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Serving Over 20,000 US Medical Transcriptionists

TIMER FOR TRANSCRIPTION?

Posted By: WA on 2005-08-12
In Reply to:

Here is a question for you gals (and guys).  Where can I find a timer like the chess players use that you can hit the button and it stops, hit it again and it continues.  I would very much like to be able to track just how much time I actually spend on transcribing versus jumping up and down doing housework, answering the phone, door, etc.


Thanks!




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I use a little handheld digital timer from Pyrex (our oven timer doesn't work) - sm
and it's great, has two digital windows, clock on top, counter (which is what I use) on the bottem, then you can switch "modes" to a screen with 2 timers if that is what you want. Cost about $10. So I time myself more now since it helps me buckle down and I see who I am fastest at this way.....average anywhere from 12-18 minutes of dictation an hour doing this--- unfortunately I spend too much time looking up addresses but I hope my address directory will be to the point one day where I don't have to look up anymore (or at least not much). Have fun.
Get you a timer and sm....
and see if you are actually working that entire time or if you are like me and very distracted and really only work 5 of the 8 hours. I am terrible about checking emails, looking out the window, surfing the internet, etc., etc. and once I really look at how long I worked I really only got in about a third the time I thought I was actually working. This may not be you at all, but this would help you to see if this is part of the problem. You might also get you a notepad that you have on your desk and write down everytime you answer the phone, answer a question from spouse or kids, got up to do something, etc. and see what type of distractions are taking away from your working time. I am talking from experience here. If I was not so distracted I would probably do at least 2000 lines a day but I am lucky to get 1300. Just a thought and good luck.
Timer
XNoteStopwatch.com
A real old old timer
When I learned how to type in high school, we had the manual typewriters with no letters on the keys.  The first electric typewriter when I was a senior, was awesome! You barely had to touch it.  I can't remember either the name of the first "word processor" I used, but I know that soon after came the "Mag Card".  I definitely don't miss any of these.  Yes, that was before production.    Boy, just thinking about this makes me realize how "ancient" I am and how far technology has come in my lifetime. 
I used to use a timer, but not anymore.
It would jump the living daylights out of me every time as I was "in the transcribing zone." :)
Sounds like me to a "T" -- I use a timer too - sm
I find if I set it in 15 minutes increments I get more done; then I try 30 minutes. I find with the harder doctors I can get up to 12-14 minutes an hour done that way. One doctor I can do 25-28 minutes in an hour this way (he's my favorite), even then though I only average about 160 lines an hour since I have to look up addresses, or look up an unfamiliar term, etc. All that slows you down too. I am getting better though in the time department but still have a long way to go. Kills me to think I can have my work done in 6 hours or less IF I would buckle down; don't know why I torture myself but need to give myself a good kick in the butt!
Is using a timer cheating?
I work on production only.  I do have a set schedule, but the company I work for is fairly flexible.  I have started using a timer where I set it for 60 minutes and stop it if I am interrupted, have to get up, etc.  This gives me a more accurate picture of exactly how much I can type in an hour.  Is this cheating not to just go by clock hour?
Only part timer here
and i have a housekeeper, have for years (say 12-15) even when it was just me and my child at the house. I do not like housework, never have so I have someone to come over not every week because only the 2 of us and the 3 furry ones. I do not think that expensive.
Part-timer, too sm

Half the year I only worked 15 hours a week, second half worked 30 hours a week and will make just over $30,000.


for old part-timer
Yes, I have.
I think 0 Vicryl looks weird.
The 0 could easly be lost somewhere. It makes more sense to be typed as 0-Vicryl, so that one knows where this '0' belongs. Otherwise it is just dangling there all by itself.

I looke it up and the right way is like that:
0 Vicryl
3-0 Vicryl.
This has no logic.
I use a stopwatch but I'd rather have a chess timer!
Makes a real difference for me!
Agree with Old Timer. Don't shortchange sm
yourself. A good education will make this very difficult profession a whole lot easier for you. After college, though, you should get a job in a hospital or clinic to get some good in-person mentoring. The MTs who don't do this and go straight to working at home end up having to struggle and never quite making it.
I'm an old-timer who loves PRD also and will share with you what little I know

PRD is DOS based and must run in DOS-based WP program.... I have a link that explains how to load WP DOS if you are interested.  Looks pretty complicated to me... I gave up as realized I was eventually going to have to move to Windows.  Bought InstantText which allows you to add PRD glossaries - but I hate it!! 


