1500 lines per day? Is this a realistic line
Posted By: MTtoQAtoMT on 2008-05-25
In Reply to:
count to be able to make daily in the current MT climate? I have been in MT field for 30 years, with last 10 as QA. I hate it, and can't wait to transcribe again. I am still really fast, never lost my skills thankfully, and can easily hit 1500 lines per 8 hour shift IF the work is there, though. That is the target I would have to hit to even come close to what I am making currently as QA - things are tight on this salary, and can't get much tighter! Do you think most companies have this sort of workload to offer MTs? I used to work for 2 companies 15 years or so ago. Maybe do you think it would be more realistic for me to try to work for 2, or is 1500 lines steadily daily not a big deal? I'm just so used to getting paid hourly, and never having that gut-wrenching fear of running out of work. I don't need benefits at all, so IC is a big possibility. I hope you understand, and I really appreciate your thoughts.  I'm so scared, but have to get out of my current situation at "you-know-where" before I lose my "you-know-what"...  Figured I'd peddle myself off as an MT rather than QA - worry about that down the road at a good company.
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1500 lines
I think 1500 lines a day is realistic as long as the work is there. So it's kind of a mixed message I guess.
1500 to 2000 lines if doing
medical. If on radiology, 2000 to 3000 plus. I have done as much as 4000 on radiology but that depends on which radiologists I get. We have 5. And no, I don't use a lot of macros, and we have 2 ESL radiologists and probably 90% of our medical dictators are ESL or otherwise horrible dictators.
Well, I just transcribed 1500 lines in 3 hours. sm
I work on the same account every day, same dictators, lots of templated reports I did myself and put them into auto correct. I get up early, start at 7 am and today I was done by 10 am. Cleaning the house now. Also, the line pay is slightly higher than most, so 1500 lines is fine for me today.
On harder days when the account is really behind, I get up and vacuum the house after 3 hours of transcribing then come back for 1 hour. If things are caught up, I stop for the day. If not, I will go back in the evening.
I can't sit for 6-8 hours straight. Making $160 bucks in 3 hours is good for me and enough. Tomorrow is another day!
Use templates and short cuts - that will help! I have whole reports in my auto correct, but you have to listen through and change and correct things as each patient is a different case.
I do have to tell you, I do not get this many lines every day in such short a time. It just happened that today was a good day. 
Hope this helps.
If gross lines average is 1500 nm
nn
I won't quit until I have 1300-1500 lines a day.
slow days take longer
I type no less than 1500 lines in 7 hours
On my slowest day, I will not allow myself to get less than 200 lines an hour. Depending on the worktype, I can type up to 400 lines an hour. It is hard for me to consistently stay at that speed as I have orthopedic issues!!! I also can type extremely fast, (120 wpm). I also use a lot of Expanders and shortcuts.
Gross line, also including blank lines because my line rate is so low. It all works out in the wash.
x
If you get 600 lines that is only .03 a line - sm
pretty crappy....I would not take less than $60 for a 60 minute tape
So you do 15,000 lines per week at $.10+ per line?
That's $1,500 per week, or $78,000 per year. How many hours do you put in per week? Do you have a life outside of work? Kids, S/O, hobbies, family, friends? Not being snotty, I just find it hard to believe that anyone can do that many lines without other aspects of their life suffering.
I'd go for at least $60 a tape; if 600 lines then .10 a line - sm
but I would not go any lower than that. If you can get a sample and do a count that would be the best way of course to figure out a fair rate so you don't get the short end of the stick. Obviously try to use an Expander to its best ability so you can maybe get your time down to 4 hours, which would be a reasonable time to do 60 minutes of work. Plus printing and delivery, yeah, no lower than $60. Think I'd go for at least $72 since you are doing printing and delivery.
Gross line is actual lines. sm
9 cpl if count is by 65 chars is not too much, IMO, for an experienced MT. If counting by gross lines, 7.5 c on a gross line equals about 9 cpl on a 65-char line, so if they use gross lines, it might sound low per line but it equals out in the end. A gross line is any line on the page. In other words, you can use your finger and count each line on the page that has words on it, and that's your line count. Most don't count blank lines. However, a lot depends on what they are including in that line, regardless. Are spaces included if 65-char line? Does the line count software count formatting changes (such as bold, underline, etc) If so, that will increase total line count. If not, it will decrease it. Gross line is usually a better deal unless the company is using a size 9 font or something or decrease the side margins. 11-12 size font with 1" margins is good with gross lines. The only thing that affects gross lines is the side margins or the font size. With 65-char line, font and margins don't affect it, which is why most go with that now. You take total characters (incl spaces if they pay for them, as someone else said) and divide by 65 to get total lines. Another thing to ask, if they use templates or normals, are the lines in those included? If not, that decreases total line count, too.
