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

How does VR make sense for the transcriptionist? - Flyingfingers

Posted: Sep 10, 2010

Company A pays an experienced transcriptionist/MLS 3 or 4 cpl to edit VR.

Company A boasts about how this makes for a faster turnaround time on everything.

Company A tries to tell seasoned MTs with years of experience that their productivity will actually go UP if they learn to be good little VR editors.

Company A apparently fails to realize that some transcriptionists can also do basic math pretty well, and can see that they are actually getting paid less to do what is actually more difficult than straight transcribing--VR editing.

For example, I type about 100 wpm on average. I used to easily crank out 200-250 lph on the good old WordPerfect blue screen before text expanders really came along. Now, the company I'm with tries to tell me I should be 'excited' about the fact that in our company VR editors average close to 300 lph. Do they think we're really that stupid?

Three hundred lines at HALF or less of the pay per line still means we make less than we used to as good old-fashioned MTs, even though the company makes MORE because they still charge the same rate! Let me just do straight transcription and I'll do better.

Wake up, people! We are all cutting your own throats by working for these companies that use VR. By supporting these VR companies, we only hasten the end of medical transcription as a sustainable career here in the U.S. anyway. What a shame it all is.

My 2c.

Am I the only one who sees this? nm - Flyingfingers

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x

No, you are not alone. - sm

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It makes absolutely no sense to me to pay for VR technology, its training/retraining, implementation, and then pay an editor and QA, when they could simply do as before, and pay the MT to do it right the first time, with occasional QA. It feels like a conspiracy to squeeze the middle class down into the low-income range. I expect before long, all the jobs will end up in other countries, as no one seems to care. I am sure those at the top of the pile have done the math.

Thank you. I was beginning to wonder. nm - Flyingfingers

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.

You are missing a simple fact, though--VR is NOT - Skilled Editor

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going away. Focus needs to be on appropriate pay for your work.

Complaining constantly about VR itself is like spitting into a strong wind. Surely there's something better to do with one's time and energy, a better path to the serenity and happiness you miss?

How about starting by determining just how the upper-tier editors at your company are doing? This may take a little sleuthing and networking if your company does not make the information available since it's crucial to determining what pay is appropriate.

Also, does your company offer incentive pay? Where I work I can give myself up to a 2-cent-per-line "raise." Between base rate, # of lines, and various levels of incentive pay, the difference in take home pay for high producers and low ones is enormous. The whole system is stacked to make you-know-who happy for you-know-why.

In any case, you weren't an average MT, so average is not your level and 300 LPH likely far short of your potential. Others may not be able to, or bother to, double their line counts, a serious problem for them, but you are not them.

The point is VR intrinsically cheats MTs. sm - Flyingfingers

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There's no two ways about it.

Not even 0 ways about it, in fact. If you were paid - Skilled Editor

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$0.10 per line to edit, all this talk of cheating would disappear in a heartbeat. How could that be if cheating were intrinsic to VR, Flyingfingers?

If pay rates are inappropriate for the work, and probably they are low (a nice 600 LPH x 0.04 is only $24/H), that is your employer's doing. I know I used to do 600 fairly routinely at another MTSO and wouldn't be happy with that unless an incentive plan brought it up to rock bottom about $27/H, a minimum I've been working hard to maintain or exceed.

But hey, if you've made up your mind to stick at $12 or so, you'll probably be most comfortable NOT comparing your competence with your competitors' at work. Carry on.

You're not making sense - Flyingfingers

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You seriously know of a company that pays 10 cpl for editing?

VR actually hinders transcription productivity. It does not make the transcriptionist produce more in reality. Any increase in lph is pocketed by the company, not the MT, as the MT is paid half or less per line what they would be paid to simply transcribe it.

Even from an editing point of view, simple logic requires that an editor be more skilled in MT than the one who's work she edits. And yet for all the skill and experience, the editor is paid less?

Don't know where you get I make $12 an hour. sm - Flyingfingers

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Haven't made that low in a long time actually. Back in the day when I was doing straight transcription, I made anywhere between 20 and 40 bucks an hour, depending on the difficulty of the dictation.

Gee, could it have been your defeatist attitude? After all, - Skilled Editor

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Flyingfingers, you are talking about YESTERDAY. TRANSCRIBING. 250 LPH yesterday. Transcribing.

You're complaining about how unreasonable it is to have to match an average 300 lines an hour editing (while the flying editors are probably cruising along more like double that). I titled myself Skilled Editor for a reason. If 300 LPH is the average, I could come to your company and do 300 my first hour on a new account. And you never thanked me, by the way, for using my valuable time to encourage you to use your considerable talents and experience to become a flying editor. $40 may be history, but $30 is not and is very good pay for this work.

