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

can I have some opinions please, re errors, - sm

Posted: Dec 08, 2009

Does anyone here believe that sending a copy to the wrong doctor is a critical error? I am beginning to feel picked on.

error - wubby

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I have been marked for that and advised that it is indeed a "critical error". Don't feel picked on. You'll remember now and you'll be fine. {hug}

Yes, I believe it is. - Fingers

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That is also why I believe these companies need to start supporting the MTs on this. A physician's FULL COMPLETE NAME should be dictated. If a physician dictates only "Dr. Smith, Jones, Thompson, Robinson, Taylor.....," then that is what should go on the report with NO copy produced. I don't care if they give you the city and the specialty. I believe the dictating physician should take full responsibility and supply the correct information, or not mention a copy at all. There is way too much guess-work going on just to please QA and since the companies will not back us up on it, hopefully HIPAA will put a stop to it.

Absolutely, not to mention HIPAA violation. nm - ncmt

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.

yes, critical error because of privacy issues...nm - cc

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nm

It is definitely an error (sm) - MyT_WannyMT

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As a physician receiving information on a patient they know nothing about is a HIPAA violation. If the dictator is not at all clear or the information provided is not listed in your database, pend it for someone in management to complete.

Sorry, I don't believe it is a critical error - gourdpainter

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They send medical records out of the country where they probably never even heard of HIPPA and then get their panties in a wad because a record cc is sent to the wrong doctor. What the heck is the doctor going to do with it...other than run it through a paper shredder maybe. There is way too much "blame the MT for everything" when this has become a minimum wage job at best. MTs are really just glorified clerks, some have brought some of this on everyone with the "MT profession" notion. Sorry it is not and never has been a recognized profession, it is a job plain and simple. If it required a college degree, at least an AA degree and required a PAID internship, then it might be a "profession" and the pay should reflect that status.

When HIPAA starts fining for this, it will be critical error - NM

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x

Yeah and that's just one more thing - gourdpainter

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Will the fines be levied against the MTs? I expect they will be.

If they expect us to pay fines for mistakes, theyre - gonna have to pay us more money.

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Cant get blood out of a turnip, right?

Definitely a critical error - Tina

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Granted, this is bound to happen from time to time...no one is perfect, but it is indeed a critical error. On the last account I worked, one was given fair warning but if habitual offender, then would be terminated. As stated earlier, this is a HIPAA violation and cannot be tolerated.

My chiropractor leaves records laying all over office - nobody cares

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I don't know why I have committed a HUGE crime if I make a mistake, yet my chiro leaves patient charts, x-rays, etc. laying around for the world to see. I have sat in interview rooms with other patients x-rays on a light box, I have sat in exam rooms with other people's charts sitting there for me to look at. And nobody thinks a thing of it - because the layperson can't even understand what they're seeing.

leaving charts around and critical errors - MT way too long

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It doesn't matter, you are only responsible for yourself and your errors. Also your statement about "the lay person can't even understand what they are seeing" is wrong. How do you know that everyone is a "lay person?" I have been in plenty of offices like you talk about where charts are all over the place and could understand everything I saw. There are many of us out there.

The doctor who lets their charts lay out is just as wrong as the MT who makes the critical error. You can't take it for granted that the "lay person" doesn't know what they are reading.

me either, GP - deenibeeni

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If that's a critical error, then I suppose it's a HIPAA violation every time a doc consults with another doc about my case...

It might be an "error," but it's not going to kill anyone. I think sending a file to a non-doctor is much more serious, but I still think critical errors are things like drug errors or radiation therapy errors, which can do physical harm. Unless we are using "critical" in some kind of legal sense I'm not aware of.

HIPAA will make it a critical error because of privacy laws. - see message

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The patient actually signs a Release of Information to the insurance companies of course, but also to PHYSICIANS INVOLVED IN THEIR CARE. This is what violates the privacy rule, a physician that is not involved in the patient's care. The physician who incorrectly receives a medical report, or any of the staff in his/her office, may actually know the patient whose report they received in error. This could easily happen and I am sure HIPAA would be all over it. I have heard (not confirmed) that HIPAA will fine the sender for this violation, but besides the patient, who is actually going to report it? In that case, I am sure all MTSOs will make this a very critical error. However, if they are going to do that, then they should make the dictator totally responsible for supply proper information for copies.

Disappointed in you Gourdpainter - Shame on you

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"Minimum wage job - at best." I don't really think so. Many of us who have been around a while are still making $20-30 an hour. I am currently between $45-50 per year. Is that a "glorified clerk?" I know many ladies working in the hospital and/or doctor's offices who will never see that much money.

Profession/job, whatever you choose to call it, I think MTs take it upon themselves to be successful. If someone is sitting in a dead end job with low pay, no work, etc., I would think that after a while, if they need the money and are qualified, they would do something about it until they find where they can be successful in this field.

