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Common errors - An MME

Posted: Apr 12, 2012

PLEASE NO NEGATIVE FEEDBACK! This is truly meant to be helpful, not snotty, threatening, or negative so I expect the same in return.

Military time: Lately I have seen a lot of reports where people are inserting colons in military time. Colons are NOT used for military time unless the hour, minute, AND seconds are given. If the CP states that time is transcribed "3:00 a.m." this is for "regular" time and not military time.

Spacing: TWO spaces after periods that end a sentence and all colons (except in ratios).

Dates and commas: Bobby was born on March 31, 2012, at the hospital. NOT Bobby was born March 31, 2012 at the hospital. For some reason, a lot of people are forgetting that final comma after the year. (Also for example, Bobby was born 03/31/2012 at the hospital. and NOT Bobby was born 03/31/2012, at the hospital.)

Unless CP states otherwise, it is acceptable to phonetically spell names, including doctor's names. Save yourself submissions to QA. As a QA, if I can't find the name, I spell it phonetically (again unless CP states otherwise).

Misuse of commas: I see this a lot "CBC, white count 14, hematocrit 36, hemoglobin 13." As a QA, I am always going to correct this to use a colon as follows "CBC: White count..."

Also a NOT: The patient got an injection of morphine, and went crazy.

Should be: The patient got an injection of morphine and went crazy.

Run on sentences: Example of a NOT: The patient went to the hospital and got an injection of IV morphine, toradol, and phenergan, then she went to the bathroom, got sick and came back into the room.

Should be: The patient went to the hospital and got an injection of morphine, toradol, and phenergan; then she went to the bathroom, got sick and came back. (or use a period where the semicolon is)

Now please don't reply and say something like "there is no such thing as a white count of 14," etc. I am sure my sentences are not technically correct. I am just using examples to get my point across about grammar and punctuation.

Thanks, but your Bobby example - confused me

[ In Reply To ..]
You changed the comma from the March 31 example to the 03/31 example...didn't you? I keep reading it and it is conflicting...to me, anyway. I wish we would get help from our QC instead of a hand slap.

I mean.... - An MME

[ In Reply To ..]
I mean depending on which way they dictate it or if the CP states the date is supposed to be typed a certain way. For the long date, you use a comma after the year, but if you use the short way, there is no comma after the year. Better?

Thank you for the help..Constructive critism always welcome - :-) no message

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X

If I put two spaces in after a period it is called padding the report!!! - nm

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NM

No, it's called standard typing rules. - nm

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x

Standard is 2 unless CP says otherwise - nm

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nm

her comma examples for dates are correct. sm - Fossil

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Long date version: March 31, 2012,

Short version: 03/31/2012 (no commma)

DATES - Nature

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I think it all depends on who is doing the QA on that day. I have been dinged for not putting a comma after 2012 (04/12/2012, blah blah blah). Most of the accounts I type on use the 00/00/0000. I finally conformed to their way, got a different QA who dinged me for putting the comma. No matter what, I am wrong (and that is putting it nicely).

Just do what's right. - Some MMEs should not be MMEs

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The OP is correct. An MME can be wrong too, but as long as we are doing the right thing, it won't be our butts.

style - mt

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I would like to see more of this type of post regarding style and rules along with our other discussions. Very helpful.

Bravo! These are same things that irritate me also. - Fossil

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However, 3:00 a.m. (which is an on-the-hour expression) should be 3 a.m.

Another pet peeve of mine is: The patient is a 50-year-old man that was admitted to the hospital.... I always change "that" to "who". A person is a "who" and an object is a "that".

but watch CP, - SOSDD

[ In Reply To ..]
have one that says:
dictated: 3 p.m.
transcribed 3:00 P.M.

lets all pray for some kind of standardization.

Good stuff, my pet peeves are with dashes/conjunctions - sm

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I still see follow-up when it should be followup.

Also words that can be put together are pulled apart: Example brainstem not brain stem, gallbladder not gall bladder, anterolateral not anterior-lateral, parietooccipital not parietal-occipital, and so on.