It's really hard for someone to say "this is the rate you should ask for" though, because there can be so much variability from company to company as far as what they count as a line. Also, is it clinic or acute care work? If clinic, generally easier and same docs all the time, so even at a lower line rate, you might make more in the end if you use expander, normals, templates, etc. Is there a platform or can you use Word and your own expander? If acute care where you have different docs all the time, a lot of ESLs, clunky platform, no Expander program, etc., it might slow you down so even with a higher line rate, you might not make as much in the long run. Therefore, you have to take all of that into consideration to arrive at what line rate you should charge or ask for ... almost have to adjust to each different company or client, really. For clinic work, 8-9 cents per 65-char line can net some good pay. For acute care, you might want more like 10-11 to get the same pay. Hope this all makes sense!
How about 1 cent a line being cheap. That equals only $10. for 1000 lines which
is really not an incentive to work either. Why not make it more like time and a half, i.e., if you normally make 10 cents a line when you would get 15. They could even offer 1/4 pay incentive so you could make an extra $25 to work a holiday but the $50 would certainly make me think more about working a day when I usually wouldn't. Yes, it would cost the company more but I'm sure more people will be working that weekend for such an "incentive."
what is the .065 cents per gross line equivalent to in 65 character lines?
Would it be about 8 cpl 65 characters or higher?
Line rate isn't the only factor -- your lines/hour average is key, too.
Even at 7 cpl, keeping about 275 lines/hour average keeps you at $19.25 an hour and that is $40,000 a year.
It is a myriad of factors involved. You have to have the knowledge, be decisive, self-sufficient and very focused. Then, you need to negotiate as high a base rate as you can and look toward the incentive plan to increase your paycheck.
With our incentive, it was not worth it if I couldn't hit high lines in a day. So, I changed my schedule to hit those lines.
I am tired after my work days but having the 4 days a week off and a good income makes it worth it for me. It allows me to spend my days off doing things I want to.
Chars aren't counted in gross lines. If you have a 4-line paragraph...sm
you have 4 gross lines, no matter how long or short the sentences are. A heading on it's own line is 1 gross line. A signature on it's own line is 1 gross line. The date at the top of a document on it's own line is 1 gross line. Anything on a line going from margin to margin is 1 gross line, no matter how few or many characters, or if there are spaces or not, even if there's only 1 character on that line like 'A' for instance. Does this help? :)
Paid hourly, req'd 1000 lines, anything over 1101 was 0.04 cents a line
//
Two companies, both 65 char lines including spaces, one pays 0.10/l and the other 8.5/gross line. n
x
The phone line has to support DSL signals. Most rural lines don't due to distance from central of
x
It is very realistic - sm
I have a 3-year-old and work around him. I try to get up around 6 a.m. and get in 2-3 hours of work before he wakes up. I do another 1-2 hours during his nap time. I finish up at night after DH is home. We are also at this time trying for baby #2 - I CAN"T WAIT!!
Unfortunately, what is not realistic is
getting answers from posters on this board who are not condescending, hateful, and just plain ugly.
Obviously, you've already received posts of varied opinions.
If you really want to try that situation on for size, why not pick up babysitting for someone's baby or small child and see how work fits in for you. You may decide that it isn't for you or that it's very workable for you.
If you cut back to 20 hours a week, you could easily work 4 hours a night when the baby goes to bed and never miss any time/care with him/her.
I think it would be prudent for you to realize that in order to make money at this work, especially in a remote situation, you really have to be dedicated and enjoy what you are doing. Otherwise, you'll be as bitter as many you see on here and probably not very productive.
Good luck with whatever you choose!
1500 lpd, 8 cpl over that nm
xx
I did ($1500)
nm
I use APC XS 1500
Gives me around 45 minutes of time. It has been very reliable!
How do you get 1500 lpd even in...
radiology? I've been tested at 70 wpm with 100% accuracy, use Instant Text, have 20 years experience and good dictators but still can't get 1500 lines per day! Maybe it's because the platform is Meditech and I find it cumbersome. If there is some secret to getting the lines won't somebody please share it!
No but just realistic about 95% of MDs. Since
x
Sure it's realistic...
I'm back with Spheris, and the 1500 daily (always nightly in my case) is certainly possible with the large hospital account I transcribe for. I've been at it for 30+ years myself.
I am realistic......
All three of these are companies. I don't have my own accounts. I work as an IC for these companies. I work for FutureNet, DTS and GIS. Maybe you should look around more.
How long does it take you to get 1500? nm
x
I don't think 1500 is unreasonable...
There are a lot of variables. If you're willing to work as many hours as necessary to attain 1500 lines per day, then that's feasible within a reasonable amount of time. And once used to the account, of course, you'll do that in fewer and fewer hours.
As far as cpl, I haven't seen many ads for companies willing to pay even 8.5, and that's rare. More likely it would be around 7 to 8.
