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Serving Over 20,000 US Medical Transcriptionists

how many lines does 90K characters equal out to roughly?

Posted By: it's Friday, ok on 2005-12-09
In Reply to:

I'm thinking 1300 or so! That would be 90K divided by 65 characters = roughly 1300. Am I correct on this? 


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One of my employers told me to just add a 0, i.e. 30 minutes would roughly equal 300 lines. sm

Of course, if someone talks fast, you'd get more lines, and if you get one of those guys who stops and turns pages and/or talks slow, the lines would be less.  Seems to be a pretty good rule of thumb for me.


As for the length taken, when I started doing MT work 30-some years ago (back in the days of the vinyl belts and carbon paper -- eek!), the quota was that you should be able to 15 minutes of dictation in 1 hour.  However, I think anyone with experience would probably do it in much less time. 


Hope this helps.  


How many lines, roughly, in 1 min of dictation?
Im curious as to what the average line count per minute of dictation is? Does anyone have this information? Again, Im just looking for an average, not a set in stone amount. Also, if you type hospital transcription, roughly how many jobs do you need to type in 8 hours to meet the average line count required by most companies of 1200 lines in 8 hours? 25? 50? 75? 100? Yes, I know this will vary to, but again, just looking for an average #.
Depends on the pay and account. My lowest average is $15.52 an hour (roughly 182.6 lines an hour) w
;'
You can count your lines and characters yourself sm
even if you have no counting program. You can copy and paste into a word document or clipboard and count the characters in Word. At least you will have some idea of what you are being paid for. I have done this many times and if it doesn't add up to what the company's count has, I was right on the horn and sometimes even quit because of it. I will not be cheated in any way by any one.
65 characters w/ spaces = ? lines
Anybody know any valid convertions?  I would really like to know how many characters w/ or w/o spaces 1,000 lines converts to.  Thanks for your help!
Gross lines are not counted in characters.
A gross line = any number of characters on a line counts as a complete line. The actual number of characters per line will vary.
Formula is: Characters PLUS spaces / 65 = lines. (nm)
nm
Does the dividing by lines sound right instead of characters or words?
tia
all work types - 3000 lines a day @ 12 cpl 65 characters
18 cpl transcribed line - private hospital account. These are the only specifics I am willing to give.

Do not e-mail me and ask where or who - I will not reply!

I understand companies are paying 4 & 8 cpl edit/transcribed. I do not work for a company. I caught a hospital account using the platform at the right time and signed on quickly as an IC.

Hope this helps.
usually one "word" equals 5 characters, so it's still being paid by characters. nm
d
10 hours, roughly
I can do 2,500 lines in 10 hours, or 250 an hour. That is with doctors I am familiar with, not looking up alot of things, no distractions, etc. It does depend alot on your situation. Even if you figure 12 hours to be safe, that is still only 2.5 hours a day that you are required to work to keep your job. I think that is great.
I do well, roughly $56,000 a year.
I make .12 cpl and work 5 days a week, plus a few hours on the weekend. I do roughly 220 to 250 lines per hour. I work doing the same 3 hospitals daily. It is possible!!
I make roughly that, a tad more, same hours. SM
I think it's wonderful money.
this is equal to a very old formula
Back when documents were produced on typewriters, formulas were created to define the average length of a line. It was defined as 10 words with spaces, with the average word being 5 characters - thus 55 printed characters per line.

All the ad your reading is saying is that they will take all the visible characters you produce and divide it by 55 to decide your final production at the end of the day. It does not include bolding, underlining, hard returns, spaces, etc., as had been defined by the old AAMT.

The new AAMT/MTIA whatever it is called monster is redefining a line as only characters you see and this ad is embracing the new definition and defining 55 visible characters as a line. A 55 visible character line is approximately equal to a 65 line that includes spaces - but I bet they are not going to compensate for thespacesyouneedtoinsertintotthelinetomakeitreadable.


