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#96155 - 04/21/08 06:52 PM
Anybody work for SpectraMedi in NY?
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Wordcraftr
Junior Member
Registered: 02/11/08
Posts: 80
Loc: Midwest coast
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I have been working for these folks since October 2006 and am wondering if there is anybody else out there who also works for them. I'd simply like to know that this place really exists, as I feel like I'm in the Twilight Zone. Yeah, the checks are real so they must be a real place, but how do other folks perceive working for them?
_________________________
Gravity. It's not Just a good idea. It's the
Law.
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#96159 - 04/21/08 07:45 PM
Re: Anybody work for SpectraMedi in NY?
[Re: Wordcraftr]
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BlankKeys
Member
Registered: 04/09/08
Posts: 458
Loc: New York
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Hi, co-worker! It's real. I've been to the headquarters; it's about 10 miles from my home. Nice people. I can honestly say I've had no problems.
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#96191 - 04/22/08 09:18 AM
Re: Anybody work for SpectraMedi in NY?
[Re: BlankKeys]
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Wordcraftr
Junior Member
Registered: 02/11/08
Posts: 80
Loc: Midwest coast
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Hey, good to hear from you! I wouldn't say I had problems, per se, and they have been nice to me as well. It's just that I like to interact a little more than I've been able to. I get a message or a phone call only when I've screwed up (which, luckily, doesn't happen very often). I think they are decent folks, but I was lost at sea in the beginning when I first started and it was hard to learn my way around the software.
What kind of transcription do you do? I have been assigned strictly psych dictation, but I'd like to try something else.
_________________________
Gravity. It's not Just a good idea. It's the
Law.
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#96193 - 04/22/08 09:30 AM
Re: Anybody work for SpectraMedi in NY?
[Re: Wordcraftr]
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BlankKeys
Member
Registered: 04/09/08
Posts: 458
Loc: New York
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I'm doing orthopedics. Started out doing cardiology, but hated it. I've proofread some of the psych - it's interesting but I wouldn't want it as a steady diet. I like my ortho! Believe it or not, I don't hear from the office much either despite being as close as I am to it. It was hard to get used to at first because I had been working for a doctor's office, driving back and forth and interacting a lot with the folks there. Now I rather like being on my own - must be the hermit in me!
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#96292 - 04/23/08 10:16 AM
Re: Anybody work for SpectraMedi in NY?
[Re: BlankKeys]
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Wordcraftr
Junior Member
Registered: 02/11/08
Posts: 80
Loc: Midwest coast
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Well, they started me out on ortho but I didn't do that well. It was new to me and the dictator was hard to understand.
I had done cardiology, but they put me with a surgical clinic and I didn't pick up on that very quickly, either. I did family practice and did fine with that, but for some reason they took that away. So I got stuck with psych, which I've been doing for nearly two years. I am DYING to do something else, but my queries have not been answered.
Either I'm slow or have not learned any tricks of the trade. I only use the word expansion function of Microsoft Word. I've looked into Instant Text, but it's expensive and I don't know how much it would help with just psych transcription. Besides, it looks quite complicated, and I spend so much time doing work that I don't know where I'd fit in the learning curve.
What's an average number of files to download? For psych, I download about 30, and then if I have time the next day I do extra. But my average is around 30. Especially with one doc, who routinely does 10 to 15-minute dictations. Most dictations are around 3 to 4 minutes long, though.
I make what I would consider a part time income. A full time income would entail typing much faster and working longer hours, and I just don't have that in me anymore. I'm past the hustling stage of my life. 
I live in Missouri and I type for clinics in Maine, Indiana and NY. They're usually the same bunch of docs and nurse practitioners. I don't have a choice as to what comes in, and when I get five 10-minute transcriptions in a row I despair. I usually download in the afternoon what I plan to work on the next day. I try to finish by 4:00 CDT, which is 5:00 in NY.
They never said I needed to do that, but I usually tell them when I'm going to be off for a day. And of course, if I'm going to be gone for several days. But I was never told if there was a minimum I had to type. I did ask if I could work only three days a week and they said no, their requirements were that MTs had to work five days a week.
Well, got to get back to the mood disorders.
_________________________
Gravity. It's not Just a good idea. It's the
Law.
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#96293 - 04/23/08 10:19 AM
Re: Anybody work for SpectraMedi in NY?
[Re: Wordcraftr]
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BlankKeys
Member
Registered: 04/09/08
Posts: 458
Loc: New York
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Wordcraftr, looks like we dodged a bullet. Did you see the posts about Spheris? I had a friend who worked for them and couldn't say enough good things about them. When I contacted them, they didn't want anyone who hadn't done hospital notes. (I had worked for an internist and done some ortho.) 
