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Charging

Posted By: Carla on 2007-11-16
In Reply to:

I was offered the opportunity to type for a doctor that is moving in wiht another group of doctors and need a transcriptionist. I have typed for other clinics in the area, but these physicians only paid by the hour.


I am wondering if it would be in my best interest to see if they wont pay by the line or character. I have never done this before. I work full time at a hospital and will be doing this at home in the evenings.


Any information on this would be much appreciated.


Thanks




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Charging

The equipment you have will last for a long time so there is not that much to get into business.  13 cents sounds okay, 1  to 1 1/2 cent higher than I charge but I am out in the NW area.  I do pick up of tapes, printing, delivering, use of "sticky paper" etc.  But I average $30 to $45 per hour depending on the clinic.  I haven't raised my prices in a while as I feel it is good money for me.  I buy transcribers off E-Bay, some last for a long time, some not so long.   I am planning on going digital in the next few months but I don't feel it is fair to pass that along to my clinents.  It is my decision.  Will still have to deliver back printed material.   But you have to get those accounts and keep those accounts so charge a fair price -- the docs have more overhead than we do -- make a decent living and provide an extra decent service and you will do okay.   I have said many times -- my accounts have been with me the oldest now 16 years -- psych account and my shortest is 5 years.  They pay on time, have never had to ASK for my check, never a bounced check, and always Christmas bonus and a Birthday present.  So that is why I keep my prices a little lower and spoil them a little but in the long run -- for five years now -- have not had to look for a new account/client and I know that they will not go overseas.   I have had my share of those accounts that stayed with me for a little while until they got something cheaper and those that were just not for me and so that is why I will do most anything to stay where I am right now until I retire in 7 more years.     I put in about 25 hours per week on these accounts as an IC and make $38 K per year.  So for me it fits just right. 


 


If you are only charging 11 cpl
They'll never know the difference, and it will make it worth your while.  These doctors do not care about 65 characters and all that jazz.  Just highlight the document, and charge them under line count.  This will enable you to be compensated for any searches or extras that come along with the territory.  They won't know the difference.  Take it from me.  You'll be fine, and you won't need to do all of this math.  These people are cheating themselves using 65 character lines and the like.  If it is an account you got on your own, then charge it like that.  I'm living proof it works, and provide great TAT, and they won't mind paying you at all. 
When i was charging
17 cpl as an IC I did. Now I make less.

Could make that if I put in the hours but my priorities are the same. Would rather make less and have more time to do the things I enjoy but guess I'm fortunate to be able to make that choice.
Charging
I have my first interview with a Dr. tomorrow and I won't know what to say when he asked me how much!  Should I charge by the line, and if so , how much or should I charge by the page?  He will be my first Dr ever so I have no idea!  I have been reading about lines but I just wanted to know what active transcriptionists are charging!  Thanks.
charging per character
What is the average charge per char??  A dr called me and told me he is currently paying .002 per char.  If I calculated right, that would be .13 cpl.  Is it standard to charge char w/spaces or not? Thanks for any info, I always have charged by the line  
Charging for copies.

My charges for copies depend on who it is and how many copies.  I had one guy who wanted to use me and my little inkjet printer as a personal photocopy shop.  I was charging $.10 per copy to cover paper and ink, but he'd want 20 copies of each page I typed.  Finally, I told him to go to Staples to make copies because I wasn't going to do it any more.  I was driving there every few days for more ink and paper anyway, and he was just someone I didn't want to do business with.


I don't charge my other client for carbon copies because he usually only wants one or two copies.  Besides, he pays me really well and I've been typing for him for 8 years.  When he wants full color copies of digital pictures printed out, however, it's at least $1 per page because it chews up the color ink cartridges so much.


Just look out for people CHARGING for same.
If someone offers you FREE mentorship, jump on it. But don't fall for some folks on boards that will offer to mentor you if you send them a private message/e-mail, etc.

A lot of local hospitals and a handful of services have mentoring (legit) programs. Do a search for MT services and their mentor programs. I know that TRX Inc. in Portland had one several years ago. I'm not sure if they still do. There are several that are trying to promote growth of the MT workforce.

Just ignore the crabby, tainted, bitter older MTs that don't want anyone else coming into "their" industry.

I know Kaiser MTs that make $100,000/year. If you're good, have a GOOD ATTITUDE, and apply yourself and work hard, and don't fall into the trap of becoming persnickety and bitter :) you'll do great! It sounds like you have a really good attitude. Just avoid all the negativity! It's just jealousy, angst, fear, self-pity.
You are so right. Our pay goes down from same folks who are charging us more when we

Right now McDonald's in our town starts employees at $8/hour and pays benefits and some school benefits.


I have worked 30 years in transcription and make less now than I did in 1985.  That's 20 years ago.  I know more and earn less.  In fact I am a fraction above poverty level.


If you don't think MQ is getting ready to take us all below poverty level right down there with Mexico City, just hide and watch.  Or rather, sit here and think you are with a "good" company.  I didn't, because they are making millions in profit off your hard work and not sharing a penny of it with you. 


