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I think the difference here is surgeon quality

Posted By: Me on 2007-12-21
In Reply to: Cataract surgery routinely does not "go bad" these days. - In the know

and also patient demographics.

Be sure you are seeing a top cataract surgeon who is doing 6-8 a day and has satisfied patients. Do not wait until you're 90 to see an ophthalmologist. Those patients do tend to have problems with surgery.




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Hahah!a! Funny typo: not quality 'scAre', quality 'scOre'. LMAO!...nm
nm
I think that depends on the quality. Do you honestly think there is good quality just throwing every
MT on any account like they are. I also think QA has been told to not waste a lot of time on blanks so I think the hospitals are getting a lot more blanks. I certainly have more when I get in a hospital I dont know and they talk 100 miles an hour.
I thought quality was a given. Speed and quality are not mutually exclusive. sm

I maintain 99% accuracy above on my reports.  However, the original question was regarding personal preference, and I have stated mine, and I respect your opinion as well.  :-)    I do think if I was working in an office or hospital setting, the setup you mentioned might be more profitable in the long run.  There are too many interruptions and such when you have other people running in and out, phones ringing, etc. 


I doubt that anyone but me really cares about the lines per hour it takes for me to do a report.  They just want an accurate report in a timely manner.  I take pride in my work, and would never just slop something out for the sake of the almighty buck.   And, as an added incentive, I work for 2 companies, and one of them has my name on each report.  I don't have a problem with it, but I did think it was a bit unusual at first.


Oh well ... I must confess that what I'd TRULY like is to be paid lots of money to just sit and play Battle Phlinx on Pogo all day long, but as of yet, no such luck.  


I just had a surgeon ask...
his PA if there was such a breast size as F, get an affirmative, and then say, "so she's a double FF?  She has the largest breasts I've ever seen". It made me laugh out loud, I don't know why, maybe it was his tone of disbelief or that fact that he's been around a long time and has surely seen many boobs in his day...thought I'd pass it along.
One surgeon I know always says...

when a patient is ready to be discharged, he always says "____ is peeing and pooping normally."  Slays me every time!  I just find myself giggling like a little kid whenever I hear it!  Peeing and pooping are such a great words...embrace them!    


Isn't there a book out there called "Everybody poops?" 



 


I have not seen a surgeon yet.

I want to get my finances ready before I schedule the surgery.  My previous experience with surgeons and disability is "go back whenever you feel ready"...they don't seem to want to comit to a timeline.  The last time I had surgery I went back way too soon and had complications, so would like to avoid that this time around. 


Thanks to everyone who has replied, this is all good advice and info.  I think I will plan for the worst at 6 weeks or so and hope for best at just a week or two.  It certaily won't hurt to have some extra money saved. 


One surgeon
I transcribe for has many times told them to pipe down in the background. I am not sure if it is because he cannot think with the noise or if he is doing it for my benefit, but either way, I appreciate it.

On the other hand, I had an Indian doctor the other day who sang/chanted his entire report. If you have ever been to a Catholic mass and have heard the priest do that singsong kind of thing, well that is how he dictated his entire report. Every now and then he would hold the note a little longer. It was the weirdest thing.
oral surgeon...

I had a similar situation a few years ago.  I paid and the ins. co. paid, dentist kept both payments.  After 3 phone calls to the office, no money.  So, I wrote a letter to the dentist, put PERSONAL AND CONFIDENTIAL on the envelope, put a cc to the state dept of insurance at the bottom of the letter (dept of ins. scares them more than the AMA (if dealing with MDs) or American Dental Association). 


