A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry

How fast is fast? - PTShare

Posted: Jan 24, 2010

I know there are lots of variables that go into productivity, but I am interested to know what is considered fast for an MT. How many lines per hour are the top MTs producing?

FASTEST OF THE FAST - EagleEye

[ In Reply To ..]
Of course it will vary from MT to MT but I have heard that there are some folks who do over 600 lines per hour on ASR or voice recognition jobs and for straight transcription the fastest I have ever heard of was over 400 lines per hour. I got this info from the company that I work for. I myself am not that fast, I wish!

Straight transcription... - PTShare

[ In Reply To ..]
Thanks for the reply-- I am wondering how fast the fastest straight transcriptionists are.

400 lines an hour? Really? - Long time MT

[ In Reply To ..]
I routinely transcribe 200 lines per hour (and I have 30+ years experience so I don't have to stop too often, but sometimes, to look up terminology). In a time typing test (remember those?), I typed 120 wpm. In order to produce 400 lines per hour, one would have to type upwards of 240 wpm.....is that even possible in production hour after hour. The only other I can think of is that they have macro'd out large chunks of dictation that they don't actually type?

Long Time MT - EagleEye

[ In Reply To ..]
They do use a lot of macros, that's how they do it. I used to work for Spheris several years ago and there was one MT who averaged about 300 LPH. When she was asked how she did it, she said that she had an expansion or macro for every word she typed, not just medical terminology but all words she typed. She said she was constantly adding macros all the time but it did make her faster.

LPH - Stephanie

[ In Reply To ..]
I am usually around 200-225 lph; however, your post has given me some food for thought. I use shortcuts for medical terms and all, but perhaps I can expand my shortcuts even further for stuff I never really thought about, but type a lot.

Fast - EagleEye

[ In Reply To ..]
I did mention in my first post that I heard that some typed over 400 LPH in straight transcription.

Straight transcription... - PTShare

[ In Reply To ..]
I know you answered my question-- I'm hoping more people will respond and wanted to clarify that I was wondering about straight transcription. I wonder how high it really goes! Thanks again!

Straight Trans - EagleEye

[ In Reply To ..]
You are welcome. The fastest as I said that I have heard of to date is 400 LPH for straight trans. At another company I used to work for a few years ago the fastest MT typed around or above 300 LPH straight trans (we did not have ASR back then). Back then everyone thought that was amazing! She used lots and lots of expansions. But, she also typed only ER reports. I myself do around 200-250 LPH now depending on the type of report I have to type. Some are easier than others.

lines per hour - newbie

[ In Reply To ..]
I type only 180 lines per hour, but I am also learning Instant Text, so I know I will get faster.

I average 360-375 lph on my regular accounts. - (sm)

[ In Reply To ..]
Lots of days I can average in the low 400s. There are plenty of times when it isn't so great. I type 127-130 wpm and have more than 3000 expander entries under my basic file in Shorthand. Probably 5000 total for all my SH files.

HOLY COW! - NEWMT

[ In Reply To ..]
You guys are FAST!!!! That's crazy!

HOLY COW - EagleEye

[ In Reply To ..]
I haven't always been as fast as I am now and I am still not the fastest person. But as someone else said some reports you can go much faster on than others depending on the difficulty of the dictators, how clear the sound is, etc. I once applied for a job with a company whose minimum acceptable LPH was 225! You had to type that much per hour to keep your job. Needless to say at that point in my career I felt I was not up to those standards and declined an interview.

I also remember many years ago when I took transcription classes that it took me nearly 30 minutes to type a 2-minute dictation! LOL! But back then my typing was rusty, and of course I was not accustomed to typing while listening to another person speak, especially speaking in terms I was not always familiar with. So also, speed comes with experience and practice! :)

As you say, there are a LOT of variables in this equation, but -- - SM

[ In Reply To ..]
-- I think some generalizations can be made based on what I've seen over the years.

