In medical transcription you aren't paid by the hour. Instead, medical transcriptionists are paid per line that they write. Each line usually consists of 65 black, typed characters. Your pay also depends on how fast you type and how long it takes you to get the work accomplished. Because there are so many variables, it can be hard to figure out how much to charge per job. eHow has some advice on how to do just that.
- Determine the line rate of the company. These rates fluctuate anywhere from six to 16 cents per line but can run more for medical transcription.
- Check the character line standard. Most medical transcription positions consider 65-characters a line. This keeps the company from having to double check font size and other parameters that can affect total line count. The AHDI guidelines recommend a 65-character line, but companies can change it.
- Type your document. Take note of the time when you begin and when you finish.
- Verify the total number of characters in your completed work. Most word processing programs have a character count so utilizing this function is the fastest way to get the total number.
- Divide the total number of characters by the per line character standard of the company for which you are doing the work. This will give you a total line count. For example if you typed 7,995 characters at a 65-character line you would divide 7,995 by 65 and get 123 as the total number of lines.
- Multiply the number of lines by the rate per line to reach a dollar amount. This would entail taking the 123-line count and multiplying it by the 12 cents you make per line to come up with a total dollar amount for the document of $14.76.
- Divide the amount you made by the length of time it took you to complete the document. If it took you exactly an hour you are making $14.76 per hour. If it took you an hour and 15 minutes you are making about $11.81 per hour because you will divide $14.76 by 1.25. Remember every set of 15 minutes equals 0.25 because there are only 60 minutes in an hour.
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