Transcription Character Counting
Understanding Line Counts
Learn the different character counting methods, and how it can affect your per line cost.
The character counting methods have different methods for counting and billing characters used to create medical transcription.
Visual Black Character (VBC) | Each printed ASCII character on the page has a value of one character. |
65 Character Net (no formatting) | Each printed ASCII character, space, tab and carriage return has a value of one. |
65 Character Net (with formatting) | Same as above, except premium added for capitalization, bolding, underline, etc. |
Gross Lines | The total number of horizontal lines that contain printed characters in the report. |
Line counts can be quantified with line counting programs available for your PC. To validate the accuracy of the line counts, use a program like PractiCount or Microsoft Word.
The example below shows how the line counting methods produce different totals for the same consult.
| Microsoft Word Equivalent | Characters (no spaces) | Characters (with spaces) | Lines |
| Transcription Term | VBC “Lines” | Net Lines (no formatting) | Gross Lines |
| Rate | $0.1932 | $0.16 | $0.1146 |
| Cost | $6.20 | $6.00 | $9.39 |
| Characters Counted | 2087 | 2442 | 5330 |
| Lines | 32.1 | 37.5 | 82 |
| Counting Method | Equivalent Per Line Rates | ||||||||||
| VBC | $0.08450 | $0.0966 | $0.1087 | $0.1207 | $0.1328 | $0.1449 | $0.1570 | $0.1690 | $0.1811 | $0.1932 | Base Price/0.8282 |
| 65 Character Unformatted (all printed ASCII character + spaces/tabs/carriage returns) | $0.07 | $0.08 | $0.09 | $0.10 | $0.11 | $0.12 | $0.13 | $0.14 | $0.15 | $0.16 | Base Price |
| 65 Character Formated (above + premium for formating) | $0.0630 | $0.0720 | $0.0810 | $0.0900 | $0.0990 | $0.1080 | $0.1170 | $0.1260 | $0.1350 | $0.1440 | Base Price * 0.9 |
| Gross Lines (total lines in the report) | $0.0501 | $0.0573 | $0.0644 | $0.0716 | $0.0788 | $0.0859 | $0.0931 | $0.1002 | $0.1074 | $0.1146 | Base Price * 0.716 |
65 Character Counts with Formatting (example):
