Figure out how many lines you do now - sm
Posted By: on 2007-07-14
In Reply to: Paid by line question - Kim
and figure it out. Take your total daily work and run it through a line counting program, then x it by .08 and .10 and you will have your answer. If you make a good hourly rate though and are not a fast typist then I'd stay where you are. Also if this IC job is not Rad, then you will have a lot to learn if you are not used to other specialites. Another thing is they may hold you at .08 forever by saying they still have to check your work. Work generally slows down in the summer and at Christmas, though this is not the case everywhere. My 1 IC job we are always busy, rarely does it ever slow down, and then only for a day or two. If you are unsure, try doing both and then you really with have you answer.
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Figure out how many lines it would have
been on a page at the 12 cpl rate? I assume these are gross lines without counting the blank lines. If double spaced, you typically would have 15 lines on one page. At 12 cpl, that would come to $2.40 a page. Ask if they want the pages printed, and will you be supplying the paper, because then you have to buy paper and use up ink from your printer cartridge.
I would add a little more in that case, probably $2.50 to $2.75 a page. This would be the double spaced page. If not double spaced, then $5.00 to $6.00 a page would be charged.
figure your lines per hour
You need to figure out how many lines per hour you are doing now or able to do. As poster below says, 250 lines per hour times .08 cents per line equals 20$ an hour. I don't know if that is realistic for radiology reports or not (250 lines per hour). Aren't most of them short? You don't get paid for the time it takes to download, upload, etc. Also DQS does not pay for demo info, footers, headers and seems like that would be a big cut if you work on a lot of short reports. So it would depend on if they paid for that stuff or not.
To figure how many lines you do currently, copy and paste a typical report (or several reports) into Word and go to tools and do a character count. You need to figure out if your Word program is counting spaces or not. Take a short report and manually count characters AND spaces. Then copy into Word and see what the count is there. If the count is way short of your manual count, your Word program is only counting characters not spaces. If so, to figure characters AND spaces, take your word count and add 22% by calculator and that would be the total character and space count. (I have tried this and it always comes out perfectly to the line count I receive from MQ and to my manual count.)
Now take your total characters and spaces, divide by 65 (the length of a 'line') and you have how many lines are in the report. If you do this with several reports, and you know about how many reports you do in a day, you can get a pretty good idea of how many lines per hour you are doing.
Are you pulling out your hair yet? It is really pretty easy to figure, but hard to explain in a note. Sorry.
P.S. Isn't 8 cpl a little low? I do clinic notes as a newbie and receive 7 cpl. seems like you could do better than 8 cpl.
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.
That is a lot of work/lines for 2 people. I do 3000 lines per day sm
if you times that by 30 days that only comes to 90K lines a month, that is working 7 days a week including weekends. I don't think 2 people can handle that.
900 lines is below 1100 lines, where the bonus starts.
x
Gross lines include all lines containing
printable characters, so a full line and a line with one word on it are charged equally. Straight lines are basically the same as gross lines, but with this method of counting the blank lines are counted as well (again, equally). I have only had one company pay this way, and they are a middle man. I would think the charge would be about the same as for gross lines, and that not too many offices will want their lines counted this way (the one I worked on was probably inherited from someone who had counted the lines that way, so just continued).
The norm is 1 minute = 10 lines; 10 min = 100 lines - sm
granted this varies per dictator. More lines if a fast talker, less if a slow talker.
I went from 2400 lines to 1800 lines
a day when I switched from clinic (through an MTSO) to hospital work. Not only was the clinic work easier with more macros (and less providers to learn, 12 vs 300+), but I was typing in straight Word (as opposed to Softmed/Chart Script). So you see, it really varies depending upon the type of work as well as the platform used. That said, I am so much happier typing the 1800 lines per day (I make over $15 per hour plus an incentive for any lines in excess of 1200 per day) plus a great health package/benefits, AND approximately 5 weeks of paid time off per year. In my opinion, hospitals really are the best employers WHEN they appreciate the work we do.
My advice for you is not to judge a job by any one criterion but rather the entire picture. The 'extra's can really add up.
Good luck in your job!
Which is the one where they are sc*&ing us the standard lines or the qualified lines? SM
Mine show up as STD when I pull up my transcription log. But I see now there is STD/QT.... So which is the one where they are ripping us off, standard or qualified? Need to know. I am about to switch companies and I will not do if they are actually taking lines from me. Thanks guys.
this is how I figure it
I took the work I did from Sept 1-15.
