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

Went to my MD today and they have no MTSO or MTs? - lka

Posted: Dec 18, 2010

It seems whenever I go to the doctor we get to talking about my profession, mainly because I am speak to them on their level (with medical terms, etc) because they are amazed that I am so informed.

Anyhow, today when the RN was checking me in on their Epic system, she said they use strictly voice recognition (VR) and use "Dragon" (which I know nothing about) but I have seen posts on this board about it. I told her that I was an MT editor actually for the VR, not so much transcribing anymore. She was saying that there are so many errors on the reports, (even after they and supposedly the MD corrects as they are speaking). I asked who did their QA or MTSO and she said no one... it's just them. Why then, are we being QA'd to death and have such strict guidelines by our MTSO when they have blatant errors on their legal documents? The reason they don't have QA or MTSO is because of the cost... This is a HUGE health care system in the state of which I live. Does this seem unusual to you? I guess I assumed that all of these health care systems had this. Am I missing something? In other words, if all these big hospitals and health care systems started just relying on themselves, would we not all be out of jobs along with the MTSOs? Interested in your thoughts on this.

I work for a doctor's office and we are IC to do transcription but - orthogirl

[ In Reply To ..]
they have no QA, for that matter, they do not even have a decent supervisor! We type directly into their EMR system, so we have the entire chart to look at for reference. There is one transcription for the spine surgeon who constantly types there are early signs of effusion in the lumbar spine. It is impossible to have an effusion in the lumbar spine and the doctor is saying fusion. The doctor is seeing the patient postop after doing lumbar fusion and yet she can not get the x-rays correct. Another big repeat mistake she makes is typing H&P instead of HNP. I am constantly emailing the supervisor telling her about these mistakes so she can make corrections, but it seems like nothing is done so that the transcriptionist will stop making these blatant errors over and over. It really pisses me off, as I get paid the same as her and produce extremely high quality work and she produces crap! She is not the only one who makes mistakes, there are others that I come across all the time. The one thing I always double check if I do not know who to spell is a doctor's name. I was brought up being told that if you did not address someone correctly by their title, such as Dr. and if you misspelled their name it is very disrespectful. I just wish QA was something that was required no matter how small or big your office is!

But have you ever noticed... - MTlady

[ In Reply To ..]
that many times the MD's do not seem to have read the notes anyway? I think they surmise what they need to know mostly from the lab work, other diagnostic tests and their memory of that patient. I'm not saying that's the best way, but in reality there is no way the docs take time to read the tons of notes. Maybe the voice recognition makes mistakes, but they probably read between the lines and pretty much know what is meant. Hey, if they are doctors or other health professionals and are aware they are dealing with voice recognition, they would be smart enough to know the flaws. I'm stepping on my own toes because I'm an MT too, but it is what it is. I agree with the two posters above though, it makes the MT services QA policy look pretty silly and over-dramatic. Especially when you consider that the dictation coming from the doctor is usually not 100% accurate anyway!

Since this is specialty, the main purpose - would be that they

[ In Reply To ..]
have an obligation to send the referring physician a note regarding the visit. You can bet the PCP is going to read the note at some point. The doctor I use to work for read most of the notes that came in on his patients as he had sent them there for a reason. It just makes the office incompetent. Just think when the referring gets a note with a diagnosis of H&P versus HNP. How do you think they feel about sending their patient to that spine surgeon? I can't see offices like that getting QA. That is very pricy. It sounds like there are some major issues with the supervision of the office if that type of thing is being allowed.

The doctor I work for has actually stopped sending patients to certain physicians that were not getting him notes back, and he probably would have done the same if there were major errors.

Remember the referrings don't know if the other doctor has VR, Dragon or if they messed up when dictating, hince why we have to be so accurate.

Agree that that office is outrageously sloppy. I've - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
never done medical office, but I do know my own PCP would not tolerate that.

Dr just wants a piece of paper for file. Until they start - getting hit where it hurts, in SM

[ In Reply To ..]
the wallet, they will accept garbage because that is all they want to pay for. Need some lawsuits to bring the quality the accept to light, then maybe they will be willing to pay for our expertise.