No, the pay may not be what it once was in your day, but the knowledge and skill is still required in order to succeed and not settle for minimum wage. We are still out here kicking butt. There are thousands and thousands of happy successful MTs in this country. They simply do not have time to come on this board whining and complaining.

Well, how do you know that so sure?....nm - ??

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nm

You must know a different group of MTs than I know - gourdpainter

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The only happy MTs I know are working in hospitals. The others are fighting for work, losing benefits, etc. etc. These are people I know personally. They also are not whiners and complainers. They also don't post on the boards. Many of them are back in college learning a new career, unable to support themselves working for MTSOs. If you are happy and have a good income, congratulations. I hope it continues for you.

to....shame on you - oldie but goodie!

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I agree with you 500%. There are those of us still out there who have been doing this for years and years who are still making good money. May not be what it was years ago, but to me 20-25 bucks an hour is still great money. Sure is nothing to frown at huh?

You are correct there is a lot of whining going on here. What I see is alot of whining going on by folks with very little experience who think they should be making top line rates right out of school. Very hard for a newbie coming out of school working on production to make any money. The learning curve is part of the profession and always will be. But then again it use to be that you didn't work on production at home until you had a few years experience under your belt.

I don't know the answer to all this but there is no money in this profession for a new person working on production. They either are going to have put up with "slave wages" until they get their experience or try and find a job making an hourly wage.

critical errors - mt way too long

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GP usually I agree with most of what you said, but not this time.

I realize that this profession has not been recognized as it should EVER but that should not make us MTs not have pride in our work. It is not just a job. What folks seem to forget over and over again is the patient behind the record.

Having a chronic illness myself and being in the hospital dozens of times, I can personally tell you what problems sloppy medical records have caused! I pick up copies of my records after every hospitalization. It got so bad that I started making corrections in the critical part and taking them back to the hospital for correction because they were dangerous.

Sorry but I don't want anyone in the US having access to my records that they should not have anymore than I would someone in another country. You know yourself its not just the doctors that have access to this stuff, its also the office staff.

I disagree with you this time GP.

Don't be so hard on us, Gourdpainter - Fingers

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Okay, so it may not be the profession or position that it once was, but I just would not call myself a glorified clerk and I think I take offense to someone else calling me that. I am not ever going to be able to make the money I once did, but at $23 to $25 an hour, I do pretty well, and certainly more than minimum wage.

The difference is my experience, skills, and unfortunately my mileage. This gives me an advantage that I don't think other newer MTs have. They certainly have been reduced to taking whatever job they can find and at whatever pay they can get. However, as you have read on these boards, the experienced MTs who can not settle for that know how to find better jobs to suit them, they have the experience to get the job, or they are getting out of the business. The ones in the prior mentioned circumstances probably have a second larger income, want to stay at home for kids, etc., and will tolerate just about anything. This and offshoring do drive wages down, but employers do find that they get what they pay for. They may be willing to pay more when reliability, skill, and experience is required on their accounts and you would certainly be shocked at how many bad MTs are out there. They are not reliable and they are not qualified. When they are offered certain positions, you hear, "I really don't want to do/learn that." Furthermore, you have to want to change your situation. Do these MTs really think that sitting around waiting for 10 cpl is going to do them any good? Do they think that 1,200-1,500 lines a day is going to bring in a good paycheck? No. My own personal minimum requirement has always been 2000 lines a day at any pay. I see some complain about the 7.5-8 cpl. Believe me, if that were a decent account, I would consider it if I were out of a job and hungry because I could take that and turn it into $40,000 a year easy. Yes, it takes hard work and you know what they say about the heat in the kitchen.

You have to ask yourself, why in the world would an experienced, skilled, qualified, and reliable MT sit at home with no work, no money, no food for the kids, behind on their mortgage, and on and on. Why did they not do something else before it got to that point?

I do understand that the MT industry is evolving and changing. It is not the MT's fault and there is nothing they can do to change that fact, but they are going to have to change and evolve with it or get out. Many will be gone, whether weeded out or they leave. Many will hang in there just to be able to stay at home. I know that making $45,000 plus a year is a great position to be in. That rug can be jerked out from under me at a moment's notice. I will have to do something else at that point and hopefully can maintain near the same income. If not - if I become just a glorified clerk making minimum wage and if my experience and skill is no longer needed (which I do not believe will happen for a few more years) - then it is time for me to get out of the business. I am not going to sit here with no money, no food, and let the bank foreclose on my house and blame it on the MT business.

