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

VR is NOT twice as fast as straight typing! - Kaym

Posted: Nov 28, 2012

I used to love my job, being an at-home medical transcriptionist. I used to make around $20-25 an hour straight typing and thought being an at-home medical transcriptionist was the best job ever! The flexibility of working from home and flexing my hours was great! I could get the kids off to school, work for a couple of hours, go shopping, work for a couple of hours, just so I made production requirements and everything was great! Unfortunately, things changed and they started making us punch a time clock just like the rest of the world and keep to a set schedule with NO flexibility! Then, they came up with paying us half as much money for VR "because it is twice as fast as straight typing." NOT!!! For the past year I have been making half as much money as I used to and have had to claim bankruptcy!!! I used to tell everyone that being an at-home medical transcriptionist was the best job I ever had and I loved my job! Now, VR has crushed the joy out of everything! We are no longer medical transcriptionists, we are medical language specialists and that is just NOT the job I want any longer. Luckily for me, I am able to retire at age 62, which will be in 51 days and YES I am counting down!!!

I'm sorry :( and I feel your pain - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
It's terrible, but it's not the technology. It's the companies that want to pay us half for it. I agree with everything you said; it definitely is not twice as fast. The only company I saw that paid even 60% was Accentus and, of course, they are no longer. I used to make 70% and I think that was fair; no more. Stuck in the Nuance trap and in the same situation you are, down on my luck. I used to love MT as well. No more.

I agree with both of you - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
There is the slight chance that some VR reports might be 50% as fast as typing. But that would be about maybe 5% of the reports I get. And it still takes all of my medical transcription skills. We are not just being paid to type. If they'd let me unplug my brain on the VR reports and not have to verify the dr didn't contradict himself with "hyper" in one part of the report and "hypo" in another, age, gender, right versus left, medication dosages and lab values, it might start to be a little bit fair.

Also, I'd say half the speakers using VR should not have been cleared that it is working for them. But of course, they would not want to tell the client that.

Not to mention the drs who habitually allow other speakers to sign in under their ID and the report is corrupt beyond belief.

There are so many problems with VR that Nuance does not address. All the pitfalls fall on us to bear the brunt of the problems at the expense of our paychecks.

100% agree, not even close to twice as fast. - looking for way out

[ In Reply To ..]
I also used to love this. The whole concept for me was to work in a field I could do very well at and still take care of my kids. I don't even mind punching in and out, don't mind a time clock, don't mind a schedule, but I do mind being cheated and that is exactly what these companies are doing by cutting our pay and they know it and they don't care. VR is not twice as fast, not even close. Formatting is a nightmare on so many reports. Some doctors chewing, coughing, jogging on a treadmill, ESL, speech impediment and we fix it, make it as perfect as possible and yet get treated the way we do? I am looking for a way out, which is sad after putting so many years into a job.

I had said this before (I posted "I agree with you" above) - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
If VR was twice as fast as typing, wouldn't we all be dancing in the street? Fat paychecks and less wear and tear on the MTs physically? A real boon to the industry? We would NOT be complaining!

Wish it was me. - Dinosaur MT

[ In Reply To ..]
Yep,I agree. I am also so sad about what has happened to our career. Used to LOVE it. Now, I hate it. Just lost another job to VR. Back to struggling financially. No income. I so wish I was closer to retirement. I am 56 with 26 years into it. I have no idea what I am going to do. They are not supposed to tell us what hours we can work as ICs, but they can tell us what hours they need filled and only accept people who are willing to work those hours. That is how they get around it. We have become slaves. I am so depressed to see what has happened to a wonderful career. I thought my last job would last until I could retire. I just want a nice little company to work for with true flex hours that I can stay at. I'm getting too old for this crap. I feel like it is draining the life out of me.

Good luck Kaym!! I am so happy for you!

Of course not. Just the line they used to sell it to facilities, along with - idea they could cut our rates since we would SM

[ In Reply To ..]
be able to produce twice as fast. Finally, at MM, our trainer told us we would have to work twice as much to make the same rate that was taken from us with VR.

I remember when VR first rolled out - Typing 24/7

[ In Reply To ..]
they told us at our company that we could do 3 reports in the time it took to type 1. I wish. I was hoping VR would not become a problem until I retired, but I did not make it. However, that being said, VR isn't the only problem - the biggest problem in my opinion are the MTSOs.

Totally, totally agree. And so actually this was intially the fault - of the VR developers & marketers...

[ In Reply To ..]
who sold the MTSOs their bill of goods about how productive it was. It's certainly the MTSOs' fault now, though, since they obviously know those figures aren't correct, but since they've halved pay and still have people willing to work for that (me included, unfortunately), it's not like they're going to raise it now, eh?

I've seen Metrics that show that less than about 10% of our team is doing in the upper 300s and one just barely breaking 400 on a fairly regular basis and that one doing 400+ had the lowest quality average of everybody (about 95%) the first time I saw the figures, and doesn't that really say all that needs to be said?

We are also being told regarding VR. . .sm - MJMT

[ In Reply To ..]
That the software continues to learn and correct itself (after the MT edits the reports) and that just is not true. I have been at Nuance 2+ years now and there is 1 doctor that the VR has not EVER gotten one "current meds" list correct, or anywhere near correct. And I do the same speakers every day and make the same corrections in their reports every day.

Prob is facilities were also told we could do more for less pay - & that is what they want. MTSO gives it. nm

[ In Reply To ..]
x

I don't recommend this profession any more - corgi

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Good for you that you can retire so very soon!! I too used to love to be a MT. Now it is definitely just a job and I'm not sure it will even be around until I can return in 11 or so years. I used to encourage people to train and get into this field. Now I tell them to avoid it at all costs.

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