Home     Contact Us    
Main Board Job Seeker's Board Job Wanted Board Resume Bank Company Board Word Help Medquist New MTs Classifieds Offshore Concerns VR/Speech Recognition Tech Help Coding/Medical Billing
Gab Board Politics Comedy Stop Health Issues
ADVERTISEMENT




Serving Over 20,000 US Medical Transcriptionists

5 minutes or 3 google searches sm

Posted By: QA/MT on 2009-01-15
In Reply to: Without starting a war, how much time is reasonable to spend on reasearch (sm) - CuriousMT

I am a champion googler, so I can generally find something in one or two searches. If it goes to 3, I know I am not going to find it. I can look at old reports and that is my source of last resort because of the time involved. I can search using my own MT number, pt and doctor which helps to narrow it down if I know I have looked for this before and it won't come to me.

By the minute...I think I'd do less looking up. If you get docked for QA or a bonus for fewer numbers (I get a bonus for fewer files to QA) that is different. I think you are being ripped off anyway, don't rip yourself off more.


Complete Discussion Below: marks the location of current message within thread

The messages you are viewing are archived/old.
To view latest messages and participate in discussions, select the boards given in left menu


Other related messages found in our database

Is there a way to do ''wildcard'' searches for medical terms on Google? nm
nm
I check no fewer than 5 websites or 5 google searches
often I go further than that, but I've been doing this a long time and get stumped a heckava lot less than I used to.

I basically search at least 5 different ways and check at least 5 websites before giving up. That's presumably after I've checked my own word books, of course.
No specific one that I can recall. Sorry. But I was running Google searches on the person,
and the same company kept popping up "run search online" everywhere! They had several options - $9.95 or $19.95 or a super-duper $49.95 one.  I went with the cheapest one, and even that was worth it. Though the $49.95 would surely be tempting....
re rx word searches, did you know

 


I just discovered it, that drugs.com has (to right on main page) a special drug search link "for transcriptionists" ????  it not only works very well, BUT, it gives the usage of the med also -- it is very helpful.  I used the wild card search and it brought up 1/2 dozen possibilities, one of which was what i was looking for.  anyway, i am actually liking it better than the FDA site now...so thought i'd share!


It searches specific websites.

That's what makes it different and useful.


I say go with the online records searches - I had some "fishy" stuff I needed to check out.
Tried it on my own via the courts, court clerks, public records, etc., and it took me days and days of weeding, and found out a smidge of info.  Went online and paid $9.95 at one of the common search sites, and found out PAYDIRT! So much info, and all turned out true, that I was amazed! Best $10 I ever spent! This was on a "relative" who was trying to pull a con on an elderly relative.  The elderly relative still fell for the con, but my conscience is free, cause I warned her up front.  Everything we feared has come to pass, but at least we tried to give warnings up front. Found out aliases, financial info as in legal charges for bad checks, property titles, and a whole bunch more! For $10 and all on one form! Then called the court clerks back and verified all info, but I had to have the info first - backwards, as usual!
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.  
Yep, google has it goin on... I really like the google earth...
Have you tried Google earth? You can type in any address, street, city, state, country, etc. and it will zoom in and show the area and then you can hit the + button and zoom right in and see the exact house, building, etc. that you are looking for.
Mainly Google; I google the known words in the phrase (sm)
That's my most frequent tactic if I don't find the word in my word books. I'll play with leaving certain words out and adding them in, in various combinations, to try to get a hit that has a word which sounds like my blank. If I get a hit, I'll Google WITH that word, and see what hits I get, and what their source is (i.e.,checking the sources out for reliability). When I say 5 sites or searches, I mean I don't often try more than 5 different combinations without a serious hit. If I get a hit, then I will spend a little more time checking that out before I give up.

If it's a drug name, I use RxList, or more frequently the Drugs.com website. Since they redid RxList, I haven't found one that has quite as good a wildcard search, but Drugs.com works okay most of the time.

If it's a place name (like when they give names of outlying outreach clinics and etc.) I'll use Mapquest and look up the city my hospital is in, then "pan out" and look at the outlying towns.

Hope that's what you're looking for. I do have bookmarks, but I find that even the ones I think I'll visit again, I waste more time doing that than with an intelligent google search. An example is the time I was looking for "banana bag." The only place I managed to find it with a degree of reliability was on a nurses' message board. I've found quite a bit sometimes on the various specialty message boards out there, but I think the quickest way to locate that is through a search engine rather than bookmarking each individual site and trying to figure out which ones to search for a particular term.
ATT- I was paying $320 for 7000 minutes, I am now paying $175 for 5000 minutes in CA. nm
nm
Thank you, Google God. My google icon is
x
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
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.
Mine only last 30-60 minutes,
but they sometimes come daily for a couple of weeks. My eye doctor said there's not much you can do for them.
Walking 30 minutes per day sm
with the dogs (all 160 pounds worth!) has my back and the leg cramps have nearly disappeared as well as the lower leg edema. I can actually sit longer now and don't need so much in the way of pain meds and no heating pad for the leg cramps. And other benefits too, lost 5 pounds, concentrate better, sleep better, fresh air.
"Oh, Mom" every ten minutes

