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Serving Over 20,000 US Medical Transcriptionists

Treating private health information like a trade is wrong any way you look at it.

Posted By: It's business you say? sm on 2005-07-31
In Reply to:

Let's see how you feel when you've been violated because your private health information was distributed for any and all purposes.


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    Whether you like it or not, your private health care is distributed to others
    Everytime you are diagnosed, have a test, go to the doctor, everytime you are billed, your information goes into a data base that all health care providers (insurance companies) have access to.  I don't get the big deal over this all of a sudden.  So someone in India finds out you are treated for a wart or depression.  So what?  What difference does it make as far as privacy goes if India MT knows this or Kansas MT knows this? 
    Your Private Information....2nd Verse

    A few days ago, I expressed my concerns that it would be possible for an "MT-related" website to garner information from unsuspecting MTs.  Some replied, either that such concerns were unwarranted or that the poster was too savvy to be fooled by such a thing. 


    Yesterday, a company called Jax Transcription posted a very seductive job listing on the Jobs Board.  My first thought was, of course, to find out more about Jax and it seems no one has heard of them.  I've so far been unable to discover a website or phone number in national databases, and inquiries posted to the board admin about Jax have not been answered so far.


    I'll continue to look into "Jax Transcription".  In the meantime, the problem is that many people appear to have just gone ahead and posted their resumes to this company - if it is a company.  Not just their name and email addresses, which was enough to cause me concern earlier...but their entire resumes! 


    Again, as in my former posting, I will say that the company might be legit or it might not.  The point is...the folks who posted their resumes had (and still have) no idea whether it is or not.  It could be merely an email address being used to "phish" for information.


    I'm sure you won't like me saying this, but it very obviously NEEDS to be said:  Let's smarten up.  We're not immune from identity theft just because the entity on the "other end of the line" presents themselves as being an MT company, an MT vendor, an MT website - or even an MT.  Give your information to NO ONE without confirming first that you know who you're giving it to. 


    A great deal of identity theft and other computer-related crime occurs by various methods known collectively as "social engineering".  Social engineering does not depend on clever hacks into computer systems.  Social engineering is done by deceiving people into giving up their information voluntarily, and it's easiest thing in the world to do, because people just aren't paying attention and they don't think it can happen to them.  This IS my domain - read it and believe it. 


     


     


    Sending Private Information Overseas -- sm

    I just thought I would let every one know that there is an advertisment in the job seeker's section, titled Ortho/Hand surgery that has a link within the body of the ad to sign a petition to send letters and emails to congress regarding NOT wanting our private information sent over seas for transcription as well as our right to know if it IS being sent over seas.  I have signed this petition.  Here is the link:


    http://www.rallycongress.com/ support-for- h-r-427-nabopia/ 1585/


    The link in the advertisement has an error in it, with a space being between "con" and "gress".  I have corrected that error above and it will take you to the appropriate site. This petition is in support of Act h-r-427-nabopia, which gives people the right to know if their information is being sent overseas.  I hope others will sign this petition, as well. 


    Thanks. 


    Manufacturing computers offshore is different than PRIVATE MEDICAL AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION. sm
    you need to compare apples with apples not oranges.
    Health Information Management?
    .
    Health Information Management is the (sm)
    same thing as medical records department in a hospital. I've worked for a hospital that used this fancy (silly?) term. It just means hospital work, but does not include radiology, ER (in my experience) or pathology transcription (IME). It may or may not include cardiology procedure reports, neurology procedure reports (IME).
    Health Information Management
    nm
    HIPAA only addresses PHI (protected health information) would is defined as anything that SM

    specifically identifies the patient, i.e. name, MRN, SSN, account numbers, etc.  As long as all identifying information is removed from a report, it poses no HIPAA violation to keep it on file.  Furthermore, as an employee of the hospital in the medical transcription department and charged with peforming QA, I have legitimate reasons to access a patient's chart.  HIPAA says so.


    Go back and read your HIPAA laws again.


