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How much time does it take you to do 60 minutes of dictation?

Posted By: Beth on 2005-10-25
In Reply to:

I talked to a newbie just the other day who has taken a course but has just started his first job and he blows my time clear out of the water!  I may  not be the fastest typer but 60 minutes in a couple of hours!  Does that seem real?


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80-100 minutes of dictation
Can anyone tell me approximately how long 80-100 minutes of dictation takes to do with variables I know of a good or bad dictator but on average.  A 60 minute microcassette tape on both sides of 120 minutes, is that something to compare this to? Thank you.
Wow! If you do 240 minutes of dictation in...
8 hours, that is great!  Congratulations!
60 minutes of dictation
I take about 60 minutes of dictation each day and make between 50-60 dollars each day so yes, to me that is low.
60 minutes of dictation for $40
worth it or not?
Minutes of dictation, help please
This is the first time I am on an account that gives you large files of work.

My questions are, what is an "average" number of minutes to transcribe a day? Is there a basic rule of estimating how long it takes to type a minute of dictation? What about a basic rule of lines in regards to minutes (X number of lines per hour of dictation, etc)?
30 MINUTES OF DICTATION
Hello, I was wondering if you could tell me how long it takes you to transcribe 30 minutes of dictation.  This is a clinic account that I will be transcribing 30-50 minutes of dictation M-F.  I know that there are a lot of variables, inlcuding dictator speed and expanders, but on average how long does this amount of work take you?  Thanks so much for your help!
dictation minutes
If anyone would have told me how much this could vary I would have never believed it. Currently I get paid by minutes. All very short reports and for each report we first capture patient info in the EMR, then transcribe in Word, and then save to correct folder in order for clerical to put back in the EMR. In addition, we have access to the EMR and are expected to put in any missing data, date of visit, attending, etc. 10 minutes an hour on average is a really good day, but bottom line for me is what do I average per hour and benefits. In this case, could be better but could be a lot worse.

I take a certain # of minutes dictation per day. nm
nm
actually i would rather be bonused on minutes of dictation.
it works to my benefit when i am trying to get a bonus and have a slow dictator which more often than not i get, more so than a fast dictator.  it levels the playing field from those who get fast talking ops or ERs and can get a better line count. 
The least I do an hour is 10 minutes of dictation - sm
so in 7.5 hours you should be able to do 75 minutes with relative ease. But if you are new and somewhat slow, I'd start with 45 and work my way up to 60.
60 dictation minutes is only about 4-6 hours

I do 60 minutes of transcription in about 4-6 hours - I think it goes 10 minutes of dictation = approx 1 hour of transcription or thereabouts.  I am not 100% certain and it would depend on the types of dictators. 


Best of luck whichever way you go. 


 



how about 196 minutes of real dictation!

My mom got a 200 minute file and she couldn't open it on her computer and asked me to do her a favor and transcribe it (which I do when this happens), figuring the doc left the tape on... Well.  She didnt leave it on.  She dictated.  The whole time.  About two weeks worth of dictation.  And she never bothered to tell me when the date changed, just went ahead and dictated, and dictated, and dictated.  It took me days cause even though I could have had it done within a day... it was just the thought of the same person speaking for so long!!!! :)


How many minutes of dictation do you type a day?
.
I have been give 300 minutes of dictation...

I am an IC and have been given 300 minutes of dictation (digital) due by Wednesday.  Is this possible?  I am not the fastest MT either, which has me very concerned.  Is this something most of you can do?  I may have to give up this job if it is not something I can accomplish.  ');> I am just so stressed out and want to cry. 


 


TIA


I am an IC who averages about 120 minutes of dictation per day. SM
I am quite familiar with my accounts, and only have to look up occasional words, e.g. new devices, and the dreaded address for the referring physician that the dictator does not bother to take the extra five seconds to give you when the information is directly in front of him! I use no Expanders as the doctors who I transcribe for are not repetitious with their reports. It takes me about 6 hours per day to do 2 hours worth of dictation. I have to be pretty disciplined, but take frequent quick breaks (probably 5-10 minute breaks 5 times) to just stretch, get a drink or grab a bite to eat. Unless you would work a 24-hour stretch and are extremely quick, I don't think 300 minutes is very realistic. I have been doing this for over 20 years, and I can't imagine how your client or company could possibly expect this time frame? Did they just give you the work or have you had it for a while? Good luck. However, without having the actual dictation in front of me, I cannot say for sure. Some doctors can stretch a lot of "BS" out to consume a lot of dictation time, when in reality maybe they only dictated several pages. Speaking for myself, my doctors usually productively dictate for 2 hours worth of typing. I don't know your situation however.
Will minutes of dictation be considered? Some

I did 103 minutes of dictation today
and it took me 6-1/2 hours. Let's see if I can do the math ... 6-1/2 hours = 390 minutes of my time, divided by 103 minutes' worth of dictation, comes out to 3.78 and change, so that means each minute of dictation took me 3.78 minutes to transcribe... right?

