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It is always nice to hear that you did a good job! Don’t you think?

Below is a wonderful blurb developed by a client about CLK Transcription. Things like this make my day!
“About CarolLee Streeter Kidd, president of CLK Transcription and her company…You may have worked with numerous transcription companies over the years, but there is only one CarolLee Streeter Kidd. CarolLee is the hardest working woman you will ever meet. She takes personal interest in all of her clients and connects to them in a personal way, on the phone, via phone and Facebook/Twitter. There is not one transcription company out there that will listen to you intently and hold your hand throughout the process, delivering your transcripts exactly the way you need. But CarolLee will! Her commitment to excellence is head and shoulders above the rest. The company has worked with over 500 journalists, authors, ghost writers, scholars, and educators for over 10 years.
Check out CLK’s Brag page to see all the leading corporations, journalists, authors, and others, CLK Transcription has assisted!
 
CLK provides accurate, timely transcription for whatever your needs are. The company well understands tight deadlines and are happy to accommodate you.”
****

These words mean more than money to my team and me. We love what we do and are happy to be in a career we trained for, continue to train for, and love! We do have a special place in our heart for the non-medical side of transcription, but we also carry multiple medical accounts as well.

We know how busy our clients are and we understand their budgets and deadlines. We pride ourselves in working with them to master both of those challenges.

We offer the following services, and more:

  • Transcription of audio/video
  • Voice mail transcription
  • Audio conversion – tape to mp3, or other digital to digital formats
  • PDF development / conversion
  • Database development by either typing in your information or direct scan into a workable document
  • Time coding of transcripts for use in televised productions
  • Sorting / categorizing your published / soon to be published work
  • Proofreading drafts for accuracy in spelling and grammar
  • We even offer a call in dictation, for those who have equipment malfunctions or may not be proficient with equipment needed to record and transfer files. This service is available, whether we transcribe the audio or not.

We also like to help you keep costs down, so we offer / accept several methods of transfer, free:

Dropbox, where we share a folder with you rather than you pay the service to accommodate the size of your files.

FTP site, safe, secure, and easy to use. (Some browsers do not support ftp transfers and may require an additional program download (free))

Sendthisfile (size/use limitations)

Yousendit (size/use limitations)

And of course, we accept file transfers via email, and many other online programs, as well.

We also offer a free email through the CLK domain that you may use, password protected, to organize your “junk mail” or for those “sign up” sites that usually clog your professional email in-boxes. This leaves access to you, and no more sorting through the junk and possibly miss that important email you’ve been waiting for.

And for those of you who wish to have a ftp site for your professional needs, other than sending files to CLK, we can set you up through our domain to utilize a folder and share with your contacts, associates, or project manager for a low monthly fee.

Payment for CLK services is easy as well. We itemize your invoice, showing the filename length of audio, and amount charged. We offer several methods of payment (check, money order, Paypal, Dwolla) – and no prepayment is necessary. We invoice twice a month and offer 15 days leeway for you to remit payment for the invoice – which is technically up to 30 days from the time you submit the work to having to submit payment for it. We also offer discounted rates and payment plans for those with the strictest of budgets.

It is easy to communicate with CLK – by phone, via instant message, FB, Twitter, LinkedIn, or email. We are available 24/7 to accept files, and offer extended office hours 7 days a week to assist you personally or walk you through any step of the process. We understand our clients do not have a 9 to 5 day, so we remain here for you.

Lastly, we do love our writers, authors, journalists and freelancers – and we offer discounts throughout the year to members of ASJA, UPOD, NASW, FLX, AHCJ and APH.  We look forward to joining forces with other major organizations as well, and would love to hear from those who may want to utilize our services.

So whether you have interviews, meetings, webinars, seminars, telecasts, broadcasts, books, dairies, IEPs, or even business cards and recipes you would like to have transcribed, organized, or converted – find out how we will save you time and money, visit us today – www.clktranscription.com – Where we are not professional bloggers – we are transcriptionists!

