Pay with Dict8

[juju1507]

I have been working s/e with Dict8 for 3 years now and my payment by cheques are arriving later and later. My last cheque arrived 8 days after it was issued and I noticed they are now sending cheques second class. Does anyone else work for Dict8 on here and, if so, are you finding that your cheque is arriving much later than it used to? I have direct debits set up deliberately for the middle of the month in order that my cheque would have cleared in time but now I am worrying that even by 15th of each month the cheque will not have cleared. Sorry for the ramble but just curious if others have noticed this.

The other thing with Accuro was that I had to say a week in advance my days and times of availability - ie 2 hours on Monday 3 April, 4 hours Tuesday 3 April, 8 hours Wednesday 4 April, which I also thought could be a problem due to things like illness, computer problems - it went to the repair shop for a couple of days at short notice, internet connection - a bit iffy at times, the odd power cut etc. Sounds like she gave a different job outline etc to me than for you! She definitely said line up to work one to one with a particular consultant and I do like the variety of typing different people, hearing different voices. The same person day in, day out might drive me bonkers esp if they had an odd accent, mannerism etc.

Yes but if they issue work and you cannot do you just inform them and they take it back. Things may have changed since I registered.

I have only just found this forum. I have been working with Dict8 for about 6 months now and at first found them to be quite good with a fair amount of work but not loads. Recently it has slowed down though even though we are told in their latest newsletter that they had taken on some new Trusts. My feedback always came back excellent but recently I received an email with about 20 errors on!!!!! Some of it I am sure was not my doing. I have worked as a medical secretary for over 30 years so I think I know what I am doing. As in previous threads, the doctors are so hard to understand at times and I have to put a note on but this they put down to my fault not hearing it properly. I go over several times something that I cannot understand and I am positive that I cannot work out what is being said. As for the new layout, I think it is worse than before. Having to scroll up and down for hospital numbers etc is a pain in the backside! Also since their new system came into effect I have found that my laptop takes ages to load up because it has to find their programme first, i.e. the foot pedal. It was fine before the new system. Has anyone else had this problem?

I have been working for Dict8 for about 9 months now, I personally find their updated system much better to work with but I see from comments that some are not happy with it. I personally find that you cannot submit a task without inputting the Hospital Number which unfortunately I had done a few times in a hurry to get more done! I do agree however that the pay is a bit poor for the experience that they have - maybe one day this will improve. I also find that having to send an invoice and receive a cheque very dated.

I have recently signed up for Accuro as well, at least they pay monthly by BACS, although you do have to have the work to be able to get paid with them I'm afraid. I tend to post my availability on a Friday to be able to work over the weekend for them as there is very little work with Dict8 on the weekends, however there has been no work for the past 2 weeks with Accuro which is a little frustrating. However, I can only work evenings and weekends due to working full-time also but being a single parent trying to put my skills for extra money.

Has anyone else noticed a slow down in work recently from dict8?

I have worked for DICT8 for over 10 years and still on the same rate! I agree with most of the previous comments. If you cannot understand some dictation simply cancel it or add notes. I try to say why I couldn't understand something so hopefully the dictator will learn what they are doing wrong. I do think that they need to listen to their transcribers more.

Has anyone else noticed how picky these proof readers are getting? I am constantly getting emails from them which I never used to do! I used to get emails saying "excellent" but now they are picking out the least little thing, some of which I absolutely disagree with! I was told if the date of the clinic is dictated, even if it is the same date as typing, then to type it in brackets and then add date of typing below. Today I did just that and then got an email to say there is no need to type the date twice! Some of the dictation lately is very difficult to understand what is being said so I type what I think and add a note. An email comes back saying I typed such and such and it should be such and such but the tone of the email leaves a lot to be desired. What is going on here? I ALWAYS type "enc" if the author says this at the beginning so I don't forget it. Now I am being told I am not adding it when I know I did! Anyone else finding this problem? I am sure my typing has not deteriorated over the last 2 months!

I have just started with DICT8 so was pleased to come across this forum. I am a medical secretary with 20 years experience and have never come across such terrible dictation. I know sometimes it is a case of the more you do it the more you get used to it but chance would be a fine thing, I type for 2 specialties and have not had many tasks allocated to type. I have had my feedback which I must say was constructive so will reserve judgement on that until as and when I get it. It takes longer than I thought it would to type and complete each task which certainly does not make it very lucrative.

How is it that just now there were 81 tasks waiting to be typed. The 5 that were on the screen are not being touched because they are practically inaudible and yet when I refreshed the tasks were down to 62 yet the same 5 tasks are on the screen. Is this a case of certain tasks going out to certain typists?

the gingerone63 - I have noticed that on many occasions - that I only have the choice of 5 tasks I cannot understand, and which never change and yet the total number on offer diminishes, so I would say yes, some lucky people are not offered the poor dictators or tasks of dubious sound quality. Unfortunately there seems to be no way round it other than pick the shortest task and then after just about every sentence put the comment "I am unsure of this phrase due to background noise/sound distortion" etc and try and cover yourself for submitting work that you would rather not do but have been forced into it. Sometimes doing just the one poor letter unblocks the system. It is unfair esp when it seems everyone gets paid the same low rate but not everyone gets given all the sh*t stuff to type. Although by doing one letter from certain dictators sometimes leads to you only getting more of the same (there are some accents I find more difficult than others and one Welsh woman I used to avoid like anything).

Gally 123 - You are probably right! It seems that my tasks consist of a load of Irish accents that are so difficult to understand sometimes. The accent is so thick and names of places cannot be worked out at all. So I, like you, try to avoid these ones. Today there was one task that was quite easy and the doctor said "first patient". The rest of the clinic didn't seem to appear on my tasks!!!!! Dictation today was so muffled and quiet that I gave up trying to type them. It seemed that the doctor was in another room to the dictation machine! I will try what you have suggested and see if that works. Thanks for replying.