That included several difficult dictators, the ones with the long pauses while they shuffled papers--and a lot of e-mail reading (and answering) and internet-surfing on my part in between. Shh! Don't tell anybody!
Formula: Dictation Minutes x 3 = 3 hours
That's always been the calculation -- a ten-minute report will take 30 minutes to type... one minute = three minutes, etc... Depending on how slow the doc is, though, you can really speed him up and sometimes type real-time.
The MT average is 20 minutes of dictation/hour
x
how long to transcribe 60 minutes dictation
I've always heard this used as a standard - Transcription equals 2-3 times longer than the dictation.  Lots of factors such as clear sound, clear dictation, formatting of typed work - going in and out of jobs, typing speed, use of expanders, etc.  but its a pretty good rule to go by.  So 60 minutes would take 2-3 hours to type.
A bad day, I do 100 minutes of dictation and more like 130 to 140 on a decent day, an 8-hour day sm
but I have been doing this for a very long time and have a perfect expander.
I generally request 60 minutes of dictation for the weekend

So it doesn't matter if you got a 30 minute file and only 3 minutes of it is actually dictation,
nm
In the "old days" of dictation on vinyl belts, the quota was do to 15 minutes an hour. sm

To me, it seems realistic, but then again, each situation is different.  On account I know, I can usually do 30 minutes an hour, although being money-oriented and paid by the line, I usually gauge things by lines.  I do 250-300 lph, but those little dinky reports ARE an irritation -- no argument there -- hardly enter the header info and *poof* the dictation is over.  Would be hard to make a decent line count that way.


But ... surely your employers understand there are variations on such things.  Maybe you average 8.9 one month and 12 the next ... I would think it would even out.


Anyway, i'm into that gray zone where I know nothing about, but I wish you good luck.  To me, in the days when I was supervisor, if I knew someone was doing the best they could do, that was all that mattered to me. 


OMG! I was in shock for about 10 minutes first time I saw that!
Weird, but funny
OMG!!! Why do ESL's sit there not dictating for 5 minutes at a time????
Geez, as if they're not annoying enough when they actually ARE talking! 
Daily minutes - time per tape

I have two Internal Medicine docs that average 25 to 35 minutes per day which equals about 500 to 600 lines each.  (time to do each tape 1 to 1.25 hours per tape)     Monthly line count is about 15,000 to 16,000 per month average .


Two oncology surgeons that dictate three days per week -- one is 25 to 30 minutes per day which can equal up to 1000 lines as a  lot of letters and consults the other surgeon is shorter about 10 to 15 minutes and equals about 300 to 400 per day. (time to do tape -- long ones about 1.5 hours and short about 20 to 30 minutes -- good money maker)  Monthly line count is about 11,000 to 12,000 per month


Plastic surgeon -- short chart notes only 10 minutes = 100 lines per day - 3 days per week.  Only get about 1000 lines per month if he has some letters.


Hand surgeon - some IME's, chart notes - 2 days per week depends but usually about 30 to 40 minutes per day.    About 4500 to 5000 lines per month.


Psychologist -- 3 to 5 psych consults - ADHD children - 35 to 40 minutes per report with accompanying letter about 600 to 700 lines per report/letter.  (takes me about 1.25 hours per report/letter)  About 4500 lines per month.


I have been doing these for so long I can type them in my sleep. 


But, if you don't need a lot of minutes per month it costs BIG TIME.
p
My UPS has an estimated battery time of 19 minutes
which gives me enough power to finish the report I'm working on and shut down my computer correctly.
Well, collectively it probably took 20 minutes of my time to post today.
My kids are out and about. I did all my work. I'm a good girl, you see! I don't really get your perceived "jab" at me at all.  Why do you think that because I am in favor of someone being an MT and keeping their precious baby at home as opposed to in day care, that somehow that means I say I spend every minute of my life focused on my kids? I really think when you respond like this, its because you are not confident in your own life - I won't delve deeper, but you feel guilty. Guilty enough to have to make fun of me and put imaginary words in my mouth.  I never said a whisper or innuendo that MT mothers with kids at home have to focus every second of their lives on their kids. That's ridiculous! We all know that!  And I assume you're the same poster above about camp? You use the same SM.  I am sorry to disappoint you that I don't understand your "revelation" about my identity! I never said a word here about camp, and don't follow that thought at all.  The OP asked if she could do it - be an MT and have a baby at home. I recognize another poster from below, childfree by choice. She and I have had some wonderful debates in the past, and I think we usually agree to disagree! But certainly nice meeting you, I think??
5 minutes tops; if not tend to waste too much time - sm
google what you think it may be, or key terms in the phrase and usually you can figure it out that way pretty quickly.