MTSO/MTs - Not a novel

[ In Reply To ..]
I was talking to a friend of mine who also is an MT and we both worked for Spheris and then I went with MQ. She said, we are just documenting, not writing the world's greatest novel. Again, QA is just a control tool and something to justify an unnecessary action. I can understand if you make an error, but whether you put six or 6, c'mon!

Yes,and it's not being published in JAMA, but how about - those outrageously irresponsible MTs

[ In Reply To ..]
who don't do paragraph breaks?

Yesterday I was in the chart of a young woman with several complex conditions that were trying to kill her. The MT who did the H&P produced a one-paragraph history that stretched over half a page, obviously not caring if busy readers missed important information as a result. Buried in that complex history were one-sentence statements on a medication failure and yet another medical problem I didn't find mentioned anywhere else on the computer.

I'd fire that person on the spot if I could, no matter how well she or he managed the punctuation.

How about companies that don't WANT you to make changes? - Backwards Typist

[ In Reply To ..]
Some MTSOs do not want paragraphs changed unless the doctor specifically dictates "paragraph."

If you want to blame anyone, blame the MTSOs or even the hospitals who make the VR rules, or the QA who may change it from paragraphs into one.

Evidently you do not know the guidelines most MTSOs and hospitals use for VR. Don't change words, don't change paragraph style, don't add 'this,' don't add 'that', etc. They want correct spelling and that's it! Doesn't matter if a sentence doesn't make sense.

There are specific rules for straight transcription but not for VR. You're dinged if you do and dinged if you don't. Can't win.

VR is the downfall of all MTSOs and those MTSOs and hospital that want to use it should still want quality work as before, but they don't.

To backwards typist - lka

[ In Reply To ..]
I am the original poster and I wanted to say I always enjoy reading your posts first of all and even political, LOL.

My question though is, this particular MD that I saw is under the umbrella of HealthPartners (which consists of every specialty and maybe 200 physicians give or take). So, the doc and the RN and whomever all enter this info into their Epic system and that's it.... No MT or MTSO sees it because they do NOT want to pay for that service. I am assuming there are tons of mistakes, such as he/she, him/hers, not to mention so many medications that are sound-a-likes. I guess I am wondering how do these MTSOs that we work for (at least I do), solicit new clients? Would this be a case in point for them to pursue? Ya know what I mean. I guess also, all of these big hospitals that we type for through the MTSO could all says, just go away (to the MTSO) and look at all the money I will save....

I'm not really sure on how they solicit new clients. - Backwards Typist

[ In Reply To ..]
I think they point out how quick and cheaply the reports can be done. I also think it's going to be harder for these large companies to get new clients, especially with the new healthcare rules going into effect (EMR) in a year to two unless they knock the MT wages down even more.

Who knows what the future will hold for MTs? If the end-user doesn't care, we're all in a world of trouble. Profit over perfection has become the byword of this profession in the past few years. It's a dog-eat-dog world out there. Sometimes I just want to yell "Stop the world. I want to get off."

Backwards, none of the hospitals I work for have - the guidelines you claim most do. SM

[ In Reply To ..]
Also, specifically, our MTSO asks us to break text into paragraphs, but they don't push it because too many MTs don't follow the meaning and do it wrong.

BTW, inexcusable sloppiness is anything that could result in wrongful suffering and even death, and claiming to be following a rule is no excuse. An MT is either trying to do right by the patient or is a slug.

Similar Messages:

Aug 08, 2010

I see so many posts going in so many directions on these threads. It made me think about how very hard the whole MT thing is in today's world. I thought I would make a few points for those just starting or those just staying... Many posts say - you must know AHDI Book of Style. True, for some companies and some accounts. Not true for some companies and some accounts. Many say QA has been helpful; hurtful; unfair; unreasonable; confusing; contradictory. Truth ...

Jan 01, 2014

xx ...

