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I've been on Escription for four years and I have rarely hit 2500 lines a day..

Posted By: EditMT on 2008-06-19
In Reply to: Increasing VR production? - Need tips please

Yes, when I have good reports I can do 500 lines an hour, but unfortunately, that does not happen consistently in my day. I can cruise along for a few hours and then hit some ESLs, which just mentally slows me down and then I struggle the rest of the day. If, I was able to sit there 8 hours straight NO interruptions or breaks and easy reports, then I could hit 2500 lines but that is not my reality. Some of the reports are good but I'm telling you.. A LOT of them have to retyped, thus slowing your line count down an hour..and you've just basically done straight typing for a mere 4 cpl.  I truly think that editing needs to pay more. I am like you.. I am requiring at least $100 a day.. sometimes I can do it in 6 hours (no breaks and good reports) and sometimes for various reason I have to sit there 12-15 hours (interupptions, ESL, and just bad reports)..So add that up..$100 in 12-15, that's like $8 an hour.. Wal-mart here I come LOL


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The above poster is right. Sadly, I've been on Escription for four years and my line counts
were going down. Apparently, the hospital decided we were being overpaid so they manipulated the way were paid i.e. footers, headers etc. They could change it to whatever they wanted and the MTSO did nothing as they wanted to keep the contract.  So we had to suck up and take the reduction, along with the fact that all of our work was/is being sent to India so it's slim pickens most days unless you want the crappy accounts.  I would ask a lot of questions, but as a whole, Escription accounts and the companies who have it rarely like to pay a decent livable cpl. JMO
2500 lines ???
2500 lines in 5 or 6 hours - I've never heard of anyone doing that in my 25 years of transcribing!
2500-3000 lines daily. sm
I found my comfort zone and awesome account, finally. After 25 years in the MT business, I can honestly say, I am happy doing my job! I have an awesome account, wonderful people to work for, and an excellent line rate.

I have not set hours, no special quota to meet - just get the reports done with utmost quality, keep them in turnaround time and keep the docs happy!

Sometimes, I don't even check my line count. I just work until my account is caught up.

There are accounts/doctors/hospitals out there who will appreciate you, your knowledge and work ethic, who will treat you with the respect you so deserve!

I happened to find one - all MTs can do the same; it just takes a little effort. Believe me, I have been around the block in this profession, working for smaller MTSOs, large nationals, and having my own accounts. It was not easy, but I finally have found "paradise" in the MT profession!

Depends -- usually 2500-3000 lines per week - sm
though where I work does not have a minimum, but they are considering changing that shortly. Still won't be a firm # as they go by minutes, but the min. will be 60 minutes a day which will be approx 500-600 lines a day.
Aaahhhh, now I get it. Gross lines vs. Character lines. I guess I've just been conditioned to
think in terms of character lines.  One of the perils of working as an IC for somebody who defines what a line is versus owning your own company and defining it yourself.  After working for someone else for 15 years, maybe it's time to bust out on my own.
600 lines per hour with Escription
How do you do that? Do you have the same docs each time that say the same thing every time? I have been using this for a year and the best I can do is 287 lph.
I've used eScription
It's pretty user friendly.
Escription for VR is the best I've used..nm
nm
3-5cpl/7-10 cpl is what I've been offered or seen for eScription VR. nm
x


Escription users: I have a question. I've about had it with Dell junk computers.
and their Indian call centers..nothing like getting help from someone whom you cant understand. Even if they hear you, they have NO comprehension skills. Anyway, I have like 3 Dell computers which goes from bad to worse. For Christmas, I got my husband an Mac IBook ...wow..what a difference, now that's a computer. Anyhoo, they now have Microsoft office programs for Macs..anyone know if this computer would be compatible at all with the Escription platform since it's so picky. If not, any laptop computers suggestions that are not a piece of junk.
I've been doing this doc for many years, so I've learned how to function with him. sm
I can tell what's a stutter, what's another word, what's just an "uh." Years of experience will get you through a lot.
Wouldn't want to do his charts all day, of course, but a few per day aren't bad. I haven't had to send his to review in a long time, but they do take a little longer to shuffle through.
I've worn contacts for 30 years. I've had both
hard and soft.  My vision is much better with the soft ones than they were with the hard ones.   When I first started trying contacts soft ones were still new and they couldn't get me to 20/20, so I went to hard.  Hard were okay until my eyes started changing shape and then I could no longer wear hard ones.  The soft should give you better vision as they conform more to the shape of your eye. 
wonder how many lines we've all been cheated out of??
One of two things could happen, more MTs stepping forward, MQ going under, we all go to the wolves (Spheris) OR  there is a settlement, we're offered 20K each.
20 years, 300 lines per hour, & still rockin' ;)

From someone who's still considered a top producer compared to the "'young'uns" at my company:  The best thing I've found is keeping your hand off of the danged mouse and using hot keys instead!  Most people are taught to use the mouse for everything with Word and most other WP programs and they have no idea that hot keys are available for just about every function. You're taking food off of your table (or gas out of your tank, or whatever gets your attention) every time you take your hands off of the keys.  Also, if you're using your calculator keypad to insert numbers (like lab values), please, please, PLEASE learn to utilize the numbers above the letters on your keyboard.  These seem like very simple, small steps, but they really do add up in the long run. 