Got my money 2 days later.


checking out a surgeon?
is there a way to check out a surgeon or doctor before making an apt with them?  (complaints, track record or anthing else).  I've never been comfortable with the "referral" from your primary or whoever it might be because I can't shake the idea of friends referring to friends and not based on qualifications.  thanks
need a plastic surgeon
Does anyone have any personal experience with Dr. Michael Petrosky with Plastic Surgery Center of the South in Marietta, Georgia?  I am considering using him as I consulted with him and I really liked his manner and explanation of the surgery.  I would like to talk with someone who has used him before just to see if he is a good doctor, but how can one go about doing that with the HIPPA laws?  The only way I know to find out about patients of his is to ask their office and of course they aren't going to give me names/phone numbers.  If anyone has any info on this doctor's practice would you mind sharing with me please?  Or if you know of a way that I can talk to a few people who have used him, etc.  Thanks very much.
Went to an oral surgeon for a consult for

my son to have his wisdom teeth removed.  Charged us $75.00 for the consult.  I didn't like the oral surgeon and his office staff were very standoffish can I did not make an appointment with him for surgery, but with another oral surgeon.   I had to pay the $75.00 up front - no problem, but they filed the insurance with the money coming to them.  It has been 5 weeks now since they received payment and I have called twice asking for a refund.  They told me the insurance company had 90 days to come back and ask for the money, but I PAID upfront so what difference does that make, they aren't out anything and they have $52.00 of MY money on top of the $75.00.   They said they would issue a check next week, but is what they told me 2 weeks ago.  It isn't a lot of money, it is the principle of the thing.


Went to another oral surgeon and they didn't charge me anything for the consult and the amount I have to pay upfront is $300.00 less than what the other office quoted me.  


 


Seeing an oral surgeon is very premature! nm
nm
ASR funny. The surgeon has just done a robotic....sm
radical prostatectomy and signing off he says "Please send a copy to Dr. John Doe and to the prostate, and to the chart. End of dictation".
I made an appointment with an oral surgeon and he
You have to start at the very bottom and be as conservative as you can.  A dentist can take x-rays and fit you with an appliance.  I went and found out whats causing my jaw pain and on the x-ray my bones overlap.  I was thinking I needed surgery, but we are going with pain management.  Since i've had the appliance, no pain, that was a week ago.  Very rarely will you need surgery, everyone's jaw "clicks" but if you are a night grinder, this makes it an even playing field for your teeth so they're not fighting against the jaw to become "even" if that makes sense.  Good luck.
I transcribe for orthopedic surgeon who utilizes EMR
He dictates notes such as if the patient is having out of hte ordinary symptoms to cover himself should the situation lead to a court room setting. But, yes, between EMR and voice recognition, I believe MTs will over time be less than necessary.

The cost is a major factor. Especially with the population aging like we are. Baby boomers will all be on SS at same time and if health care doesn't figure something out, there are predictions being made that are nightmarish, like the collapse of the health care system. This was said by a person (Dr. Andrew Weil) being interviewed by Larry King.


I do work for a plastic surgeon, insurance will only pay from what I can tell IF - sm
there is a health issue, i.e. continous rash from the folded skin, irritation that medicine will not resolve. But all conservative measures of treating have to be exhausted before they agree to pay for an abdominoplasty. Good luck....I need to lose about 80 pounds and wondering if I will have any sag when done...I have very sensitive skin too so expect some problems (and if so I hope they are enough to warrant my insurance to pay for the removal procedure...otherwise I plan to save up for it)--
I worked for a plastic surgeon for 3 months...sm
and people having face lifts and tummy tucks are in incredible pain after their surgical procedure. My sister chose to have breast implants done and she was in severe pain for about 3 days after surgery. No way am I interested in having elective things like this done!
Well, well, well. Found this blog written by a surgeon sm

who says what he REALLY thinks about the JCAHO. Funny, I found it on Google when I typed in JCAHO and q.i.d. since I wasn't sure what to do about q.i.d. ........


 


The Death Star of American Medicine




I wish I had written this (JCAHO Unplugged; registration required), because it gives voice to the feelings that I (and probably 99% of the physicians in this country) have about the Death Star of American medicine -- JCAHO. A few excerpts (emphasis is mine):

That is why it really upsets me to watch the JCAHO people walk through my hospital like they were navigating a toxic waste dump. What upsets me even more is the utter paralysis of normal activity that occurs months before their visit and the huge sums of money spent on mock drills and consultants to prepare for the JCAHO invasion. JCAHO (the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organization) arouses more fear in hospitals than MRSA gone wild, and their "visit" has a greater institutional paralytic effect than circulating a neuromuscular depolarizing agent through the ventilation system.

