coding class, but I'm not terribly optimistic t ...

Jan 24, 2015

Does anyone still enjoy their job in MT? I only come here occasionally for word help but when I do I notice all of the negative jobs about pay, work, etc. I'm wondering... does anyone in MT still enjoy what they do? Let's start an enjoyable post maybe to inspire others to look for another position or maybe even remember why they liked their job to begin with. :) I know, I know.... I'm a glass half full kind of girl. :) I enjoy th ...

Feb 18, 2015

https://www.kalibrr.com/advice/2015/02/top-4-reasons-why-good-employees-quit/ I'm sure it falls on deaf ears... I absolutely got the message that they don't care! ...

Apr 09, 2015

If your quality metrics expectations weren't set so humanly-impossible-to-achieve high and you weren't so nit-picky about simple, insignificant errors then maybe we wouldn't have so many accounts on the "consecutive audit failure" list. And what else do you expect when you throw people into accounts they know nothing about and still expect them to perform at 100%, 100% of the time, while still making lph and keep within the limits of your stupid inactive time and all for pen ...

Apr 28, 2015

Are there any companies who hire ICs or employees that pay 9 c/line straight typing, or 6 c/line for editing? Or should I just give up? ...

Nov 10, 2009

z ...

Mar 20, 2010

I've been sitting here reading all the garbage about MQ and their "yET ONE MORE" great idea HA. I can't believe it....well, yes, I can. They have come up with yet one more terrible idea (that won't last) and a way to "cheat" the transcriptionist/editor out of more money!!!!!! "Right the first time" and docking 3 cpl if you send too many reports to QA....GOOD GRIEF! I feel another class action suit about to be filed. LOL LOL Anyway, I ...

Mar 23, 2010

I'm wondering if I should just stop contributing at all. I remember they used to, low as it was, at least it was something--like IF they made money, MAYBE they would and then a very low percentage, like 25 cents to the dollar? Prob a mute point even asking.....but just wondering if they nixed that. My sister is complaining because her company used to do a 100% match and now she only gets 75%. Boo hoo! At least she has a match.....I'm sure ours is now so ...

Mar 27, 2010

I have had it..The past 2 paychecks I made approximately $200.00 less..constantly getting work I have never done before from hospitals I have never done because there is no work in my hospitals, constantly having to run searches in DoQManage for reports because I have never done those hospitals before..then we are told there is a certain amount of lines/hour we have to do..there is NOT enough time in an hour to do all this plus transcribe. MQ..JUST LEAVE US ALONE AND LET US TRANSCRIBE..Let ...

May 11, 2010

I've been away from the msg boards awhile. Is there any company out there big or small, that still does transcription the "Old fashioned way", typing instead of VR? I've tried the VR, Hate it, make no money. Surely there is a company out there somewhere that still values us and pays decently?? anyone? ...

Dec 03, 2010

What has happened within the past few years? Is the overhead so 'over head' that we can't even scrape up 10 cpl much less the 12-15 cpl? ...

Jan 22, 2012

I am so frustrated making pennies on reports. I worked 30+ hours and got $176. Who can live on that?? I want to be home with my kids but I am wondering if this is worth it anymore. Cat ...

Jul 06, 2012

I'm kind of getting tired of the same people making the same mistakes over and over again even after I leave feedback. I make sure to copy and paste the rules out of the client profile, DQS Standards, and BOS2, so that they know I'm not blowing smoke or on a power trip. I don't mess with commas or the like. What I fix is stuff that will fail an audit. Really, I'm not trying to be mean or nitpick; I just want the US MTs to look good by passing their aud ...