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

Can someone give me an idea of how my pay will be affected going from straight transcripton to VR - MT111

Posted: Mar 12, 2013

I just got hired onto an account that is both VR and straight transcription. I've never done VR before and I'm a bit concerned about how it's going to affect my pay. Can anyone give me their experience on this? Looking at 0.04 cpl is daunting, because I type REALLY fast and I feel like I could almost straight type it for 0.08 cpl in the time it will take me to edit it. For those of you who have experience with it, how did you feel as far as the income you were able to make going from transcribing to VR?

You Lose - Anon

[ In Reply To ..]
It really depends. VR helps the average MTs, those who were never big producers with straight typing. For those who know how to churn out big numbers, VR is a hindrance.

In the mid '90s, I was making $45,000 a year. Last year I made $21,000.

Your suspicion is correct. VR is half the pay and twice the work. It's not for the benefit of the MT but for the company. They use the technology to justify paying ridiculously low wages, yet they're still charging the hospitals the same amount.

Basically, it's capitalism in one of its ugliest forms.

Yes, you lose. - mollymt

[ In Reply To ..]
Same here. Super fast typist. No way could I double what I could straight type (350+ lph - very familiar account/dictators, lots of macros). My income was cut in half. I found a straight typing job. If I ever have to go back to VR at half the rate, I will find something else (after 25+ years). It's a ripoff.

The problem with VR - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Is that they okay speakers on VR where the drafts that come up do not reflect what was said. I have one dr I have been doing for almost 3 years and not once has the VR gotten the medication list right, not even close. And VR does not get #s right, names, dates, on and on.

ps - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Also, you have NPs and whatnot signing in habitually under their physician's VR speaker code, so the draft comes up as a mess and god forbid the company would tell the client it is not meant to work that way.

Also - Anon

[ In Reply To ..]
Nuance also dropped the policy Transcend had in place stating that the VR had to capture at least 50% of the chart for it to be accepted as an edit mode as opposed to blank, straight typing.

A doctor I've typed for at least five years is so bad not one of his charts has ever been accepted by the VR. The first day my account switched over to the new platform, I saw him listed in my que to be edited. I KNOW he didn't all of a sudden start speaking clearly. I won't be surprised if Nuance tries to pull that crap with other doctors, just another way to pay MTs less.

You need to change the author for this - at least in Enterprise

[ In Reply To ..]
I always change the author and alert QA with "author discrepancy" or whatever it is when they state they are "dictating for" and the actual dictator is not in the system, because even if they are not going to credit you for the fact that the speech machine thinks it is one dictator and based on that spits out a mess you have to clean up so basically you might as well type it from scratch, if you put Unknown Author Nonattending in for the author, another box comes up in the middle for the attending, so at least it won't look too pretty on the other end and they are not getting away with it completely. Maybe they will add the actual author/dictator eventually! It is really a disgusting abuse of our time and is ripping us off $, paying us half what the dictation is worth, and don't you wish you had the time and firepower to fight that?

First they had us report this - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
When unauthorized speakers were habitually signing in under someone's VR speaker number (and I don't mean in error). Nothing has been done about it. It is clear Nuance does not give a flying fig about this problem. It comes out of our pay, that the VR is not being used properly.

Of course they don't, - as long as they get paid

[ In Reply To ..]
I tried to get help from IT and of course they said it was not their problem, then I tried to get someone from QA or my STM to give a hoot, and apparently they can do nothing. So I just persist in trying to make sure I do not allow them to get away with the old "dictating for" thing when ISR is claimed - which should, by the way, be something they instruct the client on specifically and the reasons why it doesn't make sense - to never allow 2 dictators on the same author sign-in. But it's no difference for the client, no difference for Nuance $, and who cares about the poor old MT who gets paid half of what they are supposed to for work that is claimed to be ISR when it is actually nothing of the sort.

They wont instruct the client on anything - related to

[ In Reply To ..]
SR because the client probably doesn't know their reports are done on SR. Most physicians in my area are appalled when I tell them their reports are being done by sound recognition.

It's literally going to cut your pay almost in half - SM

[ In Reply To ..]
Same as you, I type fast. I can type 300 and sometimes more lines an hour. I can only edit (on a good day) 400 lines per hour, depending on the draft. I made 58,000 (before VR and the incorrect assumption that one can edit twice as fast as one can type) and that went down to 30,000 last year. When I made 58, I wasn't even working 40 hours a week, but I worked over 40 hours some weeks to make 30 on VR.

This is true. Only slow typists who do not use - an expander do not get hurt badly. sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Despite the official reasoning, for almost everyone this is a massive pay cut. Especially for a company like Nuance that sets the bar so high you can't speed up the dictation for fear of missing an article or inserting one that wasn't actually breathed into the microphone.

