Yes, you're cranky. The docs may be instructed to do so to appease Medicare or other such entity.
Posted By: nm on 2005-07-01
In Reply to: Doctors documenting hours worked - eyetype
x
Complete Discussion Below:  marks the location of current message within thread
The messages you are viewing
are archived/old.
To view latest messages and participate in discussions, select
the boards given in left menu
Other related messages found in our database
and youre perfect, congrats.
 You're a genius!
I've never been instructed to do that.
.
Absolutely! Unless instructed otherwise, you...
may use references. Companies know you will use references on the job, and tests are not to find out how much you have memorized, but rather to demonstrate your overall transcribing proficiency, including your ability to use references to find/verify. 
but youre still giving them your money...that is not the answer sm
Just dont go to the fastfood joints that practice this at all...it's that simple. You better believe I'll be finding out who's taking my order before I eat out again!
If your just working for health insurance, then youre
And that, m'dear, is a big part of the problem in this profession. Women who won't stand up to anyone, and pretend to be happy for the crusts of bread they're tossed while shackled to their PCs.
Some QA is being instructed to not give a crap
and just plug up the holes and ignore the rest! TAT, ya know! Yeah........get 'er done!
Joint Commission is the entity that provides
accrediation to hospitals. Without them they do not get Medicare payments, Medicaid payments, etc.
Each 401K is a separate entity. You can have...sm
as many as you want. Sure helps with the taxes!
We were specifically instructed to work our schedule
and that working off the clock was not permissable, that nowhere was working off the clock permitted. That if the acct required us outside of our shift, we would be called by management. It is to prevent taking work from the scheduled MTs (as well as unapproved OT.
So, I am not dreaming this up. This was made clear. They gave us a shift to work, we clock in and clock out during those shifts. If they need us after our shift is up, they will contact us.
did you google for hyperbaric oxygen in ***, name of town or county where youre moving? sm
might have to start wtih the state and narrow it down from there, too.
No, ForuMatrix is not part of MTStars. It is a separate entity.
/
Cardiac Clinic - no do not capitalize; Cardiology - yes as it is referred to as an entity. nm
x
I guess I'd be cranky too, if I had such an (sm)
uncreative, BoringAss job. At least MTs are creating something real.
cranky beach
I would have to agree with you on the tools. I was semi-retired for six years due to pain syndrome from what they are now calling "repetitive stress syndrome" MT itis is what I called it. LOL
I have been called cranky but it is because I can't be disturbed
even for a few minutes. I get irritated when I tell people that I am working and they look at me like, "yeah, right!!!" I end up being abrupt when talking. My office is by my front door and if someone comes to my door, I answer through the window. I have thought about a note saying "no solicitors." I rarely answer the phone unless I hear my supervisor or the voice of my QA person. I can't afford to stop and talk or make an error because I was in the middle of a report and stopped, then started only to make a mistake (it happens to me more often then than any other time).
Cranky staff is not your imagination.
The attitude you describe seems to be prevalent. It is as if we were a necessary evil rather than support staff. I think personally it is due to the amount of time needed to keep the paperwork in order. Everyone hates paperwork (even if it is electronically) and we produce a ton of it.
Also, in my view, physicians and care providers absolutely hate to make errors given their jobs are so important and the likelihood of a lawsuit keeps them paying very high premiums. We MTs tend to be one of the few who can say that an error has been made. It can irritate some doctors though I have met a few who are very thankful for it.
In the 20 plus years I have been in the medical field, there has been a change due to pressure from insurance companies also, plus the change in patient complaints as the population ages. This may add to frustration as the bottom line is not only finding relief for the patient but making sure treatment is approved by insurances. This can only get worse from where I sit as cuts are coming with Medicare and Medicaid payments.
kudos to cranky beach
LOL... I just have to say this cranky beach...... with that nickname I would not have thought you to be so helpfulllllll....LOL You are just a peach of a person to be taking your time to help...and for that I send you mucho kudos......thanks....even though it is not me you are helping here.
yes, your cranky; the patient visits are actually coded sm
due to time spent in the room. this is to document to CYA if needed. so remember, the more you talk in the room with your doc, the higher bill you will see. like office visit, regular; office visit extensive, etc.