With spaces ... 16,492 lines x 0.095 = $1,566.74
Without spaces ... 13,967 lines x 0.095 = $1,326.87
Divide the high lines into the low dollar:
$1,326.87 / 16,492 = $0.084553
To answer your question ... just over 8 cpl. 
I figure it this way
My word processor is Works, which only counts characters. I then manually counted the spaces and found that apx 22% of the report was spaces. Take your 9.5 cpl and subtract 22% and you come up with the equivalent of 7.4 CPL. I work for MQ and, as far as I can tell, DO get paid for spaces because their line count is always about 22% more than my 'Works' count.
you and me both! I figure by then sm
there will be some kind of "robot" like thing I can program to do all that massaging, IV fluids and Foley for me. That along with putting on my support hose, hearing aid, denture cream, getting my pills, etc!
One way to figure this out is to
"switch places". Pretend he's working at home, and you come home at the end of the day. The important thing is - he's there and you're there. You share a home and probably lots of other wonderful stuff. It's hard, but sometimes you have to give a little even if you don't think it's fair. I don't mean - be a doormat- just act out of love. It seems like when you do that, it comes back to you.
Anyway, good luck and Happy Holidays to you and hubby. 
me again... duh... trying to figure out SM
why after each of my exapansions the curser immediately goes to the line below after I expand. (instead of stopping like autocorrect would) so I could insert the next word.
I just noticed the little yelllow box that comes up that will prompt you to see the word you are about to expand. I kinda like this!!!
How do you figure
How do you figure you can do this from home when testimony is taking place in the court room; depositions are taking place in a lawyer's office across town; and 8:45s take place each morning at the speed of lightening in a court room.
Please!
When you figure out .....
what you are going to do - let me know. I have even considered going back to school for a year to learn coding. They are the ones making the money that we used to make.
Go figure. nm
s
Figure it out
MT = 8-9 cpl QA = 3-4 cpl Overhead = 2-3 cpl Benefits = 1-2 cpl Mgmt = 3-5 cpl sp probably 20 cpl minimum
It took me a while to figure that out too.
:-) I love the easy fix problems.
When you figure it out..
Let me know how. 
I've been doing this for years and it is very hard to keep focused. The phone is always ringing, my brain is thinking about the pile of dishes in the sink...
Even now I should be working and I'm posting here. 
Maybe we can help each other figure it out? (sm)
We could both do research and tell each other what we find out?
Maybe they figure...
An interesting experiment might be to submit a resume & say you have 2 years' experience.
Still trying to figure out...
what "documentation by exception" means.
She needs to figure out what her
account, factoring in all expenses, and then add in her profit margin, factoring in her wage, benefit costs, etc. If she does not, and just tries to charge what the "going rate" is, she may well end up losing money on the account.
thanks. I will try and figure that out!
x
when I can't figure out the patient name (sm)
I just leave it blank because, like the other post said, I cannot get any feedback on what is protocol, so I make up my own. I aint gettin' paid enough to fool around trying to figure out what the dumb doc is saying!
Wow, I think I have PMS or something..I don't usually gripe this much!
You can figure approximately a 4:1
transcription to dictation ratio on average. There are many factors, as you know, typing speed, terminology, number of speakers, quality of dictation, etc. I read somewhere that 10 minutes of dictation averages approximately 100 lines. Again, it depends on the above factors.
I can't figure out what is causing this, but since DQS
my line count has never been the same -- some of which is due to being switched from account to account, which will slow ANY/ALL MT's down, but it is MORE THAN THAT ! DQS is hungry for MQ MT's lines somehow. We will never know, as we do not configure it ourselves, but it is done by others who will not reveal any such information. I just know from MedRite to DQS has not been a good experience for me as far as lines go. The software itself is okay -- not that at all, but where my lines are going is my struggle with DQS !!!
NOPE, can't figure it out.
x
0.775 (?? how they figure it) and 0.8 (65-char w/ sp)
/
Yes. I haven't been able to figure out
who The Carver is. I'm interested to find out. Enjoy the show!
Ah, a figure of speech. (sm)
Like a burden or baggage from a person that will not take the time to learn or understand? One who doesn't want to fix it or get off his/her duff to understand? One who generally doesn't care? Anyway, I thought my original post was perfectly understandable and if they didn't understand it that is not my problem!
