typing letter. Do my commas look oky?
Posted By: Need a quick answer on commas on 2005-10-17
In Reply to:
She is a 66year-old white female who recently transferred to our practice with diabetes mellitus, hypothyroidism, hypertension and hyperlipidemia, who I refer to you at this time for further evaluation of anemia
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Typing a letter on EMDAT
I am typing a letter on EMDAT that needs to be addressed to two doctors. How do I make sure the second doctor listed in the cc box gets the dictation in the form of a letter and not just a cc? Thanks in advance.
If it's a business letter you use a colon. if it's a personal letter you use a comma. nm
:
commas
You really need to think about this comma situation. Grammar and punctuation are there to make a document readable. A medical document is a patient care and legal document.
I know the transcription companies and hospitals do not pay fairly and I really don't blame you for trying to do something to increase your line count, however, this is simply not an appropriate way to do it.
I think if you approach your supervisor with some contrition and try to make a conscious effort to not do this you will probably see some positive results.
Again, I don't mean this to criticize you, but doctors are really down on transcriptionists a lot because this sort of thing drives them crazy and I can see how it could.
Good luck to you and I hope your situation turns around soon.
Commas (sm)
I am from the old school where commas were essential for clarity in reports. I find in today's world there are far too many errors being made, both in and out of the medical field, because people have not been properly trained in the English language. I have requested copies of my medical reports for a serious medical problem only to find multiple transcription or dictation errors which are inexcusable. The hospital I requested these reports from is a large metropolitan research facility where people come from all over the world for treatment. Obviously they are sending their work out to the lowest bidder. They do not have a transcription department. Not only was my name repeatedly in the body of the report, but it was spelled incorrectly and not in harmony with the correct spelling of my name in the header. Commas were not used in the proper places and the report was horrendous. I have not brought this to the attention of my physicians because they could "care less" in my opinion as long as they were reimbursed. What a darned shame! I don't know where they got their QA people, if they have any, but there is no "quality" in any of those reports. Don't feel bad. Whether we are talking commas, periods, common sense, etc., it is all "out the window" and the cheapest price gets the job! Just venting (and pretty upset). This is MY body and MY serious illness. I am so sick and tired of those pompous "asses" who proclaim 98% accuracy. I once received a reply to an E-mail from one of those companies who told me I "scored high" on their testing and stated I would "here" from them soon regarding potential employment. It's all pretty disgusting to me.
maybe you should try using commas...
in all those compound sentences in your post if you are so big on grammar.
commas
 Thanks for the help!!!
BOS and commas
The day that a doctor can actually transcribe a complete sentence/thought with the correct noun/pronoun/subject/verb/adjective, I will then use appropriate commas. Run on sentences is what they do. Most transcription is verbatim. As long as the WORDS are exactly what the doctor says, the punctuation (other than a period) is not even important, has nothing to do with the body of the report. I don't profess to be an English major and whoever thought it needed to be applied to transcription needs their head examined. In this industry, nothing is forever. A few years from now they will scrap the nonsense and move on to some other idiotic idea some moron comes up with in the BOS.
I applaud accounts that refuse to use BOS. I wish they would all do it and put an end to the insanity.
commas and which
which and that are often used interchangeably. You must decide what the dictator intends.
That always begins a restrictive clause.
Which always begins a nonrestrictive clause.
Test: Do you need what is said after which to tell tell what is meant? If the answer is yes, no comma. If the answer is no, add a comma.
Restrictive: Essential to what precedes it - no comma.
The arm which was fracture was splinted.
Nonrestrictive: Place a comma before which.
The right arm, which was fracture, was splinted.
That begins an essential clause or phrase. That is always specific to what comes before it. Do not place a comma before that.
I hope this helps.
too many commas? Nope -
perfect punctuation - way to go!
...and someone who does not use commas. ROFL! nm.
nm.
Grrrrrrrrr Wrong COMMAS!!!
OK this doctor dictates things like this all the time...."He wanted to cry (comma) and appeared unhappy."
There is no comma there, right? What should I do? Pretty sure you need a subject on both sides of the comma.......that's what I thought.
BOS is a crock, but commas are still important!
