How do you make lines and maintain quality?
Posted By: Frustrated on 2005-12-27
In Reply to:
I'm trying to get up to company's line requirements but do not seem to be catching all my errors. Any suggestions?
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Quality
Do you have all the required word books for the specialty that you type? I mainly type OP notes and have the current Stedman's books, Google links, etc. My advice is to type the report and put in a blank for the words that you don't know or question. Then, go back, relisten, and look the words up after you have finished the report. Be sure listen for the little words that are often missed. Also, after your reports have been through QA, go back and review the report. Some MTs can go back and relisten, which is a great option. I would also save my copy and then compare it to the QA copy. Maybe someone here would offer to mentor you and offer suggestions? My method is somewhat time consuming but this has helped me. I hope that helps you a little. Good luck! 
Quality is always better than quantity
I am a new MT as well. However, I have learned that quality is better than quantity. In the begining you may want to do thousands of lines per day. However, make sure that this is quality work. You don't want to make mistakes because you want to get high production to get money and then they may fire you because your accuracy rate is terrible.
So, take your time and always deliver the best report to your ability. Do not be afraid to leave a blank if necessary. It is always better than guessing.
What is your line pay rate? Is it an editing or transcription platform? Are you an employee or an independent contractor?
Specials don't have anything to do with the quality. sm
They use the SUM CDs just like the other 2. Their graduates get multiple job offers. I'm very familiar with their course and I definitely would hire someone from there.
Need suggestions on how to improve quality.
Is there something that I could buy that could help improve my quality? I have been taking tests here and there and everyone keeps saying that their QAs don't have the extra time that is needed to spend with my work. I know I don't have the 98% accuracy that is needed. Whenever I do a test I look whatever I don't know up and then relisten to the file. I do all my transcribing when everyone is asleep so I don't have the distractions. Thank in advance for the help.
Yes, I believe there is a future for MTs who do quality work
You hear a lot of sad stories, but many, not all, of those complaining are just not very good at what they do for a living. That is the main reason why they lose their jobs. It isn't overseas MTs taking their work, it isn't speech recognition, it isn't even electronic medical records. It's the quality of their work. They will never admit it. In fact, they will yell and scream and protest! There are many out there who are doing well and making some good money, and no, it hasn't been going down for everyone. Just remember that there are whiners and complainers in every industry. Medical transcription is no exception.
Quality Assurance/Editing
Can anyone give me an idea on how much QA/editors make? Do they charge per 65 character line with spaces, without spaces, per word, etc.? I have always been curious about this.
If quality mattered, there would be NO MT work from India
I mean, I know you're CERTIFIED and all, but you have to be kidding...
Career Step is quality training!!!
I am, of course, a Career Step graduate. I really believe in their program and have found great success as an MT due to their training course. I highly recommend it to anyone!!! Feel free to email me or check out my website for more information ... www.MTinTexas.com.
As a new MT, focus on quality and don't worry about quantity. SM
Any decent company who gives a new MT the chance, should be considerate and realize they cannot produce like a veteran MT. Speaking from experience working for myself and hiring several subcontractors, and also working for large nationals, the quality of your work will first be evaluated. With training and experience, your production will increase. If you need to reread, relisten, etc., do it because it will be well worth it. Research every word or phrase you are not sure of. In time, your brain will soak these terms up like a sponge. You will find yourself researching less and less. However, even veteran MTs continue to learn daily. I feel a good MT has good researching skills that never end. Good luck, keep your head up. Research and review your reports before submitting them.
Regardless of audio quality, the fact that she came as close as she did
to what it actually was yet couldn't get it shows that she has no idea what a salpingo-oophorectomy IS. Not to mention the other info she gave and the type of report that it is.
I've been searching for quality MT school- glad I found this Board
It appears that everyone can agree on M-Tec or Andrews School--by the way is that Linda Andrews and not Andrews/Holbrook?
I want to get started with training soon and I'm having difficulty deciding. I've taken both their tests and they both seem like good choices. Decisions, decisions...
Even some of us most experienced MTs don't make that. Make your
s
Along the same lines
I went to a Community College in my city and received my MT certification. Most of my classes were online (only one class required me to go to campus). I could have opted to take them on campus, but because of my other obligations at the time, online was easier for me. I was hired by a national right out of school.
lines
Dont feel bad I am fairly new too. 7 months. I don't know exactly how many lines per hour I can do but I don't think it is even 150.
500 lines per day?
