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There have to be guidelines and standards in place

Posted By: sm on 2006-10-22
In Reply to: Oh, I agree with you about the BOS and AAMT - I would like to see AHIMA

for every profession, including MT. While I don't like the AAMT or agree with some of its new ways, there has to be something in place for all MTs to go by so they are all on the same page. The only way to bring real professionalism back to the field is by mandatory certification or a license to practice MT. There are way too many inexperiences terrible MTs out there ruining all of our reputations! And I for one am tired of it.


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Most companies draw from the AAMT's standards and guidelines.
nm
It's the only place I have ever lived.. Great place to retire or raise a family. Low crime rate e
living is pretty easy here. Low stress..
You really need to ask for standards,
examples, proof. Any company worth its salt should be able to provide you with standards for scoring and reports that have been scored, preferably against AAMT standards (sorry, anti-AAMT folks, but someone has to create standards). Better yet, post the name of the company and I'll bet they wake up and get a little more proactive!
Standards...
If you just name your "standard" report an abbrev, like Metropolitan Memorial Dr. Smith's Echo...MetroMemSmithEcho (I don't know if it's case sensitive or not) you should be able to make that work...if you try to "save" it as a "standard" it won't "keep."  I think you have to have certain "rights" in DEP to be able to create/modify a "standard."  Please let me know if this works!
standards not the same
If standards are exactly the same for working at home vs. going OUT to work, does that mean you dress the exact same way, only take one coffee break and half hour for lunch? Would you also be working in the evening like we do at home? I think not! One of the big advantages of working at home is that we can sit there in our comfy bathrobes, have a glass of wine, tie our kids' shoes, drop in a load of laundry, listen to a CD, watch TV, take time out to walk the dog. We are not in a public place like a laboratory or dry cleaners. We are in our own homes and entitled to do what we want as long as we are turning out work of good quality. OK, I feel better now. My wine glass is chillin in the freezer and the Chardonnay is about to be uncorked. Ciao ladies. And let's stop all the bickering. There are so many other really sad problems in the world!!!
do you get a lot of standards? That's
281 lines an hour. That's great. Yesterday I did 144 lines an hour. I don't get standards, have lousy dictators because I won't do ASR reports. You must have really good dictators and long reports. How do you do it?
Standards

It's definitely a good thing to have standards.  I'm addicted to Judge Judy and I'm amazed at how many women are taken in by free-loading men.  Far better to be lonely than to get hooked up with one of those.  OTOH if your standards are honesty, integrity and faithfulness, that's  good but if you start adding on must look a certain way, have a certain kind of job, no smoking and the list could go on forever, then the fact is:  There is probably no one out there for you.  So quit "looking," get out of the pity party (pity parties are VERY lonely)  and start moving.  Take yourself where other single people in your age group go and are likely to have interests similar to yours, with the objective of just enjoying life in general.  You may be surprised at the people you'll meet  who also have standards.


Oh and keep the standards/normals for themselves

Willow...re standards
There is a way to edit them once you have saved them but it is a major pain, you have to click on the entry with your mouse and then scroll through and click "modify" when you're done. But it is such a pain that I never do it that way with a long block of text because you can only see one line at a time. If I want to change something, let's say, a ROS template, I just go to a blank screen, type the short form to get the expansion, edit it from there, then block it and re-save it. Just remember to delete the one you don't want. Does that make sense? It's the quickest way I have found to modify something once you have already saved it. It could be much more efficient if they wanted to make it that way but oh well!!!
Privacy standards?
Who actually do you contact to report a breech of privacy standards in this business?  I probably should know this by now, but I don't. 
Same here...lots of standards
x
Obviously they have much looser standards
In India and elsewhere. Our records should be kept onshore to protect our patients against myriad abuses. That is a no brainer.
Has anyone been able to transfer their normals/standards from
nm
do you get a lot of standards with your regular dictation?
I used to make $25 before going on DQS, now struggle to make $12 or so. Do you sit 3-1/4 hours straight? I can't do that, everything starts to hurt after about an hour.
Not quite. I wasn't referring to the standards

we can use with ctrl-S.  In the expander, isn't there a standard capability?  I think what I wanted to do was save a report using that.  The report did save, but then I wanted to edit it, because I really just wanted ROS and PE.  I was doing H&Ps and she kept (very wordy) saying the same thing over and over and over.  But once I saved it I wanted to edit out the parts I didn't need and I couldn't do it, didn't know how to do it.


Does that make sense to you?  With MTs or Legacy once you saved or created your normal you could edit it.  Is it possible? 


Any help is much appreciated.  Sorry for any typos, it is so way past my bedtime!