A few unsigned verbal orders, or an anesthesiologist carrying a syringe of Anectine in his or her scrubs, or not locking up I.V. bottles of normal saline will result in conditional or provisional approval, and failure to take remedial action within 30 days may result in the death penalty, which for the hospital means bad PR, and more significantly, loss of all federal money. That's right, you can get the chair for parking tickets in the JCAHO world.

It doesn't matter that the hospital admits 50,000 patients a year, saves countless lives and performs daily miracles. Write q.i.d. twice and you can get your liver transplant someplace else.
"A response by Russell Massaro, MD, FACP, Executive Vice President Accreditation and Certification Operations, JCAHO, follows Dr. Cossman's screed. The only thing I can say about it is that he makes clear that unannounced surveys will be forthcoming in 2006. Oh, joy!

A lot of the press in the past few days has been discussing issues such as oversight, accountability, and clearly expressed legal authority. JCAHO operates without any real semblence of these niceties, and does so with all the subtlety of a bureaucracy run by Darth Vader. Watching hospital administrators lose bowel and bladder control the minute a JCAHO inspection is brought up has always reminded me of Vader's underlings wilting in his presence --- and for good reason. Without the JCAHO seal of approval, they cannot operate an otherwise well-run, caring facility. The organization, as it was originally intended, was designed to ensure a basic level of safety for all hospitals. It has now become yet another "certifying" agency which must come up with new "critical" problems to fix in order to ensure its ongoing existence (those of you who have gone through the most recent mental masturbatory experience of banning QD and QID in orders know what I mean). What is most galling to me, however, is that hospitals must fork over a hefty sum for these frequent torture sessions, and the inspections are done not by practicing physicians or nurses, but by folks who long ago gave up the difficulties of actually caring for patients for the safety of a clipboard to hide behind.

Maybe I have my metaphors mixed up --- JCAHO comes in like the Death Star, but leaves no room for different institutions to solve problems in their own way. The JCAHO mantra can really be translated as "Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated!" As a result, I suppose JCAHO is really The Borg.
 



An oral surgeon can do it in his office, give you an IV and you won't
feel a thing.
Having worked for a hand surgeon who deals with WC and a MT..this is what I know.
The poster below me, Just Me, is pretty correct.  A lot of our patients filed worker's compensation, but because there are a lot of things you do with your hands in your personal life, it is a diffcult situation to prove.  For instance, we had one lady who was an MT for a few years but was also an avid quilter..she lost her case. We have had people who say have worked for the hospital as an MT for 13 and had no other real side hobbies or jobs outside of that that won her case. They only have so long to approve or disapprove your claim. From what I have seen, anyone who has worked multiple jobs at that same time are not going to win the case because the employer you filed on will fight you and tell them that you were working multiple jobs so how do they know that it was your job with them that is solely responsible. So, depending on your circumstance, employer (you do have to file a claim on an employer whom you will name), you could get worker's compensation which would pay for surgery if needed, PT, and time loss benefits after surgery.  The first step is filing a notice of injury with your employer and then they submit it to their worker's compensation carrier.  I was the hand surgeon's worker's compensation biller so I speak the truth LOL. If you have anymore questions or what to share you personal story and get my honest opinion, I'm here. I've seen every kind of WC claim you can imagine. Most people are honest but some are not and WC is the first one to nail you. They have even had a private investigator follow people.  We had one carpal tunnel WC patient who stated he couldnt work because he was in such pain yet he was videotaped making an extensive bird sanctuary, actually building it with his bare hands.. Can you say busted.. I knew you could.
The plastic surgeon on "The Doctors"
is very reputable. I would go to his website (can find through the show's website) and either email him or call for information/opinion.

