Newsletter
Issue 10-24-03
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In this week’s issue we
have:
1.. Medical Transcription Networking
2. Charging by the line or the hour?
3. Lab terms
4. Actual medical notes (this week’s laugh).
5. Recipe of the Week
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MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTION NETWORKING
I know some of you have been a little nervous
about branching out on your own, and one
point
that keeps coming up is that you don’t know
what to do if you get stuck trying to
understand
dictation and you’re on your own.
If you can, find a friend who does medical
transcription too. Perhaps someone at
school,
or through the home study, so you will have a
transcription buddy. You can always play the
work over the phone to your friend and figure
out what you might be stuck on. Until you
get
more experience this is a useful way to go.
If there is something you cannot understand,
make sure to leave a sticky note on the
report
and a blank line where the word should go so
it
can be filled in once the physician tells you
what it should be.
Try not to put up with sloppy dictation. I
never
have. If the physician is really bad at
dictating,
let them know it. It does take a while to
get used
to a new voice, regardless how good they
dictate,
but if it looks like the account you have is
not
going to change, and the dictation is awful,
just
drop the account. It’s not worth wasting
your time
on. You are providing a service and are getting
paid per
line, most likely, and extra time taken up
trying to
figure out bad dication is not a good thing.
So, be polite but firm about what kind of
dictation
you will do. If you are getting a new
account, see
how the first couple of tapes go, or digital
dictation,
whichever method you use, and then go from
there.
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CHARGING BY THE LINE OR THE HOUR?
Several of you have written to me about rates
and
charging by the hour. Unless you absolutely
have to
do NOT charge by the hour. You will be
better off
by the line. The reason for this is people
will
not want to pay you $30.00 an hour, and this
is an
average hourly wage for transcriptionists at
home.
It is better that most physicians do not know
what
12 or 13 cents a line equates to in hours…
Now, if you don’t use the knowledge I gave
you in
the book, and you are typing each and every
line
yourself, you won’t make more than about
$10.00 an
hour. So do yourself a favor, put in some
unpaid
time, and set up your system so you can make
the
big money. It is worth it in the long run.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
LAB TERMS
Lab terms can be confusing, so invest in a
good
book when it comes to these. I recommend
anything
by Stedman’s. It doesn’t have to be the most
up to date, so check out the online auctions,
such
as Ebay. For instance:
gram-negative
gram-positive
Gram’s stain
(Notice the upper and lower case usage. Get a
book
so you don’t slip up and make a mistake.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Actual
Medical Chart Notes (Laugh for the Week).
Patient has two teenage
children, but no other
abnormalities.
Patient has chest pain if
she lies on her
left side for over a year.
On the second day, the knee
was better, and
then on the third day it disappeared.
The patient is tearful and
crying constantly.
She also appears to be depressed.
The patient has been
depressed since she began
seeing me in 1993.
Discharge status: Alive, but
without my
permission.
Healthy-appearing decrepit
69-year old male,
mentally alert but forgetful.
The patient refused autopsy.
The patient has no previous
history of suicides.
Patient has left white blood
cells at another
hospital.
Patient's medical history
has been remarkably
insignificant with only a 40-pound weight gain
in the last three days.
Patient had waffles for
breakfast and anorexia
for lunch.
Between you and me, we ought
to be able to get
this lady pregnant.
She is numb from her toes
down.
While in ER, she was
examined, x-rated and sent home.
The skin was moist and dry.
Occasional, constant,
infrequent headaches.
Patient was alert and
unresponsive.
She stated that she had been
constipated for most
of her life until she got a divorce.
Rectal examination revealed
a normal-size thyroid.
I saw your patient today,
who is still under our
car for physical therapy.
The lab test indicated
abnormal lover function.
The patient was to have a
bowel resection. However,
he took a job as a stockbroker instead.
Skin: somewhat pale but
present.
The pelvic exam will be done
later on the floor.
Patient was seen in
consultation by Dr. Green who
felt we should sit on the abdomen and I agree.
Large brown stool ambulating
in the hall.
She has no rigors or shaking
chills, but her
husband states she was hot in bed last night.
Patient was found in bed
with her power mower.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RECIPE OF THE WEEK
EASY LASAGNE
This is my mother-in-law’s recipe
1 1/2 lbs of ground beef, browned
2 15 oz cans of Hunt’s Special Tomato Sauce
(simmer for 15 minutes)
6 lasagna noodles, cooked
12 oz mozzarella cheese
12 oz cottage cheese mixed with 2 eggs
Parmesan cheese (sprinkle on top)
Layer – Little sauce, noodles, sauce, cottage
cheese, mozzarella cheese. Make 2 layers.
Bake until brown and bubbly at 350 degrees
for
about 30 minutes.
Enjoy!
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Well, I hope you enjoyed this week’s issue.
Have a safe and happy
week!
Michele
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