Answer for Mary and Comment for Cranky
Mary, I have never worked for Transcend so I don't know much about the company except what I see here and by looking at their web site. It looks as though they offshore, never a good sign as it usually means low pay at the very least. If you don't have a problem with offshoring, and you should, then think about giving it a try. If India is in there, you probably won't be treated very well. I have been told it is a "cultural thing." Whatever.
Cranky Beach, I worked for a wonderful company (never though I'd leave) that was acquired by Acusis, a company with major offshoring. It was the same situation as you, they told us everything would stay the same, nothing would change. They were just biding their time . . . and after a while they started throwing all management from the old company under the bus. Then it was change after change after change, none for the better, mostly to transition to running things "the India way" and eventually ended up cutting everyone's pay. Soooo glad to be out of there.
Visit ataus.org - Keep our healtchare info and jobs in the US
SE Medicare and SS are taken out, not fed tax.
I looked on the IRS website. You do get a SE W2 and then you can deduct business expenses to lower your fed tax, but you still are responsibile for fed tax yourself. I double checked at the IRS website.
Question about Medicare.
I hope I'm posting on the right board, but here it goes. My elderly mother was in the hospital back in January and on Friday received a bill from a nephrologist who saw her briefly once and billed Medicare $375 for his in-hospital consultation. Medicare paid them $15.68, they "wrote down" $240.40 and the supplementary paid $3.92, and now they are billing her $115. This is the first time she has ever received a bill from anyone as her insurance has always paid. I keep thinking that they have used a wrong CPT code for their billing as it is beyond me that Medicare would only pay $15.68 for an in-hospital consultation. I will have to wrangle with these people tomorrow, but wanted to know if anyone had any opinions about this and feels like I do. I don't think this is her deductible amount as she had seen many physicians before him seeing her in the hospital. I know I will also have to call Medicare to see if in fact they are the ones that got their bill in first and this is in fact her yearly deductible, but as they say, knowledge is your best tool before someone tries to pull the "wool over your eyes."
yes..they are taking out for SS and Medicare...
a friend of mine said when she wasn't making that much money she had them withold an extra 10.00 for federal so i may have to do that...
Cuts in medicare and medicaid are about to take place
I have mentioned this but it was always deleted as I think the monitor thought I was talking politics.
There will be a marked decline in coverage for services to medicare and medicaid patients and I believe to offset this, medical facilities are finding ways to cut costs.
The cuts will be significant. You could do a Google search for Deficit Reduction Act. Radiology will be most severely hit, especially stand alone facilities.
Forgot to say this was for Medicare Supplemental Insurance (NM))
nm
Many physicians in my area don't want to take Medicare, Medicaid, Tricare
or other insurances because the insurance companies require a huge buydown of charges and then disallow quite a bit for being "above the reasonable amount."
For example, I had double insurance of Blue Cross/Blue Shield and Tricare when I had surgery. The bills totaled $15,000. Blue Cross knocked $5,000 off the physician's $7,800 bill, paid him $600 and left Tricare and me to deal with the $1,200 balance. Tricare wouldn't pay because they disallowed the amount as unreasonable, the physician's office forced me to make payments on it, and I had to fight just so I didn't owe them another $1,200. It was ridiculous that I had double insurance coverage and wound up owing anything. Meanwhile, the doctor didn't even get paid that much, and he did my presurgery appointments, the actual surgery, two postsurgery appointments to remove hardware, plus coordinating everything between cardiology, radiology, anesthesia, laboratory, surgery, and having special equipment trucked in from out of state.
If I had not had insurance at all, I would have had to pay the entire amount. I think it's crazy that noninsureds have to pay the full amount but insurance companies can disallow or buy down the amounts due. Anyway, you hit a big rant of mine. Shortly after I lost my Blue Cross coverage, my son needed to be seen but we couldn't find a provider to even take Tricare at all. So much for my husband serving his country and being away from his family in the line of duty. The doctors get rich and refuse to treat military personnel who fight for their freedom. Talk about a total lack of appreciation.
Your national is liable for SS and Medicare tax not you. They thinkyou are self employed. nm
:
I've actually found Medicare very easy to deal with...
wouldn't dread the call. It will probably go better with Medicare than with the nephrologist.