Is a Celeron M (1.5 GHz) processor equal to a
nm
How many bytes equal a line?
I need to find out how many bytes equals a line. Any advice would be helpful.
One character or key Stroke is equal
... to one byte (including spaces or anyother character, remember one KEY STROKE regardless of the input). If you ever want to calculate your bytes for certain amount of text -> paste it on NotePad and save it as text file. Later you can right click on the file to get it's properties to see it's exact size.
spaces equal 22% of the report. That is a lot! nm
x
Not all QA people are created equal
If you absolutely love it, you really must have an aptitude for the job. Many of the QA people were once MTs themselves and could not keep up the pace nor did they have the necessary aptitude it takes so they became QA. So you are dealing with this scenario. Think about it.
Slow speaker does not equal big $$
x
Not sure if they are equal in power, but the Celeron is inferior to the Pentium.

If you're getting a desktop may be no big deal since desktops are cheaper and you tend to replace then every 2 to 3 years, but if getting a laptop/notebook, definitely get the Pentium or the Centrino and not the Celeron. 


If you try caffeinated drinks, make sure to use Equal or Splenda.
nm
Not all 8 cents a line situations are created equal sm
I am coming off a job using Extext and going into one using ChartNet. I have used Smart Type for over a decade and for Chartnet I have to go to Instant Text. I am able to do over 200 lines an hour after about a week at the new job. I will get to 300 again in a month or so. I say again because I have not done that much in a long time.

Extext...I loved it when I first used it, but after 18 months I can't get above 170 lph and that is with echoes and normals with lots of free lines, and that includes dozens of normals and report shells I have made myself. It won't get better and that is poor pay at the 8.5 cpl base rate, but then again I always have bonuses of a couple of kinds and shift differentials...but I can't do better than 1200 lines a day with any consistency, not in 8 hours a day.

I work a job in MedRite. Like Extext, it is a Word client and rather similar. Top rate for MedRite is close to 300 lines an hour on a horrid account with 80% PLUS ESLs. It is just a faster platform.

Enter ChartNet...never used it. Had to switch to Instant Text...never used it. I have been working about 5 days on it and I can do 200 lph and only one doctor so far who throws me for a loop when I can't do that. She is not an ESL, but a slurring motor mouth who skips around and forgets what she is doing on the phone in the first place.

The Extext work has been 90% OP notes, my specialty. The others are all the basic 4, and I have to say that I went from clinic for many years to OP notes, skipping the rest in between. I have very little experience in DS, CN and H&P notes, VERY little time with those. I'd be faster with them if I had done more of them before.

Part of speed is the expander, part is the platform and part is you. It doesn't matter how great you are as a typist and how perfect your expander, if the platform isn't very good you can't make money at any line rate. If the platform is good, but you are not Expander savvy, you won't you make it either. You can, however, be like me and a poor typist with a great expander and a decent platform...and STILL make money. LOL

In MY experience, the largest problem with making more money is the expander GLOSSARY, not which program you choose. I have heard some of the craziest stories about how to use an expander while on this board...ridiculous, wonky, time wasting, counter intuitive toro pu pu!!!! If you are struggling with an expander FEEL FREE TO EMAIL ME. I am happy to spend my time helping anyone who will genuinely give my methods a shot.
It's Maalox and Benadryl, equal parts, swish and swallow. nm
x
Two jobs don't equal one when it comes to making money and not wasting time. sm
Recommend looking for one good job.
All things being equal, do you prefer to work with a C-phone or use WAV files over the internet? sm
What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of each.  I have only ever used a c-phone but think I may bet getting ready to use WAV files and foot pedal for an account and am a little anxious!  TIA
Cook in equal parts BBQ and grape jelly. Crock pot if time. Yum! nm
 