http://www.columbia.edu/~em36/wpdos/windowsxp.html#installguide


Part-timer here and I have housekeeper
NM
Desktop Timer- Where can I get this online?
For Free.
Weber short timer
I too have only been with the company a short 3 months. Great supervisor, 2 good accounts. I do radiology and work 3rd shift so I do run out some nights. But plenty of opportunity to make it up during the day if I want. So far thats the ONLY negative I have seen.  :)  Good luck and welcome aboard.....
No distractions. Stay in your chair. A timer.
x
Use a timer and limit yourself, you'll feel much better
x
digital kitchen timer and a scratchpad ....
I am always startled at how much tallying line count every hour or two keeps me focused. Some days just spread out vaguely and my line count suffers as I get distracted or restless.

The info your platform provides should be enough ... to keep some sort of a running tally.

I trust almost no one is still doing manual logs (best kept in Excell, imho), but yes, even with manual logs, a "bad" hour total can provide the seat-in-chair motivation to perform better next hour.

Taking breaks is a good idea -- but I admit I still spend a lot of time playing catch-up.

I do the same thing for set my timer for 20 minutes, that 1 nap does the trick usually for the rest
of my day (if I happen to be working during the day). If I start nodding off late at night, I just go to bed and get up early if need be to finish up.
(more than 1)Quiet, not coming here, timer, expander, deadlines - nm
x
At one time, someone posted a link for a free clock timer. sm
I've searched the archives but could not find it. It was for timing your actual time spent transcribing. Anybody remember what it was. TIA.
Get out the timer. You'll have to force yourself to work uninterrupted for periods of time.
Just keep in mind that you WANT the money. Best of luck!
You can also download (free) a product called Cool Timer from CNet.
You can set it to act like a stopwatch or to countdown time. I use it all the time and it has helped me immensely. I just have it open all the time on my toolbar. http://www.download.com/Cool-Timer/3000-2350_4-10062255.html
Agree, verbatim transcription equals poor quality transcription.
x
Know AIM transcription system, never heard of Hull transcription. Are you sure
you are not thinking about DHull who is a recruiter for MDI-FL?  They use the AIM system. 
Transcription/QA pay
What is the average hourly pay for such a combo position? Southeast and Northern regions.  TIA
how do you know who does their transcription? nm

Has anyone ever used transcription

equipment or heard of company Infoware?  Hospital is looking at buying new equipment and just wanted to know any feedback on how easy to use.


Actually, transcription should go away
The electronic forms make a lot more sense. Who wades through those piles of records anyway? I'm not sure the whole narrative serves any purpose but perhaps in the courtroom. I'd like to think that dictating about the patient and his/her history helps clarify everything in the treating physician's mind, but I don't think anyone gives more than a cursory glance to the record later. And perhaps when looking for mechanism of injury, a brief narrative helps out... But I'm not sure we are really necessary. All that said, what are we going to do for a living now? Not all of us are 10 years or less from retirement.
OSI transcription?
Anybody have any experience with OSi transcription, good, bad or anything?  I am going to be testing with them.  What is their pay scale (I think most companies range from 7 cpl to 9 CPL).
PT transcription....
Has anyone typed for a PT Department, and how is the dictation. On a level of 1/10 what would you say. I'm currently doing neurosurgery, family medicine, orthopaedic, and pulmonary and thinking of possibly taking a position for a PT Company to do transcription in house. Any info would be greatly appreciated.javascript:editor_insertHTML('text','');
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C&C Transcription

Do anybody know anything about this company? I am really interested in applying, but I am a little confused about their test. Does anyone know how many tests to do to apply? Do you pick one category and do all the tests within or several tests within several categories? If someone has applied before I would really appreciate some info on how many I need to do. Thanks.


