If I can't understand a word straight to QA that is what they get paid for.

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My company set me up to work from home - - - I am new at this and confused and am need of imput from others in the field. Currently I get pain 8 cents per line.  I have a quota of 7,000+ lines a week - -however the computer I have been set up with does not enable me to add programs (if I wanted to add a word expansion program) and, interestingly, the ability to set up macros in MS Word has been disabled.

With that said - - - For example, I will type a new consult on a patient that ends up being 4 pages in length.  I want to "work smarter and not harder" (who doesn't) so I incorporate word Expanders that I have in MS Word Auto Text as well as an Auto Text "intial office visit" outline which includes the doctor's "normal" exam.  All I have to do are make any necessary changes with each individual patient.  We use a nationally known dictation program/softwear which enables me to go to a "statistics" screen to see the line count for each document I have typed.  I have been finding, however, that on these 4 page consults, I am only being credited for 60 lines or so - - - aren't there 65 lines PER PAGE - - -why is it not 4 times that amount??  Looks like I am only getting paid for STRAIGHT TYPING, not for the total line count of the end product.

I am paid .0085 per word for medical transcription.  I've done comparisons before for how that compares to if I was doing the same document and being paid per line (65 characters including spaces) and is usually works out to between .085 and .095 per line.  Using your amounts, for example, I have a document that is:

635 words

3857 characters with spaces (divided by 65) = 59.33 lines

At your rate of .0051 per word, that would be $3.24

At a rate of .05 per line, that is $2.97

At a rate of .055 per line, that is $3.26

So you can see that your .0051 per word works out to about the same as .055 a line with this document as an example. Doesn't seem like such a great deal compared to what you're getting now...unless the work is very fast, lots of repetition and normals available, etc.

Is this decent pay? I'm a little lost in the calculations.

The per line pay rate for editing of our Editscript accounts is 0.4 cpl.  When transcribing reports, the pay rate is paid per word (per 65 ksl spaces and returns included).  The pay rate depends on the hours an MT works: 7a-3p is 0.0056 per word; 3p-11p is 0.0061 per word; and 11p-7a is 0.00692 per word.

To calculate pay per word, you would do:
Line x 65 = Keystrokes
Keystrokes divided by 5 = words
Word x pay rate (see above).

I was recently offered the position of doing IME transcription, but the pay is by the word.  They pay 0.125 per word (5 characters, no spaces).  I have absolutely no idea how this compares to being paid by the line.

Anybody being paid by the word?

I know the going rate in our area is 14 cents per line.  As MTs most companies here pay us 8 or 9 cents a line.  Now add in the Editor rate at 4 or 5 per line..you are paying OUT more than you can charge a line.  How would companies stay in biz?

Unless all work is sent by the company overseas at pennies per line, this would not pay for a company.

just curious how this works out

per keystroke, but that'll never happen.  I just think that these national companies are going to keep finding ways to cheat us.  I found a job working for a hospital as an employee, paid hourly plus incentive, and they let us expand everything!  Somebody's gonna have to kill me to make me give up this job.  I will never go back to the national's again.

I feel for you though.  I know that for us MTs those good jobs are few and far between and some have little choice but to work for the nationals.  I just happened to luck into the job I have now.  I just applied at the right time. 

Good luck to you whatever you decide.

sadly are two very different things.  Good luck on demanding more..because someone else will just come along and take it for what they offer and they know it. 

or what is a straight line???

Can you fax it straight from your computer so that you don't have to print and then put in fax machine? If not, how long does it take?  My charge would depend on the time it takes you to do this and how many a day you fax over.  Keep track of how many you do per month and see what you feel it is worth.     If it just takes a couple of minutes and is only one or two per week, I would do a minimal charge but if it becomes more often or ends up taking more time, figure at a rate of $30 per hour and divide that into the time it takes to do one fax and charge that per fax.  

I have faxed over some things and not charged anything as I can just fax from my computer and all I do is go to print and select fax, the page number, put in the number and send.  So it is not that time comsuming for me.  But if it were a daily thing, I would charge something.  

You said above:  Morally, especially the "f" word, I can't bring myself to even type it out.

Now you claim you were just asking the question because you were curious.  Our point is, if it's part of the medical record you need to type it.  As someone else said, if you are bothered by just typing the F word, does it also bother you to type abortions, etc.? You are in the wrong line of work if typing a word bothers you so much that you "can't bring yourself to type it".