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

Trying to start IC - Gramercy20

Posted: Mar 15, 2012

Hi All, Some IC questions for all you ICers out there.... 1) I know cpl is a 65-character line by most standards, but how do you calculate headers and patient info such as DOB, PatientID#'s etc.? 2) Also, how do you write a contract up for places who want to hire you as an IC? 3) What are some of the most important things to include in your IC contract in your opinion? 4) Software...do you need "platforms" such as everyone talks about on these forums that they use for the MTSO's. I am not familiar with platforms per se. I use Express Scribe and am thinking about buying ByteScribe. 5) Any recommendations for billing software? I tried the one from NCH and did not like it at all! 6) I have not edited before but are there any recommendations for software and such for editing VR that I could benefit from. I saw some comments about programs that are out there that help with highlighting and not taking your fingers off the keyboard. I am not familiar with these. Any suggestions? Any other helpful info you can share to help me fine tune my IC requirements would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much for any suggestions anyone can give. Everyone here seems pretty helpful with suggestions.

Here are my thoughts on your questions - sm - Zorro

[ In Reply To ..]

1) I know cpl is a 65-character line by most standards, but how do you calculate headers and patient info such as DOB, PatientID#'s etc.?

You don't, there are few and far between MTSO's or hospitals that count that info in your line count. A lot of places figure the lines for you, mine does, and does include the patient info (about 1 line), and as I type the headers, etc. that is all included as well. But many use pre-set templates and none of that is included. But if you are needing to figure out your own lines, etc. for invoicing, use a line counting program such as Abacus which you can set what is counted.

2) Also, how do you write a contract up for places who want to hire you as an IC?

Most times they send you a contract, presuming you mean working for a MTSO and not your own client (doctor). If it is your own account/doctor then look on line for some sites for guidelines, put in what you want, your line rate, penalties for late payment, % off for early payment, turnaround time, stat rates, delivery rate (if you hand deliver), etc.

3) What are some of the most important things to include in your IC contract in your opinion?

See #3.

4) Software...do you need "platforms" such as everyone talks about on these forums that they use for the MTSO's. I am not familiar with platforms per se. I use Express Scribe and am thinking about buying ByteScribe.

A platform is just the system the MTSO or hospital uses such as Medremote or Chartscript, or whatever. You log into it via the internet usually thru Internet Exployer. If you just type from voice files then ExpressScribe will work just fine, why spend the money on Bytescribe or Gearplayer. I have used both in the past, wish I'd known about ExpressScribe then, but Gearplayer messed up my computer, Bytescribe was fine but once you use up your "3" installs you have to buy it again basically (a new license to install it), so as I have been thru 5 computers so far that is not too great. (have 2 desktops and 1 laptop, with a retired/dead laptop and desktop). That is when I went to ExpressScribe. I keep them all up to speed so if one blows I can switch to another seamlessly. So stick with the ExpressScribe unless you need something for something special the ExpressScribe does not support, but it supports a lot of different file types.

5) Any recommendations for billing software? I tried the one from NCH and did not like it at all!

I used Abacus SE when I had my own account. It counts and invoices. It is not expensive ($30) and has many different settings you can tweak. Has a free version as well.

6) I have not edited before but are there any recommendations for software and such for editing VR that I could benefit from. I saw some comments about programs that are out there that help with highlighting and not taking your fingers off the keyboard. I am not familiar with these. Any suggestions?

No idea. I don't do VR as yet so not in that boat currently. I do proofing/QA of others sometimes and that is bad enough, takes forever, cannot imagine doing VR and really hope I never have to.

Hope this helps you some.

The link above is for Abacus SE. -- nm - Zorro

[ In Reply To ..]
x

Thank you! - gramercy

[ In Reply To ..]
Thank you so much for your recommendation. I am in negotiations for an IC job and needed a way to calculate and invoice them. There are so many programs out there with so many options and some can be quite pricey. Wanted to see what others thought.
I thank you for your time, link and response. Best wishes to you!

Hope it works out for you - Aly

[ In Reply To ..]
I have been working for a national and would much rather have my own accounts as well. I have thought about taking that route but want to gain a little more experience first. Another tip is to call local doctors and find out how much they are paying their transcriptionists to get a good idea of what to charge. Good luck!

working hard - gramercy

[ In Reply To ..]
I am trying very hard to convince them with the pros and cons of what an IC can offer and what MTSO's and VR offer. We shall see how well it works. This industry seems like it is going to explode within, between MTSO's outsourcing and VR, and the way transcriptionists feel they are being treated and paid for what they are doing. It is daunting but I am giving it a shot on my own. I wish you luck too if you venture out that way. Thanks.

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