13 cpl 65 characters. nm
x
more characters
well, if there's not enough lines available, there's just not. However, most employers don't mind if you add "articles" such as "and" and "the" when the doctor may not exactly say it or you can make complete sentances out of incomplete ones. as long as your employer or doctor's preference is not verbatim, that's fine and most of them prefer it actually. you'll eventually "train" yourself to do it automoatically. most employers don't mind you adding a few "the patient" in there either as long as it's not excessive.  word Expanders are good too. i use shortkeys. also, if not already in place, maybe 4 characters for the year (on the date) would add some. may sound like little things, but it adds up! good luck!
Also get 2 more characters if use okay.
x
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.
characters (with spaces) / 65
xx
Is 11 cpl 65 characters good pay for
for an IC doing discharges with alot of difficult to understand ESLs.   Just started with a company that I thought I was going to be doing mostly Ops, but that has not been the case.   Do you ever get to learn and perfect the ESLs.  I hate leaving so many blanks.  Any suggestions?
how many characters per line?
http://www.medicalese.org/line_count.html
Usually 2 cents more, so same as 11 cpl 65 characters. nm
x
90 characters per line SM

It's a long line.  However, when you are finished transcribing the 90 character lines you take a character count and divide by 65 and that's your line count.  It doesn't matter if there are 120 characters on a line, as long as you divide the character count by 65 and multiply by 9.5 cpl, that's how much you get paid. 


Clear as mud? 


90 characters per line
I just started working for a new company and was told I would be paid for 65 characters per line, including spaces, at 9 1/2 cents per line.  I noticed when I was transcribing that there were really 90 characters per line with spaces.  Has anyone ran into this problem at their jobs?  I'm not sure what to make of it. 
Number of characters used

Wondering how many accounts are charged/or pay a per line rate based on a character count and if 65 is always the # of characters per line used or can that vary?


 


Thank you.


It said my speed was at 600 characters. (sm)
Make sure you reset it and then take the speed test.

It thought it was kind of neat how it showed how much it is typing for you and how much time you save.

Totally cool little feature on there!
Characters per line - sm
With all the discussion going on about CPL, I wonder what character count ICs use, that is if you have a choice.
Without spaces, what line is that on? 65 characters?
t
It would mean NO spaces included if it's only the B/W characters. Better ask for sure! nm
s
About 8.5 cpl 65 characters including spaces. nm
n
Pay by line versus pay by characters; what is
nm
Depends. How many characters per line?
nm
Do both count the same # of characters per line?
If they're different (65 characters per line, 55 characters, etc.), then you need to let us know what they are before anyone can give an objective answer.
Visible black characters (VBC)

As of the recent AHDI/AAMT annual meeting, it appears that the method of line-counting known as VBC (visible black characters) is becoming a trend.


All MTs should read the following report from Perspectives in HIM, February 14, 2007.


http://library.ahima.org/xpedio/groups/public/documents/ahima/bok1_034023.html


To summarize:  counting by VBC results in a 31.5% reduction in line count, compared to the traditional 65-line (with spaces) count.


Thus, to avoid a pay cut, any MT now earning 9 cpl should be raised to 11.8 cpl if line counting is switched to VBC.


This is a critical issue, and it does not appear that AHDI is taking any action to promote fair pay for MTs under VBC compensation plans.


You are paid for all characters that appear on the "screen".

Line count includes all the characters that print out, not what you typed in to get that result. Keep using that expander; you've already seen how it has helped improve your productivity.


Boy, if it worked the other way, I'd never use an Expander again and would make even more money with the typos!



Very good point! I say go for more characters!

I used character count, 65 characters. What I
personally like about The Abacus is it will create an invoice for you, listing each document and the characters, lines, however you want to count it. It gives you choices on how to count.
A 65 character line is 65 characters
on a line. If have 650 characters in a document, that is equal to 10 lines, then multiply that by whatever your cpl rate ie. If 0.10 cpl then that would be 650 x 0.10 which would equal $0.65, if 6500 characters, then that would be 650 lines x 0.10 which would equal $6.50. This is if it is a 65 character line including spaces.