Will I not get paid if the hospital isn't reimbursed with Medicare/Medicaid?
I was told by a coworker that California is in so much debt that I may not get a paycheck if CA goes bankrupt because the hospital I work for will not be getting subsidized any longer....
could this be true?
Medicare is offering free installation of EMR to physicians and hospitals.
http://www.medscape.com/px/instantpollservlet/result?PollID=1502
If government is involved, it will be as screwed up as the Medicare medication program.
Heaven save us from all these wanna be kings that sit on top of the hill.
Not sure, I have deductions for federal income tax, SS tax, Medicare tax, and state income tax. ???
nm
ESL Docs
That is SO true!!!! There is definitely a problem with dictating the appropriate gender when it comes to ESL docs. They tend to go back and forth umpteen times during one dictation, so you really have to pay attention.  Verb tense can also get very confusing.
I agree that sometimes slowing down and concentrating can actually increase productivity. Even though I feel like I'm transcribing like a tortoise, I'm really getting more done than I think when I slow down and allow myself to think. 
Just hang in there with QA. They are just doing their job and you need to take a good look at what they are telling you and concentrate on that issue. It's really hard not to take it personally, that's for sure, but it's gonna make you a better Transcriptionist in the long run. On the other hand, if you feel they are truly wrong about an important issue, then challenge them!! But you'd better have major references to back up your challenge. 
Ellen S.
ESL docs
are you on VR yet? you can choose to have a 20% cut on your baseline rate and get the "better" dictators ?? or you can choose to keep your MT 100% baseline rate and probably get all of the ESL docs -- what a choice - not fair, huh??
This is almost as bad as the docs
I got three of them yesterday...three different docs. I think this is soooo rude! I'm almost to the point where I'm going to refuse to attempt to do them. Surprisingly, it's always a female doc who is dictating either a GYN or breast cancer related report.
I can picture a couple of these ladies hopping on a Harley Davidson riding home from work.
I think they should ask all ER docs
if they even know the English language to begin with, 'cause if they do, they don't practice it.
I know everyone knows that a lot of docs don't
read the reports after we have transcribed them, but I just had a doc on my account dictate that he wanted the line "Dictated but not read" added to ALL of his reports from now on. He was mad because he said he requested this to be done a few weeks ago and has been "keeping track" and it hasn't been getting done.
Amazing.
All of my PAs were better than the docs before
I switched companies and along with my new account came all new PAs (and might I add, quite a few of them) who all make me miserable. They botch the dictations beyond belief and I am left to fix the sentences which look like riddles and are actually confusing after they get done with it.
Change thoughts in the middle of a sentence...start talking and forget where they left off so I am sitting there for another 2 minutes waiting through the ummms and ahhhs and the start of sentences "the patient umm.... ahhh" and I'm waiting for them to say something and they just hang up.
Mine are good for this too... they will dictate an incomplete report and then a few dictations after they will start finishing incomplete dictations, adding in something they forgot to say, or they will say CC a copy to: Dr. ____ on a 4 second report and not say whose report it goes on. This would be easy to figure out if they didnt have 40 dictations and at least 5 hang-ups with about 8 of those 40 dictations being something they want added on to some nameless patient's report.
Had I not switched jobs, I would have had a hard time believing any PA was hard to transcribe...just because I had a good bit of them on my other account and they were all PERFECT speakers.
Now when I see that I have to transcribe a PA-- 
ESL docs
Hey there,
Hang with it a little while longer. You'll probably find that it gets easier. Those ESL doctors do say the same thing over and over again and it takes practice to get it. Try listening a few seconds longer than the phrase you aren't getting because sometimes that helps. I agree that samples help an awful lot so be sure to request as many as you can. Good luck! You can do it!
I would always rather have my ESL docs over the sm
English as first language docs, who speed talk, slur words, and don't seem to care about the patients. I am usually very impressed with the patient care given, and the understanding of the human issues, by the ESL docs. I think the problem with the original poster is she needs to learn to transcribe these docs, with all the suggestions, especially getting samples, mentioned above. She doesn't really seem that concerned with patient care, but her inability to transcribe difficult dictators. It is, quite simply, the nature of the business. The easy docs go on voice recognition, and the transcriptionists transcribe the difficult dictators.