I was wondering about how long it takes to type 500 lines per day. I am just starting as a transcriptionist, and they want me to type at least 500 lines per day. Is this a lot?
500 lines
I am also a newbie. 500 lines isn't really a lot. It is possible even as a newbie to do that. As a newbie your first few days or week on an account you may not get 500 until you learn what you are doing. But then 500 is easily possible.
how many lines
How many lines do you put out per pay period??
lines
I think you need to specify the pay period. One week, two weeks, a month?
I am a new MT. I have only been working for 6 weeks. I get paid every two weeks. My first pay period was 3500 lines, second was 3000 (I went on vacation), and my third, which ended yesterday, was 7400. I expect that by the beginning of the summer I will be up to 1000/day, 5000/week, and 10000/pay period.
But I also have children who need to be picked up from school, and I cannot exactly get a bunch of work done while they are home, nor do I want to. I am not sure how things will go this summer. I may have to work at night while they are sleeping.
lines
how many lines per pay period???
# of lines
What is an average number of lines per day for a new MT (typing 60 WPM)?
On average, how long (in minutes) is the typical dictation?
# of lines
I realize I will be stopping to look up words for whatever reason and that it won't be straight typing without interruptions. I was just trying to get a ball park figure, that's all. Thanks anyway
500 lines
If it is ASR it should only take about 1-1/2 hours or less. If it is regular transcription it should take a little longer.
Lines
Lines are counted different ways. Sometimes they are counted gross lines, sometimes 65-character lines, sometimes 65 characters without spaces. You should really ask your teacher how they would like you to count them. I do not think that blank lines would count though.
Lines
Build your expansions, that is the key. After many years at this, I am still adding expansions almost every day. A split keyboard also helped me as the poster below suggested. I also started out very slow also. Don't worry, you will get there.
My very first day as an MT I did 667 lines. I had had no
MT training, wasn't a fast typist, had no expander.
You can't compare number of reports because reports vary. If you are doing clinic note they are usually short. If you are doing acute care history and physicals they can be quite lengthy, same with consults. I can do 40 reports one day and only do 28 reports the next, but still get the same number of lines both days.
As a newbie you should do the best you can and not worry about what everyone else is doing.
Or more lines as indicated below - nm
x
I would not take less than $48 as 60 minutes is est. at 600 lines - sm
$48 would be .08 a line. Granted he is giving you 48 hours to do it, and it will take anywhere from 3-6 hours to do depending on degree of difficulty, if you have to look up addresses, Dr. spelling, etc. All that SLOWS you WAY DOWN. $40 is only .066 a line IF it comes out to 600 lines, granted if it is less than that you make more $$$, but if more than 600 lines (say he is a fast talker) then you will get reamed. I'd get a sample first before you agree to anything. Good luck.
How much lines per hour?
Thanks everybody for providing me information few days ago, but I still dont get it how a new MT can type 75 to 100lph because I am able to type hardly 350 lines in 8 hours, this is after the correction i mean grammer, trying to find drug names, etc.
350 lines in 8 hours?
That really isn't much. You should be spending time when you aren't working studying *grammar* and such. I am a newbie, have been at this since January, and can get at least 150 lph. So far I am able to get about 9,000 lines per pay period...that's 10 days. Not trying to bash you or anything, but it sounds like you really need some practice. Websites like www.rxlist.com are great for drug names as well.
How *many* lines per hour...do you have a
nm
My very first day I typed something like 150 lines
for 8 whole hours. My supervisor looked at the line count and made the clerk do a re-count, lol, surely they made a mistake! Nope, it was me. By the end of four months I was off of hourly training pay and on incentive doing about 1600 lines per day. It will come if you work at it. When you first start, your head is in books most of the time too, so this is taking away from your typing. Just keep at it.
I do 1200 lines per day
as a FT IC. This takes me anywhere from 5-6 hours normally, on a bad day it can take me 12 hours when I get distracted. The point is that you will get faster with time. I don't use expansion programs or macros, for me it is just faster to type what they say rather than try to remember what my "codes" are. I have been doing transcription now for 15 years and it does take some time to get the hang of things, even when I started this job it was taking me my full 8 hours to do 1000 lines, then I was noticing I was getting it done in 4-5 hours so I upped my line committment.
I started out full time at home when I was pregnant with my first child, it is difficult to organize your time with kids at home but there are ways around it and still be very productive. Where is your computer? I used to keep mine downstairs so that I could still be with my kids and give them stuff to do and watch them but still work at the same time.