Exactly! - soundsright

[ In Reply To ..]
The QA at Nuisance is miserable. There is no way to win at this. No matter what you do --- verbatim, or not, whatever road you choose to go -- it's the wrong one, and you will get a FIESA MAJOR ERROR alert. I hate those so bad, they almost make me feel like it's an air raid and I need to hide under my desk for safety.

Geez, they need to ease up. Let us do the job we always did, fix the freaky stuff, add or subtract those prepositions, correct the tenses, and make these reports look right. The way it is now if I have even the slightest doubt ... I give a blank, and that's just unnecessary work for all of us! Do you think the dictator cares one flying flip whether that sentence begins with "The" or not? So why do they have us all sweating bullets over all that craziness?

A few words come to mind:

Micromanaging, ego and power tripping, bonus busting, hair splitting & icrodissecting. It's just stupid, and the reason why very soon I'm outta here. I've had enough!

You left out the part about...overnight - wheres_my_job

[ In Reply To ..]
When I switched to VR, my pay literally dropped by half as soon as I started...and never recovered. Oh, I pounded that keyboard, I pushed, and I struggled, and I huffed and I puffed and I could not blow down the brick house that was VR!

So this little piggy went to the (job) market to find something else. Just found out today, local school district is hiring for the summer and the next school year...I MAY get my foot in the door to a job with benefits, working with kids, and especially ESL students...so things are looking up...just made the move into education with low-paying jobs...and I also need certification, further education myself...but at least at the end of the day, you will make a living wage...

Similar Messages:

Sep 02, 2014

too many different sign ins and passwords, completely forgot how to get in ...

May 07, 2015

....worked into reasonable enough shape, ship it to us to keep the clients happy and maybe make money for a change. Just the opposite of what is occurring now where we are the ones doing all the heavy lifting, all the time losing jobs when those clients' work types are shipped to India. How about it, Nuance? ...

Dec 07, 2011

I have been considering going to Andrews to become an MT for and I have never done it because I get on these boards and get scared to death! I have worked in the Medical field for 13 years (as a clinical tech and surgery....included in that is some limited transcription and scribing). I now stay home with my kids. I have one in school and the other in pre-school. I would love to be an MT because I love the medical field and I would love something I can do from home. I do not expect to get rich. ...

Oct 10, 2011

Any MTs working for Haynes Transcription? I was thinking about applying for a job. I could not find much on them. Says you have to own C-phone, VoiceWave. I have USB foot pedal and use Internet. I do know it is IC. Any information would be helpful. ...

Nov 19, 2012

What would be the line rate for an independent contractor with 8 years' experience. ...

Apr 30, 2011

Is anyone on this board a member of this medical transcription organization? If so, has it been beneficial to you? I am asking because I am considering joining because I like what they say on their website. So, I am just wondering if it is worth the money to join. Any and all responses appreciated. Thank you in advance. ...

Feb 19, 2010

Can any one shed light on whether Spheris MT and Editors are let go because of their fire sale to MedQuist? Are they losing any accounts? Which ones? Help please. ...

Oct 27, 2010

Lying on the affected or (effected) side. Is there a simple little rule about this I need to know? Thanks ...

Sep 18, 2014

D: the chin itself will very likely not be dramatically affected by the face lift. Maybe decaf coffee isn't a good idea after all. Should this be affected or effected?? ...

Sep 19, 2011

I've spent most of my day reading MQ policies, etc., and finding a lot of it hard to take in. Seems like MTs are being punished. I am anticipating feeling extreme stress with every report I transcribe. I'm trying to have a positive attitude but it is hard. Anything good to hear right now would be welcoming...... This is my second round with MQ and I'm surprised just how many changes and not so sure they are good changes. Anything good to hea ...

Dec 17, 2014

What was your line count before, and now with the POD? Is it all VR? How much ST? Another question. What tier are you? Are all 3 tiers on the PODS? If so, how does that work? ...

Aug 26, 2011

From an article in Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/24/-hotel-labor-living-wage-outsourcing-indianapolis_n_934667.html?ir=Politics This is an article about the outsourcing of hotel maids and staff. It is a bit different than our industry, but some similarities are striking: "In some cases, the housekeepers are expected to clean roughly twice as many rooms as they were just a few years ago, often working off the clock to meet their quota and avoid being disciplined. As t ...

Oct 29, 2012

I work out of CT so I bet it will be slow this week. ...

Nov 19, 2014

If you work on Veterans Administration (VA) accounts, you MUST be classified as an employee and earn the appropriate wage determination rate (in the neighborhood of $14 to $20-plus an hour depending on county). In addition, you must have a separate hourly rate of pay that is applied towards a benefits package. If you are doing this kind of work and are not properly classified or you are not being paid what you're supposed to be paid, REPORT YOUR MTSO TO THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. ...

