Kavur, Andhra Pradesh

Rightfulness in the face of indifference and arrogance

We live in times where the words "environment" and "meltdown" have taken on a frightening synonymy. We, as a planet, clamor for the two degrees of our rightful coolness in the face of indifference and arrogance at the highest levels and of the highest order. We owe it to all the lives and efforts that have gone into creating this present, to our selves, and to our future to take steps to green minds, to green lives, to create leaders for tomorrow who will not blindly follow the destructive legacies that litter our history books, and to let our children know what a sparrow really looks like.

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Compensation Survey 2009-2010

IAMR constituents have shared basic data and operate on the principles of fairness, efficiency, value for all, and equitable and sensible sharing of yields at bandwidths fair to all stakeholders, at all levels.

Most of the Readers of MTAnywhere, or Transdyne or Worldtech internal message-boards, or the forums of mtindia, mtdaily, mtweek and the rest will be familiar with our 2005 survey.

Well. It is time now so that we have 2010 numbers that we can try and get close to and freeze for a period of all-round benefit.

Write in to subhorup+data@gmail.com with "iamr survey 2010" in the subject line to express your inclination to participate. This is open to all units of all sizes, homebased LAN collectives, from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. We do know that we will be hearing from Orissa and West Bengal too. We do not get to hear a lot from the rest though we know that they do network up in the north.

And in the same vein for those whose readers suck this up as soon as we hit publish, do keep yourself free on the evening of Monday, June 15, 2009. We know most of you who will have this by then will be there. But do spread the word if you can. OUT-OF-HYDERABAD FRIENDS, PLEASE EMAIL CONTACT DETAILS IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO STAY ON TOP OF SUCH THINGS. It promises to be a stimulating evening. Details, and the invite for those of you who are not on the IAMR member list, after the jump, the invitation too, from Venkateshwar Rao and Raghu and Ramakrishna and the rest of us too. Hooraah! But First, the routemap.



Hello friends,

While thanking IAMR management for giving Vasavi an opportunity to host its forthcoming meeting I, on my behalf and on behalf of our company, cordially invite you and/or your top management members to make it convenient and participate in the following program:

Date and Time: Monday, the 15th June, 2009 @ 6.30 p.m.

Venue: Our Office, Badeti’s Mansion, 6-3-712/153, Panjagutta Colony, Hyd-500082 (location map attached).

Chief Guest: Prof. (Dr.) B.Ramesh Babu, decades long expert on US Politics & Cultural Studies (Public Affairs) – brief CV attached -, has consented to share his thoughts on "INDIA US RELATIONS SINCE OBAMA: POLITICS & ECONOMICS".

Though Prof. Ramesh Babu is spending active retired life in Hyderabad, he continues to keep himself abreast of his nearly half a century knowledge of the subject. I feel that interaction with him as to past & present US politics & culture (also called public affairs) is likely to make IAMR members appreciate the ongoing US economic/business environment better.

We all have been endeavoring to study, analyse and assess as to future prospects for business from USA. Perhaps, knowing more about the ongoing US culture in the backdrop of its politics places us in the right perspective to move forward. Let us aim at having a participative, lively and useful interactive session with Dr. Ramesh Babu.

Dinner follows the meeting.

Looking forward to receiving you,

P. Venkateswara Rao,
Mg. Dir.,
Vasavi Prosoft Transcription Ltd.
Tel:23404102 & 23406099
RSVP: Naresh - Extn. 30 or Kalpavalli - Extn. 20 or 21

The Tale of the Rubber Checks

(From an article in Advance, link below)

Joan Edwards (not her real name), like Trudy Schaefer Looney, got into transcription on a whim 14 years ago. "It was sort of by fluke," she said. "I basically trained myself. I started out with a doctor and his wife. It was a brand new practice, and we sort of trained each other."

Edwards worked there for 4 years until the clinic closed due to lack of business. She moved on from there, getting her own accounts and working directly for clinics. Everything in her MT world was fine until she started working for a medical transcription service organization (MTSO) 2 years ago. The warning signs were there. The company said it would get direct deposit for its 120 MTs nationwide. It didn't. The promised health care coverage never showed up. A notice was sent out by the company saying that 10 oncology MTs quit, all in the same day. And MTs were forbidden by the company from contacting each other, even if they worked on the same accounts. Also, a lot of times Edwards and other MTs saw discrepancies in the line counts. They thought they typed more lines than they were paid for, but the only way to prove it would be to purchase the company's own line counting software, which would cost a hefty $300.

Despite the early warning signs that the company might not have been the best, Edwards was always paid on time--at least up until 3 months ago. She walked into the company's bank with a check, and the teller didn't even look at the amount. "She looked at the company name and she just shook her head. I said, 'Why are you shaking your head?' She answered, 'There's insufficient funds,'" Edwards recalled.

Edwards called the owner, who said the money would be in the bank the following morning. He promised the check wouldn't bounce. Edwards ended up $700 overdrawn on her account, and it took 5 days to finally get the money she was owed along with the bank fees for cashing a rubber check.

A couple weeks later, Edwards experienced the same thing. The check would bounce, so she couldn't put it in her account. She called the fraudulent check division in her county, but they provided little help, as she would have to put the check into the account, let it bounce and then prove the owner didn't make things right. "We don't have the option to wait that long, especially single mothers or widows like me," Edwards said. "That's how we feed our children."

Finally, after 3 months of dealing with bad checks, Edwards left the company. She now visits chat sites to let other MTs who ask about the company know that it's bad news. Edwards recently landed a job with another transcription company, but she's wary of the profession now. "I really don't want to get back into the medical transcription profession because of [this company]," she said. "You just don't know what's going to happen."

Edwards admitted she put up with the bounced checks and other problems for too long. She liked the clinic she transcribed for, and was familiar with the doctors. She felt resistant to change, until it became unbearable to stick with the company. The lesson here: don't wait around. If you're experiencing a similar situation, it's not likely that things are going to improve. There are good MT companies out there. Find one and don't be afraid to make the change.

Another lesson out of Edwards' issues is to thoroughly research before starting a job with a company. She checked on chat sites in the MT world before starting work for the company, but didn't find much information. Now Edwards and others who worked for the company peruse message boards to try to help other MTs steer clear. If a transcription company has a bad reputation, chances are that reputation will get out on the Internet, and MTs looking for jobs can use that resource. Another tip is to speak with MTs already working for the company you're thinking of working for. If a company isn't comfortable letting you speak to its MTs, that might be a red flag.

(To read the rest of the Advance story about how MT companies in US are turning out to be questionable employers, click here)