Talk about attitude! LOL. - Flyingfingers

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I don't think anyone deserve thanks for using their valuable time to interact on an internet discussion board, for Pete's sake.

I find your claims of editing 600 lph ridiculous. I also don't believe you make 10 cpl for editing. You're probably just a shill for corporate.

It is not a defeatist attitude to speak out against unfair business practices.

Actually 600 LPH editing ASR is not ridiculous nor unheard of. - VR Trainer

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Again, it takes dedicated effort to get there but it is more than possible. Unfortunately, as I have stated in other posts, not every person will have the aptitude to do well with ASR just as not everyone who wants to do MT work is good at it.

VR - anon

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To VR Trainer - I have read your tips and they are very good, however, I am kind of confused as to how expanders work in VR with text that is there already that we have to edit. Can you explain please or you can e-mail me? Thanks! Right now I need all the help I can get.

Expanders - Just Curious

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That was my question also. Is there a huge need for the expanders if it is only one or two words that you have to correct (in a perfect VR world)?

Some text editing requires replacing a word or phrase entirely. sm - VR Trainer

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When you have to replace an entire word or phrase, then your expander will be the additional tool to use.

Use your assigned CTRL/ALT/SHIFT/TAB and arrow/home/end keys to position your cursor, highlight text needing correction; then, use your expander (it should kick in automatically) to drop in the corrected text.

Remember that it is faster to edit an entire phrase one time rather than more than 1 word within that phrase individually.

Here is an example:

DICTATION:
heart is regular rate and rhythm with no murmurs gallops or rubs

ASR OUTPUT:
Heart has regular rate rhythm in no murmurs gallops rubs.

Your corrective steps:
1. Highlight "has regular rate rhythm in"
2. Use your expander to replace text b typing "is RRR [let it expand] with"
3. Highlight "murmurs gallops rubs"
4. Use your expander to replace and punctuation by typing "mgr [let it expand]."

Now you have the correct phrase:
Heart is regular rate and rhythm with no murmurs, gallops or rubs.

You have done a 2-step highlight/droptext for each of these 2 pieces using a combination of your editing shortcuts and your expander entries.

VR Trainer

Yes, and next step is - Skilled Editor

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When SR always seems to mess up that the very same text for that dictator in every report, make an expander entry that

1. Deletes all the text to be corrected, AND
2. Replaces it with all the text to be inserted, AND
3. If appropriate, positions your cursor where you need it next.

Doing this will make swift work of all those extra-aggravating corrections, and you'll make more money in the process.

really? 600 lph?? - KatMT

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hard to believe your claim of 600 lph...if you have to LISTEN to the dictation, most dictators don't even talk that fast...so I think what we all need to do is just refuse to work for slave wages of 4-6 cpl, which is ridiculous...then these companies will have no choice but to pay more. PERIOD.

Some of mine talk every bit as fast, but the others can - Skilled Editor

[ In Reply To ..]
be sped up at least as fast. When SR's doing a pretty good job, we need to be listening to as squeaky high little voices as we can handle.

Seriously, KatMT. You need to realize that lots of editors CAN do it. People making what you call "slave" wages need to figure out--pronto, way too much time wasted already--if they can hack it also or need to get out. Terms like "ridiculous" "slave" and your mistaken idea of workable listening speeds do suggest you have not begun this process at all yet. And your hope that people making a decent income at this will solve your problem by all refusing to work is also delusional.

The first step is to find out how you are doing compared to others doing the same work for your company. This is VERY important. Depending on what you learn, you either get another editing job that pays appropriately (some places here and there ARE underpaying), or you sit down and give some good and careful, and positive, thought to what new line of work to train for. It should be something you would like to do day after day.

hard to believe that.... - KatMT

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you actually get 600 lph when you're on this board a lot...must take a good chunk of your day...right now I'm at my regular job at a hospital, so doesn't matter if I'm on these boards..still getting paid!

SE is correct. The tips SE and I have provided should help anyone. - VR Trainer

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However, the doubting Thomas attitude will stop you flat out from ever being successful, satisfied or even productive at all on ASR.

As for your attempt to jab at SE, while I can't really speak for SE, I'm betting he/she and I are FAR happier and more profitable with our work. I know I am!

Enjoy your weekend.

VR Trainer

I've been working successfully with ASR for a while and - 600 LPH is avg high end. VR Trainer

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Per my experience personally and those I have trained and follow up with, the 600 LPH on ASR is on the high side of average.

VR Trainer

How's that attitude working for ya? Getting anywhere with it? - Dr. Phil

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By the way, the poster above never said anything remotely like they are paid 10 cpl for editing.