I'm not wasting 45 minutes of my time for a 2 minute voice file.
I'm not wasting my time on a physician who can't or won't speak half way decently, English born or not. I don't have to work for crappy doctors. I found ones who are willing to make an effort if they can't speak English, they try and spell things as do my English docs. I've been an MT for a VERY long time. I'm an excellent MT and have nothing to prove to you. Have a wonderful holiday season filled with KINDNESS. Try being a little less judgmental. Sounds like you ride atop a very high horse.
wouldn't that be 24 hr from time of dictation?? nm
nm
One time I had a dictation that was 3 days long! sm
The jerk didn't disconnect Friday evening when he was finished, and the darn thing recorded all weekend. Oh, did I wish I could be paid by the minute then!

By the same token, one of his colleagues would leave the dictation running while he gossiped with other docs (I heard some really juicy stuff!) about other docs and would resume his dictation when he felt like it. I did one report for this guy that registered over an hour. I had to listen to it all to get his dictation. Got sick of hearing about the cowboy boots he always wore (an ESL, too!) There was nothing, NOTHING good about that doc, and I pity the MTs who have to transcribe him daily.
LOL.. I have one that spells Lyrica every time, even more than once in a dictation!
x
Question on what the average time is to transcribe 1 minute of dictation?

I know this is going to vary widely but any sort of general idea would be helpful.  I know this is a tough question!


Thanks for your help!


Just experiencing acute care dictation, for the first time in years
the dictation seems lacking of a change in the tone of the dictation, inflections put on syllabyls or sentence structure are both missing. It makes the job boring with the sighs and "ummmm"s of which there are many, loss of train of thought. In my day, the doctor's dictated with some emotion which helped to enjoy the job even more, in fact, that is my fav part, typing a good job for the person dictating - that has always been my goal. It is very depressing since I see another 10 or so years in this field unless I sprout a new talent that can pay the bills.
I used to say he nursed for 30 minutes every 30 minutes. I was trying to figure
out a way to strap him across my chest so he could help himself while I went about whatever it was I had to do.    I really miss those days too.  
ATT- I was paying $320 for 7000 minutes, I am now paying $175 for 5000 minutes in CA. nm
nm
It has taken me 20 minutes to look up
addresses for one patient report.  That's a whopping four lines there.  Someone mentioned earlier making sure that the platform was user friendly.  It's simple enough to use, but this looking up information has got to go if I'm going to make any money at all.  I wish I could find something where I could just cruise.  Any ideas on companies without all the extra research done for free?
60 minutes

Depending on which account but 60 minutes to me is about $100 to $175 for me.    If it would be my surgeons would be over $200.  Sure they did not mean for 60 minutes of transcribing -- $40 per hour?  Even dividing by minute that is less than $1 per minute.  Way too low. 


 


So, you are saying then that 90 minutes sm
would take approximately 4.5 to 5 hours?
I think 60 minutes and all of you should
Enough already!  I'm sorry, but quite frankly your energy could be spent on much more important issues than offshoring medical records.  Let's bring the fathers and mothers home.  There are still physicians/facilities that use U.S. MTs.  JMO. 
minutes
Anywhere from 175-250 depending on account.
It's on again in about 45 minutes.
Should be, anyway.
i had an 800 # before and yes we had to pay for minutes used. sm
i am sure there are different options out there and this was 5+ years ago though. could you rerecord and send to her via net?
I just saw one a few minutes ago
x
I sent it to 60 Minutes
I sent the link to 60 Minutes. If I hear anything back, I will let you all know. Something needs to be done. To be truthful, I feel almost as bad for poor Indian workers being used by US companies and paid nothing, when they don't have the ability to do the job they are hired for. It's bad all around. I am sure there's plenty of work in their own country where they would at least be able to do a halfway decent job. It sure would spare us in the US having to re-do their reports before they are acceptable to send to clients.
5 minutes (nm)
nm
Since about 1994 off and on and about 15 minutes

I've been a transcriptionist off and on for years, probably 5-6 years FTE. I've always thought about getting the certification, but it used to be somewhat involved to do the testing. Of course, it's always been expensive with limited payoff.


I was applying for jobs about a month ago, and all the potential employers asked if I had my CMT. That tells me they think it is worth something even if we, the workerbees, don't.


I didn't really study for it. I opened my notebook and looked at Latin/Greek pluralizaiton rules, and then put the book down. I figured if I didn't know it yet from my day to day work and from college, I wasn't going to be able to learn it in time. Really, I don't know how a person could study for it. The questions came from such a broad area. I really think AAMT has come up with a good test.


I'm glad I took it, and I will do the CEs to keep the designation and to make me better at what I do.


It took me 30 minutes to look-up a patient.
x