Min QA standards - is there anyplace where these are published
I am wondering if there is some reference or expert source that holds a QA minimum standard. I understand the industry standard is 98% or better, but is this actually in print somewhere? 
Test who decides the standards

Who decides what is correct and what is not or are you just talking about medical terminology?  As far as I am concerned the BOS is just bologna or baloney.  Who decides the standards?  I can understand medical terminology but to decide how to type a date -- October 21, 2006 or 10-21-06 or 10/21/06 because they think it is correct one way but your account wants the other -- are any of them really incorrect as long as you are consistent throughout the report.  I know that there are a lot of people that do not do a good job and I think that a medical terminology test would weed some of those out but as the Book of Style, I don't agree with that and never will.   I have more of a problem with people who want the money but do not want to work or do the work in the time frame given, have more sick days that work days, and could care less that it is your name that is out there. This occupation is not like an x-ray technician that gets a certification, there are not several ways to take the x-ray and a group of people decide which one is correct and which one is not.   I have received better work from an IC that has self taught herself and had me mentor than one that has a CMT behind her name.   Anyway my two cents worth for a beautiful Sunday afternoon here in Oregon.  Patti


 


lines/hour standards (sm)

What would you say is the "industry standard" for line counts in an 8-hour work day?   Where do some of the companies want you to be?   150 lines per hour?  200 lines per hour?   More? Less?


Just curious since I've been out of the loop for a while.   Thanks.


If they really wanted to establish standards,
They would provide the book for free or at nominal cost so that all MTs had access and could get familiarized with it. Since not, I'd say they just want to make more $$.

There are some good folks who are trying to start an open source MT style guide. That's something I could get behind!

http://style.mtreference.com/tiki-index.php
Rigid/Fickle QA standards
Would you please say which company did this?

I think it's somewhat standard practice at the nationals to allow up to a month of full QA for experienced MTs, and back in the day when I was a newbie (20+ years ago), I was on full listen for almost 90 days.

To expect you to digest ALL of that new information in one day is completely UNREASONABLE!!!! (yes, I just shouted the word UNREASONABLE!!!)
The position varies from place to place..
Sometimes you end up doing VR, which can be really easy or a real pain. Sometimes you end up simply editing files and all is good. Other times, you end up with more job responsibilities and hours than you ever wanted. All in all better than typing LOL.
They should ALL go by the same guidelines.
Different accounts have different specifications as well so that could account. But all in all, the editors should all be going by the same rules, etc.
GUIDELINES

What did we ever do before style guidelines? How did we ever type? I guess we have been doing it wrong for all these years. Now we are being graded. What is that about. Am I in grade school. I have been there and done that. Went to college and being treated like an idiot.


I would to see these supervisors and corporate try to sit and type all day.


Guidelines
You are correct that the possessive form of eponyms is now not possessive. And it is not just AAMT who did that, but also the AMA. It is in the new Book of Style  and in the Manual of Style that the AMA produces. You can find it in both places to show to your docs if you are looking for that.
Guidelines
That should entirely be up to the client.

Thanks for the guidelines..it's too bad that...
My manager didn't give an "official" explanation as to why this shouldn't be done.

Her reasoning is that the doctor can't read it as well when milligrams is typed out.
isnt that funny? Even with industry standards, there are so many
x
By today's appallingly lax MT standards, I suppose a few -
:D MT as a profession is turning into such a JOKE, isn't it?
Not having standards hurts. Some work types just (sm)
don't add up line wise as quick as others. For me Ops are the best line count, consults and discharge summaries are killers.
If you MUST have QA on staff, they should all have guidelines, be it BOS

or AMA, whatever you choose. I've been seeing ads for QA personnel and they don't have to have been MTs. I don't get that.


As I've said before here, I work for an MTSO who believes if you have to have QA personnel, you've hired the wrong MTs. I tend to agree with her.


We get up in the morning, do our work and send it in. If there's something we don't understand, we put a note on the log for the doctor or the hospital - because we're all experienced enough that we either know what we're hearing or know how to find it.


My daughters have certain guidelines in the way they want (sm)

the children to act, be treated, etc.  We have an understanding that I won't let them play in the street, swim unattended, smart mouth an adult, cus, or do anything that is generally dangerous for them.  They love to help cook, garden and just sit on my lap and be read to.  Yes, I may take them shopping a little too often, but they usually have helped in the garden or helped with housework prior, so they are actually earning the money they spend for toys at WalMart. 


 


I would never undermine their parents (even though the father of the two youngest is a true bum) to them.  I try to always touch upon good things they should be proud of such as "Your mommy sure knows how to fix you hair so nice, I wish I could do it as well."


 


These grandchildren are the most precious thing in the world to me and the last thing I would do is act in a way that would keep their parents from allowing them to visit.   Maybe you should explain to those grandparents your reasons/concerns.  Surely they would be glad (after an initial sulk maybe) to change their ways in exchange for more hug and kiss time from their grandbabies.