/


Mine just had one a few minutes ago!
nm
I take on anywhere from 90-150 minutes almost every weekend - sm
every now and then I take off or take on less to give myself a break though and to be with the kids.  They think I work all the time (which I do it seems) and are surprised when I don't.  Trying to work smarter so I can spend more time with them, I don't want them to remember their childhood saying "well mom was always working". 
minutes vs. per line
I've always worked in-house radiology by the hour.  Now, I'm considering going elsewhere but I have no idea what I average as far as lines/day.  I know I average 15-20 minutes of dictation an hour, but what is that by the line?  And what is a good radiology cpl pay with 4-5 years experience?  Thanks for your input! 
minutes vs. lines
In my experience, as I get paid per minute, depending on what you get paid per line, let's say anywhere 10-13 cents per line then by the line is the way to go especially if you have a lot of normal reports. I have a speedy radiologist and sometimes get paid nothing for a report because I barely get the name recorded and study recorded.
They just showed it about 5 minutes ago
They said Ryan gave the wrong number to punch when people called in and that they also heard he'd had two offers from well-known bands, including Van Halen.
Yesterday, I did 45 minutes in
an hour (that was my average through the day).
Up to 5 hours to do 60 minutes- since you have to -sm
look up stuff, etc. If it was straight typing I'd say 3-4 hours to do 60 minutes.
Wow! If you do 240 minutes of dictation in...
8 hours, that is great!  Congratulations!
Where I work 90 minutes is FT- but I am an IC so - sm
it does not matter in terms of benefits. Though they are changing things some, basically if you work FT you get a better line rate than the PT people.....I am in-between (60-75 minutes a day depending on life) and luckily quite valued so I do okay.
OMG!!! Why do MT's come here and spew every 5 minutes?????
Go to work. Or something.

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?
1000 minutes
1000 minutes, 1000 lines at 65 characters
I think that is fair -- it is only 80 minutes in a day.
At my hospital, we have to type 120 minutes a day as our BASE!! We don't even get incentive until we PASS 120 minutes a day!

That's also 6 time turn around time.
minutes per hour sm
I am old school. I still cannot figure out how they can assume you can type so many minutes per hour when some dictators are horrible and some easy. I think quality has to be of utmost importance. How about the double speed tapes, some get twice as much on a small cassette as others and try explaining this to the docs, and boy do they know how to take advantage of you on this subject. Some won't understand, but the old timers will, you can dictate in either speed and they'll try to tell you it's only a "half tape" when they know they're getting twice as much on there. Shouldn't be "timed", it's quality that counts if you want to be worthwhile in this business IMHO.
What about minutes per hour/day?
Often times for me that is more consistent. Generally average ~140 minutes per day, but that can equal anywhere from 1200-1500 lines--a pretty big discrepancy, I think.
60 minutes had this on several years ago
60 minutes had a show about this a couple of years ago.  I wrote to them several times but got no answers.   They are having Indian physicians read MRI's x-rays, etc.  If you think it is bad for health info to go over there, think about your tax forms going over there.  Of course with the problems that have been going on here in the US with the VA and a couple of hospitals here in Oregon having patient information stolen, to me that is not the best argument.  I simply tell the docs that if we don't keep the jobs here in the US, then no one is going to be in their waiting rooms.  Hershey's just announced they are moving to Mexico to make their candy so it is not just us that is getting hit.   
Missed 60 minutes but
I missed that show on 60 mintues but I am real close to Hershey as I live in the general area. Heck I used to work for Hershey Park many moons ago. Lots of people around here are refusing to buy any more Hershey's chocolate. Sales will decline even if they are making it for less money. There are other concerns as well. With what just happened to the pet food, around my parts people are stating that they will not eat candy made outside the U.S. for the same reasons. Quality control is not the same off U.S. soil.
Why count minutes??
I'm wondering why you would even bother with counting minutes. That really doesn't tell you anything. I have some docs who may show a 10 minute dictation and you only get one-and-a-half pages out of it because they have stopped and talked with someone on the phone or fell asleep, etc. Minutes don't have any bearing on the quota you type. In my opinion keep track of how many lines or characters you do in a day.
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)?
I am back - I just did 70 minutes sm

My IT productivity says 12943 Keystrokes for 24447 characters - 1.89 per keystroke.  It is a little misleading though because a lot of my production comes from AutoCorrect too - I have a billion things in there that were transferred from MedRite when I moved from that to DQS, so I still actually use it with IT.   Also, four of the reports were stress tests that had templates from DQS but the rest of them were discharges, which have lots of typing and little template activity.


All together I did 391 lines in that 70 minutes.  Why can't I do that all day long? 


Anyway - I *heart* my IT and think I could transcribe easier with a missing hand than a missing IT.


Minutes/hour
I know everybody measures their line counts by the hour, but I just had someone ask me how many minutes of dictation I could do in an hour.  Really not sure.  What would most of you say?  I can usually crank out about 180 lines per hour when I actually sit down and type. 
tracfone minutes
With Tracfone, if you have no minutes, you just don't use your phone. You don't have to buy a "minimum" number of minutes. You keep your same phone number. Just make sure you get more minutes on your phone by the date that shows on your phone. There have been times when I have run out of minutes and I just put the phone on the charger for the duration of being "minuteless." I also think that even if you hvae no minutes on your Tracfone, you can still make a 911 call. Check their website tho, to make sure. To activate your service, you can call or do it online. You need the number from the battery on your phone and it has to be fully charged. That is pretty much it.
130 lines in 15 minutes?
Wow!  You are fast.  That would be 530 lines an hour!  I thought I was doing good at 250.  At that rate you can make a lot of money, but I think it would burn me out typing that much every day.