In the old days an employer spread the wealth of the company with the employees who made it happen.  This group has never heard of the concept.


But I think MTSO's are charging less
I know for a fact that it is very difficult here in the Chicagoland area to land an account for more than 11 cpl, and we used to routinely get 'em for 14 to 17...so I think you are seeing the trickle down effect. I used to pay up to 10 on gross lines, but I can't do that if I only can get an account for 11.
charging more works

I can agree with you.  I used to run a small "word processing service" as it was called back in the 80s.  I was competing with others and I figured one high-paying job was worth more to me than a bunch of inexpensive jobs.  My fees were higher than anyone else's.  I charged $25 an hour for anything other than regular text, be it medical, legal, foreign language, technical, editing, compiling bibliographies, checking footnotes for correct site within the text as changes were made....  I had more work than I could handle and it was all by word of mouth.  I had to hire 2 others to help with the overflow and still turned down work.  Would have continued except for needing to care for terminally ill father.  I had graduate students trying to book me years in advance to do their dissertations. 


Cheap doesn't work.  Not in the long run.  You do indeed get what you pay for. 


If If U have your own accounts, U should be charging MDs more. nm
.
The offshores should be charging more, too....
... even though lots of their work is cr@p.
charging for tapes
 Hi.  Could anybody give me the going rates for tapes (per line of course) that are not printed out and just e-mailed back to the clinic when completed.   I have been charging .11 per line including spaces.  I have charged this for approximately 1-1/2 years.  Could I charge more?  Thanks in advance.
Anyone with experience in charging by the word?
xx
charging for OFFICE NOTE mt

Hey gang !   Today I went my family's podiatrist for  the first time for an ingrown toenail.  As soon as the doc sat down with me, and saw my chart, he commented on my occupation of "transcriptionist".   Within 30 minutes I left his office minus an ingrown toenail, and plus a new account doing his transcription ! 


And this is going to be a lucrative account - 20-25 office notes per day, x 6 days a week.  Yippee !


Question - how do you guys bill your private docs for office notes?  He said some notes are only 1 paragraph, while some can be 2 pages.  Doc said he'd prefer to pay by the page. So should I charge a 1/4 page price, 1/2 page, full page?  How would you guys handle office note charges ?   I will be emailing the files, btw. 


Thanks !


Which font if charging by page?
I am doing something very different from my usual transcription. They want it single space and a different format. I am using Courier New 10 and it looks like they are getting a heck of a lot on the page for what I am charging - I am working for ZIP with this setup. Can anyone tell me what font to use, this is so small when I print it, that I can barely read it, my eyes are killing me as well. Help! You can E-mail me if you wish, I am very, very tired, 12 hour days on this with little to show for it.
How to handle this re: charging account sm

How do you handle an account with a doctor who is constantly changing things?  I'm talking about a guy who will give an entire 4-5 sentences then have you go back and delete and change it.    I'm getting really, really tired of typing it all out only to have to go back and delete and retype. 


Do you keep track of how much you deleted and charge for that also?  It is really cutting into production.  This isn't occasional either.  He does this at least once, if not several times, in EVERY single report.  It is like the man can't string together thought.  Not to mention it is frightening how much things change sometimes.  I wonder often if he is talking about two different patient.


Are you serious? I make 16.5 per CPL and doc hollered I'm not charging enough!
I love my doc. Been with him 12 years. He would love it if I charged more because "it would be fair to me." This is at an IC rate. I would never drop him.

BTW, I live in a low-paying rural area and if it weren't for the self-employment taxes, etc., I would still be an IC. Had 4 accounts on my own and did make great money, but then hubby also went the self-employment route and the taxes ate up all our "profits."

So, I'm back to making peanuts, but love my job now.
Tell them will have to start charging for time
x
You have a point in charging for these items
Be careful when doing your taxes.  You can't have it both ways.  If the doctor pays for the ink, then you cannot write it off as a supply.  Just be careful because you may want to write off those expenses as opposed to letting the doctor write them off.  This is also true for mileage I believe.  If I were you, I'd get a good tax guy and also draft a contract including the what "ifs".  You may also want to include the fact that you do take time off and also you may at any time within reason raise your rate. 
MTSO's charging ICs for use of platform?
Has anyone experienced any MTSOs charging their IC's out of each paycheck for use of the platform software the MTSO chose to use???
Companies charging for use of software (sm)

Now I have been in the business for a good while and besides Trans"scam" I came across another company that charges for software.  Fast Chart.  They use both DocQScribe and EditScript and will charge the ICMT $7.50 per pay period if you do not meet a particular line count every pay period.  Now, although $7.50 is not that much, I have worked on both of the programs (in fact, still working on Editscript) and have NEVER been charged to used it.  What are these companies trying to do to all of us. ..geez louise. 


Charging doctors for redos......