Especially as demonstrated in the post above. I think we all know (or should know) when a comma will change the meaning of a sentence. I agree that is very important. I believe in the AHDI BOS, Third Edition, it states that comma punctuation points are not deducted on audits because most of them are open to interpretation anyway. Some sentences could take them or leave them, doesn't matter.
Somebody please tell me why these stupid hyphens are so important!!!! How can they change the meaning of a sentence? And another thing, who has the right to change the title punctuation in M.D. to MD. We tried that on our account, HA, HA, HA. Heard from those doctors right away and they did not like it one bit. These things are why I say BOS is designed to cut an MT's pay, make more money for the MTSOs, and to give QA something to do!
I, too, love commas! I was told by an English
teacher years ago to use a comma anywhere in a sentence where you want to pause, emphasize, or separate. I worked for this one national where QA used to dock me all the time for my comma use. However, I got out my college grammar/English book and scanned in pages to prove I was right. Didn't matter. It was, "Listen to your QA person." She wouldn't even use a comma to separate two independent clauses with a FANBOY. I couldn't unlearn 25 years of grammatical habits, so I quit.
I can see your point about grammar, but using commas to pad line counts??!!
Please, tell me you're not serious, okay?
Did I use my commas correctly? Because I gave it a lot of thought, too much so to use it as a way to pad my line count.
What a crock. I've solved it by starting to put in commas
more Keystrokes for me, and hey - QA just LOVES their commas! The more the better, in their eyes.
No flame--commas & periods go inside quotation marks--ALWAYS.
"right", they get "left". Hate to see a good MT not do this correctly.
I also separate with semicolons--allows use of commas where needed within dose instructions. SM
I see the value of stopping each med with a period; but the voice rec programs I've worked with so far have been using commas (or nothing), and breaking the strings up with period+spaces+caps, etc. is much too time consuming. Plus, account instructions typically ask for either numbered lists or comma/semicolons anyway.
Typing. This is NOT typing, it is transcribing. There is a BIG difference. sm
Transcription includes typing, but so much more.
What letter
Did only certain offices get a letter. I work in the southeast and have not received a letter.
No letter here either (sm)
I am a SE, were these mailed to employees and SEs?
Also, have a question. Signed up for Qnet - activated I-mail account, on the Q-net I don't get any memos or even show an icon or heading to click on. Can someone enlighten me. I know I can call 1800dictate, just thought I would do better asking here.
TIA
Letter
Is the letter you are talking about the one talking about preserving documents and telling us not to throw anything away, or is this a different letter? 
Here's the letter...
medquist has always prided itself in doing business ethically. As part of our
continuing efforts to ensure that we maintain very high standards, we have
enrolled you and many of your associates in an Internet-based Ethics training
course in the area of Code of Conduct.
All MedQuist employees will be paid for the time spent taking the training. All
Transcription Operations Hourly/Production Employees (Medical Transcriptionists,
Quality Assurance, Quality Control, Customer Service Representatives, Clerical)
should schedule time in advance to take their Ethics Training with their
Supervisor. All hourly/production employees will be paid for the time spent
taking the Ethics Training, which is expected to take 45 minutes. MT employees
will be paid the equivalent of their "benefit rate" for the time spent
completing the training, up to a maximum of one hour.
To begin the training, click the link at the bottom of this e-mail. Please write
down and keep your User ID/Access Code, also found at the bottom of this e-mail,
since you will need it to enter the training. If you need any technical
assistance please send an e-mail to: mailto:support@integrityatwork.net.
The course will take you about 45 minutes. It is important that you finish this
course within the next several weeks. Please contact the human resources or
legal department if you have any questions about this or any other compliance
issues.
Thank you and enjoy the training.
About letter -- don't have it -- was that
the ENTIRE contents of the letter? What else did it say, please?
rec'd letter
yes i rec'd the same letter as the posts below. they are paying 2 different rates; the rate you are currently rec'g for typing will remain the same, the ASR or edited reports will be paid at 20% less than your current typed rate
MQ LETTER
The letter also states that in a few weeks we will get information about a new MT/ME Rewards Plan that will go into effect in early 2006. Why don't they just tell us what it is now. Is this supposed to be a dangling carrot strategy. It had better be a big carrot. Oh well, it's probably not anything that will improve our checks, just theirs.