The key is to deal with someone you know is on the ball and above board.
I received a check today from the oral surgeon. nm
 
I would see an oral surgeon, since dentists cannot perform surgery and that is probably where they
would send you to next.
Dot Richardson, olympic athlete turned ortho surgeon. nm
x
Oh, I hope you're right. The surgeon just gave her the info and kind of let her sit on it.
He didn't have time to go over it in a lot of detail. She tried to call back to have him give her more info., but he had left for the day and won't be back until Thursday. So, we'll see. Thanks for posting:)
One of mine would "tinkle and flush" an open heart surgeon true - @O
nm
I had to have a bowel resection for a Meckels diverticulum and the surgeon charged 2500 and got 1500
and the hospital bill was 27,000. Until that surgeon gets done paying malpractice, his office costs, taxes, etc. I bet he doesnt get one third of that money plus all the visits I had while in the hospital for 9 days and fu visits. I did have insurance thank God.
Quality is quality whether you are an MT or CEO.

How good is the quality of the performance of your managers or the guys at the top?   Anybody want to evaluate that?   Can they get their raises based on our evaluation of their quality?  


Let's see now.  Which CEOs were named in lawsuit?  F for quality.  How many managers do we need to give us stupid pep talks?   F for managers.  QA this post MQ and all other nationals who decide they reward us on "quality"   Look in the mirror and fix yourself.


what is your quality like?
.
Oh, the quality! Well now we know.
x
quality
I totally agree with you. There should be some kind of feedback on how you are doing. Not only for mistakes, but also if you are doing a really fine job. I know when am not real sure of something, or if I did do something wrong, I really do want to know. How else do you learn? I know too, that when someone notices a job well done and lets me know, it makes me want to strive for that "perfection", and it just plain feels good. I think the circumstance has become if nobody says anything, then it's ok, kind of leaves you in the dark. Just always remember, everything you type becomes a legal document. I'm sure you do a good job.
I can't believe the quality.
This year I had to subcontract out because I have too much work to handle, and frankly, I can't believe the appalling quality I am getting from transcriptionists with 10+ years of experience. To put it bluntly, it's shameful. I pay 11 cpl to my transcriptionists but after a year of searching, testing, and training, I have only found 2 that are actually worth it. My doctors are so easy. They are clear, they repeat everything, and there are no ESLs, but these people just don't read directions, don't proofread their work (when they clearly need to), and don't have even the basics of grammar down.

It wouldn't surprise me at all if doctors that have switched from an over-priced American company to an offshore firm didn't notice any difference in quality at all.

I know this isn't going to be a popular view but it is the truth, and I can tell you I was just as shocked to learn this as anybody.
98% quality
Hi peers,

Can someone describe me how to calculate 98% accuracy. Any description or link would be appreciated. Thx!
quality, etc.
Case in Point ~
with a union, we could at last demand to stop being treated like cattle and/or factory piece workers. What in the heck has happened to hourly salary!!??? How about straight salary? These records are, after all, LEGAL DOCUMENTS. When we are forced to type at the speed of sound instead of making the production of the highest quality possible documents our top priority, this demeans our profession.
UNION...UNION...UNION...UNION
better pay is better quality/less pay=less quality
nm
I just took one and know I did not do well, quality is not
an issue with me, but knowing I am timed my fingers just don't work.
should be quality - should have had an ESL MT do this for me
so sorry!
You really cannot see the difference?

When people first started coming to America, it was an undeveloped country.  Aside from the Indians, there were no other people living here.  What other language was there aside from what the Indians spoke?  The new Americans and the Indians learned to communicate with each other and both sides learned the other's language.  It only stands to reason, however, that English would be the dominant language, as they became the majority of those living in America. 


Also, when our founding fathers came to America, they and the others that then followed made America what it was and is today.  THEY are the ones who made America great by the blood, sweat and tears of their families.  They had every right to come over here as they were the ones doing all the work!!!!!  They did that work to take care of the future generations of Americans. 