I tell ALL my docs that I'm an MT...
...and I transcribe and read my own reports (I work for a large healthcare co). Hubby signed a HIPAA form for me to transcribe and read his reports, too. Now the docs are more careful 
how many docs know?
When I mention to physicians that if they send their work out it might be sent overseas they are appalled! Sometimes they say things like, "So that's why there were so many mistakes." Companies don't always tell them where the work is being done or by whom.
I still fault them for trying to save money at our expense, but in a certain sense some of them are being taken advantage of as well. Perhaps our "enemies" could turn out to be our best allies should a good case make it to Court TV.
We need to educate the physicians as well as the public.
docs
Or I like when they make up their own spelling of words, especially meds.
docs
sorry made a mistake above...I meant the docs take me to the bathroom with them LOL!!!
docs
Let's face it ladies and gents - doctors have absolutely NO respect for what we do for them so they can make $$$$$$$$$$$$$$....
My ER docs do it alot
I guess it gives them the right to charge PREMIUM prices,  although I
think ER prices are quite pricey enough. My friends trip through the ER
the other night was a cool $10,000 and all she got was an aspirin. (she thought
she was having a heart attack and it was GERD. But to rule it out they gave her
the works; CT scan, CXR, blood work, cardiac enzymes......and on top of that came the doctors (including the cardiologist, oh my) bill.
of course, I know 'bout as much as the docs do...sm
yeah, and that's why I'm here typing and they're out on their yacht somewhere, right? But I do try to diagnose, even did this when I worked for a doc in the back office. And sometimes I was actually right!
Cheap docs
They absolutely don't care about quality or any of that jazz, which is why I have always wondered why we as an industry keep beating each other up over issues that doctors couldn't care less about. Not that I think we should all just transcribe any old way we want, but it seems like we act like the slaves out in the mud pit slapping each other around about how much or how little straw to use for the bricks while the slavedriver sits on the side line with the whip completely content with end product either way.
I suppose the answer most would give is that we should take pride in the quality of our work whether they (the doctors) do or not, but I can't get passed the notion that these are the same individuals that the powers that be seem so intent on pleasing and are also the same individuals who would see us all in the soup lines tomorrow looking for the next homeless shelter to sleep in if they had their way. They (the medical profession) will not think twice about putting all transcriptionists out of business at their first opportunity, and yet we as an industry continue to bow to their ridiculous and uninformed demands concerning how to do what we do or their complaints about how much we charge or that we shouldn't charge for line count generated by short forms or macros, etc. They have no clue how many times their butts get saved by transcriptionists on a daily basis.
I've never met a transcriptionist who wouldn't readily agree with the notion that we are part of the health care team, and yet many of us continue to act like we still work for the doctors instead of the patient. Oh well, go figure.
Just venting as well.
also, most docs won't do certain tests (sm)
without your consent, if they are not considered standard and will probably have to be paid for by the patient out of pocket, unless the patient agrees to pay either up front or if the charge is denied. At least that's been my experience! Good luck, I hate insurance companies, too!
Isn't she cute? 
Do your docs talk 2U?
I have one doctor who, when she wants to correct something or other always says "This is an aside to the typist." ARGH. I feel like I'm in a Shakespeare play or something - don't those have a lot of "asides"? I always want to scream at her "Don't you know I'm not a TYPIST?? I'M A MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTIONIST, DAMN IT!!!!" Of course she's 80 or something so I shall forever be "the typist" to her.
I have a resident who always says "For transcriptionist, would you...." to get my attention - but when he was new I thought he was saying "Poor transcriptionist..." I always nodded my head in sad agreement until I realized what he was actually saying....
And then there's the doc who loves to complain about his job to me, sometimes in great detail - "Here I sit, waiting for some x-rays to come in so I can make a buck" and "I cannot believe this hospital."
They crack me up!    
docs talk to me
I always get one who says, "uh, secretary, please correct..." and then I have one who always says "oh, operator, could you kindly...." Does he think that because he dictates into a phone it's a telephone operator on the other end or what?
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.
|