Yes, there are folks struggling with line counts in the low 100s per hour (and that may be only natural in some cases, depending upon the quality of the dictations they're getting and their difficulty), and those who claim they routinely exceed 400 lph or more (and they may, indeed, do so, depending, again, upon the quality of their dictations, the degree of difficulty, and how much they're able to utilize their shortcuts and canned text, etc.), not to mention the difference a large or small dictator pool can make.

On average, however, from what I've seen an MT is generally doing quite well if they can average 225-250 lines per hour doing acute care for a large pool of dictators (i.e., as a typical employee of one of the large nationals). Most of the line quotas I've seen require the MT to produce roughly 150 lph, give or take.

I, myself, used to average 250-275 per hour, with occasional forays into "350-400 Land" when doing a string of reports for an easy dictator for whom I had canned text, but I still drop down to the 150-175 lph range with bad ESLs, sloppy residents, etc.

Anyway, the astronomical line counts may be real, but they're far from the norm and, in general, I think those who are able to make them on a regular basis should thank their lucky stars for the conditions that allow them to do so.

Good post, SM, solid NUMBERS, plus the point that very high - MissIndigo

[ In Reply To ..]
line counts tend to go hand-in-hand with, not just highly developed skills, but also certain conditions. I work on very few accounts, which allows me to become very familiar with the dictators and store ALL their peculiar phrases in my expander. ISR or transcription, doesn't matter, they're used a whole bunch and make a huge difference.

Some of my work types are more lucrative than others, meaning more speed is built into them. If they were removed from my work pool my LPH average would drop like a stone. You can't do well if work isn't distributed evenly.

It's not a speed issue directly, but regarding turning speed into income, incentive pay for higher production is too seldom discussed and in production work is enormously important. My base rate is reasonable for the industry, but if caring for children or a demented grandma meant I was only actually pounding out reports a genuine 4 to 5 hours a day, the upper incentive pay tiers would be out of reach, with an enormous impact on income over the year.

Just do the math on 1200 lines a day at, say, X cents a line base rate, and 2200 lines a day at X + 2 (maximum incentive tier) cents a line.

SM's estimate of a typical 225-250 lines an hour for a skilled MT using expander sounds pretty solid to me too, and lots of MTs are making 8 to 10 cents per line base rate for transcription, so try the math on those numbers.

Any 400+ers? - PTShare

[ In Reply To ..]
Is anyone out there typing over 400 lines per hour straight transcription? Let me know if you are. It's not bragging-- I really want to know how fast the fastest MTs are achieving. In fact, if you want to PM me because you think no one will believe you, please do!

I can do 400+ lph during part of each work day - some wont believe

[ In Reply To ..]
I routinely average 385 lph, so it isn't a big stretch to 400+. The 385 lph includes those hours where I may only get 250 lines. This is not for VR. The last time I took a straight typing test (maybe 5-7 years ago), I was lucky to do 80 wpm. I use so many abbreviations that I cannot keyboard without them. I have over 15,000 entries in my Shorthand dictionaries. There is one dictator where I average 600 lines for every half hour of his work; of course, I only get about 1 hour of his work two days a week. I utilize huge text templates in all my work. If I get a dictator twice for the same work type (Dr. A for an op note), I create a template, even if it is not for the same procedure. It is less time consuming to strip out the parts he does not repeat and fill in the blanks because I get the headers that usually don't change.

I've been supporting myself with MTing since 1994 and have moved across lots of platforms, doing both acute care and clinic work. Being versatile increase speed.

Large parts of your post I could have written too, SomeWont - MissIndigo

[ In Reply To ..]
I do a lot of VR, though, so only use large templates in part of my work. When I'm fastest, though, it worries me for fear it could lead to those work types being routed to others. The pay scales weren't created for the levels of production people who "cannot keyboard without" "so many abbreviations" can put out.

BTW, isn't it NICE of those of us who keep trying to pass on our tricks to others?

How did you get so fast? - PTShare

[ In Reply To ..]
Hi, I am really trying to understand what it takes to be fast, so bear with me as I ask you more questions.