Come and join us on the various social media sites – we love to share your work and promote the great writers of today and tomorrow.

Twitter = @CLK_Shortcake

Facebook = http://www.facebook.com/CLKTranscription
and
http://www.facebook.com/CLK-Trans

LinkedIn = http://www.linkedin.com/in/clktranscription

A crusade for the American medical transcriptionist – what has to be done to keep our jobs?

I have been doing what I do for a very long time now, and over the past ten years have seen more and more of the work I, and so many others, could be doing being sent overseas.

Why?

At first, and still some now, I and many others in my profession thought it was for cheap labor.   I am beginning to wonder.  Sure, many think it is cheaper for the medical professionals and health providers to send the dictation overseas for transcription, but when you factor in the amount of money for proofing and editing the work once it is returned, there is no real savings.  As a matter of opinion, I would claim that it is probably more costly when you total up those figures.

So why?

It certainly isn’t because of lack of experienced and talented transcriptionists.  There are tens of thousands of transcriptionists right here that paid tens of thousands of dollars for the education and equipment to handle dictation transcription.  In addition, some of these very same transcriptionist are the ones healthcare providers hire to edit the reports returned by off-shore transcription companies.

So, again, I ask why?

In my opinion, the opportunity to bring transcription back to the US, is a fight I am taking on and work everyday to see a piece of it return.  For me, to think that my entire history, family, health, social, and all identifying information about me, being sent to a faraway place is just horrifying.  For me, thinking of how so many people spend time and money to learn a trade, want to work, only to find that the majority of the work is going overseas is dreadful.   (I could and will say this about ANY work sent offshore, but am holding this particular blog post to transcription.)

What makes this whole topic even more irritating to me is that when someone searches the word ‘transcription’, or ‘transcription news’, or even ‘American transcription’ – 90 percent, if not more, that shows up in that search are articles about off-shoring transcription, offshore transcription companies.  The biggest part of the remaining 10 percent of those same results are US MTs complaining about their work.  (Rest assured, this blog post is not going to do that.  This one tries to answer the question why and at the same time show why you shouldn’t.)

After working so hard to fight the occurrence of off-shoring medical transcription, and doing a little research of my own, opening my own transcription company and dealing with 100s of transcriptionists here in the United States, I think I may have part of the answer – and it won’t be liked by those in my profession – but it is my opinion, and I never hold back when I see a fight worth fighting.  Hell, I am not known to hold back on anything – so why start now.

I think a large part of the reason is the arrogance many seasoned transcriptionist have come to have about their abilities and how they spread that around to the newbies just entering the business.   So much arrogance that they make it difficult themselves for someone to want to consider utilizing them.

Arrogance?  What do I mean?

I certainly do not want to imply we are not absolutely the best people to hire, or that we do not absolutely deserve everything we want.  Doesn’t everyone who spends most of their adult life learning their trade and taking pride in their abilities?

So what do I mean?

I mean that so many US transcriptionists have multiple expectations and demands in order for YOU to hire US.  We want steady work, even if you are slow.  We want higher rates, even if you don’t get it back in your fee workup.  We want to do the reports the way we have always done them, regardless of whether you have your own way of dictating.  We want to decide that what you dictate and how you dictate is food for fodder, and may even change it without understanding your desires and thoughts during the process.  We want to correct those words you “make up”, even if to you and the patient, they are critical.  We want to be considered independent contractors, but want employment benefits.

I mean if the only part of that original search results for American transcription mentioned above shows up with actual US transcriptionist results yet with them complaining about their work – why on earth would anyone want to hire them?  They certainly wouldn’t be considered in any other profession if they were found to be this difficult to work with.

No, it is not all the fault of the US transcriptionist.

