Wednesday, March 23, 2005

I am now officially tied up with a better MT company!!!

I had a lot of mistakes when I agreed to work for my first employer. Well, it was a learning process for me. But as soon as I realized that that company was rotten, and it was such a waste of my talents and time to work for them, I made my announcement of leaving them as early as just beyond one week of working for them. They were not worth my time and effort. I abided by the two-week notice I was required before such notices as termination of service or vacation. During those last two weeks of working for them I was actively seeking other potential employers. This new one was the one most satisfying company among those who replied positively to my application. I interrogated their systems, addressing all those concerns that made me want to quit my previous company, and when I was satisfied, I then took their tests. Obviously, I passed with flying colors. I was satisfied with all their answers (two weeks of corresponding through emails, plus the final phone conversation to conclude the terms), and they were satisfied with my performance in their tests. As early as now I have developed a deep sense of respect for these professional people who obviously knew how to value their employees. My previous employer should learn from my new employer, but then, they are not the type of people who listen to their most important resources.

Below is a copy of the contract between me and my new employer. One thing I can say is that this new employer is very professional and knows how to listen to their greatest asset, their MTs. My new employer is miles far ahead my previous employer. I am so glad to make this shift at a very early phase of my MT career.


SECTION 1. PARTIES AND TERM OF CONTRACT

This Contract for Medical Transcription Services (hereinafter called "Agreement") is made this 23rd day of March, 2005, by and between [ME], the subcontractor, an independent contractor (hereinafter called "Subcontractor"), whose address is xxxx,and telephone number is #####, and [employer(hereinafter called "Contractor"), whose address is [address].

WHEREAS Subcontractor desires to contract with Contractor to perform work and/or services in accordance with the contract between Contractor and its Client(s) (hereinafter called "Client(s)"), and

WHEREAS the parties herein desire to set forth their contractual and business arrangement(s)

THEREFORE, this Agreement constitutes said contractual and business arrangement(s), and the parties hereto contract and agree as follows:

THAT THE SUBCONTRACTOR agrees to perform, abide by and follow the stipulations listed in this Agreement:

1. Client Contracts. During the course of performing work and/or other services in accordance with the contract between Contractor and any of its Client(s), Subcontractor agrees to adhere to the terms of said contract, which are considered pertinent by the Contractor to insure Contractor's compliance to the terms of said contract.

2. Equipment, Supplies, Materials. The independent Subcontractor will provide his/her own transcription and word processing equipment, reference materials, and supplies. Contractor will provide any supplies specifically indigenous to the Client(s). The Subcontractor is responsible for all repairs on his/her own equipment. Any equipment, supplies, or materials (i.e., doctor’s lists, drug lists, etc.) provided to the Subcontractor by the Contractor will not be distributed to any third party by the Subcontractor.

3. Work Hours. Subcontractor's work hours are set at the Subcontractor's discretion with consideration for the terms and conditions of the listed hereinabove contract between Contractor and his/her Client.

4. Compensation. Compensation for all work will be paid at a rate of $0.07 per 65-character line by electronic character count.


Contract for Medical Transcription Services
Page 2


5. Invoices/Billing Statements. Based on the work performed by the Subcontractor from the 16th through the 31st of the previous month, compensation will be issued on the 16th of the following month. For the 1st through the 15th of a month, compensation will be issued on the 1st of the following month. Subcontractor may verify the character/line count within the EMDAT software. Any discrepancies between the Subcontractor and Contractor counts are to be settled within two weeks of statement issue. EMDAT software is used to calculate compensation owed to Subcontractor.

6. Payment. Contractor will only compensate Subcontractor for work completed which meets the requirement(s) of the Client(s) in accordance with the contract(s) between Contractor and Client(s), which includes missed deadlines. The Subcontractor will be given an opportunity to correct any unacceptable work and will receive compensation for the final and correct product.

Contractor is not responsible to remunerate Subcontractor for work that must be reprocessed due to losses caused by power outages or equipment failure. It is the responsibility of Subcontractor to keep equipment in working order and to provide backup emergency services should a technical problem occur.

7. Confidentiality. It is Subcontractor's responsibility to refrain from violating any confidence of the patients or their families through indiscriminate discussion pertaining to patients, their treatment, diagnosis, or progress. Erroneous and nonpublic information released by Subcontractor shall result in legal liability. The Subcontractor understands and agrees that all patient names, patient records and patient information are strictly confidential and will not make any disclosures.

8. Communication with Clients. Subcontractor may not communicate with Client(s) directly regarding billing or pricing structure or anything other than a question directly applying to the production of reports or documents, or work procedure, such as terminology, spelling, etc. When communicating with Client(s), Subcontractor must identify self as being from the agency of Contractor, and in no way represent self as an independent.

9. Noncompete Clause. The Client(s) of the Contractor shall remain the Client(s) of the Contractor unless and until the contract between such parties is terminated or expires without renewal in accordance with such contract. The Subcontractor will not contract or attempt to contract directly with Clients of Contractor unless and until the contract between such parties is terminated or expires without renewal, and only with the express written consent of Contractor.

10. Quantity of Work. Subcontractor understands Contractor cannot guarantee the quantity of work that will be made available to Subcontractor, as work volume is beyond the control of Contractor, and is set by the Client(s).