Letter from MQ
Yes, would you PLEASE post the letter you received from MQ? I have to drive 8 miles one way into town to get my mail and with the gas prices, I only plan on doing that once a week. I would like to know what that letter said as well.
letter
I got mine today, and I am really upset. My production has gone down or stayed the same since doing ASR reports. I have to practically retype the entire report. I often delete everything and type from scratch. I'm gonna quit. If I decline ASR reports, they will give me a really crappy acount, I just know it. My base rate was 0.875 (after 9 years with no raise excempt when I made CMT) and now it will be 0.700. That is so pathetic. I'm finished with these greedy Bastards!
MQ Letter
I got my letter last fri, my last name is at the front of the alphabet. My base rate is being reduced by 0.175 cpl for ASR reports. So now on top of my already reduced pay when starting DQS, it will be reduced further. I figure I will lose about $200-250 per month. I am going to reply to the corporate heads who sent the letter, and give them my 2 cents. I challenge all MQ MTs to reply to the letter and give your input on their unfair pratices. I will soon be an ex-MQ'r. I won't allow them to reduce my pay once again. I don't make 25% more in production on ASR reports. I have to re-type almost the entire report except for the occasional dictator, where I only proofread and make minimal changes. I had a contract once upon a time that stated what my pay would be. I never gave anybody permission to change that. Isn't this illegal? I am going to get legal advice and see what my options are. I am not going to take this lying down. I'm tired of being kicked around. Thanks CM for enlightening me about the F9 feature, what an eye-opener. Now I have proof that they are cheating us out of our pay.
ANOTHER MQ letter,
 this one about new pay plan............ "Pay rates based upon experience, skill, and work difficulty" is the first 'highlight'....... I have been asking for a raise since MAY and I am level 3 typist, highest level MQ has.... Supposed to be contacted personaly by someone in the future. Hmmmmm, wonder what they will offer.
will I get a letter?? probably not
Well, I have 36 years experience and can transcribe anything..gee, wonder if they will contact me..They cut back my pay when I went to DQS by one half penny..Mmmm..hope I get that letter..Sure havent gotten the letter for DQS line count discrepancy and a check for that..
One more letter
A lot of good that CMT classification did for you. You would think the company, which claims to be short on able-bodied transcriptionists, and with all the new technology they are developing to make our job easier, that they would want to increase our pay to do ASR reports. Totally makes no sense. I sense a massive exodus.
Letter
That's the way I understood it also.
I got the same letter from SBC (which is AT&T LD)
using onesuite.com. I called when I got their letter and canceled my LD immediately. LD is only 2.5 cents a minute at onesuite.com. You have to pay in advance and then you dial an access number and then the number you want to reach. I liked unlimited better because I could dial direct, but for now I guess I'll use onesuite.
I got the same letter. sm
last year from SBC so I switched to MCI. I was completely honest with MCI and told them what I needed it for becuase I did not want them coming back at me telling me I was not using it according to their guidelines. MCI is expensive though. By the time you pay for taxes and everything else my bill is around $80. I wish I could find a job that is totally internet based. I started to check into Vonage but I could not understand how that worked when they kept telling me I had to pick a phone number or a different area code than the one I have and you can't speak to someone who speaks good English to get an accurate explanation. I also would like to know what everyone else does or how they get away with it. I wish the hospital that I work for through the company that I work for would have a 1-800 number for the transcription. I would even be willing to pay my employer a $10 long distance fee or something just so I do not have to pay out $80 every month.
need letter help
Okay, it's been a long time since business english 101, can anyone tell me where "return receipt requested" goes on the body of the letter, and isn't it in all caps? I am thinking it goes just below the address to whom the letter is being addressed, but just not positive about it. Thank you!!!
SPi letter
Yes, I got the letter this weekend. Disturbing sign of the times.
First letter only!
Thats how I have always done SOAP notes.
MQ lawsuit letter
Yes, I received the letter yesterday. Sounded like this investigation is going to take quite some time if they have to subpoena transcriptionist's records. I just threw it in the round file :)
why it will be good for MTs. you can see from letter below from CEO
the impact the lawsuit has had simply to start change within the MQ organization.
Here's pertinent part of letter that shows changes coming.