    Advance for Health Information Professionals. Mostly geared toward coders now. nm
    s
    Health information personnel, medical records, clerical..sigh...nm
    s
    You have your information wrong.
    The executive director of AAMT is in Washington, DC leading MTs in the second Lobby Day.  If you are going to talk about him, get your facts straight.  Oh yes, and the President of AAMT is there too .. but she is a young woman. 
    Treating when they are not there is...

    the wrong thing to do.  This is why lice are getting resistant to the treatments available.  While the lice themselves are hard to see, the nits are not.  If you don't see any nits or lice, then your child doesn't have them.  I would just keep a close daily watch and only treat if there is an infestation.  Additionally, if you child DOES get lice, you have to do much more than just wash the hair with Nix.  You have to literally tear your house apart vacuuming everything, bagging up stuffed toys for 2 weeks, washing all the bedding in hot water, etc.  And don't forget the seats in the car.  I would simply start by finding out what the daycare's policy is for lice.  Before we moved the school our kids attended had a very politically correct lax policy on head lice.  They told me that it wasn't fair to exclude children from school just because they had nits (lice did warrant a call to the home).  But in my mind, if there are nits, there HAS to be lice, right?  They would let kids stay at school who literally had nits falling out of their hair.  It was DISGUSTING.  What boggled my mind was how a parent could not see that sick mess in their child's hair and not do anything about it.  I could see the mess from 10 feet away.


    That's about the time my hospital started treating its -nm
    ..
    FutureNet --- treating me like the highly skilled professional I am.
    you can apply on their web site. they sought me out... grape vine told them i was hating MQ --

    only downside... no benefits, gotta be SE... it's what MQ was going to do to me anyway, so no big loss..
    Cut back on what you give her - this is your business/your livelihood and she is treating like a cas
    //
    This is the best site I've found about treating fibromyalgia. It works for me, maybe it will for

    wrong, wrong, wrong. work is being outsourced because of $. period. not because of unqualified MTs
    c
    trade
    I am having the exact opposite problem, have plenty of work but can't seem to concentrate well enough to do it!!! You do mine and I'll do yours :)
    Trade you....
    I am all motivated to work today and am cruising the board and doing housework (ug) instead as I am staring at a 'no jobs available' screen on DQS!
    Yes, I should have said trade, not job. NM
    x
    want to trade? -- sm
    This is what I received-- an email from my account manager with an advertisement for Stedman's spellchecker 2009 with a validation code for a "discount." Only thing is, I received the exact same email from Stedman's themselves last week, and an advertisement post card in the mail with the same offer. Too bad I already have the 2009 Stedman's anyway, so none of these are really of any use to me. So, if you really don't want that 5.00, I would be happy to trade with you!
    I'll trade with you :)

    54 here this morning.  58 inside the house because we forgot to close up the windows last night. Saving the wood and the oil until it really gets cold.


    Then it hit 93 by noon, but now it is a comfortable 73 at 7:00 p.m. 


    We had a very long hot, humid, sticky summer.  We still, however, are not looking forward to 5 foot snowbanks, temps of at least 20 below zero and heating oil at well over $200 for 100 gallons.  Between end of December and mid-March we use about 700 gallons of heating oil.  OUCH!  We're backing it up with our woodstove this year, but wood is not cheap either.


    tricks of the trade

    I have seen a LOT of posts on here for people asking how to get their lines.  Some are having trouble even hitting lower numbers like 1000-1400.  I have been working for a long time on a little book of tips, "Maximizing Line Counts:  30 Tips in 30 Days."  I started this at the request of my boss who wanted to give it to all existing employees as well as new hires.  I am interested to know if there are any transcriptionists who would like to have something like this.


    Wouldn't trade a second of it.sm
    I started out working with quite a cast of characters in a private psychiatric hospital. Never a dull moment. Made a lot more money in the 80s than I do now too.
    Yes, so trade one addiction for another?
    x
    Can I Trade Children - LOL
    My daughter is only 12 and it's like pulling teeth to get her to save any money. As soon as she gets some (any amount) it burns a whole in her pocket and boom it's gone. So now I've taken to keeping all the money I give her for her allowance and when she wants something she has to come to me for the money so that way I can make sure she puts some away.
    Wish I could trade you the chompers
    for the long pausers. I don't mind talking and eating, just keep the talking coming and I'll figure out what they're saying. But the long pauses make me want to commit harikari.
    Trade secrets would be -
    Trade secrets are kind of like information pertaining to a particular company - for instance, their proprietory software and how it works, or maybe naming specific accounts and how much they charge, things of that nature.
    Trade Secret...sm
    There are basically three tests of a trade secret:

    1. It is information that is not in the public domain, i.e. is exclusive to the company.

    2. Its exclusivity is regarded by the company as providing a competitive advantage or some other benefit of value.

    3. The company takes reasonable precautions to protect the information.

    Within these parameters, a "trade secret" can be just about anything that a company decides it is, including customer lists, business plans, methods or processes of production, marketing strategies, hiring projections, you name it.
    tricks of the trade...
    ok...so create autocorrect forced entries for words that often trip you up; if 'does' vs. 'dose' is a common error, create "doz" for dose and "duz" for does (or something that works for you). one of my common errors is 'doe shave' for 'does have'; so I created autocorrect 'doe shave' to be autoreplaced with 'does have'; i also created autocorrect 'dzhv' and retrain myself to use it. make sense? another proofing trick i use is to change the VIEW of a document during proofing; it's *amazing* how formatting and text errors "pop" when i switch from 'normal' to 'print' or 'outline' view...i catch things i would have missed had i not changed the screenshot. you can also use search&replace for common format/text errors; you just have to develop the habit of SAVE, SPELLCHECK, SAVE, CHANGE VIEW, PROOF, SEARCH/REPLACE, SAVE, COUNT, CREATE AUTOTEXT NORMAL (IF DESIRED), SAVE, EXIT, ADD COMMENTS, SIGNOFF...i think you'll see your QA improve =)
    I wouldn't trade this life for anything!

    My husband is almost to his 11th year in the Navy and I have been with him every step of the way. It is a hard life on every member of our family, but if I had to do it all over again, I would definitely choose this way of life. We have so much more than what we would of had if we would have stayed in our "one-horse town" in Ohio...And, I don't mean that in tangible goods necessarily. We have friends all over the US and they are friendships that will last a lifetime! It is hard to have our friends leave us or us leave them, but we have so many places to visit when we want to travel! One of my husband's co-workers actually followed us out here to WA after shore duty and is on a different ship than my husband! (My husband does four years on a ship then goes to three years on land without deployments.)


    Right now my husband is on a ship, but in February we are due to move to PA so that he can go to recruiting duty. It's been hard having him deployed for most of the four years that he has been on this ship. The way I got through it was to surround myself with some of the best ladies I could find and kept busy! I've spent holidays and birthdays with them...I've stood on the pier and watched the ship leave port and watched it come in. They have become my family. I have a daughter who is 9 and a son that is 3. They are well adjusted to the deployments because I constantly keep them on a schedule and their mind occupied. Now, that is not to say that they don't miss their dad, because they do....Things are just somewhat easier because of the way we handle things.


    I know a couple of my husband's shipmates that have come into the Navy in their late 20's. They seem to be adjusting well and I believe once their time is up they will see it as a positive experience.


    Whatever you decide to do just remember that you just won't be thrown into this life, all of you. There are numerous resources out there for military families, you just have to use them! Feel free to email me if you have any other concerns or questions.


    Good Luck!


    I wouldn't trade my situation for anything. That's exactly what I have. nm
    x.
    nope, never would trade one minute. nm
    nm
    Re: tricks of the trade from longtime mt
    Awhile back longtime MT offered to share tips to anyone who e-mailed him/her.  Has anyone heard from him/her on this as I have not.  I've tried a couple times to contact him/her but have not received an answer or the tips, so I was curious if I was the only one who had not.  I really was interested.
    wow - can we trade? Maryland's rates
    are jumping 76% over the next couple of years because our *intelligent* general assembly did a freeze on electric rates since 99, expecting more competition (and thus lower rates). They gave away the baby with the bath water too (sweetheart deal on a power plant). Guess what? Didn't happen and now we're going to be paying out the wazoo PLUS interest to BGE with a "gradual" phase in to the full 76%. Can you say OUCGH!!!
    See if you can trade with a equipment company.

    another trick of the trade for soundalikes
    that's a good idea; but to avoid extra Keystrokes and loss of productivity by deleting the glossary def entry you could also make *mental associations* for soundalikes, e.g. dysphaGia pertains to the Gut vs. dysphaSia pertains to Speech; ILlicit is ILlegal vs. Elicit Evokes; ilEum pertains to Eating vs. ilIum pertains to sItting... well, you get the idea! =)
    but no desire to learn a new trade at 58 years old

