Text Expanders and counters
Posted By: newbiemommt on 2008-02-12
In Reply to:
Does anyone know where I can get a free word Expander and a word/line counter? I was using FastFox and TextTally, but I didn't realize it was only free trials. I may have to go ahead and buy them though. I just don't have a lot of money to spend on them right now, and I can't keep entering in my information over and over again. Thanks for all the help
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Instant Text
I use this and it is great and you can add to it also. It is worth checking out
Text expander
I currently use IT text Expander from my course at MT at home. Is there a better text expander that I should be using?
also referred to as canned text (sp??)
These are physical exams, review of systems, certain operative reports, etc., that are dictated over and over by a doctor and can be called into a new report with only slight editing required. They boost your line count a lot if you get lucky enough to transcribe for a doctor who consistently says the same thing over and over.
Anyone familiar with beyond text platform?
I am job hunting and an account that is available is using beyond text platform. Can anyone tell me what this is before I get in to deep.
Grammar Text Book
Hey sm, just looked for that book on Amazon and there are quite a few different Little Brown Handbooks, could you tell me the ISBN#, author and edition? Thanks.
using a text expander helped me drastically.
Also, this may seem really obvious, but if you're using MS Word, use the AutoCorrect feature to auto correct any errors you commonly make. I actually use the AutoCorrect feature as my text Expander as well.
Shorthand versus Instant text
Looking for a great word Expander to work with. I am clueless at this point as to what is out there and how they even work. I have had ShortHand and Instant Text suggested to me, but not sure which one will be better.
Thanks for your help.
expanders
First to address your question about expanders, the main ones are ShortHand and SpeedType (which are the same as I understand it) and InstantText (IT) but there are a lot out there, some even free. IT is the one with the most features I would say. As a beginner, it could be overwhelming for you. But you can Google it and on the web site see how other Expander programs can be converted to it when/if you decide to use it. I'd do a comparison of these and see what makes the most sense to you, what you think you can handle, and I think most jobs will support these programs 3 Expanders at least. I'd download a free one first for practice while you learn your own system for making short cuts unless you know which program your company uses. These are expensive but more than well worth the money. I have thousands of short cuts and keep adding daily. The more I put in, the higher my line counts.
One hint -- If your company has it's own expander program built in (like ExText does), personally I wouldn't use it but use one that is not dependent on the platform (such as the above programs). Your expander is your money-maker. If you leave a job, you want to take it with you. With ExText's ESP, you can't. You must start from scratch building it all over again. (If I'm wrong, somebody please correct me.) That's too much time and effort down the drain.
Another suggestion is to read the thread on the forum about starting out as an MT where the poster is advised to start in-house with a hospital and get experience there. That's even better than working on an expander. This is if you wish to change jobs and start somewhere else, as I believe you said you already were hired by someone?? -- I don't know how long you can wait before you get steady work.
You can also visit web sites where you can test your knowledge of anatomy and watch surgeries, etc. All this will help you. When you find a good site, bookmark it for reference for when you get work. Create a folder for every specialty you do, and then enter web addresses for good sites that address each specialty in their proper folder. That will be part of your reference library.
If you know the names of physicians you will be transcribing for, make a Word file for each one and enter their most commonly used phrases, pargraphs, etc. as you get their work. Then, if you get a report and you can't understand something they say, pick a word next to it and use the FIND feature to do a search in that physician's Word file and ten to one you'll see the word there that you can't understand. You can't copy specific patient information. That's not allowed. But you can cut and paste parts of things for reference. Also put these in your expander, of course.
expanders
You're very welcome!
I didn't discover the WORD file idea until I had been an MT for a couple of years. Found it on www.productivity.com. Great place for ideas. I had kept a 3-ring binder of samples until then--many, many specialties and physicians. It was huge. It helped, but with a WORD file you can cut and paste and use that FIND feature. Sure speeds things up! And if you decide someday to get IT, you can use it to compile a glossary.
I also keep sample procedures/ops in a separate WORD file for each physician and cut and paste them and adjust where necessary. I used to store them in the Expander but could only see a part of what each one was. With them being in a WORD file, one following another, I can scroll or use Find to see what I need and again cut and paste into the report, as I don't work from templates. Sure helps!
Good luck to you!
Expanders
Try making 2 word Expanders with first 2 letters of each word. Three word phrases and up can be just first letter of each word. For 1 Word Expanders - first 2 letters of word plus 2 letters of another syllable, such as chondromalacia would chma. Works pretty well.
Expanders
I've gotten great tips on Expander lists at www.productivitytalk.com. You register for free, go down to shortcut abbreviations/systems and macros and there's a ton of expander lists people have submitted.
Expanders
Just wanted to add something. Someone mentioned about headings. I use an h in front of anything I want to use for a heading. For example: hcc= Chief Complaint and then just use cco for chief complaint in lower case. hhpi= History of Present Illness; hpi=HPI; use an x at the end to expand, hpix=history of present illness. This works really well for me.
Looking for help with expanders
Anyone out there willing to send me a some of their Expanders for Ortho - just starting out in this field and need a little 'boost' here. Thanks. 
expanders
Have U tried productivitytalk.com.
very helpful to me...
Question about expanders
Do you get the common phrases and words off the internet along with coming up with them while you are working or do you just do it strictly from the work you are typing?
I am a new MT and want to have my Expander work at it's fullest potential.
Thanx
Word expanders
What is the best Expander out there?
Word Expanders
I don't know if my reply got through. I use Instant Text. Expensive, but if your memory is shot some days, you just type in a few letters and it gives you a list of not only words but phrases. I can remember to type cce when I want to have it spelled out for me as no cyanosis,clubbing or edema. It spells better than I do. You really save Keystrokes when you learn it over time, you just can't make a glossary for it overnight. It comes with like 20 anyway,but like the drug one doesnt always have what I need. And I still need to find more ways to produce more. 
Depends on the power of your expanders
I average 300 lines per hour and on rare occasions have achieved 400 lph with the right dictator when I'm in the "zone". It's all in knowing your stuff and having shortcuts for as many words, phrases, and whole sentences as possible. I know someone who regularly averages 350+ lph.
A helpful note about expanders
I just thought I'd offer this up: The ABCZ method for making shortcuts. I just came upon it after reading about it in the archives here. It's just a simple method that offers advice and suggestions about how to make and organize your abbrevation/expander files. Here's the link: http://home.earthlink.net/~agjon/abczrule.htm There's also the book Saving Keystrokes, but you have to buy that. Anyhow, the method description is free for those who don't want to spend any $$. I hope this helps!
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