You're missing a BIG point!! - KatMT

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the point is, when doing VR editing, don't you have to LISTEN to the dictation?? Even if there were NO edits, do most doctors talk the equal of doing 600 lph, what with their pausing to think, etc.? This is the part I don't get!!

So the advice is... - Flyingfingers

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"Work hard at learning a new skill set so you can make even LESS." LoL. It is never appropriate to take money out of other people's pockets just because you can.

I even asked why we couldn't just cut the VR stuff and then straight type it (since TAT would in fact be better) and was told that wasn't allowed (Since TAT wasn't REALLY the issue, the company being able to take more wages out of the pockets of its transcriptionists was).

No you are not the only one - southerngirl

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I type over 100 wpm. I remember cranking out lines before text expanders came along. Even now that I am proficient with editing VR, my line count remains sometimes the same, but most often less (because seriously, it is faster to straight type than edit) but I am paid at 40% less? Really? It's absurd.

It makes me want to scream sometimes...sm - Flyingfingers

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Got to find a different career. It's such a shame, MT used to be a fun and rewarding career. Now the very backbone of the industry, the MT, is being squeezed for every drop they can get out of us.

don't forget the ESL ones U have to practically retranscribe the whole dang note for! - oaf

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The only one getting ahead here is the MTSOS!!! Their profits is all that matters.

Know who will benefit? - stillMTin

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Slow typers.

I type at conversational speed or speed the dictators up to 120% and type. There is NO WAY I will get faster on VR, it will just never happen. Now I might do 100-150 more lph but say that puts me at 500 lph. $20 at 4 cpl. Doable maybe. But those MTs who type slowly 70-80 wpm or less? They should love VR because they should be able to easily double or triple their lph.

That might be true, but they still won't - make more money SM

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because their CPL rate has been cut in half. No one wins but the bigwigs.

No you're not alone--class action suit anyone? - Seekingsolace

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It absolutely makes no sense for the MT, only cents. The companies implemented this flawed technology to the tune of millions of dollars out of their pockets and now are paying for it by robbing ours. Even if you figure in the higher lph when editing, the report still has to be either front-ended or back-ended before it is fully completed, not to mention that it first had to be destroyed by Speech Wreck when it could have simply been transcribed by a professional MT. Why didn't the executives see that this extra handling needed to be figured into the overall production figures?--or maybe they did and thought they could overcome the loss by cutting pay and hiring people who were lower-producing and would work for less. Yup, that's my guess. Problem is less is really less for too much aggravation even for lower-producing MTs and newbies--twice the work for half the pay--WTH. VR should automatically come with a pay INCREASE for the professionals that edit it in order to provide fair compensation and a quality product and this increased compensation should be a federal regulation. These companies are getting away with too much out of the spotlight. If these charts were solely left to M-Modal, for example, there would be dire consequences for the patients these MTSO's maintain they profusely care about.

Even companies that seek to replace us with the equally detrimental EMR systems they developed, like Epic and GE Centricity, are helping hospitals quietly train "scribes" to work on their EMR systems because they are too complicated and time consuming for the dictators and these companies know this and how unhappy the dictators are. Google alert: Los Angeles Times: Scribes are doctors' tech support.

We should have just been left alone to do what WE do best. Greed trumped sanity and now there is a heavy price to be paid by all.

VR can definitely pay more and be less work. - VR Trainer

[ In Reply To ..]
It WILL be more work to learn it in the beginning and with a closed mind, you'll likely never see a positive result.

However, if you are able to set your preconceived notions aside and have the ability to really think quickly, it can be fantastically successful for you.

It isn't how fast you type but how fast you think and how much you concentrate and follow along.

I know - I work it every single day and I teach it.

I almost always make more money (yes, money) with VR than I do with straight transcription and I can transcribe close to 300 LPH consistently.

VR is not going away but many of you, who cannot and will not conform, will be going away. Unfortunately, just as it is for straight transcription - some have a better aptitude for it and will simply excel at it. Desire alone will not be enough.

VR Trainer

You're working yourself out of a job, literally... - Flyingfingers

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Because of they way VR "learns," every edited job you complete is one stop closer to there not even being a need for an editor. Already the shills in my company actually act like it's a great thing that no editing is needed at all with some dictators. Hello? It's not even in the best interest of editors to work for VR. In due course they will not need you any more, either.

We'd better all go eat worms then, because transcription - Skilled Editor

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is seeing its last days. We're the last ones who'll ever transcribe medical reports as a discrete job. As in, "I remember when..."

In the meantime, like VRTrainer, I'm doing well as an editor. I do concentrate on what the words MEAN all the time, and the point that one needs to think much faster (including making up one's mind about how to punctuate much faster, going back a big no-no as a general practice) is extremely valid. With transcription, the main burden was on the fingers as they slowly and laboriously got the words on paper. That's basically over.

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