No, I don’t think that is the whole picture. I think that many of the medical professionals and hospital systems, even insurance companies, feel that by sending the work off-shore they can (& are) bypassing some of the strict privacy laws and regulations set up here in the US making it easier for them to save a buck – not so much in the actual dictation/transcription/editing process –  but in other administrative areas.

I don’t claim to know the ins and outs of hospital administration and financial burdens they have, but I do have a background in various areas of the medical profession, including medical records, billing, and coding (another profession going overseas), and of course, transcription and do know many of the state and federal laws regarding these areas and HIPAA.  I can see where the money would be saved when regulations can be “ignored” or ‘side-stepped’ when using an off-shore transcription company.

 

Another problem is that those medical professionals who do not want to off-shore their dictations but are in fact unaware that that is exactly what is happening.  They made contact with an American Transcription Company and thought their work would be done here, but in fact, many of the larger transcription companies send their files overseas so they, too, can save a buck.   Simply checking their website for contact information would provide this information, but some don’t even mention that.  Unless you work or worked there, you would never know.  Unless you do your research, you may never know – unless you’re the editor of the reports or the administrator of the company.

 

Bringing the transcription work back to the US is going to take much effort.  I know this – I live it everyday.  Others seem to think it’s a matter of just demanding it be done and forcing the government to demand it be done. To some extent this is true.  I would add that it is going to take the patients, whose information is being sent offshore, to push buttons and demand the information stay here.  It is going to take hospital administrators, insurance company executives, and physicians to not only want to have their dictations transcribed here, but incentives be given to them if they do.  You know, those same incentives given to other companies to offshore their work. 

 

And most importantly, it is going to take the US transcriptionist to understand that either we change the way we think about our own careers, and change the way we think about our potential clients and their responsibilities, and either love what we do enough to do a great job with a little bit more flexibility in our own demands and expectations, and going the extra step to research while completing our work, and continuing our education, to allow others to see that having a US transcriptionist do the job is the best practice for everyone.

 

Transcription is one, if not the, fastest growing, most in-demand work product of the new millennium.  Imagine the jobs generated if we just kept it here.  Imagine the economic growth for thousands of individuals in the US.  Imagine the ability to add a piece of safety to our personal identity. 

 

www.clktranscription.com – We love what we do enough to help you save time and money.

At least once in your life you could have used a great transcriptionist! Did you find it at the grocery store?

I get asked all the time, “who needs transcription services besides doctors and lawyers?’

I am always amazed at the amount of “wow, I hadn’t thought of that” responses that I get when I tell them.

At one time or another everyone needs transcription so they can have an electronic copy to edit, share and save.  Having a transcribed version of their audio or hard copy material allows them to do all of that, plus having someone else handle that part of their project, allows them time to complete the other pressing aspects of their project or life.

I am equally amazed at how many send their work to a medical transcription company when their project is not medically related. 

CLK Transcription is a TRANSCRIPTION company, specializing in medical and non-medical projects of all topics and specialties.   You wouldn’t take your transmission concern to a quick lube joint, or your horse to a pediatrician, or shop for a contractor at a grocery store would you?

Parents:

  • IEPs held for their special needs kids.
  • Their grandma’s diary, recipes, and old love letters to be shared with others.
  • Their grandpa’s stories that made them sit in wonder on his lap while he told them.

 Students:

  • Interviews for your Masters / Doctorate projects
  • Student’s senior projects
  • Reports and presentations

Freelancers / Authors / Ghost Writers:

  • Interviews
  • Hard copy of older articles
  • Notes for the book being written
  • Telephone communications

Physicians:

  • Medical notes / exams, Op reports. H&P, IMEs, procedure notes
  • Telephone communications
  • Letters of medical necessity

Lawyers:

  • IMEs
  • Depositions
  • Telephone communications
  • Meetings

Corporations:

  • Meetings
  • Roundtables
  • Brainstorming sessions
  • Material for office in-services / training / employee handbooks
  • Material for mailers
  • Correspondence
  • Seminars
  • Telephone communications
  • Multi-day events and ceremonies

Trainers / Educators / Mentors

  • Webinars
  • Radio shows
  • Seminars
  • Meetings
  • Telephone communications

Elderly / Physically handicapped

  • Correspondence to our loved ones
  • Things to remember / lists / important items.