Most expect 1200 lines a day, but I think I've seen 1100.
How hard that is depends mostly on work availability and how good the platform is.
When all else fails, and you've gotta make those lines,
Let's face it. We ALL do it.
i have 19 years experience and still type 220+ lines/hour
without having to cherrypick. That's just what we do when we get into a backlog. That way, we never have to outsource ... thank God ... and we won't lose our jobs to India ... even BETTER!
Are you IC or employee? Any IC work I've done, they encourage surpassing lines...
If you're an IC, I honestly don't think it matters to the MTSO which MT is putting out the lines, as long as TAT is met and the quality is there to back it up. I've cranked out 2500 lines per day with a commitment of 1400 per day and the extra effort was commended.

If you're an employee, however, and other employees who perhaps aren't as fast are complaining that you're 'hogging' all the work because of your speed, that could be another story. I've been in that situation but had a supervisor who staunchly defended me and said it wasn't exactly 'hogging' the work just because I was twice as fast as the other MTs, so the complaints ceased.

I've seen sooo many posts about this....Listen, the 5000 lines isn't a typo.
It's some type of project. If you search the board, you will see the posts and then maybe we won't have to keep top-posting it all over the place?
Yes at PHNS-- this was a few years ago....was paid initially on how many lines you averaged an hour
the highest you could get was .085 which is what I averaged, however they restructured and it plummetted to .07.....you could get .085 again but you had to really work your butt off (something like +1500 a day).  I was PT so I was only doing 500 lines or so a day, at most 1000, so it basically sucked after that.  Plus the company totally changed, they started to outsource to the Phillappines, work dried up big time and we fought over the lousy crumbs.  Many of us left and moved onto to better things though!
I have 17 years acute care experience and don't make 1200 lines in 6 hours. sm
I work for a company that is VERY picky about their work, 100% QA everything.  I have been with them over a year, and have to go back and listen to my work a second time while proofing.  I only make 160-170 lines an hour, but the pay is good for that, and I have learned so much in the year that I can go to work anywhere without problems.  For me it is worth the extra time to put in the few extra hours a week to have really top QA.  There is room for all types in this business, the really fast ones, and the slower ones who work differently, you just have to find your place.  Ideally, we should all type 200 lines an hour and have 99%+ QA, but I don't thank too many of us make it.  Good luck to you.
I don't have a typical day, one day I can do 2500

lines in about 12 hours and another day I'm lucky to get 1000 in 8 hours.   I have an expander, have a few templates but don't get those dictators on a regular basis.  I do NOT have to enter any demographic information or look up addresses, etc.   I  work in batches, don't have to save each report separately.  I have enough experience that I rarely have to work up anything, but also will spend 30 minutes searching for something rather than leave a blank.  


I get up frequently.  I try to apply myself for at least a good hour or more and then take a short break.  My feet swell really bad and I'm getting butt spread so I try to get up and move around.  I never thought I was a particularly fast typist, but did the time clock thing and found that I was averaging 270+ lines/hour.  Some days I work 6 hours/day, some days 8 to 10.  I may have a superduper day where I make 3000 lines/day, but the next day I only do 1000, because I just can't routinely do 3000 lines/day and have a life.


The thing that has helped me most is limiting my time on-line and having my e-mail so that I can't see/hear when a new one comes up so I don't stop typing and check e-mail. 


I routinely do 85+% ESL, but maybe once a month get a day where I have lots of normals and that spoils you. 


2500/wk PT or 5000/wk FT
basically breaks down to 500 day PT, 1000 day FT.
2500/wk PT, 5000/wk FT
that's all my company requires. Plus we get tiered incentives for anything over 1000 per day.
you've been an MT for four years,
so, based on this information, that would imply that you are a grown woman. If this is true, does your handsome husband know how immature you are? Does he know that his hot wife is on this board making juvenile and childish remarks? Just curious, what makes a babe such as yourself do something like this?
gee, I've been doing this nearly 27 years

And the clients have always liked my work.