From Frank Lavelle, President
To all statutory medical transcriptionists
July 14, 2005
VIA Electronic and U.S. Mail
Dear Statutory Medical Transcriptionists:
W e would like to thank you for your continued service and support. We know that the key to our success is the people who work so hard for our customers everyday.
At MedQuist, we are determined to become the medical transcription provider of choice for statutory employees. Over the past several months, with your help and input, we have been working on developing a pay plan and comprehensive benefit program that will enable us to set the standard in the industry. We recently announced significant changes to our benefits program for full time employee transcriptionists and within the next few months, MedQuist will be announcing a new pay plan that will address the feedback we received from medical transcriptionists in response to our survey on pay issues.
As you may also know, MedQuist is currently responding to a lawsuit brought by three medical transcriptionists that was filed in response to certain publicity surrounding MedQuist's billing practices involving the AAMT billing unit of measure. MedQuist takes all allegations concerning its pay practices very seriously and will seek to address any concerns raised by the lawsuit. While we believe that the claims raised by the three transcriptionists appear to lack merit, we are diligently working on addressing this matter in order to best serve all of our valued medical transcriptionists.
To enable us to fully and appropriately respond to this, as well as other lawsuits currently pending against the company and governmental investigations, our lawyers from Winston & Strawn are required to collect documents. To ensure that you are completely informed about the materials they are seeking, we have attached a memorandum below regarding MedQuist's document retention and collections policy. Please review this document as soon as possible.
Once again, we would like to express our deep appreciation for your continued patience, cooperation and service to the company.
Very truly yours,
Frank Lavelle
President
Enclosure
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
introductory letter
Kkay, what exactly do you include in your introductory letter? Have the business cards already.
Thanks a mil!
Maybe just a letter that tells her how much you
appreciate her and everything she's done for you, how much you love her, et cetera. I would much rather have something like that from my children than a gift. Gifts are nice, too, but sometimes something from the heart just means so much more.
Haven't gotten the letter yet
 MQ is run by a bunch of jerks.
letter in mail
I got a letter in the mail from MQ headquarters today
"The Letter"
I got my "letter" from MQ today, and immediately called my supervisor to tell him that once that goes into effect I will no longer to ASR.......... hopefully everyone will do this (or at least the majority) and MQ will hear us ?? 
New pay plan letter ? Can you tell us what was in it? (sm)
I am an SE and I think they mail this info out alphabetically or maybe to employees first. My friend usually gets her info 4-5 days before me. Her last name starts with a C and mine an M.
Congrats on the $400.
new pay plan letter
They are going to reduce your base pay for ASR reports, if you type them aka speech recognition. Your base pay will be reduced by 20% for ASR reports. I just added it up and it makes a huge difference to the tune of hundreds of dollars a month if you type a lot of ASR, like I do.
I got the same letter today...
What? I didn't glean any new info from it. Just that someone would contact regarding the new pay plan or something like that. It is a very general letter, not a personal letter...what's all the excitment about???
no letter or memo to me yet
I havent gotten any letter..or memo..anyway, I would think of course they would keep SE's or offer the SE's FT positions. However, I dont think they would do away with SE's as they dont have to pay for insurance of anything with SE's.
Indeed it does, as the letter clearly states
it was a DEP error
If letter was to all "transcriptionists"
spoken specifically to FULL TIME and PART TIME Transcriptionist categories and anticipated changes for those only.
They should have addressed it to ALL TRANSCRIPTIONISTS WITH MEDQUIST...or more completely indicated all of the positions they have working for and with MQ.
I don't work FOR MQ, I am a contractor. MQ is my client. I am responsible for all my equipment, sick time off, overhead.
I am not an employee....in simple terms.
When they write a letter addressing changes in offers MQ is making to ALL TRANSCRIPTIONISTS doing transcription for MQ, I would have paid attention.
The letter was a waste of
who wrote it and are now trying to make it smell better.
and it was a waste of the time for the MT who got it.
All these silly pre-letters and anticipated packages that nobody can tell you what is in them or what they are about, and 1/cent checks being mailed out to people, just make MQ look really foolish from a business standpoint. If they were trying to run people off, they did a darn good job. And if they weren't trying, then whoever thought of this business strategy, needs to go rework it. Because in my case it was the final obtuse act by a smarmy company that helped me make the decision to invest my experience in the competition.
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