If you want to get your own accounts, depending on your area, you could probably ask for 9.5 to 10 per line and get it.
Also, you may have to work for a few companies to find the right one.
You're realistic like me...
I'm a diehard second shifter for 30 years now and would have it no other way. I find your topic totally unreal and wonder what planet you've been living on, sorry. Look around you, the days are gone in this country when hard working folks can "demand" and get much of anything, especially getting back the old ways of doing things, and I seriously doubt there will ever be a big turnaround regarding the global viewpoint; we're already out there and it's expanding cause the third world is where it's at regarding how to make a buck and use the people. We're going to have to change our personal lives financially to survive and go with the flow.
Rude or realistic?
You know, I visited this site first time while training online almost six years ago. I thought it was great and then not. I quit coming here for years and then used it as I saw fit for my needs but usually glanced before I left at the postings. I am really happy with the change since xx. I feel this is a much more peaceful place than before. Sure, there are differences in opinions and such, but that's what makes it unique and special. I am glad to see that nothing really has changed much since the other owners moved on. I feel the new owners give more liberties in the way of speaking your mind, and I for one appreciate that for sure.
No, you won't always get the answers you want or hear the "yes' answers you might like, but this is still a place to hear everybody's thoughts which I think is a really great thing. I remember telling my mentor that I felt this was just a B board and how could I trust one person's thoughts or point of view from another? She told me, you can't really, but if three or more people are saying the same thing, you might want to question it. She was right! Thanks B. You taught me well.
For those who come onboard thinking and/or feeling intimidated; don't feel that way if you can help it. This is one of the most informative boards you can happen upon.
If some of us sound B or grouchy, we've probably just had a long and hard day with crap dictators which you will soon know about. Everyday is not a bed of roses in this field.
Still, I am back after years of really not frequenting the board, and I think the old timers and people who are fairly new to the field know what the heck they are talking about and are right on target. I wouldn't base a job on another person's experience or opinion, BUT I would think twice if I saw the same complaint numerous times.
I don't really think that folks post to be malicious, though some may. I feel most of us post our true experiences with different companies and we do it hoping others don't fall into the same horrible traps we may have got caught up in. Truth is though, I've just had bad timing a time or two and happened into bad situations when companies were a mess. They later "got it together" and were fine, so who knows. Go with your gut as admin suggests on this board and don't base an important decision about work on somebody else's opinion or experience. My mentor did tell me though, and I still do heed the warning, if more than xx people say it's true, it just might be. Thanks
B for warning me. lol You're great
I agree, Simon is just being realistic!
nm
yesterday I had a 1500 second report....nm
Realistic Income Expectations??
Hi guys!
I am a mom who currently runs a very financially successful home daycare business. I am looking for a change and considering MT.
After much research I am still unsure about the REALISTIC income that can be made doing MT.
I will be working 6 hours a day - no kids, no interruptions etc. How much can I really make a year as an independent contractor from home? I am very familiar with medical terminology etc and plan on taking an MT course.
I would really appreciate a response. I don't want to give up my daycare and spend money on a course only to find out later I have wasted my time and money.
Thanks!
She asked for advice and that is realistic
x
Cuba is offering 1500 doctors to help us...
This was posted with a picture in the hurricane slideshow.
Hundreds of Cuban doctors listen to a speech by Cuban President Fidel Castro in Havana, September 4, 2005. The U.S. gave longtime foe Cuba the cold shoulder on Tuesday over its offer to send more than 1,500 doctors to help victims of Hurricane Katrina, which created a humanitarian disaster after pummeling the U.S.Golf Coast. Picture taken September 4, 2005. REUTERS/Claudia Daut
What a disgrace. During times like these, people should be able to set aside their grudges and problems and come together.
I was hired with a 1500 sign on bonus...
and the stipulations were that I got the first $500 after 30 days off of QA and meeting minimal line count, another $500 after 60 days of meeting minimal line count, and the final $500 at 1 year. Of course if a pay period is missed not meeting minimum, there is no more sign on bonus. Hope this helps.
Ok - There's a diff between DREAM job and REALISTIC GREAT job!
Do want that? Seriously.
What's *realistic* is that after I've paid my rent, (sm)
my utility bill, my car insurance, my ISP & phone bills, my medical co-payments, dental bill, etc., I usually have a choice between eating or buying gasoline. So currently my car sits in the carport, fuel-less and rarely driven, but insured - just so that I can continue my close relationship with Chef Boy-Ar-Dee and day-old (or older) bread.
lets be realistic and talk about companies
nm
I do that all the time. You haven't snapped, you're just realistic. -nm
xx
65 character line versus gross lines versus pay by word
I am checking into other options for transcription. Can anyone tell me how to compare all of these types of lines & also payment per word? I know companies use different scales, so I wondered how they compare. I have been paid on a 65 character line with spaces, but I may be making a change in the future - don't want to get burned.