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#96294 - 04/23/08 10:24 AM
Re: Anybody work for SpectraMedi in NY?
[Re: Wordcraftr]
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BlankKeys
Member
Registered: 04/09/08
Posts: 458
Loc: New York
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Sorry - we must have been posting at the same time. I download 20-30 per day as well. I wanted part time but they told me if I ever wanted to go full time to let them know. I work for my PCP doing a few notes a week on the side, so I'm okay with part time. Haven't had anything to download in 2 days though.  Sometimes that happens with my account. I do a local ortho practice.
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#96388 - 04/24/08 11:45 AM
Re: Anybody work for SpectraMedi in NY?
[Re: BlankKeys]
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Wordcraftr
Junior Member
Registered: 02/11/08
Posts: 80
Loc: Midwest coast
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Hi, BlankKeys,
What do you mean by dodged the bullet? As in, it's a good thing or a bad thing? I haven't done hospital notes, either.
It seems Spectra is willing to take on minimally experienced MTs, so long as they work hard and don't screw up. I do appreciate that, given that I knew practically NOTHING about being an independent contractor MT.
I used to do business transcription on the side for a university, but their work was so intermittent. They paid well enough, and I was on the payroll so taxes were deducted. If I could have been at least three-quarter time for them, I'd be doing that instead of the MT stuff, because then I would have gotten excellent benefits. But my boss only had occasional jobs, usually at the end of the semester. My last job was in December, when I was way busy anyway. So I told them I couldn't do it anymore.
I've never had a time when there wasn't anything to download. Usually the Work In Progress shows more than 50 files at the end of the day. But 30 is plenty for me. I think I dawdle too much. 
Always good to hear from you.
_________________________
Gravity. It's not Just a good idea. It's the
Law.
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#96417 - 04/24/08 03:11 PM
Re: Anybody work for SpectraMedi in NY?
[Re: Wordcraftr]
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BlankKeys
Member
Registered: 04/09/08
Posts: 458
Loc: New York
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What I meant was, I don't know about you, but I tried to get in to Spheris and now I'm glad I didn't given what is being said about them. I'm okay with where I am.
I was working as an IC for my PCP along with my sister until last spring, but the office decided they needed to cut expenses and - giving us a whopping 2 days' notice - started handwriting their stuff on forms. I sent a resume to SpectraMedi and they had me come in for an interview and hired me on the spot. Meanwhile, the doc's office discovered they still needed Comp and No Fault typed out and asked me to come back, so I'm doing that for them. It only amounts to a couple of hours a week and they waive my co-pays for office visits and provide paper. The greater percentage of my work is from SpectraMedi.
I, too, used to do business transcription. I worked for an agricultural co-op for about 12 years, including a stint transcribing for the company doctor. I was downsized while pregnant with my son, then did some temp work and a 3 year stint at DMV. I decided to take a refresher on MT (I'd had a course in high school) and get back into that so I could stay home with the kiddies. I'm in my 10th year of doing that now. I'll never get rich, but I like the work and it pays some bills.
Good to hear from you too!
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#96981 - 05/01/08 12:16 AM
Re: Anybody work for SpectraMedi in NY?
[Re: BlankKeys]
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Wordcraftr
Junior Member
Registered: 02/11/08
Posts: 80
Loc: Midwest coast
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I wish I'd had MT to fall back on when my kids were little. I worked outside the home on and off. My mother-in-law watched the kids for nothing, so there was the benefit of having grandma watching the kids and not having to come up with daycare expenses when the jobs I had paid minimum wage.
It's ironic that I work from home now when there are no longer any children in the house.
I'm thinking of buying Instant Text. Do you use it? Will it increase by productivity enough to justify the expense?
Just wondering. I didn't get many files to download tonight. First time in months and months. I'm a little nervous, even though it's actually nice to think I might have some time to do stuff for myself tomorrow.
_________________________
Gravity. It's not Just a good idea. It's the
Law.
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#96993 - 05/01/08 07:27 AM
Re: Anybody work for SpectraMedi in NY?
[Re: Wordcraftr]
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BlankKeys
Member
Registered: 04/09/08
Posts: 458
Loc: New York
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Nature of the business, feast and famine - between my Spectra stuff and my private account, I've been swamped.
When I worked for another company for a very brief time (they were horrible ), they installed IT 3.0 on my computer. However, they never bothered to explain to me how to use it and I have to confess, I haven't taken the time to learn. With all that's being said about it, I am going to try to make the time because it sounds well worth it.
I read in another forum about all the chores you did while growing up. Wow! Seems to me you more than deserve a little time to yourself - enjoy!