Do you use Word, and if so, do you use a lot of shortcuts in Word? Did you figure all this out on your own over time, or did you find any good resources that helped you (like a book on saving keystrokes, etc.)? What system do you use for calling up words and phrases in Shorthand (so you remember how to find them when you need them)? How did you figure out how to use Shorthand so effectively? Do you create templates as you are working, or do you put in time after hours to add to your dictionaries and templates? I am a new MT and am doing myself a favor by taking time to understand productivity before my current habits are too engrained. These questions get answered in bits in pieces all over the place, but I want to understand how it all comes together in a very fast MT like yourself. Thanks for any info and/or advice you can give!

Trying to help - Free advice

[ In Reply To ..]

You asked:

Do you use Word, - for my part-time job, yes.

and if so, do you use a lot of shortcuts in Word? - I use Smartype with Word. The abbreviations and medical terminology is already in it. I create template for entire documents with it. I do not use any of Word's features like autocorrect.

Did you figure all this out on your own over time, - At first, yes. At first I wrote macros in DOS. DOS was easy to learn, much simpler than Windows.

or did you find any good resources that helped you (like a book on saving keystrokes, etc.)? - I was introduced to abbreviation programs through an online site like this.

What system do you use for calling up words and phrases in Shorthand (so you remember how to find them when you need them)? - I use Mary Morkens system. ex. abdominal pain becomes abpa, the patient becomes tp, etc.

How did you figure out how to use Shorthand so effectively? - Studying and just using it.

Do you create templates as you are working, or do you put in time after hours to add to your dictionaries and templates? - Both. I would say I have invested close to 6 months of doing nothing but perfecting my shortcuts and templates, but that is over a 14-year period of time.

I am a new MT and am doing myself a favor by taking time to understand productivity before my current habits are too engrained. These questions get answered in bits in pieces all over the place, but I want to understand how it all comes together in a very fast MT like yourself. Thanks for any info and/or advice you can give! - You can't take shortcuts to internalizing the information that is available. What works for me may not work for you. Ex, I can't stand Instant Text, but everyone told me I would love it. Until I tried it, of course I wouldn't know my preference.

Smart Type - PTShare

[ In Reply To ..]
So grateful for the help! Do you use Smart Type and Shorthand together, or either or? I do use Instant Text and have heard of Smart Type but thought IT was enough.

Google them to see the difference - Free advice

[ In Reply To ..]
I do not use ST and SH together because I created my SH from ST, thereby what is in one is already in the second. The same would happen with you if you used SH with IT (I imagine). You need to Google the products being discussed, study what it is they do, internalize it and decide what product is best for you.

How fast is fast? - MT who knows

[ In Reply To ..]
WHO CARES! :-) Does that mean you are more educated, knowledgeable, or skillful at computer applications -- NO. MT is dead, face it. :-)

QUALITY VERSUS QUANTITY - old arthritic, CTS MT here!

[ In Reply To ..]
If I were 20 years younger I could probably do 400 an hour (if we had the word expansions and macros we have today - I started out with carbon papers and whiteout folks) - now I'm lucky to get 200 at times. Always try to balance quality versus quantity and to be able to close my hands into a fist at the end of the day.

QUALITY - EagleEye

[ In Reply To ..]
You make a good point. It's all well and good to type 400+ lines per hour but it has to be accurate too. If not, you will usually hear about it - at least where I work you will. LOL.

Quality vs Quantity - both can be had

[ In Reply To ..]
I see an increase in quality because of the use of abbreviations. I know I am always going to get Tekturna even if I forget and try to spell Techturna because I load in words that could get spelled wrong. Yes, there are occasions when I get an expansion error like halitosis instead of hammertoe; however, in the overall scheme of things, my accuracy is far superior when using abbreviations.

To address the use of an abbreviation expander and the issue of speed, I can look in Shorthand to see my keystroke savings for any payperiod I am curious about. Over a biweekly pay period, I save an average of 24 hours of keystrokes with the use of Shorthand. I have been doing keyboarding for 30 years and I have absolutely no issues with carpal tunnel or any other repetitive stress injury.

I enjoy working smarter, not harder.

Website for tips on expanders. - Horski

[ In Reply To ..]
Is there a good website that gives tips on how to use expanders more efficiently?

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