But now our "powers that be" in the government do not make decisions based on AMERICAN best interests, but for people from other countries.  To be politically correct, we have flooded our country with people that want to prosper from OUR WORK.  They do not come over here and better America in any way.  They better their own little circle of family and actually make life harder for the people who belong here in the first place. 


That is the difference between immigrants then and now.  The more we let them in now, the more jobs we lose, the higher our bills become, the more terrorism we face.  When do WE benefit???????  It has nothing to do with prejudice either.  Who cares what they look like, where they are from?  It doesnt matter.  What matters is what they expect, what handouts they want, the bending of the rules for them while we get no break.


If you are Native American, then I would think that  you would be sick and tired of having all you work for taken away from you.  I know that I am.


What is the difference from QA and QC TIA
nm
That's the difference between (sm)
preparedness and no plan at all.  Shame on LA officials for not implementing their own evacuation plan.  Did they really believe a hurricane the size of the Gulf of Mexico wasn't going to be deadly??  If LA officials had followed their own Emergency Operations Plan, most of these senseless deaths could have been avoided.
Same difference, eh?

Don't you think there is a difference between
making a human error and being an inconsiderate pig??? Since they are responsible for these people's records they should go out of their way to be understood. But then again I guess that's our fault too, seeing how the salaries between doctors and transcriptionists (and any other health professional) are so even. Pllllleeeaaassseee. Why don't you send your docs each a Christmas gift for even letting you type their records? They'll stash it right next to all the gifts they get from the medical companies kissing their butts.
no difference
The major concern of IRS is employee versus ic.

EXAMPLE - get 1099 at end of year, you set hours, no benies - IC

EXAMPLE - get W2, punch clock, etc., employee.

As IC, you can deduct all of your business related expenses - i.e., the beauty of small business. Just you, your are a sole proprietor, use Schedule C. Have people under you - several different ways - check out IRS.gov.
There's a difference...

they have a mechanism in place to allow you multiple installs. This only gives you 3.


What is the difference
Can anyone tell me what the difference is between an LX-219 and an LX-219-1.  Also what is the difference between a "Basic digital station with backlight" and a "Enhanced digital station with backlight"? Thanks!
I think the only difference with the new law is SM
now you have to complete a credit counseling class, and instead of filing every 6 years, it is 7 or 8, or something like that.
The difference is...

If you want to make more money, then become the business owner, take the risks and then you'll have the additional income. You'll never get rich working for someone else. Complaining and badmouthing management and other business owners never translates into more $$ in the check--sometimes people complain themselves right out of a job.


I know this board is an "open forum" for all topics. It's just unfortunate that so much of the talk is about how terrible management/business owners are. There are lots of good MTSOs out there!


I have never had a difference between say - sm
an OP note versus a H&P or DS, or ER note. I have seen offered diffrence in pay between clinic versus acute care work; clinic is less since it is easier. I have only ever been paid a flat rate, 2 jobs with incentive pay (.005 to .01 more a line over so many lines a day). I have 2 IC jobs now that is flat rate period, regardless of number of lines or when you work them (had a job years ago that sometimes would pay .01 more a line over the weekend but only when they got out of TAT, but that was they only time they would ever do that). Good luck finding an IC job that pays more for the more difficult reports; most likely few and far between.
Okay. That is probably the difference

We are not an MTSO, we are employees of the facility working out of our homes.  I will keep track of the e-mails though as you have suggested. 


I do believe though that it is more or less passing the buck.  That way if it was supposed to be in there and it wasn't the doc has someone else to blame.  Thanks everyone.


I don't know that there is a difference, but...sm
I wanted to keep all my things in one place so if I could send the word autocorrects to ShortHand without having to spend the time retyping them all it would be great. 
Okay, but what is the difference?
What can an Expander do for me that I am unable to do with Word? (Other than spell Mickey Mouth...heehee)

thanks for the replies!