Everyone:

  • Voice mail
  • Poetry written on napkins
  • Recipes only found in our memories
  • Thoughts to be saved for future sharing with loved ones
  • Master Lists for chores, receipts, shopping, auto repairs, home repairs, important insurance inventory lists, etc.
  • Electronic Signatures developed – Go Green and Save a tree

We also proofread items already transcribed. 

All of these things and more can be easily transcribed and saved electronically for editing, burning to disc, sharing, and prep for that very important project.  When you think about the time saved when someone else does the transcribing, and you can get on with every other aspect of your project, or just spend time with loved ones  – you find how very important you time is.

So when you think you don’t need a transcription company, or feel you can do it yourself – I just have to ask “how much is your time worth?  How long does it take you to transcribe those notes, memos, audios – and what else could you be doing?”

CLK Transcription can help you find the time you need and help you meet your deadline and get on with other personal concerns.  Whether it is recorded audio or hard copy (scrap paper, receipts, hand written or old print), we can develop it into an easy to read and edit document for you.

Our rates are competitive, reasonable, and below the national norm – and we work with you on your budgetary concerns.  We offer an easy to read invoice as well as yearly invoice recaps for your tax filing.  Most importantly, every client receives a confidentiality agreement signed by us, and if you have other documentation needed, we have no problem supplying it for your records.  We never off-shore our projects and we do not use speech recognition – have you seen the errors made by use of this program?

Throughout the year we offer savings programs so that tax season and the holidays don’t take a bite of your work, or vice versa, and we offer payment plans for those who may need it.  We truly understand how your project is important to you even when the economy can slow us all down.

Contact us today to find out how we can save you time and money.

www.clktranscription.com

This is the time for seminars and conferences. We can transcribe those!

Are you sponsoring, promoting, or attending a seminar or conference this Summer?

Why not have it recorded and the audio transcribed so all that great information covered, discussed and enjoyed can be shared even after the event ends?

CLK Transcription has been busy the last few weeks transcribing conferences and seminars ranging in topics from sanitary engineering, medical issues and innovations, political and military, to financial and family matters.  We can transcribe yours too.

Having the transcripts allows for clear understanding of the information provided, and even answers some of the questions others may have about the information you want to share.

If you have a seminar, conference, or other meeting or presentation scheduled, why not find out how having that transcript can help you spread your information further than to just those in attendance.  Don’t leave people saying, “I wish I could have been there.”  Let them attend with the availability of the transcript.

Journalists who cover these events can have portions or the entire event audio transcribed for use and reference in developing their articles.  Others find that just having their speaking portion of the event transcribed, is a great way to capture their participation in the event for future promotion of their speaking abilities.

Contact CLK Transcription for information on having your event audio transcribed.  CarolLee@clktranscription.com.  Find out why we come highly recommended.

WWW.CLKTRANSCRIPTION.COM.

Check us out:

Twitter = @CLK_Shortcake

Facebook = http://www.facebook.com/CLKTranscription
and
http://www.facebook.com/pages/CLK-Transcription-Inc/100158850050342

LinkedIn = http://www.linkedin.com/in/clktranscription

A Touching Transcriptionist’s Tale – Get Your Hankies Ready

I already know I have a fantastic team of transcriptionists here at CLK.  I already know that each of them have a story.  Here is another.  When you think that working from home is a luxury, I hope this gives you just a little more insight.  The only luxury is being able to be where our heart needs us most.