Feb 25, 2015

By this time in the day, usually, there has been at least 7 emails - several from QA, at least 2-3 backlog updates, and 1 reminder to work our shift and work our entire shift. ...

Oct 04, 2010

Hi, I hope this is the right forum to post this on. I have a few questions pertaining to my new MTSO business. Any input or advice would be helpful. First of all, I need help with pricing. I charge my clients .12 per 65 character line. I believe that is the going rate for my area. I am wondering what to pay my transcriptionists and editors. I originally thought to pay my transcriptionists .08 per 65 character line and my editors .04 per 65 character line but then I wouldn't be making any pr ...

Oct 24, 2010

Hello Everyone, I have just recently found this board and I have a couple of questions. I don't know where else to post it, so I hope I've put this on the right forum. What does MTSO mean? Why is there a Medquist specific forum on this board? Is this site operated by Medquist? Just curious. ...

Mar 31, 2011

"You are a valued team member and we want you to be as successful as possible." ...

Jul 19, 2011

If I owned a MTSO company, and if I were monitoring this board in order to glean comments made about my company, and if I were unhappy with what I read, I would do the following: I would send a company-wide e-mail to my people asking for their input on what I could do to make things better for them and correct the problems aired on this board. I would realize that there are companies that would make life difficult for MTs who dare to complain about an injustice and that they ne ...

Apr 24, 2013

Simply put...I need help. I am a single mother. I am a CMT and been in this lousy business over 20 years. I have been job hunting out of this business almost a year now with no bites. I had a dream job but was bought out by M Modal. I went from abundant work to none on a daily basis. I am truly struggling. I know people who work for great companies keep it to themselves, for the fear of over hiring and no work. I am truly asking for help in seeking ...

May 14, 2013

tied to qa, N qa wouldnt have to be told how to edit either. ...

Mar 23, 2014

Just wanted everyone to know that that owned QT might be around again, so please stay clear of this company. There are bad news and have a pretty awful history of burning accounts and MTs. Not the most ideal company or couple for that matter. LOL ...

Nov 23, 2009

Do you think the MTSOs cut their rates to their clients who are now using VR just as they have cut their MTs rates? Seems that some MTSOs are scrambling for some reason to cut everyone's pay down (even their MT pay, not just ME pay). I wonder if they are in over their heads with this new venture into VR and losing their arses and realizing it isn't quite the godsend everyone is making it out to be. One can hope, and would serve them right! As far as MTSO rates are co ...

Jan 03, 2010

How does one go about collecting money from a small MTSO who still owes me $1,049 for transcription I had done for them? I quit working for them in May 2009 when I hadn't received payment. I sent them several e-mails and they did pay me some of the money owed me. Originally they owed me $2,049; paid me with one check for $500, then two more checks for $200 each, which were sent to me every few months in between. They kept telling me they would pay me off the com ...

Mar 20, 2010

If they are paying 8 CPL how much are they getting paid per line? Any general ideas? ...

Mar 24, 2010

To all MTSO's:1. Show us the money. You make tons of it. We know it. You know it. Try paying us more of it, and cheating us out of less of it.2. Simplify your transcription platforms. Every time you "improve" them, for some STRANGE reason, it gets harder and harder to do a day's work on them. Some software salesman has sure taken advantage of whoever in your company buys transcription software. Please. Develop some sales resistance.3. Let MTs working on a primary account STAY on that a ...

Apr 15, 2010

At the risk of sounding like a complete idiot, I'm curious to know if there are any MTSOs out there who you guys feel really and truly care about their MTs and not just the bottom line? I understand that business is business but it seems to me that if you have happy MTs then you have productive MTs, willing to accommodate and go above and beyond for the company, which in turn makes the retention rate of quality MTs high because they are happy. They get to know the ...

May 19, 2010

The little "trinkets" some of you have received is extremely comical and a so-called slap in the face to some, but some may view it as an actual good gesture, although I do not agree. When I worked at neurology they used to always acknowledge MT week with flowers or a $25 gift card to our local mall, but when they got a new office manager he combined Secretary's Week and MT Week into one. My coworker and I got acknowledged one year on Secretary's Week - now that is a slap in the face ...