Thank you in advance!
Does anyone have any good, realistic advice for working on 60 different accounts!?...(exaggeration)
but I am really getting frustrated. I left a company who bumped me off my ERs (which I did for over a year and were my 'bread-and-butter', and the more I complained or asked about it, the worst dictation I got, etc. This was a change of management in which that company went down-hill fast, anyway, as far as the treatment of MTs.
so I left, and now at the 'new' company I am still doing 5, 6 accounts. Forget ERs, I am told.
the question is, I am working on so many accounts, and even accounts with different management, different QA. I am embarrassed to mention I just did a report using the SPECS FROM THE WRONG ACCOUNT. Luckily, I had sent the report to QA, but I get a note from the QA like 'read the specs' (stupid) is how it sounded. Yeah, I did, but for the wrong account.
these companies do not see how making people work on so many accounts is going to be huge negative for them in the long-run. they risk mistakes like this, not me.
how does one keep it all straight, and why do we have to? the only people who are having success, are people who will take any kind of abuse, it seems, and are just making the best of it. does that mean only the aggressive will survive in this business? this gets more ridiculous all the time.
not to mention, pay and money - LIVELIHOOD - severely diminishes the second week of pay-week. anyone else notice that? first week I am flying on the primary, second week in I am like getting scraps, working on 4, 5,6 accounts - there goes all I worked for in the first week.
so these ladies typing 300+ lines/hour and making $50 thou a year, like so many boast on here, how,where, when ???? I am not getting it, and I am a 99-100% quality MT, working 35 hours/week. every company I have worked with, my paycheck is totally dependent on the manager, period.
That is only the half of it...check out this site for a more realistic view of the future of med rec
http://www.mohca.org/standardsbodies.php3
We have not much to fear from overseas, in my opinion, compared to the technology being created every day to reach the goal of the 'standardized text' paperless record (EHR - electronic health record).
No more 'free text' or dictation in the future.
Same for billing/coding, which will be done automatically with mobile point-of-care hand-held PCs.
Certainly, there will still be editors, but I can not get any solid information as to how this technology will affect MTs. Will be still be needed, if so, in what capacity.
I keep hearing we should be open to being trained in the new technologies that are coming, but hey, what ARE they, and who will train us?
The only thing AAMT seems to be suggesting/promoting, is (what will make them a lot of money) for certifying MTs...what good is that going to do us?
I would gladly train and learn new technology so I can 'stay in the game,' but how, what, where, who pays, when? What will it be, what do I have to do?
I have E'd several people, including Ms. Tessier herself, and have not gotten any kind of response, period.
Heck with being certified, tell me how I can keep my job for the next decade before I can retire and MT as we know it is extinct!
My apologies up-front for any typos - I am not 'on the clock' so-to-speak...thanks.
1500, lucky if I make that, lost my motivation, how do you guys do it ?
Never get the same dictators, all the OPs are not the usual appendectomies, T&As, etc, way more extensive, neurosurgery, spinal, etc. Have 2 accounts, over 150 pages of account specifics, 2 systems in and out, type about 1-2 report from backup account, just enough to waste more time closing out of ChartScript and loging into C quence, then back to CS. Typed about 1 H&P this year. I have no normals. Rarely ever get ESL dicators though. Giving myself about another month or two. Lost all motivation. How do you guys do it ? I really need a pep talk. I just can't concentrate any more.
I had to have a bowel resection for a Meckels diverticulum and the surgeon charged 2500 and got 1500
and the hospital bill was 27,000. Until that surgeon gets done paying malpractice, his office costs, taxes, etc. I bet he doesnt get one third of that money plus all the visits I had while in the hospital for 9 days and fu visits. I did have insurance thank God.
Be realistic! A newbie, fresh out school, no experience whatsoever cannot expect to get accounts
on her own and definitely cannot expect to earn $50k!
EMR is coming whether you like it not and whether your doctors are older or not. Eventually the older doctors will retire and the new generation coming out of medical school are products of this technological age. There is no stopping it.
A gross line is anything on a line is a line. A line set at 65 characters means it sm
has 1-inch margins on each side. The maximum number of characters on that line would be 65 and that includes spaces. If there is 1 character on that line it is a line.
A standard 65-character line usually consists of 65 characters with spaces unless, of course, the employer does not pay for spaces and then it would be 65-characters without spaces.
Aaahhhh, now I get it. Gross lines vs. Character lines. I guess I've just been conditioned to
think in terms of character lines. One of the perils of working as an IC for somebody who defines what a line is versus owning your own company and defining it yourself. After working for someone else for 15 years, maybe it's time to bust out on my own.
1500-1600 doing acute, multiple, multiple work types. NM
/
Anything on the line makes up a line even if just one letter or number. Every line of print is a
s
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