Good luck and hang in there, it will get quicker for you!
500 lines for a newbie
I have only been working for 8 weeks. It takes me 4-5 hours to do 500 lines. Somedays, it takes less. It depends on if I have to look up meds or procedures. I also do clinic work, not acute.
1000 lines
I do clinic notes and it still took me nearly 4 weeks to get to 1000 lines. I only hit 1000 lines once, maybe twice a week. Other than that I stay steady around 700. I would imagine ESL dictators in acute care would have taken me 6 to 8 weeks to hit 1000 and I probably would not hit 1000 very often either.
keep in mind that lines w/o spaces
average of 30% - so if you are getting 150 lph w/o spaces, it is the equivalent to 180 lph with spaces.
Can you say where you work that you can get lines that easily? Thx. nm
s
FT is usually 5000 lines a week and - sm
PT is usually 2500 lines a week. I have never heard 2500 for FT and 1500 for PT a week. I hear the hiring rate is 5-7 cpl. The most you will probably get is .08 after a few years, unless it keeps going down which I hope does not happen.
I've always lost the first lines that were typed when
they come back on and change what they had said. The report needs to make sense and if he is obviously going in another direction, it's just easier to start over. It doesn't seem fair, but that is they way I have always done it. Now, if you had typed a paragraph or so and he just hung up or got cut off, I would leave a QA marker and send it in and get the lines.
200 lines an hour is way beyond minimum expected
s
Gross lines are great! Take it if it's 6-7cpl. nm
s
Reading between the lines, the work is coming
from India and no experienced MT would be willing to work for peanuts to basically have to redo the report.
I wasn't being nasty - quit reading between the lines
x - but do not think that you are just going to walk back into this like it's a walk in the park. It's not. Things have changed and it's not what it used to be and it is not where the money used to be.
Orion Transcription/Vital Lines/Speech 4 Me
I am a newbie and have been dealing with these three companies about the possibility of working with them. Does anyone have any information on any of the three companies? Good or bad.
what company can I do about 1000 lines/week from home?
Hi, I just got an offer for a day job with benefits but I want to do about 1000 lines of MT a week from home.
Anyone have any recommendations about a company I can do that with?
I just graduated Everett Community College's program.
A lot of companies required 1000 to 1200 lines a day. If you are just
starting out you can expect to do about half that unless you have an easy account.
check out Hattie Helper's post a few lines down regarding schools--nm
x
make as many as possible
expanders equals $$$$. But you have to be careful not to use the wrong one. If you have two that are similar you may end up with something ridiculous in your report so proofread well! I like to make Expanders for entire physical exams and operations. Some operations by some doctors are so similar it's worth it to do that.
Low MT pay v. those who make $40k+
I see so many people complain about the current rates of pay for MT's and say that they're barely making it. Then, every once in a while there's a post by someone who says they've been working as a MT for two or three years and are making over $40k. What gives?
Are the MT's making this much money just "lucky", with the right company or in the right situation, or just very fast? Are they working for their own accounts with no benefits and have to take a lot of taxes out of that $40-45k? Are the people who complain most about pay just newbies? Or, do many of you consider that amount to be barely making it? I live in the midwest, and that salary could easily support a somewhat modest lifestyle for myself, my partner, and our baby while he goes back to school.
I have a pretty good understanding of all the variables that go into MT salaries and that it's slow starting out. I realize this isn't a profession you get into solely for the money. I'm just wondering if it's reasonable to shoot for (for example) making $40k/year as an MT three years after graduating from Andrews.
Try these guys. They make (sm)
all sorts of handy gadgets like that.
I'm sorry you couldn't make it
Business actually is growing at a record pace. I'm truly sorry that you weren't able to meet the standards (one error per page...50 pages, 50 errors). It is not unusual for disgruntled students to forgive their inadequacies and blame it on the Company.
However, once enrolled in our program you can always come back and display your "talents". If you have been inactive for 6 months, you can pay a $50 reinstatement fee, submit a new application, and resume.
If you are that talented, making all that money, what do you have to lose? Another client, hospital, clinic?
I really don't think I'll hear back from you, $50.00 reinstatement isn't "petty cash," right?
Lin
Then you don't have what it takes to make it
as an MT. If you can't digest truthful information being given and have the courage to digest it, apply it to any areas of yourself that might need tweeking, then you will not last as an MT. This industry can be pretty rough at times. If you have thin skin, you won't make it. I can only imagine how you will take QA feedback.
Good luck to you.
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