Why Transcription? ~by  Nicole Gennrich

Let me first say I love the work that I do for CLK.  Who knew you could never get bored doing your job.  It’s the same physical movement but the subject is always different.  I find it fascinating every day.  But I can honestly say that’s not what first drew me to the possibility of transcription as a career.

I’m fairly young and spent a lot of time trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life.  I had a daughter who I took to daycare every day so I could go to work.  I knew I hated missing so much time with her but knew, just like every other parent, that the bills had to be paid as well.  I was the marketing manager at a small water treatment company; liked my job but didn’t love it and didn’t really have any training to do anything else.  One day my whole view of my job, daycare, and the world changed.  My daughter’s daycare was closed that day so a “friend” of mine was watching her for me.  I received a frantic call from him that she was having a seizure.  I told him to call 911 and left work immediately.  When I got to my house the ambulance was still there so I rode to the hospital with her.  We had to stop a long the way because she was no longer breathing on her own and needed to be intubated.  After she was examined by the doctors they pulled me in a separate room and informed me that she had been shaken very violently and would probably not wake up again.  She was 18 months old.  They took her by helicopter to the best children’s hospital we have.  I knew if she could be saved they would save her.  Three days later in her ICU room I said goodbye to my baby and held her as they unhooked her from life support.  After spending a lot of time not being able to move I decided I had to figure something out.  I returned to my job but had been demoted and replaced because of my extended absence.  Understandable…life goes on for the rest of the world even when it has stopped for you.

Anyway, I had spent too much time and worked to hard to go back to where I started when I first joined the company.  I also realized I loved and missed being a mother and knew I needed to find something to do so I could be there if I ever had another baby – trusting someone would not be an option anymore.  That’s when I heard an ad on the radio for a seminar about medical transcription.  I went to the seminar and found out about going to school at home and working at home.  I started my medical transcription course with At-Home Professions and loved it.  It took me awhile to finish but I got it done.  In December 2007 I had a baby boy and knew I could be home with him.  I had a hard time finding work as a newbie to the medical transcription world.  But then I found the posting for transcription with CLK.  I wasn’t sure about the general transcription part but thought I’d send my resume anyway.  I can honestly say I love the general transcription more than medical now.  Why I choose transcription – it’s fun, fascinating, and I know my son is safe when I go to work every day.

Why I became a transcriptionist…Leticia W.

I asked the CLK team to jot done a few reasons why they became a transcriptionist and what they love about it.  Here is one story from one member of my team:

So, I thought, what do I want to be when I grow up?  I wanted a job where I could learn new things every day.  I wanted to have variety and some challenge in the work, throw in a little pressure or a deadline once in a while, and at the end of the day, be able to see my accomplishments for the day and know that I had done the very best job I could.  Also, I needed the flexibility in a job to allow me to be able to handle responsibilities at home that I had, plus, I love to type.

After careful consideration of my options, and the skills I had acquired through the years, I decided to become a medical transcriptionist.  So, I joined Career Step in December of 2007, took their medical transcription course, graduated the beginning of December 2008, with Honors, and started working with CLK at the end of December 2008.

Becoming a transcriptionist is one of the best decisions I could have ever made.  It allows me all the things I love in a job and then some.  I look forward every day to getting up and going to work. I found myself without a job in May of 2007 and I was completely lost.  I was in my early 40s and just didn’t think I could start over looking for a job and working my way back up the corporate ladder, especially the way the economy was headed.  It was time for a change.

LW

Visit us at www.clktranscription.com where transcribing isn’t just what we do  – it is who we are!

Working hard to meet the quality demands of our clients, and at the same time, the family and economic demands of the US transcriptionist.

CLK Transcription, Inc. Making your life a bit easier

Here are just a few things we can do for you to make your professional and personal life that much easier:

Allow you more time to work on other projects, while we transcribe your audio.  While you interview or write your next article, we can transcribe the audio for verification purposes.

Allow easy documentation signing, without printing all the paper work by developing your electronic signature that can be copied and pasted into an online document in most cases.