That is the only CORRECT in my book ... he who signs the paycheck.


I've been doing this for 25+ years. SM

My problem with changing accounts was not the terminology, the dictators (I do 4 big hospitals even now), but it was shuffling around to remember account specifics. That is ridiculous.


It is another case of an MTSO (not the client, the MTSO) treating the MTs as a cost center instead of a revenue center. The "money" was for the suits and the editors (no offense) and the MTs who did the work were at the end of the money line.


I've been with BTS for nearly 3 years now.

I've never run out of work, been slow at times, and asked for more.  If you are a well-rounded MT the work is there.  If you are limited to one or two specialities well, work is limited as would be anywhere.  As for the pay, my check was been screwed up twice in 3 years.  I had the difference in my hands the next day, the fedex the check to me. 


Question to you?  How did you treat BTS?  Where you there to work if and when they needed you?  Was your work 98% or better and within TAT?  Most employers will treat their employees they way they are treated.  It's a give and take situation people.  I sign on do my work, send it to the clients and have no problems.  If they need extra help somewhere I usually (but not always) say sure (who can't use the extra money anyway).  When I want time off, they say no problem. 


Did you ever try talking to the owners about your problem with pay or work or to your manage?  You can't complain if you don't try and solve the problem first.!!


 


 


I've been using it for at least 4 years now and never
had any problems. I love it. It makes it so easy and it's a lot cheaper than paying someone to do it. You can load it on as many computeres as you want as you don't need the disk after it is loaded so me and my mom always go in half on the deluxe version so that we get state taxes included.
I've been in this biz for over 10 years

and can honestly say I've never had a background check to my knowledge.  They really should let you know beforehand and I guess it is possible I've had one and not been aware but highly doubt it.


I've been using an erg for a few years.
It took a while to get used to but it did help with wrists. I have a really hard time typing on a regular keyboard now.
I've been at it for nearly 15 years
I consider myself seasoned, not because of my years of experience, but because of how many different types of work I have done. I think that being flexible, versatile, and maintaining a good attitude is what makes a seasoned transcriptinoist.
I've been doing this for years...sm
I have been saying this for years.  If they would just contract it themselves.
I've been doing it for three years
I don't really have anything special I do. It's just something I'm used to. I work between 13-14 hours Monday through Thursday and take Friday nights off. I do have to have the TV on though. If it's too quiet, that's when I get tired and start to fall asleep. I don't like coffee, but I make sure to take some form of caffeine. I'll get up and walk around every few hours though.
I've been doing this for 20 years

Been in healthcare since 1972 :)  Got halfway through my Masters in HealthCare Administration and stopped because I was NOT passionate about that.  Got into this instead. 


I am still passionate about my house and everything else I do.  I'm 55.  I'm not naive, or dumb.  Passion comes from inside you, if you're not passionate, it's because you make yourself that way.


Thanks for the tip, but I don't have anything to get over.  I don't waste a lot of time whining and complaining though.  :)


It's been a few years since I've

been IC, but one of the things I did was to have my husband claim zero and at the single rate.  If you're already doing that and it didn't help, you might want to have him pay in a little extra per pay or pay estimated taxes yourself.  I thought with federal income tax, my employer did take it out because I was considered a statutory employee but still IC status.  I think I had a little extra taken out and claimed zero and married at the single rate.  A lot of things go into determining whether or not you owe taxes. 


You say you adopted a child this year and will get that tax credit, did you have any children before?  If not, then you likely didn't have much choice except to pay estimated quarterly taxes and have both you and your husband claim zero and the single rate.  We have 3 children now, which definitely helps, but even still we continue to claim zero on our W4s just to keep ahead of the gov.  We like that little "bonus" we get back for vacation, etc.


I know I always paid estimated state taxes.  In some cases, you can end up paying penalties if you don't.  Talk with your accountant.  He/she should be able to give you ways to avoid having to pay in.  You probably can't reduce what you make anymore than you already have.  It sounds like you've got your deductions covered.  Your only option may be to pay estimated.  Good Luck!


I've been doing it for many years.

I work a few hours in the morning before kids get up, spend time with kids, do housework, fix dinner, etc. and then I work a few hours after dinner.   I get up at least every 2 hours and do something, may put on a load of laundry, may lay something out to thaw for dinner, may take a power nap, etc.  I couldn't sit for an 8 hour shift if my life depended on it.


It works for my and my family.  My husband works 12-15 hours, a lot of them overnight and he is home by 11 most days, so my schedule works for him too. 


