A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry

Sample Short-N-Sweet Letter to the Editor - JMO

Posted: May 19, 2012

that is super short - nm

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nm

No words wasted :) - nm

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:)

no punctuation errors at all! - good job

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:)

ROFL - nm

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Funny

Maybe someone more articulate than me - would consider

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running it past the folks at The People's Pharmacy radio show if they would like to do something about the hazardous new world of medical documentation. This is a national show from NPR, maybe not with a huge audience, but could be something right up their alley. You can contact them on their web site.

I couldn't have said it any better myself! - nm

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?

where is it? I wrote it! - JMO

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Dear Editor and Readers:

Did you know that:
1. Your medical records are probably being transcribed in countries that do not have the same privacy laws as we do?
2. That because of nuance in language interpretation, there may be errors in your records that may be dangerous or even fatal?
3. That your daughter's, your nephew's and your grandbaby's Social Security numbers are ripe for picking and selling, like a tasty global strawberry?

Everyone should ask their doctor where their records are being transcribed, and if they can't give you a for-sure answer, then they are probably being done outside the country. You should demand they keep that information in this country or you will find another doctor who will.

Okay, I don't know why it didn't post earlier, but if anyone would like to add to or reword any of that, feel free.

Your letter and the problems I see with it. - SM

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1. Is this about overseas workers or wages? The lawsuit had to do with wages and not being paid for hours worked. Now you are throwing in the overseas issue again. If you got paid 10 cpl, would the overseas workers bother you? Sounds to me like some of you are going to do anything in your power to fight a battle even if it means throwing in things that weren't the issue in the first place just to stick it to the employer. Hiring overseas workers is not against the law and used by the majority of American companies, even our credit card companies, IT departments, and banking. There is sensitive information in all of these fields.

2. Why do you assume that the overseas workers are criminals? Are overseas workers all looking to steal information? Is that the only goal? Do they not have values and punch in and out everyday like us trying to feed a family? Believe me, I would rather our jobs stay in the US, but it's not because I believe they are out to get me, it's because Americans need jobs! There isn't much information on a medical record and how secure are the people working right here at my doctors office? So if my son gets in a car accident and has to have a MedEvac ride to the hospital, I should ask where they have records transcribed and refuse care if they are done overseas? Really?

3. Do you realize that most of the identity theft happens here? We have plenty of our own criminals searching the trash and stealing mail out of mailboxes. We have to give our SS# just to have cable.

4. Errors in medical reports due to speech? Speech does make errors, this is true, but why would they have errors after you edited it? Are you sending it to the facility like that? If speech doesn't hear it, we edit it. If we don't know what is being said, we blank it. We still wouldn't know what was said if it came without the speech. So the dangerous and fatal errors aren't making sense to me. We still have to do our job and the doctors still have to sign off on it. What does speech have to do with that? Again, is this a money issue or speech issue or overseas issue?

4. You need to be very careful with what you choose to be angry about. Just because you had a bad experience doesn't mean your goal should be to destroy an entire industry.

I agree completely with you. The lawsuit is - about wages SM

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and illegal practices. It is not about overseas workers. Don't muddle the real issue with this. If you want to write about VR, then talk about the false claims that we can double our productivity; hence, the reason for the pay cuts, which leads to the reason we are forced to work more hours which leads to the reason we are told to lie on our timecard so MTSOs can continue to break labor laws. Keep this offshoring issue out of it.

Would it bother you more to have your info overseas or in the posession - Crabby

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of a customer service rep who is actually working from home and the order you just placed is on their personal PC? Sears, Citi, some pizza huts, Shop NBC, HSN, and many other companies outsource to work at home agents who could very easily write your cc information down and have your card run up before you even got off the phone. So, is the pay the question or overseas workers?

A US worker can do this too. - What is your point?

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You are living in a dream world if you think US workers don't steal. Who are the US MTs anyway? Did they have background checks?

Pay is the question. The overseas issue only became an issue when our wages were cut. I could care less who is looking at my Pap smear report. Have fun with that! My credit is shot so someone is welcome to that mess too.

I never said US workers don't steal. The point is, - Crabby

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a big deal is being made about personal information being sent overseas. How many times have you called a company only to get an overseas agent? The MT industry isn't the only one getting work sent offshore. If the MTs in the lawsuit or the OP for this thread wants to bring the pay issue up, I don't think using offshore workers will drive the point home. I don't know if many doctors are even aware their reports may be getting sent overseas, so to bring that issue up doesn't make sense. That will not get a pay increase if a doctor or a clinic loses patients.

Ripe like a strawberry? - Tim

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Why say that? Don't think this letter will even get print time.

agree... its horrible - nm

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nm

The letter raises legitimate issues that MTSOs don't want - the public to know about.

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Here's mine:

Dear Editor:

I'm sure most of your readers aren't aware that the American healthcare industry is peddling the most intimate details of their health records in the back alleys of Rangoon and other foreign cities.

They are doing this in order to save a few pennies in processing these records - fully aware of the potential security consequences, and despite having complete knowledge of the poor quality of the work that is done in many of these processing centers by people who neither speak nor understand English at the level necessary to handle sophisticated medical documents properly.

You, as a patient, believe that your medical record is secure and accurate, when in fact it is being exposed to unnecessary security issues and may be riddled with errors.

I doubt that anything we as patients can do will prevent greedy healthcare executives from continuing to follow these shameful practices.

However, you have a right to demand to review your record any time you see fit, and I suggest that EVERY patient should exercise that right after any significant encounter with your healthcare provider.

Addendum - I would close this way.

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"...I suggest that EVERY patient should and MUST exercise that right after any significant encounter with their healthcare provider because medical errors can be extremely dangerous - even fatal.

Check your records frequently. The life you save may be your own."

WOW! - SM

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You do realize India is doing quite well and they don't live in alleys and they have very nice office buildings?

Save my own life - huh? WOW, just WOW.

Back alleys? - Tim

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You guys have been watching too much TV! So the alley is set up with internet and these poor dirty people are sitting in the dark (probably damp and cold too) transcribing our sophisticated documents? Do they get fed? Or do they only get food when they steal an idenity?

Medical records, personal records, shoes, clothes, computers - all overseas. This is not hidden. You are not exposing anything. Did you just discover this or something?

So when I review my medical record, what am I looking for? A mistake in grammar? What?

Who cares - get a life.

Thank you, Tim - ...if that is your name.

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I detect a whiff of Habib.

Rangoon, when did records start going to Asia? - nm

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nm

India, Indonesia and the Phillipines are all in Asia. - nm

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.

Rangoon? - Really?

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Since when has US transcription started going to Myanmar (formerly Burma).

Not to mention it's not called Rangoon anymore. It's now called Yangong.

And in an alley in Rangoon - HA - Funny -

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This is hilarious.

It's sad, though. It sounds like - al

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a person from my grandparent's generation who doesn't realize how racist they are when they say "he's black, but he's very nice!". They're uneducated about anyone other than those in their own neighborhood, or worse, church. Dark-skinned = poor, dirty, and most likely a criminal.

Exactly - Great point - Tim

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You read my mind :)

Don't play the racist card. We call that - stinkin thinkin

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No one said or even implied a word about race. But, of course, there's a group of ignorant people in our country who, when they have no real argument, play the race card.

It's become tiresome.

They already played the race - al

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card. It happens here a lot.

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