Support our industry and jobs - Please write these - letters before March 17 -- SM

Instructions and model letter provided here. 

INSTRUCTIONS:

Instructions for Letter Writing

1. Find out who your federal legislators are:

a. Find out who your Representative is by using the zip code search at www.house.gov.

b. Find out who your two Senators are by using the “Find Your Senators” option at www.senate.gov.

2. Address your letters as follows:

a. For Senators: The Honorable (Full Name)

United States Senate

Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator (Last Name)

b. For Representatives: The Honorable (Full Name)

United States House of Representatives

Washington, DC 20515

Dear Representative (Last Name)

3. Draft your letter using the model letter at the end of these instructions. Personalize your letter and use whatever portion of the model letter you believe will make the point to your legislators.

4. Mail your letter to the Dewey Square Group office by no later than Wednesday, March 17, so that the letter can be delivered on your behalf. Include with your letter an unsealed envelope addressed to your legislator and your address in the return address section. Your letter will be placed in the personalized envelope and hand delivered. The envelope does not need a stamp.

Laura McAleer

Dewey Square Group

1001 G Street, NW

Suite 400E

Washington, DC 20001

MODEL LETTER:

Instructions for Letter Writing

(Your Legislator’s Mailing Address)

Dear Senator OR Representative (Last Name):

As a constituent, a professional in the health documentation sector, and member of the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI) AND/OR the Medical Transcription Industry Association (MTIA), I write today to encourage your support for my industry and our campaign to get the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT to acknowledge in regulations that the dictation-transcription process and structured narrative reports are vital elements of electronic health records (EHR) and are included in the definition of “meaningful use.”

The medical transcription industry, employing hundreds of thousands of Americans across the country, enable more efficient EHR adoption. Medical transcription companies and professionals work with physicians to create accurate, complete, and secure records to optimize patient care delivery and to ensure safety. The dictation-transcription process remains physicians’ preferred method for documenting care because it is easy to use and is time-efficient, allowing physicians more time to focus on treating their patients. If the dictation-transcription process is included in the documentation sections of “meaningful use,” physicians will be more likely to embrace the push for greater EHR adoption and to find the experience of using an EHR to be a positive one for them, their healthcare teams, and patients.

I stand ready to work closely with physicians, hospitals, and clinics to achieve “meaningful use” of EHRs. Most importantly, regardless of the method used to capture healthcare information, medical transcriptionists can serve as an “extra set of eyes” to ensure the quality, accuracy, and consistency of patient records. With broader EHR adoption, error rates could put patients at greater risk. By employing more documentation professionals more jobs will be created while at the same time reducing medical errors in the healthcare record.

Here in (City or State or Region) I work with (Dozens – Hundreds – Thousands) of healthcare providers and I worry that if the dictation-transcription process is left out of “meaningful use,” the quality of patient health records will deteriorate and jobs could potentially be lost across (City or State or Region). The healthcare documentation sector is a solution to the challenges of EHR adoption. Including EHRs in the definition of “meaningful use” would allow for physician choice, uphold the value of the patient narrative, promote more efficient use of physician time, and preserve and grow jobs in the healthcare documentation field. I strongly encourage you to support me and my colleagues by writing a letter to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT and asking them to acknowledge the dictation-transcription process and structured narrative reports as vital elements of “meaningful use” and EHR certification.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you would like additional information about our sector and association. Thank you for your consideration, time, and support.

Sincerely,

(Your Signature)

(Your Name Printed)