I have dug and dug on the followup/follow up/follow-up - anon

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If anybody can clarify this, I would be very grateful. I usually put follow-up if you can put a, the, etc. in front of it. For example, "The patient will have a follow-up CT scan." If it is a verb, I put follow up. For example, "The patient will follow up with his PCP." So am I close?

AHDI book of style 3rd addition - sm

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Look on bottom of page 132 and top of 133 in this book if you have it.

The examples are

She has a followup appointment with me on Tuesday.

She will be seen in followup on Tueday.

She will follow up with me on Monday.

A little trick.... - SH

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If you can replace the word with "eat" and it makes sense, use "follow up" as two words.

Examples: I will follow up (eat) with the patient in 2 weeks.

The patient is to follow up (eat) in my office in a week.

I've personally NEVER used it hyphenated, either at school or on the job. For me it's either one word or two.

Caught on Sentence Example - Alias

[ In Reply To ..]
I knew what you said about the dates and colon usage was correct, but when you gave examples of how to use commas in a sentence, I knew it didn't sound right, so I checked. Your examples:

Run on sentences: Example of a NOT: The patient went to the hospital and got an injection of IV morphine, toradol, and phenergan, then she went to the bathroom, got sick and came back into the room.

Should be: The patient went to the hospital and got an injection of morphine, toradol, and phenergan; then she went to the bathroom, got sick and came back. (or use a period where the semicolon is)

There actually should be a comma before the last "and." I'm still not sure about first "and" in the sentence.

Here's the rule I found: Use a comma to separate the elements in a series (three or more things), including the last two. "He hit the ball, dropped the bat, and ran to first base." You may have learned that the comma before the "and" is unnecessary, which is fine if you're in control of things. However, there are situations in which, if you don't use this comma (especially when the list is complex or lengthy), these last two items in the list will try to glom together (like macaroni and cheese). Using a comma between all the items in a series, including the last two, avoids this problem. This last commaâ��the one between the word "and" and the preceding wordâ��is often called the serial comma or the Oxford comma.

Here is how I understand your sample sentence should be: The patient went to the hospital, and got an injection of IV morphine, toradol, and phenergan, then she went to the bathroom, got sick, and came back into the room.

Probably my biggest pet peeve about the ASR - is that it leaves off the

[ In Reply To ..]
comma before the final "and." I fix this a million times a day.

Learn something new all the time - SM

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I often check grammar girl website for stuff like this. I was told in a list that the comma before the last "and" was not necessary. EX: "The patient is advised to stay away from apples, walnuts and peas" "The patient is advised to stay away from apples, walnuts, and peas" However, she says she prefers the use of the last comma though the other is acceptable especially in newspapers as they are also worried about space as it does not change the sentence. I love her website.

and I've been told by my QA to not bother, either way is fine nm - SOSDD

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n/m

Another one: - sm

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The patient had bronchitis; however, he did not have pneumonia.

The patient is alert and oriented, however not very reliable.

Oh, and: A followup appointment versus to follow up in the office.

Semicolon - Alias

[ In Reply To ..]
You listed this as one of your pet peeves: "The patient had bronchitis; however, he did not have pneumonia."

This may be a pet peeve of yours, but the sentence above you gave as an example of being wrong is actually correct.

Here's the rule: You use a semicolon when you join two independent clauses together with one of the following conjunctive adverbs (adverbs that join independent clauses): however, moreover, therefore, consequently, otherwise, nevertheless, thus, etc. For example: It rained heavily during the afternoon; however, we managed to have our picnic anyway.

I truly do appreciate feedback from the MMEs, but please, please, please check the rules first before advising others.

I was giving examples of how it should be done. - Poster above. nm

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x

semicolon - Sigh

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I am absolutely not paid enough to worry about a trivial semicolon when a comma will work just fine. This is silly.

Your other sentence example is also wrong - Alias

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Your other sentence example is also wrong. This is what you said not to do:
"The patient got an injection of morphine, and went crazy." This is exactly what you should do.

Here's the rule: Use a comma after the first independent clause when you link two independent clauses with one of the following coordinating conjunctions: and, but, for, or, nor, so, yet. Example: I am going home, and I intend to stay there.