MQ is going by the AAMT Guidelines
with rules regarding transcription. So I would think that as MTs we should be typing by AAMT Guidelines. If you think we are not paid for spaces, then why do one more than necessary.
Anyone know a site for IRS guidelines for IC nm
x
Docs don't have those guidelines because... sm
they realize how stupid they sound and look.  They learn the language of medicine and stick with it.  They don't bow to some silly-*ssed organization's whims. 
AAMT guidelines about not using q.d., q.i.d. q.h.s. etc.

what is the current recommendations for these?  I have been an MT for 7 years and I still type them this way.  Was I off school that day?  Thanks!!!!


is it acceptable in our guidelines, if so I will

do it too.


You should always follow guidelines
set up by your MTSO/client. If expanding when not allowed to, that could be considered line padding and a quick way to lose your job.
Did you follow BOS guidelines??? That could
x
Retired or retarded? Anyone can retire if they set their life standards low enough
BUt if you think sitting on the couch pointing fingers at how bad the government is constitutes a wonderful successful life, good for you!

I'm not the one complaining about how bad things are, YOU are!

By the way, precious. I don't have to work, I want to, and am no longer an MT because I've gotten an education and moved on to a productive life with goals that stretch beyond the living room and the computer room.

Get over yourself. No one is impressed because your life certainly does not sound impressive in the least.


You will! Just as you all said I was "crazy" when I posted about the new QA guidelines, only t
you obviously all get them within a few months top, now you can stop kicking the covers off over QA bonuses, and lack thereof, as that will be coming your way, too!
Anyone know the origin of the AMTA guidelines?
I was told that the 2 women in Amherst came up with this book just to make money and that they really don't (excuse me, do not) know their "elbow from their kneecap". I know it took me some getting used to: 1 space after a period and colon, using numerals instead of writing out numbers, not using contractions, etc., etc. I see the book on sale with the guidelines, but does anyone know who wrote it? Frankly, I think it makes medical reports look a little less professional than they used to. I have been a MT for 20 years and even though I am using the new guidelines, I am not crazy about them.
HIPAA faxing guidelines
Fax only when necessary, always verify fax number and ALWAYS use cover sheet. Do not fax hypersensitive PHI.
Thanks for sharing this. If federal guidelines were followed,
the minimum wage earner could not even shop at Walmart---that's really sad!  This is just another point that shows that the government has obviously gotten too big for its people, $5.15 is a JOKE.  I'm glad some states actually have some sort of caring politicians.
You need to brush up on HIPAA guidelines...

The computer should be password protected for individual users so files cannot be accessed, but, other than that, HIPAA requires "reasonable care" be taken to safguard patient information.  It does not require any computer used for MT to be used exclusively for that. 


Some believe the computer must be in a locked room.  That is absolutely not a requirement either.  Reasonable care means just that. 


Thank you so much for replying - that gives me some guidelines to follow
nm
AAMT number guidelines
Does anyone know the newest guidelines for numbers with AAMT?

You follow the account guidelines - sm
Expanding out abbreviations when the account specifics say not to is an easy QA ding also.
It depends on the account guidelines.
For the majority of the accounts I work on abbreviations are only expanded in the critical sections, such as diagnosis, impression, etc. This is to the client's preference, and it is considered an error to expand an abbreviation when it is not necessary.

As far as dosages, I always transcribe what the dictator says unless it is a prohibited abbreviation or an error. Prohibited abbreviations are changed, per client preference, to the acceptable term. If it may be an error, it is flagged for review. If the doc dictates "twice a day," they get "twice a day." If they dictate "b.i.d." that is what I transcribe. It is also considered a error, at least at my company, to alter what is dictated.
Urgent question regarding BOS guidelines!! PLEASE sm

I'm testing for several jobs right now that will offer the full-time status I desperately need to support my family.


The last job I had didn't follow BOS guidelines and I as advised by a few MTs to follow these guidelines when formating the body of the test reports.  I do not own this book nor do I know anyone that has it.   Are there any online resources that I can refer to for some of the more common guidelines?


I need all the help I can get and want to thank those willing to take a moment to help a fellow MT out!! 


God Bless!


Standard minimum production standards is usually 150 lines per hour ...

You can compute from that.


Hope this helps.


We got an updated set of account guidelines constantly
put somewhere different than it was last week, they'd tell us to change something and when we changed it they sent it back and told us not to change it anymore.  They blamed things on us that weren't even anything we do, like if someone was on vacation and a report didn't get sent to the right place. People started to get threatened with termination (not me but I know people who were) for even the most miniscule reason like forgetting to sign off a doc as a DO instead of an MD. They were just unreasonable bullies and the more they complained and fussed the more Diskriter management bowed to their every wish and created a monster.  Good luck if you end up there.  It could have been a nice account if this nonsense had been nipped in the bud.