Fingers - mt way too long

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AMEN! I have wondered the same thing. What many MTs dont' realize, especially the ones with little experience, is that it takes years to gain the experience you need to be able to really make a living at this. You cannot pick and choose and say you don't want to do ESLs, OP reports, etc. etc. Those of us who have done this for years and years have learned enough to step into just about any specialty and make it work.

Years ago when I was a supervisor and MTs would complain about OP reports, certain dictators and all the other, I use to tell them to just learn the stuff backwards and forwards to where it did not matter anymore what dictation you got. Some listened, some didn't. The ones who listened made it in this field and the others are either out or still gripeing and complaining!

Yes, you are exposing the patient's info to someone who - sm

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is not authorized to see it; doctor, his staff, etc.

DON'T BLAME THE MT - sm

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It may or may not be. But you know what? I'M not going to fly through hoops worrying about, first, more UNPAID work we're forced to do, second, if the overpaid/lazy docs would take the few seconds it takes to actually SPELL a cc recipient's name, we would probably not even be discussing this issue. So it shouldn't be on the MTs' shoulders if it should go to the wrong cc recipient.

If it is the MT's mistake, then it is a critical error. If - SM

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the doctor dictates the wrong doctor it goes back on him, NOT the MT. When in doubt, one should always leave a blank, let the client decide where it goes.

If sending the wrong doc a copy becomes a "critical" - error, then unless my docs stop - sm

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saying "send a copy to Dr. Smith" when there are about 15 Dr. Smiths just at his hospital alone, then no doctor will get a copy at all, and QA will get just one more report to clog up their workloads.

Ain't got no crystal ball software on my hard drive.

In that case we are told to type Dr. Smith and let the - client decide. QA does not. NM

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x

Dr. Smith, etc - mt way too long

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then what is the problem? If the dictator says "dr. smith" and the client is to decide, then how can they give you, the MT a critical error? What you are saying is not making any sense here. Are you getting critical errors for sending reports for example to "Dr. Smith" where you don't know which one and the client is to decide?

My company has us send it to QA. QA then takes the responsibility of telling the client that we have no way of knowing who it goes to, not the MT......unless it's a stat report. Those don't lay around.

I think the docs should simply be told that if they - dont give all the needed information, sm

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such as first or last name, proper address, and spelling of unintelligible foreign names that can't even be guessed at in order to try to look them up, then that section will be left BLANK, and they can fill it in by hand.

sending copy to wrong Dr. Smith - MT way too long

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So are you saying that if you have a cc to a doctor where there are multiple docs of the same last name that you just "pick one" and not send your report to QA? Seems to me the proper procedure for those Dr. Smiths is to send the report to QA. Why would you ever send a report to a doctor if you didn't know which one to send it to?

That is not only a critical error but an error that will get you fired at the company I work for. If that problem comes up like you said about the "Dr. Smith" we are required to send it to QA!

Tlhat isnt what I said at all. (sm) - Wrong Dr. Smith

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What I said was, if the doc didn't identify WHICH Dr. Smith got a copy, "then no doctor will get a copy".

No info, no copies. I said nothing at all about "just pick one". And yes, I DID say QA would get those reports.

Please read people's posts through before you pick them apart.

Dr. Smith - mt way too long

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You said: If sending the wrong doc a copy becomes a "critical" error, then unless my doc stops saying "send copy to Dr. Smith" when there are about 15 Dr. Smiths, then no doctor will get a copy at all and QA will get one more report to clog up their work loads.

This makes it sound like you are sending it to someone and if you have to stop nobody will get anything. Yes you said QA WILL get those reports, but who is getting them now? You are not very clear. Don't jump down my throat. I guess you are a QA nightmare, always wanting to argue at all costs to prove a point instead of just doing what you should be doing?

Good grief!

Well, dont worry about it. I dont send copies to anyone - unless the info is all there.

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I just flag it and let the docs deal with it.

Just chill.

worry about it? HAH! - mt way too long

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why the heck would I worry about it. You are the one who has the worry and wants to argue. Do what you want. you just want to cause a stir.

Pretty much, yeah - Chrisi

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I know it sounds crazy to expect us to know which Dr. "Smith" it is supposed to go to but by going to the wrong doctor or the wrong fax number it breaks patient confidentiality.

Yes, it is. Whether the error is yours or not is the question. - sm

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If you sent the copy to the physician given by the dictator, it isn't your error. However, if you sent it to the wrong physician, it is.

Big difference.

critical error - mt way too long

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If the dictator dictated a specific doctor and specific address then no it would not be a critical error because he gave you exactly what he wanted. IF the error was made by you, then yes it would be a critical error. Hopefully, there is proof either way.

Think of it this way.........would you want your medical records going to the wrong physician, getting into the hands of the office staff to read? What if you have information in your records you don't particularly want others to know and it goes to the wrong doctor and say someone works there that knows you? You are not being picked on. Learn by experience.

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