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MT responsibilities - frustrated!
Posted: Jun 01, 2013
I'm just so frustrated, does anyone else ever have a problem with demographics or account specs and things such as that dropping your QA score? I mean, I don't feel I'm stupid, but sometimes I feel that way when I can't seem to get things right. I have been on a job for 3 months now and STILL make errors in the demographic screen, causing reports to go to the incorrect folder at the hospital. On my job, a demographic error is 3 points, so just in that error it can drop my QA score to 97 on that job. I don't really make any errors outside of that and I really do understand the importance, but we as MTs are asked to produce this "perfect" report, know every body system like the back of our hand, know grammar and punctuation better than an English professor and STILL we get nagged about not knowing a a facilities policy 100% as well? It is especially difficult because it may be different on different accounts and it is hard to keep up with all of that. I don't know why it would be so hard to just let us TYPE, let us make sure these medical records are perfect and the hospital could appoint someone to make sure the demographics or account numbers or whatever are correct and make sure they make it into the correct place. I mean, I have never step foot in this hospital, why does everything have to lie on my shoulders? Just a frustrating Saturday!
This is the job. They wont make dictators dictate better, we are - the only ones they can squeeze SM
[ In Reply To ..]to get that perfect report. THey cant let us "just type", we have to make sure the job is as good as it can be. If you cant do that, this isnt the job for you.
Back in the day - see msg
[ In Reply To ..]We used to get paid for the demo information. I'm going back 12-13 years, mind you. And things were not as complicated with billing and privacy laws back then, either, so it was actually not as hard as it is now.
But they took away our money and made it more complicated.
FYI: I got out of this biz. It was no one reason, but just problems on top of problems on top of problems. I stuck with it for years even with the problems, then finally decided it wasn't worth my upset stomach. Oh, hey, an upset tummy can be cured when you're actually get paid really, really well, but that's not the case.
Back in the day is not relevant now. I want to her CURRENT - issues and solutions now. nm
[ In Reply To ..]x
Relatively current - Anonymous
[ In Reply To ..]I have been working in HIM and transcription QA for a few months, I am a former MT with a boat load of experience. At my other job (not for an MTSO) we never got paid for entering demographics, I don't know how they would could that. Anyway, I was on the same system for years and on my QC, I routinely had deductions for date of service and demographic errors. Those were "weighted" higher than some of the other things, so too many of them would bring down a person's score. Sorry, but I don't know how to fix that except to say slow down, which really is no answer when you are paid by production. I don't know how many reports you are allowed to send to QA, but I suppose that would be the other solution when something does not look right to you.
In my new job, I have seen some reports that have ended up in the wrong patient record and someone on our end has to fix those. Sometimes it is because the MT made an error, sometimes it is because the provider dictated on the wrong patient. Sometimes the errors are obvious to me but it boils down to the MT not being able to take the time to follow through. It is too bad that people have had to sacrifice quality in some cases in order to meet production quotas. You don't want to hear about "back in the day" so I won't go there.
The used to pay us - Equivalent of 4 lines for the demo
[ In Reply To ..]Small change, but back in those days it didn't take as long and it was a little something.
What I started doing was NOT spending a lot of time on cc names. For one thing, we're in deep stuff if we chose wrong. For another, it takes too darn long. Just use whatever protocol for when you can't find a doctor name. I have never spent more than 30 seconds on a cc name.
Yes, it has come back to bite me, but not seriously. Hospital just lets my supervisor that it was easily found, blah, blah.
This is exactly why...... - Mom22dogs
[ In Reply To ..].....I was much more comfortable working in house. I knew all the docs, some even on a first name basis. It was a hospital in a small town, so I even got pretty familiar with the patients (not personally but became familiar with them through the reports I typed). I was also familiar with all of the medical facilities the docs referred to. <<
Doctor's haven't the foggiest... - Angie
[ In Reply To ..]Since communication between MT and MD has been completely severed, they apparently have no idea that we are not even in their state, don't know the local business names, doctors or facilities. Although we are not allowed contact with the dictators, there are ways to communicate things to them, for example typing in the CC field "Dr. Jones." Someone at the facility will have to do the work to determine which Dr. Jones and where. I've seen doctors changing as a result with "CC Dr. Jones.. oh, that's Justin Jones in Austin"
When dictators get sloppy, slurring through their ROS or PE, I refuse to guess or transcribe the usual - I leave a blank that will get back to them to clarify. It will get old and hopefully they will start being more careful with their patient's records.
Regarding demographics, I am so sick of being blamed for sloppy dictator errors in demographics by dictators who either don't care or are not capable of doing it right, in which case they won't be doing my surgery. If anyone has it in writing from their MTSO that we are required to check and correct all demographic errors, please keep that documentation for a possible suit down the road. I doubt it would be found legal to force us to work for free.
doctors haven't the foggiest - ep
[ In Reply To ..]I wish that doctors would try to type and/or understand what they have dictated; if they cant then they should not do so until they can.
It should start with the residents - MT10Y
[ In Reply To ..]I think all residents should take a turn listening to what their peers dictate and see if they can figure it out. If it would make just one doctor pay attention to his dictating style, it would be worth it. At one of my jobs, someone asked the residents if they were behind in their dictations because of how fast they were talking. No...they were just seeing who could dictate the fastest.
Demographics - CAT
[ In Reply To ..]My main problem with demographics has been choosing the right visit/Date of Service in the box.. Sometimes it's confusing with more than one choice (especially if the patient had been admitted multiple times within a month or so, with different account numbers). Account specs were no help either. Of course, we get blamed if it's wrong.
I had the same problem (sm) - Angie
[ In Reply To ..]Something always did not match, either the date of service, the job number, the DOB or the MRM and there was no way to pick the right one. They would never put in writing what process we are to use to select the right visit, because that way they wouldn't be able to pretend it was our fault!
Demographics - CAT
[ In Reply To ..]"They would never put in writing what process we are to use to select the right visit.."
Same story here. I'm guessing they (managers) themselves didn't really know the correct process but just said "look in the specs" because that was the easiest thing for them to say/do.. But the answer was never in my specs. :(
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