I was wondering what the general rule here is.  Lets say that you type an office note and then months later the doc wants you to add to it.  Do you charge them again for the text you already typed, or do you just pull it up out of your computer's memory and only charge the doctor for the new text added to the document?  This happens to me a lot, and I would like to know what the general rule is. 


Thanks,


Abby 


If you're an IC, you should be charging PA sales tax as well. sm
I know there are A LOT of PA MT's who are not doing this, making it more difficult for those on the up-and-up. However, if you are providing MT services to anyone other than a non-profit (with valid PA Sales Tax exemption), then you should be charging the 6% State Sales Tax and filing a Sales Tax Return.

The Use Tax issue that started this post has been in place for a long time, it's just that the Commonwealth has decided to become more aggressive in their pursuit of this lost revenue stream.
How would you KNOW what the owner is charging? You think she is going to share that info?
x
Charging for printing/mailing reports
I just spoke to a doc interested in my services and one of the questions he asked was how much I would charge for printing and mailing the reports to him. The cost of paper and shipping is pretty easy to calculate, but the cost of ink as well as my time is a little more difficult. Is there some easy way to calculate this for an estimate or would some of you mind sharing your rates? I appreciate any help or advice on the matter. Thanks!
editing/cutting/pasting charging

Would like to know what to charge a potential client that is using voice recog for their discharge summeries, but they want me to cut and paste it into the form on their system. 


Any suggests on how to charge for this since I will not be listening to the actual dictation and doing it.


 


thanx for any help


 


I've never heard of charging by the word, but I just
did a check on my current document.  I had 1759 words and when I ran my line count I only had 245 lines.  You're making twice what I'm making and my lines are gross lines.  I'd say you're coming out pretty good as is. 
Charging for a full 60 minute microtape...

For you IC's out there, what is the average charge for transcribing a 60-minute microcassette?   I am estimating about $45.00-$60 at most with 60 minutes of transcripiton.  It takes me anywhere from 5-6 hours to transcribe. Is this about the norm?  I am thinking of raising my rates.  I also print the reports out and deliver too. 


 


TIA


No one is charging 15-20cpl anymore. Offshore has taken that away. sm
The reason we pay 7-9cpl is that we are charging 11-13cpl. Don't let anyone tell you differently. I have been bidding on VA hosptals for the past few months. They want U.S. only, small businesses (under $6 million in sales a year) and I am STILL losing to others for price and I am bidding 11-1/2 and 12 cpl.

It makes offshore more attractive to those of us that cannot charge enough to pay enough but want to stay in business.

I cannot compete with bigger companies like MQ, Spheris, Webmedx, Keystrokes, etc. but I know after bidding with them that they are not getting more than 14 or 15 cpl either.


For california MTSO's. Are you charging 65 cpl or gross line?
Trying not to price myself out of the market.  Thanks for the help.
they are charging you money to perform a background check ?
???
ICs -- what are your rates right now? what are you charging per line, page, minute, etc?

I'm trying to get my own docs and want to set rates that are equivalent to everyone else so as not to undercut and lower our industry standards. But, I can't seem to find out what rates are locally, soooo, as much input as possible would be appreciated.  Anyway, I know that local family practices have been quoted by the hour, by the minute, by the line, by the page, and so on.


I don't really want to do by the minute -- it makes them feel like they have to dictate at sonic speed. Some of them balk at by the line because no matter what you tell them, they feel like they are penalized for having nice formats. They balk at by the page because they think you will extend it to 2 pages for more money. Then there are the ones who gripe about hourly rates because they feel like you will type slower to make more money. I actually typed a sample tape for a local practice a year ago and based on my rate the office manager figured it up PER PATIENT and said it was too much!! 


I know family practice docs and nurse practitioners don't make that much money but dangit I gotta feed my family too.


So help, please!!!!


 


 


It almost sees like they are charging you as if you were a business. I thought if you worked out of
your own home you were not considered a business.
No, I am not trying to brag. I just wanted to know if others who live in my region are charging app
I did speak to another local MT this evening and she is charging .15 per line. That is all I wanted to know, what was the norm for this area and if I was overcharging.    
It depends. Will you be charging strictly per report or per exam? sm
Some of us make that now with our nationals so I would charge a little more.
Editing Radiology Reports - Need info RE charging per report (Exam)
I am in the South - any suggestions on going rate for editing Radiology Reports per report (exam)?  I have seen charging prices from $1.25 to $2.00.  Thank you for any input, it is greatly appreciated.
Anybody seen how Time Warner is going to start charging "heavy broadband users?" sm
http://www.news-record.com/content/2009/04/02/article/time_warner_cable_will_track_charge_by_internet_usage
OF INTEREST TO ALL TIME WARNER CUSTOMERS...THEY ARE GOING TO START CHARGING FOR USAGE AND NOT A FLAT

This really sucks as the article said it would impact heavy users only.  My cable bill is already high but to be charged for actual using will skyrocket my bill.  I think I could spit nails right now.  I can post the article if anyone is interested.  They said it will be a trial period.  Anyone else use Time Warner?