Apr 08, 2010

I would like to suggest that every unhappy MT at MQ jam the phone line(s) of Employee Assistance and share how the stress from working at MQ is affecting your health, your work, and your personal lives. If this is supposed to be a benefit for all employees, then make it work for you by calling, one by one, day by day, hour by hour, and then, quite possibly, you will see another benefit taken away from MTs (such as no-strings-attached QA) but at least you can get satisfa ...

Aug 28, 2010

I'm having trouble with line 5 of this PMH: 2. Fibromyalgia. 3. Hypertension. 4. Enlarged liver. 5. s/l lepulley 2001. 6. Left CTR 2002. 7. BTL 1992. It could be left something, but I can't think of anything, even shorthand, that would fit there. ...

Dec 01, 2010

I have absolutely no clue what this is supposed to be...please help!! "Check pre-biologic labs. The patient already has an s/l (eject sex re). Obtain a copy." I'm not sure if it's a type of x-ray or lab test...the patient has psoriatic arthritis, OA, and fibromyalgia, and is getting ready to have surgery to fix her cervical neck and to remove a cervical lymph node Any ideas? ...

Dec 15, 2010

Sounds like "disgrazias". Any ideas? Context: She was sent to Dr. So-and-so to evaluate for chronic lymphocytic leukemia or other blood disgrazias/malignancies. Any help is very much appreciated! :) ...

Jan 24, 2011

What 10.5 per visible line character might equal to all characters and spaces counted? Thanks. ...

Jan 29, 2012

In further ( s/l loose ideation) of the problem, it appears she has had chronic UTIs that require the use of Bactrim 4-6 times per year for several years now. ...

Feb 13, 2012

This occurred to me today and just thought I'd share. What if this were a supportive forum? No, no, I'm not talking about not complaining, etc., that's important to do, IMO. But, we are all in the same craft, so maybe we could cheer one another on! Even get to know one another. OMG, that would be awful! I was in a completely different industry a few years ago, and it was full of stress and difficulty, and we griped all the time, but in the end, we lifted one another up, vers ...

Apr 05, 2012

Chest x-ray shows no significant change compared to XX/XX/2011, persistent bilateral pleural effusions, cardiomegaly, *s/l "pass-you-by's for"* right worse than left opacities. Going to have to blank this one, as I need to turn it in, but would be interested to read any thoughts. Thanks in advance. ...

Jun 13, 2012

I know people are happy at their jobs and I applaud you for finding the right fit and hope it continues for you---I am asking all you happy MTs to post the name of the company you work for?!?!?!?! You are willing to share all other information about the company share the name with us---we all want to know which companies are good out there, all we usually hear about are the bad ones, no hesitation there to share the name for sure. ...

Nov 20, 2012

Today I had to go to a deposition at my attorney's office. There was a woman there who was a "voice-writer" to be present and record the meeting. She used a mask over her mouth and repeated into the mask everything that was said verbatim. We could not hear her. This went directly onto her computer screen which was connected and she said all she had to do now was edit the voice recognition report. I looked it up online and there is a lot of information about this field. I am thinking of cons ...

Nov 20, 2012

I previously worked for a MTSO whose main focus was on buying out every company possible. I had enough of the micromanagement and pay cuts, low work, no work, etc. so I just walked away after giving notice. I had been looking for work daily, applying, sending resumes with no luck. Then I saw at the local mall where many seasonal positions to work in the stores were available. I applied having no customer service skills, but I got the job. My foot is now in the door! I am hoping it will lead to a ...

Feb 07, 2014

Not for me I'm sick of MT work. But you guys that still love it,,what if you went to the local clinics or hospitals and started inquiring about who they use and what they pay..You can undercut them by a mile with no overhead... ...

Apr 01, 2014

just started work for this company. Thought I would pass it along, sounds like they have offices in several states. She is in IT, but I notice they have call center jobs, including one at-home job in Ohio. Thought it might be of help to someone. I don't know why I can't get the link to show up, anyway: http://www.startek.com/us-careers ...

Sep 21, 2014

But I find myself chronically angry. Today I've had nothing but crap dictators and every single report has had at least 1 blank in it. Nuance, c'mon, get a clue will you? Is it any wonder you're losing people and have to keep posting for new people? Bring back the good stuff from India and give them the crap dictators and let them see how they like it. OK, rant over. ...

Nov 07, 2014

Suggest they call MH back again for the umpteenth time...she's always willing to return again and again. If not, maybe her daughter. That's their answer to any problem in the past. Even if they can't stand her or her daughter... they usually resort to them in a pinch. Oh, but don't call her a coordinator, no, she's an account facilitator. They have more made-up titles for people. What a joke!!!! ...

Nov 14, 2014

I've muddled through a whole procession of unfamiliar accounts and dictators this morning til my head hurts. And now we get an e-mail stating (surprise, surprise!) we are really backed up and asking for OT for this weekend. Let me think about this....do I want to spend this weekend chained to this desk for pennies struggling through one lousy report after another to bail them out of the consequences of their wonderful new "Pod" idea? Ummm, let me think. No. Tha ...