Glad I came over this thread as i'm currently thinking about working for DICT8. If I go ahead and submit my application with them and am successful do I have to buy any equipment, i.e., foot pedal, software etc?

Thanks

Hi Moonstorm9 - no software is needed and for the first few weeks I managed without foot pedal or head/earphones - they help a lot but are not essential, but obviously the quicker/easier it is, the more money you earn so it is worth spending out.

Hi Moonstorm9. Like Gally123 says, you don't have to have foot pedal or head/earphones. I use my own mobile phone headphones and they work perfectly. I did invest in a foot pedal and saw it as an investment into earning money. They are not that expensive so well worth buying them as it makes typing the tasks so much easier.

Moonstone9 - and of course any money you spend out on equipment etc you can claim back off your tax as expenses.

Do any of you guys get feedback on your work and if so, do you disagree with some of it? Recently some of the feedback on my work I have completely disagreed with. For example, I have typed a particular piece of dictation one way and they say I should type it ".................". the next time I typed it as they said and that came back that I should have typed it "............." which was the way I typed it in the first place! Then I was corrected for typing patellofemoral as patello/femoral. I have NEVER typed that word like that EVER! Then only today the doctor dictated minus five degrees and I remember typing it -5 degrees and wondering what the proof readers would come back with for that only to be told that I typed 0.5 degrees! I just know I never typed it like that. Just wondering what experience you guys have had with this proof reading

DISAPPEARING TASKS / PROOF-READING
Thegingerone63 asked 'Is this a case of certain tasks going out to certain typists?' Gall123 replied 'I would say yes, some lucky people are not offered the poor dictators or tasks of dubious sound quality'

I'm experiencing the same thing and am becoming increasingly convinced that (quoting Gally123's excellent summary) 'not everyone gets given all the sh*t stuff to type'. Personally I'm offered nothing but copious amounts of excrement these days.

Copied below is my post from 17 Oct 2016.

Did you all know that tasks are not allocated to transcribers purely according to speciality? I've seen a page on DICT8’s website giving clients instructions on how to use the service that says that while there is no obligation to provide feedback on transcriptions done, feedback is useful because it helps DICT8 allocate work to the most appropriate transcribers. So this could mean that if you spend a lot of time correcting atrocious dictation and send back perfect letters, that client will be pleased, give your work an excellent rating … and thus ensure that you are given more of the same rubbish.

So it seems that all transcribers for any given speciality do not have access to all the tasks sent in for that specialty. Someone (or more than one person) at DICT8 is responsible for deciding what the different transcribers in any speciality see on their task list. Could it be that the longer you are with DICT8 and the more experienced you are and the better your work is, the more likely it will be that rubbish will be sent your way, as they know you'll be able to sort it out - still at the same rate of pay, though?

And just a thought .... Is there any favouritism? Transcribers known personally to those in charge of the allocation of tasks getting the easier (and therefore more lucrative) jobs? Or might the list you see contain a large percentage of rubbish because you’ve annoyed whoever is doing the sorting, who might also be a proofreader? Perhaps Alfiebenji1 and p1318 could comment on this – do you get a lot of dreadful tasks on your lists?

RE PROOF-READERS
I wonder how many of them there are. There's one very unpleasant piece of work whose extraordinary attitude can only be due to some kind of personality disorder.

So thought I would give a quick update on my experience with DICT8 since I originally posted. Well since their so called "upgrade" I have found the quality of the sound of the dictation to be dire, sounds like dictating under water and there is no way you can make out hospital numbers, medications, amounts etc. I was told that if I felt I couldn't type it then leave it to someone who could! It wasn't that I could not type the darn thing it was because it was totally inaudible but apparently that is my fault!! I was also told off for typing bpm instead of beats per minute in full. I did rather facetiously ask if I should type 25mg as 25 milligrams but was told "of course not". There is no consistency with the proof-reading either. I have now found a PA role in a hospital part-time for a Cancer Director and have had absolutely no complaints from them about my typing ability. DICT8 is now a top up for me thankfully so I don't (sorry, "do not") have to rely on them so much. Don't let the b**rs grind you down!!

Absolutely agree with Juju1507! Sound is inaudible at times or so quiet you cannot hear what is being said! I have had a couple of "snotty" feedbacks but luckily not too many. Like Juju1507 I have typed something one way only to be told to type it another. Typed it the other way and then told to type it the way I did in the first place!!!!!!! It seems it just depends on who does the proof reading. There have been a few tasks lately that have been put back several times or just left on the system because (it seems) none of us can work out what is being said so we "leave it to someone else" but even they cannot type it! My guess is that one of the Dict8 team had to type it in the end. I am so glad that I found this site. At first I thought it was my awful typing skills and that of an NHS secretary for over 30 years but it seems that it isn't! I worked for several consultants both in the NHS and privately and they never had cause to complain so how come Dict8 does?

This can happen that it is not saved if for some reason you leave the transcript without saving it fjrst, for example if you look at google and then go back to your transcript. I have been caught this way but luckily noticed my changes were not there.

sorry about that reply it was to an old posting and I did not see all the subsequent ones. Gally123 Thu 19-May-16 09:23:05

Hi
Anyone work for accuro, i am applying but they ask for fee per minute?
what on earth should I put there?

Dict8. Ditch them. Take too long to pay. Try another firm.

For some reason I seem to be getting every task checked for
the past 2 months, bizarre feedback coupled with the usual work of high standard email. Am not new to the system at all wonder if they are proofing all letters now as hospitals have asked them too.