Aug 18, 2010

Can someone tell me what MTSO and platforms are? I am obviously a newbie and don't know what these terms mean. Thanks for your help in advance. ...

Sep 06, 2010

My question is regarding what you consider to be a fair split when contracting an IC. I have been approached about adding accounts and will need help from one or two IC's to accomplish everything. Can you share what you feel is a reasonable split? 50/50, higher, lower? I want to be fair but I also need to cover my costs as well. If you prefer, you may contact me privately by email quiet_type at hotmail dot com. Thank you. ...

Feb 14, 2011

assigning me the garbage work just because you "think" I can do it. Had to vent, really sick of it! Between the ESLs and the stuff where people say things that do not make sense I am really getting fed up! Sorry, had to vent. I know you read this and I know you know who is this. ...

Mar 07, 2011

What does MTSO stand for? ...

Apr 05, 2011

After 20 years of hospital-based HIM transcription, they gave us away to Medquist. I feel set up for failure by not getting consistent hospital accounts and never having a chance to learn a specific account. Communication with management is - absent - unless they want something from you. I also find the pay and line count methodology to be deplorable, to say the least. I have VR experience, but find that Medquist just turns on literally EVERYTHING to VR, and most of it re ...

May 09, 2011

I have not been on this board in a few years but I can see a definite turn against medical transcriptionists. The MTSO's have created a vulture type of attitude that has been passed down among many new transcriptionists in the business. I see the MTs being blamed for whining, complaining and for trying to voice their concerns about being treated badly by ROMs or team leaders or management in general. One statement is truly correct - MTSOs are in it for the money. That being said, let& ...

Jun 05, 2011

Does anyone work for more than 1 MTSO. Will an MTSO consider an application if you already work for another one? I would like to apply for a second part-time position to supplement my full-time income (or lack thereof) but am not quite sure if they would even consider me. ...

Jul 19, 2011

nm ...

Aug 18, 2011

Taking a shot in the dark. If you are working directly for a doctor how did you get started? ...

Oct 16, 2011

Why is it when it comes down to Keystrokes, no one is to make any comments regarding the lack of work? Get real people, Keystrokes doesn't have enough work in Radiology and I just heard from another person none of her calls or e-mails are being answered either. ...

Jan 06, 2012

I applied to a big MTSO as a quality control editor, editing already speech-recognized transcription, an hourly job, but they didn't tell me the wage until after the test that included the following: SKILLS ASSESSMENT TEST SPECIFICSScreening:1) Spelling – Multiple Choice – 5-10 Questions2) Spelling – Fill in the Blanks – 5-10 Questions* 3) Sentences – Multiple Choice – 5-10 Questions4) Grammar/Usage – Choose Words – 5-10 Questions ...

Feb 03, 2012

Is every MTSO in this field rotten, and do they really hate us? Does it bring them money to get people to quit and then rehire all the time? I am sure it is true. I got a really high, close to perfect score on my QA all the time. I type well above the standards. I even went to part time so they would not have to pay me benefits and work all weekend every weekend to make sure I have work. Now again a hiring spree and even Friday no work, except of course I get the worst ...

Feb 05, 2012

If my team leader and never answers my questions anymore, doesn't tell me what's going on, and I can't get into my DA player now because it says client disconnected (yet I can get into the server itself), and the help desk doesn't call me back, could that mean I'm fired or something? And is that legal to just not talk to me anymore if I'm an employee? I guess I have to call Human Resources on Monday, but can the team leader just stop talking to you and f ...

Mar 21, 2012

We all know you don't give a rat's ass but here it goes; Pay us a decent wage for BOTH typing and editing with decent benefits. At least 8 cpl both both instead of that crappy 4 cpl for editing. With a decent wage, your employees would be happier. They'd quit bitchin about your company. They'd quit hopping from company to company. They'd work harder at producing. They'd turn out quality reports, not having to worry ab ...