Contract for Medical Transcription Services
Page 3


11. Termination of this Contract.

Contractor may terminate this Agreement by providing Subcontractor with seven days written notice.

Subcontractor may terminate this Agreement by providing Subcontractor with seven days written notice. Anything less than a seven-day written notice may result in a 50 percent penalty fee assessed against Subcontractor's final billing statement, payable to the Contractor, and subtracted from the final payment due to the Subcontractor.

Upon termination of this Agreement, Subcontractor is to surrender to Contractor, all tapes, reports, documents, computer disks, Client(s) stationary, and any other supplies and/or equipment belonging to or loaned by or borrowed from Contractor.

Upon termination of this Agreement, Subcontractor is responsible for supplying the Contractor with a copy of all work performed for Client(s) during the previous two-week period.

12. Entire Agreement. This Agreement supersedes any and all other agreements, either oral or in writing, between the parties hereto with respect to the hiring of Contractor by client, and contains all of the covenants and agreements between the parties with respect to that hiring in any manner whatsoever. Each party to this Agreement acknowledges that no representation, inducements, promises, or agreements, orally or otherwise, have been made by any party, or anyone acting on behalf of any party, which are not embodied herein, and that no other agreement, statement, or promise no contained in this agreement shall be valid or binding on either party, except that any other written agreement dated concurrent with or after this Agreement shall be valid as between the signing parties thereto.

13. Modifications or Amendments. No amendment, change or modification of this Agreement shall be valid unless in writing signed by the parties hereto.

14. Waiver. The failure of either party to insist on strict compliance with any of the terms, covenants, or conditions of this Agreement by the other party shall not be deemed a waiver of that term, covenant, or condition, nor shall any waiver or relinquishment of any right or power at any one time or times be deemed a waiver or relinquishment of that right or power for all or any other times.

15. Partial invalidity. If any provision in this Agreement is held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, void, or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall nevertheless continue in full force without being impaired or invalidated in any way

16. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of Alabama. The laws of the State of Alabama shall govern the validity of this Agreement, the construction of its terms and the interpretation of the rights and duties of the parties hereto.


Contract for Medical Transcription Services
Page 4


17. Notices. Any and all notices, demands, or other communications required or desired to be given hereunder by any party, shall be in writing and shall be considered validly given or made to another party if personally served, or if deposited in the United States mail, certified or registered, postage prepaid, return receipt requested. If such notice, demand or other communication is given by mail, such notice shall be conclusively deemed given five days after deposit thereof in the United States mail addressed to the party to whom such notice, demand or other communication is to be given as follows:

If to the Contractor: XXXXXX

If to the Subcontractor: XXXXXX


This Agreement is via Internet and mail on this 23rd day of March 2005.

.

_______________________________________
My Signature



________________________________________
Employer's Signature


It is quite ironic that most of the companies seek MTs with 2-3 years of experience. Even this new employer of mine wanted experienced MTs. I lacked experience, but I got to the stage, despite annoying queries regarding methods of work distribution and payment system, of finally taking their tests to show what I can offer to their company. I even had the vision, upon being so impressed with the efficient system of this particular company, of promoting this service in my area, and giving more clients to my company, meaning to distribute more work to the MTs. I was thinking that if MTs are nationwide, we can get clients nationwide as well, if such efforts are rewarded by incentives (say 1% of all work done for the client marketed will go to the marketer, with the marketer trying her best, of course, to meet customer satisfaction to keep her incentives coming). An MT can only type so fast and do so much in a day's work, but with marketing, the income is augmented exponentially. My new employer is trying to discuss such possibilities with their partner (EMR). If approved and once working, I will be ready to use my Filipina charm to the doctors around here.

Haha...as soon as I received the contract copy to sign, I got an email from another company that says they saw my CV at MTWanted.com and are interested to learn more. They gave their salary payscale, which was so low (starting pay of 4 cpl, when I will start here with my new employer at 7 cpl despite lack of experience -- what a joke!!!)as well as a list of equipment that an IC MT must possess (I wondered whether they required their MTs to buy the software, pedal and reference materials.) I knew I corresponded before to this other company, and they replied, giving me the same information, to which I sent several queries addressing some concerns, such as the need to buy the equipment (or can I use mine?), etc. I got no replies to my queries. Then I got their email...Hahahaha! Some companies are now so desperate to get good MTs, yet they are not too keen on giving pay commensurate to the abilities of MTs. Plus some of them even try to make a business out of it, by demanding that the MT pay for such and such equipment or pay a deposit! Some say such arrangements are justifiable because MTs are given work to do in the comfort of their homes...Helloooo! This companies save a lot not to have to put up an office, and with IC status, they even have nothing to worry about benefits!!! The least they can do is compensate the MTs with a good salary!!!

I know I can save enough money with this new employer for me to take the USMLE or process whatever papers I have to prepare for an RN life, or even obtain a certification as a Phlebotomist...There are so many options available, once I have saved the money to proceed.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Doc Lory,

Congrats for getting into a better company!

Anonymous said...

Things are looking up for you Lory! Congrats and good luck!

Ger

Anonymous said...

Hi Tina and Ger,

Thanks! I really hope that this time, there will be no disillusionment.

WE still have a long way to go to raise the money to finish our house...sighhhh!

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