    I agree with this, but I trade off in the opposite direction. SM
    Mine are more clear in my distance vision, and I put on reading glasses from time to time when I need them.  I only have to do this when the print is very small or when my eyes ore tired.  Otherwise, I also like my bifocal contacts.  My are made by AccuVue. 
    my PS makes typos but I wouldn't trade my PS
    because my PS (production supervisor) is the most communicative and we all love this one....typos, schmypos - who cares as long as they get their point(s) across to us.  They are not MTs nor typists. 
    I'll trade your friend for my cousin

    He charges outlandish amounts to do our taxes. Last year it was over $550. The year before that was a little less 'cause we had a mortgage. We don't have that this year.


    'Course he said he tried to squeeze every last penny of deductions he could out of our taxes. He even filed an amended return after talking to DH about taxes at our last reunion. Saved us a few more thousand dollars....but still hurt. I am an employee, gave up IC 4 years ago, but DH is still self-employed.


    Yep, that's why MQ is still ALLOWED to trade away daily on the pink sheets!
    You don't even know what you're talking about! Just plain old ignorant, but posting away about the SEC.  The stocks are still active, being analyzed daily, sold, bought, traded - but on pink sheets.  Educate yourself before you post!
    Call me strange, but I'd trade a little toot with a "sorry"
    over two of my guys.  One of them loudly masticates his chewing gum daily into my ear.  He can't pronounce clearly because he's rolling the wad of gum around in his mouth so much.  The other guy must need to be on Aciphex or something because he does that hiccup, belch, exhale thing.  Both just grate on my nerves.
    I typed a report on the wrong patient as the doc keyed in the wrong info, SM
    He later said the correct patient's name and I SWEAR to this day I made the changes but somehow the report when through without the correct patient and changes made. I still remember that incident.
    Doc is using software to do his own reports that puts the ® symbol after trade drug names and
    I'm wondering if anyone is aware of a software program, maybe voice recognition, that does this? (I coudn't access the VR board to ask).  This is one doctor in a practice that I transcribe for and I usually do his transcription for him, but the last time I logged into their computer to send them their files, there were reports in his file that I didn't transcribe that have this ® behind the trade names.  I want to do a little research before talking to the practice.  TIA
    File complaints with the Federal Trade Commission, your state attorney general, and the SM

    state attorney general for the state The VLC is located in.  I happened to check it out and they have offices in Niagara Falls, NY and in Ontario.  Be sure to forward copies of every thing your file to them.  You can fill online complaint forms at the FTC website and the NY Attorney General's website.  Print out copies of these forms and mail copies of them after you fill them out to the school with a letter basically stating that you have reported them to these agencies and they will be intervening for you on this matter.


    I also like the idea of putting cc's on your correspondence to a local news reporter.  And call them every single day until they are tired of hearing from you!


    Good Luck!


    Fantasia wrong??? Haven't seen the OP's CD, couldn't have been too wrong.
    x
    Private ins
    You can get private insurance lots cheaper than MOST COBRA plans but it is up to you.  Also a lot of times they only cover for so long and if I remember correctly dental and vision might  only be for one year and some plans do not COBRA that over.  And if your husband is self employed, then it could be a business expense to provide the insurance and with six figures could easily do it and pay less taxes.  I know COBRA is easier to just kind of roll over into, but again, it only lasts for 18 to 24 months and so you will be looking eventually.   However, just ask why suddenly you are not covered.  
    I use my private e-mail sm
    and receive all my messages from my TC through my private e-mail.  In fact, I never receive anything throught my I-mail, don't even hardly check it anymore.  Call your TC and ask her/him what to do.  This may not be the same across the board, as so much is not the same from office to office!
    LOL in private, not seclusion :-) sm
    like a different room in the house. 
    I would see about a private school.....

    Your son sounds like a very bright young man... No offense to you, but can you honestly challenge him and teach him things you may not be proficient at yourself.  Foreign languages, advanced math, etc.  Even high school teachers only specialize in one subject.  Something to consider.