That was not my figure - they offered it and I took it. nm
x
Yep, I can hear it, too. I had tried to figure
out if it was associated with a certain emoticon. I'm really glad to know somebody else is hearing it, too.
how hard is it to figure out what you want to buy?
I wouldn't ever lease. It's throwing money away without building equity.
Sit down and figure it out- how many gallons of gas - sm
a day and week would it be; what would that cost. Also do you really want to drive 4 hours a day??? Would you plan to move closer so you don't have such a long communte. I used to drive 50 miles one way to work; it would take 1 hour due to the horrendous traffic I had to deal with, sometimes longer depending on the weather. I got around some of the traffic by getting into work by 7 and leaving by 3, but that was not fun either. So figure out what you earn now versus what you would make at the new job minus gas and aggravation; then decide it if is worth it to you.
Still trying to figure out breakfast LOL
x
No way! It took me forever to figure out how to get - sm
my DOS Smartype to work (MTSO still uses WP 5.1), couldn't imagine the nightmare of figuring that all out all over again. Every Windows has had tons of bugs, I'd rather wait 2 years until they are all worked out, plus it will cost a lot less then probably. I plan to avoid it all together if I can.
You better also figure out how to FTP before you leave.
Get the bugs worked out BEFORE you hit the road. Download an FTP program, install it and get the server, directory, user name, password for your account. Make sure you test it out and that it works. Nothing drives me nuts faster than someone who claims to know how to use FTP and then can't.
Yes you can, took me forever to figure it out - sm
but I have my WP5.1 and Smartype on mine. Had to change a few things in a couple files and change a BIOS USB setting, but works great. PRD will work to, go to the Columbia website and they have it all mapped out there how to do it. You just have to do about 3-4 things and it will work.
I dont want MT trying to figure out what my dr.
x
Help me figure out if I am underpaid!
I am paid by the hour and not by the line and I have no idea how many lines I edit per hour, but I think I may be underpaid for my experience. I have been a hospital Transcriptionist for 5 years, I edit VR 3/4 of the time and type 1/4 of the time. My paycheck after a full 40 hour week after taxes but before any deductions is $865. To put things into perspective, I absolutely love my job, I work from home and love my shift, my boss is great, fantastic benefits and a ton of vacation time. But, I have to pay the bills. When I look for other jobs paid by the line I have no idea how to tell if I will be making more or less money. For those of you paid by the line...how does this biweekly paycheck match up?
Figure out what you average sm
hourly now. Do you have any idea what the clinic's pay scale is? Unfortunately, clothing and gas is not going to be a consideration on their end, but overhead (providing your space to work, etc. will be). Figure your hourly rate now and try to work off of that in determining your negotiation point.
Normally figure anywhere from 3 to 5 mins
x
me too! I can't figure out taking sm
jobs and holding them over the weekend when there might be somebody else that can get them done. That would never ever work with any company I worked for. Also if I were this person's supervisor, it would stop immediately. Whether she realizes it or not, that is cherry-picking. Unless there is no-one else to do this stuff, I can't figure out why any supervisor would let this go on.
Trying to figure out how much a line
I have my line count for the past 2 weeks, 23,433 and how much I actually made. Is the line count divided by the $$ or ? Thanks
I'll say. Most of the ER reports I do I figure the pt
must be on Medicaid because a lot of the ailments are minor or could be treated at urgent care at best. Those of us with not-so-great health insurance know that we better be (a) dying and (b) admitted before we show up to our local hospital ER or the visit won't get paid for.
It depends on what you include in that figure.
where you live, how many in your family and what you get for your money.
I've been trying to figure that one out for some time now.
I changed companies, bought an expander, even tried Dragon Naturally Speaking. I give up.
I tried using a figure-8 clavicle collar once...sm
You can get them at the drug store probably. It just goes around your shoulders and crosses in the back to keep the shoulders back, used to keep clavicles aligned when fractured. But for some reason, it made me nauseous. I think the hunching just comes with the territory of being curved over a keyboard for hours and hours and hours a day...
Well I don't feel the way you do. I figure that is a personal SM
decision, presumably made after soul-searching and weighing the pros and cons. I am truly not interested in somebody who wants to quit me. I'm interested in the ones who stay.
I never asked either, didn't care. Didn't lose many, though.
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