I've actually been doing this for years!
i produce 500 lines an hour consistenly and average 3500 lines in an eight-hour day. Anyone who does not believe is jeolous, but that's JMHO.
I've been doing this for 28 years
And I get paid less now relatively seaking than 20 years ago. I've seen line rates as low as 5 and as high as 13-14 (if you're lucky).

MTs are not getting paid according to their experience, not anymore. Our pay has been so undermined by offshoring, if you find a company paying 10 cpl and up, good luck to ya. It is frustrating I know but that's the truth of the matter. I wish I could sing you a better tune.
I've done MT for 35 years, don't know how to do
to learn a new career, I'd be a 70-year-old "newbie". I don't think I'd get any job offers.
I'm with you. I've been doing this 20 years and
was a supervisor for semi-large company at one point, and I don't think it's possible to consistently do 4300+ lines of straight transcription per day...
After you've been an MT for years, have
experience with all the different foreign accents & high-speed/mumbling dictators & develop an ear for them, memorize the BOS rules, JCAHO, etc., then you'll be qualified to do what you're suggesting.
I've been in MT 15 years & have never
paid AAMT/AHDI a dime and never will because they're right in the big middle of selling us out to India. And you know what? Not having my CMT has NEVER been an issue because I know my stuff, have the experience, and test well. They need to rename themselves the Indian Association of MT.
Yes, I've used one for years

Ever since they first came out I have been using.  I prefer some of the cheaper knock-off brands to the MS though.  Does anyone remember the Wave keyboard?  It was the precursor to the MS and also there was an actual split keyboard and one time, where the keyboard broke in half so you typed with your hands vertically instead of horizontally.  I also tried learning Dvorak and that was an interesting experience!


I have an MS at work and one at home.  My hands hurt less and my shoulders are not as tight.  I can't stand to use a regular keyboard as I tend to hunch over and my shoulders get tight, not to mention make all kinds of errors!  I don't know about using the "B" with your other hand though.  Never heard of that.  I just use a standard technique.


I've been doing this for 3 years
and have never made anywhere close to $31,000.
I've been saying this for years. Unfortunately,
all too often, whenever an employer pulls another fast one on us, or in the case of Acusis, pulls the rug (our paychecks) right out from under our feet, we're furious about it for a few days, and by about the 5th or 6th day, we suddenly become complacent and unwilling to stand up and fight against the status-quo.

That fight doesn't necessarily mean quitting your job (or getting fired). Fighting back can be done in your spare time. It can be done on your cellphone on the bus. It can be done next time you're in the waiting room at your doctor's office. A revealing and poignant letter can be written to a local newspaper's editorial page, an internet blog or chat room, a state governor, a congressperson, a hospital CEO, etc. The number of things we can do are limited only by our imaginations. If every MT in the country sat down and wrote a letter to Congress or their Senator (not a cookie-cutter email that gets deleted the minute it's received, but a real, hand-written or hand-typed letter that tells your personal story, of the stories of people you work with, or that you chat with on MT Stars, maybe someone with more clout and a louder voice than we have will see it, grab onto the story and run with it. When a country goes to war, it ultimately boils down to each individual fighting his own personal war. When the state of affairs in our field reaches almost-rock-bottom, which is where it's at right now, the only way for the MT species in America to survive, and not be wiped out entirely, is to network, talk to or write to as many MTs as you can, set up chat-room, or send out emails when possible, and help MTs start a movement. It takes time for a movement to build up momentum, but every little bit helps towards that goal. Even one letter is better than no letters. One person in your doctor's waiting room told what's happening to their medical records, and the quality of their care when their records are offshored, is better than no one told. We need to start making our voices heard. Not too many of us are going to last another 2 years in this business at the rate it's deteriorating.
they've been doing this for years and years (nm)

IMHO


2500 a day??? And your work is perfect?
Talk about bragging about what must be crappy work. Quality must really suck, or you work, what, 18 hours a day? LOL
I get 2500-3500 with a 10 hour day!
Don't assume it is not possible. I work for a small MTSO with a very good account. Don't assume that we all work for a national with a lot of crap work and crap ESLs.
2500 per day, 7 days a week. nm
x
Becky, I've been an IC for seven years now without
any type of liability or error insurance at all.  As the other poster said, the physician is the one that's responsible for reviewing and signing off on the reports.  If you don't believe me, go to Google.com and type in "transcriptionist sued" to see how many lawsuits are out there where doctors sued their transcriptionist.  Zero.  It's not going to happen.  Besides that, technically you are a SUBcontractor for softscript, so it's their butts that are going to be on the line no matter what your employee/IC status is.  THEY are the ones that signed the contract with the hospitals or physicians, not you.  Also, if you search the MTstars archives about that company, they don't get rave reviews.  You can find a better company where people actually know what they're talking about.