It's not an independent clause and should not have a comma. - nm

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x

not an independent clause - mt

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went crazy is not an independent clause so there should be no comma. I think the first poster is correct that this example is wrong.

sorry, didnt realize someone already said this - mt

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.

Admit I was wrong on that one!! - Alias

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I missed it not having a pronoun.

The OP is correct. No comma - sm

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If you can split split the sentence where the conjunction is and it makes 2 separate sentences, then use a coma like:

"The patient got an injection of morphine, and the MT went crazy."

Commas - Nature

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I was taught in high school and college that if you put a comma, the next words have to be able to stand alone as a sentence. If you type blah blah blah, and I went home, then the "I went home" can stand alone, but "and went home" can't stand alone.

spacing - Working MT

[ In Reply To ..]
Here is the thing with spacing. When we were forced into ASR, this wonderful program was supposed to automatically load the spacing in so we did not have to think about it. I refuse to change the spacing that comes through on my work which is ALWAYS 1 space after a period. I am not going to go around the whole report and add 1 space after every single sentence when this program was supposed to make these subtle changes for us. We were also told that it was smart enough to change she to he, according to the sex in the ADT information. Have not seen that happen yet either.

agree, spacing is retarded - nm

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x

Athough 2 is standard, as an MME - I was told

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to leave it alone unless it violates the CP or if it isn't consistent throughout the report.

He/She? - Carrie

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Wow, that's pretty remarkable that ASR would change "she" to "he," according to the ADT info. I don't think I'd want it to, even though we all know the dictators can often slip on the correct gender.

For instance, I've had lots of reports where, say, the patient is a male, but in the report, it states something like: "The patient's wife was at work when she got a call that the patient had passed out, and he was taken to the ER."

Seems like it would be a mess if the ASR made every "she" into a "he" if the patient is a male.

also, a thing about the tagged headings - another MME

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I know everybody has been probably told different and I will be bullied and argued down about this, but unless the CP says not to, it is perfectly okay to add the red-tagged headings if they aren't dictated. For two reasons. One is for organization and aesthetics. Another, the biggest reason, is that some headings have special formatting instructions to be carried out in the final report. For example: Some clients set up the allergy heading to automatically cap, bold, underline or italicize anything underneath it until it hits another red-tagged heading. I have seen so many reports that haven't done this. If you look at the final report, if the allergy heading was put in and none other, everything under the heading including PE, labs, impression could be all bolded and capped.

For some reason, the trainers don't tell MTs what the red headings actually do. I found they don't explain tabs and tables either; a big no-no. In the final report, that table is a scrambled mess. If possible, we are to just do stacked left with colon, like a PE or ROS.

I think it would help us all if they explained what happens to the report when it leaves our hands.

Obey QTL also. I got dinged for adding red headers - that were not technically

[ In Reply To ..]
dictated that way, even though it made the report easier to read and kept the integrity. Told it was a no-no to "add" anything, even if it CLEARLY was the begininng of the physical examination or whatever.

True, obey your QTL, even if they could be wrong - as they do your audits.

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My QTL told me what the poster said above. It's funny how the people you have to listen to are never on the same page. Was she being client specific or as a general rule?

common errors - kittykat

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Thank you. I wish I would see more common mistakes that I am sure I am guilty of making. I strive to be professional.

Commas after date - BH

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As far as commas, how about "He will return March 13, for further rehabilitation."

Why is there a comma after March 13? This is not a full date. I know we are supposed to insert a comma after a date like March 13, 2012, if sentence continues.

I was audited because I did not type a comma after March 13 (above in first sentence).

Another question - TK

[ In Reply To ..]
This is so helpful! Thank you very much for posting this. I do have a question, though, and I'm sure you can help me with it...When typing a city and state in a sentence, would a comma go after the state, i.e.: The patient lives in Miami, Florida, and was seen by her PCP.

Yes - nm

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xx

THIS WAS THE BEST THREAD I HAVE SEEN HERE - Trying to fix things

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Instead of fighting and complaining..If we can out do the Indians on a regular basis its is our best shot..I know for a fact the doctors I go to cringe when they get reports back...We talk about my work and they tell me all kinds of horror stories..

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