anyone know much about C&C transcription TIA

/


Transcription
Anyone read the article in Advance Magazine stating that transcription will be virtually obsolete as we know it in 3-5 years with take over of the back and front ends of speech recognition. Was curious as to opinions.  Seems like this message has been repeated over and over.
Anyone know anything about T-C Transcription
in Florida?
Is transcription still a hot job?
I am wondering whether all this time and energy is worth it.  I am not trying to be a downer, don't get me wrong.  I am just reading over this board and wondering how we all can stand it anymore.  I've been a Transcriptionist since 1993.  Feeling like crap today.  Hard work, is it worth it to all of you??    or    or    not sure...
transcription course
Andrews School in Oklahoma City works closely with helping you get a job and they are excellent for transcription and coding.
US Transcription
I actually worked for this company for two years and w/out trying to bash, I would simply say to watch yourself.  They have a very high turnover, and make a lot of promises they do not keep.  They also play dirty with pay.  If you work for them for a while you will very likely find out they are hiring new people at more than you make!  Keep yourself informed and in close contact with their other transcriptionists if you decide to work for them!  They also have a very nasty QA person who can be short and rude.  She really wants things done "her way" whether it meets AAMT standards or not!
Why transcription?
Curious to know. What is the main appeal to you?
Why transcription?
I can work from home, set my own hours, be my own boss.  I don't have to worry about what I'm going to do if my son is sick and has to stay home from school.  I don't have to work in an office anymore and deal with the high school mentality and backstabbing that goes on.  I save money on gas, can work in my comfy clothes, and save money on food from not having to eat out every day.  I also enjoy getting to work in the healthcare field, and I love to type!
KMM Transcription

Is anyone familiar with KMM Transcription? I saw they had an ad for IC work, but I could not find anything in the archives on this company.  Just curious! 


Thanks


usa transcription?

I'm looking for a company called USA Transcription or something like that.  Can anyone help with some possibilities?  I have spent an hour on the archives and could spend hours more....lol


 


Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!


Took a job outside of transcription-bye all gl

Other Transcription

Does anyone know if there is any other transcription out there such as legal transcription that can be done from home.  I am trying to help a friend find some work that she can do at home.  She has no medical experience, but is looking for something she can do to earn a little extra money a month, such as data entry, legal transcription.  There are so many ads out there and she is looking for a reputable company.  Anyone out there had any experience or know of any legit companies for data entry/legal transcription, etc. that can be done at home? Thanks for any input. 


EMR and transcription
I worked one day a week in a large group practice and also did all of their transcription as an IC. They went to an EMR system. It took away approx 90% of my transcription, only a few office notes a day per doctor were being dictated, the rest was being entered into the EMR by the medical assistants, physicians and other office staff. It is a very tedious system, filling in blanks or picking items from a list, etc. It was really much more timeconsming for the physicians and staff, especially at the beginning, but they put so many $$$$ into purchasing it there was no way they were going to go back to dictating. I was offered a position scanning medical records and info into the system but the pay was less than half what I was making doing transcription as an IC. They have had to hire at least three people just to scan documents, etc and this will be a longterm comittment because they want to get their complete records into the system. Right now they do keep two part time ladies in the office that transcribe what litle they do dictate, they also are expected to do receptionist clerical work if there is no dictation to transcribe, etc. The system they have basically is point and click, using the mouse alot of the time, inserting standard phrases from a list into a template on the system, possibly typing five or six additional lines into the record, etc. Because of they way the system is set up, there was no way to make any kind of speed using the mouse, so the only thing would be to be paid hourly and unfortunately in a physicians office there is just no way to make the kind of $$$ that I could make transcribing, so I moved on to a national. There may be possibilities to do more transciption, it just depends what type of system they have and how much time the doctors want to spend entering in their own data. This has been my experience, maybe others have a different point of view. Good luck with it.
pay for new transcription
The lowest I have seen paid for transcription is 0.05 cents per 65 charcter line.  The highest is over 0.10 cents.  If I were you, I would charge somewhere in the middle around 0.07 or 0.08 cents which is the normal pay for many companies.
Transcription RPL
I am an IC working of my home for a physical therapy office. The office is quite demanding and because of the gas prices I am going to increase my rate from .12 to .14.  Is there an average? I have to drive 15 minutes each way from my house to pick/up drop off everyday. When I went to school for this 12 years ago, the average rate then per line was .12.  Any thoughts would be appreciated. I am typing on microcassettes. 
OSI Transcription

Your sure sound sour grapes about them. 


Where do you work now if you don't mind my asking.  Are you happy?


other transcription

I am curious as to if there is other transcription, also, as I have done it for a mental health center.  If you find out, would you please email me.  And also, I am new at this, how do you post what you wrote?  Thanks


JLG Transcription, FL

Looking for information/references from MTs in regards to working for this company.  Any information would be most grateful