Allow you to easily use your computer to listen to your audio by converting those less recognized formats into a format your programs can easily work with.

Allow your podcasts, webinars, seminars, conferences and other face-to-face or online meetings to be shared with more people.  We will transcribe into a word document so that you can share with others who have no time to sit and watch a video or attend in person.

Allow you more free time or uninterrupted time during your meetings.  We can handle your voice mail, sending transcripts direct to your Smartphone, anywhere you are.  That important message will find you and let you decide whether you need to handle it now or later.

Are you working on your Masters or Doctorate and have interviews upon interviews that you need to sort out.  We can transcribe them for easy review allowing you more time for the meat of your paper.

Are you a physician who needs their patient reports transcribed quick and efficiently?  We have expertise in all specialties of the medical profession.

Oncology                     Orthopedics                         Hematology

Pediatrics                     Infectious disease                Rheumatology

Psychiatry                    Physiatry                             Radiology

Pathology                     Dermatology                      Cardiology

Pulmonary                   Plastic Surgery                  Ophthalmology

Chiropractic                 Clinical and Acute Care, Op notes, IMEs, and more.

Clk Transcription, Inc. can do all this and more.  All this for what has been noted as less than the national average, and yes, all done by human ears and human hands here in the US.  No speech recognition.  No off shoring.

You can review some of our recommendations on LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com/in/clktranscription), or request recommendations from many of our connections on Facebook (CarolLee Streeter Kidd)  or Twitter (CLK_Shortcake).

Contact us today, and see how we can make your life that much easier.

Why is a Great US Transcriptionist Important? I Will Tell You Why.

In this day and age, many professionals find the process of having their words transcribed in an accurate and detailed manner one of the toughest parts of their profession.  Many US professionals feel that off-shoring the audio for transcription is cost-effective, however the accuracy is lost due to the misunderstanding of the English language and the various manners in which people speak. They may save money on the transcription, but place more time and money into the editing of the transcripts.

Those in the medical field are finding that insurance companies and hospital administrators are demanding all items be dictated and transcribed, documenting every treatment, decision and prescription.  Having this completed and documented in the patient’s chart in a timely fashion is pertinent to the care and treatment of patients for several reasons:

In dealing with patients who have any type of disorder, having the written document of instructions, treatment plan etc helps the physician know that their patient understands what is going on in their care after they leave the appointment.  It affords the physician the knowledge that he has covered all bases available and given the detailed instructions, assisting in any liability claims he may come across in the future.  It allows all parties involved to document and review care given and projected treatment and assessments of the patient so that other medical professionals do not have to redo testing and treatments that may have already been done.

A journalist/writer/author must have their audio transcribed clearly and accurately so the truth in their work is unquestionable and forthright.  Transcribing  this audio accurately not only gives the author the ability to use the words and develop a terrific story, but it also shows the “flavor” of the spoken word and the attitude, and even in some cases the experience of the speaker, allowing the author/writer to “showcase” that in their work.

A great transcriptionist will take the audio of a client, tape or electronically recorded, and develop their reports noting every detail that has been dictated.  They will review the transcripts and if there appears to be a “problem” (example – medication dose, frequency, name of source, or inaudible word/phrase, etc) they will transcribe what is dictated but will flag this for the client to review.  They will review and proof their work so that the client can then review and verify accuracy and completeness, possibly finding a “hole” in the story and be able to follow through.

A great transcriptionist takes pride in their abilities and spends a lot of time and money to hone their trade and continue the learning process as well as maintain their equipment and programs to stay on top of the demanding needs of their clients.

A great US transcriptionist is important to our US clients in order to provide the best possible project, and the ability to negotiate our rates to accommodate  our clients is just part of what a great transcriptionist considers part of their job.

If you haven’t tried a US Transcriptionist lately, maybe you should.  We are here and we are not going anywhere…

https:www.clktranscription.com