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#97107 - 05/02/08 10:47 AM
Re: Anybody work for SpectraMedi in NY?
[Re: BlankKeys]
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Wordcraftr
Junior Member
Registered: 02/11/08
Posts: 80
Loc: Midwest coast
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I've got to vent. I made a complaint--very nicely, I might add--about a certain doctor who hems and haws and makes 45-second pauses. A 15-minute transcription contained nearly 5 minutes of dead air. I was told earlier that they couldn't tell docs how to dictate, but my question is: why the heck not? Isn't OUR time valuable, too? Anyway, I told them that I was sure this doc was a fine one, but could someone gently tell her to use the pause button? So now I have THIRTEEN of her dictations in my queue. Is that deliberate, do you think? I had been told early on that what goes in my Work In Progress is entirely random, but this looks like payback. SIGH!!
Thanks for the encouragement. Yesterday I had a very light load, but did I enjoy myself? No, I turned into a worry wart! :P
I'll try to relax and enjoy today.
_________________________
Gravity. It's not Just a good idea. It's the
Law.
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#97111 - 05/02/08 11:07 AM
Re: Anybody work for SpectraMedi in NY?
[Re: Wordcraftr]
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14tonks
Member
Registered: 10/25/01
Posts: 5914
Loc: Only 3rd world country in US
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What I want to know is why no one has yet offered us a wave player with an optional setting to automatically fast forward through any section of the recording with a volume less than a configurable cutoff. That would do a lot to eliminate this aggravation without requiring any cooperation from the doctor.
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#97113 - 05/02/08 11:21 AM
Re: Anybody work for SpectraMedi in NY?
[Re: Wordcraftr]
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tropsicleAfter
Member
Registered: 10/30/06
Posts: 2042
Loc: MS Gulf Coast
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Wordcraftr, it all has to do with making money. Sure, your time is valuable, but not nearly as valuable (in the eyes of the PTB) than the dictator's. They make money for the organization. You cost the organization money. It's as simple as that, unfortunately.
As to 13 of that dictator's jobs showing up in your jobs to do, well, ummm, of course it was retaliation, although they would never admit it and you could never prove it.
Pick battles you know you can win. Changing a dictator's style will never be one of those. Bringing a problem to someone who could care less about whether you are a happy camper is not a battle you can win either.
Grin and bear it, or decide you've had enough and move on. Those are about the only options I see for this kind of thing.
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tropsicle
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#97116 - 05/02/08 12:38 PM
Re: Anybody work for SpectraMedi in NY?
[Re: Wordcraftr]
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BlankKeys
Member
Registered: 04/09/08
Posts: 458
Loc: New York
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I sometimes wonder about that myself - how the items we get are controlled. When a proofreader left and they needed proofreading done, it seemed like I got less stuff to type. Could have been a coincidence, but it did make me wonder. Of course, the proofreading doesn't pay as much, so it really hurt my bottom line.
I don't really see why they can't at least drop a hint to some of the docs about their transcription habits - everyone would be better off for it.
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#97201 - 05/04/08 02:52 AM
Re: Anybody work for SpectraMedi in NY?
[Re: BlankKeys]
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AnnMT
Member
Registered: 08/02/05
Posts: 582
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Hi, co-worker! It's real. I've been to the headquarters; it's about 10 miles from my home. Nice people. I can honestly say I've had no problems.
Hi, BlankKeys - we must be neighbors. In which direction are you 10 miles from them? I'm in the Phoenix area (north of the Great Northern Mall area).
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#97222 - 05/04/08 12:36 PM
Re: Anybody work for SpectraMedi in NY?
[Re: AnnMT]
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BlankKeys
Member
Registered: 04/09/08
Posts: 458
Loc: New York
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Hi, Ann! I'm in the Minoa area. I have friends in Phoenix - did you get enough snow this year?
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#97230 - 05/04/08 02:47 PM
Re: Anybody work for SpectraMedi in NY?
[Re: BlankKeys]
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AnnMT
Member
Registered: 08/02/05
Posts: 582
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I must say compared to most years, this year seemed pretty mild - but then again, this was the first winter I worked from home, so maybe it just seemed that way to me.
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#97303 - 05/05/08 11:21 PM
Re: Anybody work for SpectraMedi in NY?
[Re: AnnMT]
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FarAwayDeb
Member
Registered: 03/15/02
Posts: 2769
Loc: just south of Rochester, NY
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You could try Shorthand for Windows, it's an easier and less expensive expander program. There's a 30-day free trial, and after that I believe you can pay $30/year instead of paying full purchase price.
Shorthand for Windows
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