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Verifying PT age - every time
Posted: Jun 03, 2014
If the doctor says the patient is 78, am I really supposed to verify this EVERYTIME to make sure the patient is not 79?? Apparently so....because I got a major error for typing the age as dictated.....
Also, if the report is from - last year
[ In Reply To ..]Do we have to make sure the age is correct for that year? They are grasping at straws here I think.
I do check the age every report, but I am waiting for some eager beaver QA person to tabulate the age the patient was last year and insist my this year age is incorrect since the report was for last year, or vice versa. Stupid stupid stupid.
I always look at YOB - every time
[ In Reply To ..]I glance at the YOB to make sure the age does not seem too far off and then I verify it if it does seem off...or if the age is not dictated clearly....
but never being able to count on the MD to dictate the correct age is just, well like everything else, ridiculous....
Yes, you should check the age! - CuriousMT
[ In Reply To ..]Okay, I think the nit-picking is just as annoying as anyone else on the board, but when we start making comments like, "Do we have to make sure the age is correct for that year? They are grasping at straws here I think." it allows those above us to think we're not intelligent or that we're careless.
Most of the programs we work in (here at Nuance) have a feature where we can easily verify the patient's age. And yes, it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to make sure it is correct! This is one of the many reasons why we exist, to check facts. This is not hard, people! If the patient was born on 5/30/2010 and the report is for 5/28/2014, then the patient is clearly 3 years old. But if that report is for today, 6/3/2014, then that patient' is 4 years old. If you can't figure out a patient's age when given the date of birth and then the date of the report (which is what you should base the patient's age on, not the date you're transcribing it), then maybe this job isn't for you.
I could make many comparisons to other jobs, but really, I shouldn't have to.
If a doctor says that a levothyroxine Rx is for 88 mg, we should know that they meant mcg, or at least change it to 0.088 mg. Our job is to verify, not just type blindly. That is why we are worth more than the tiny wages they pay us, and it is our most valid argument of why we deserve more.
checking age... - anon
[ In Reply To ..]I with you here. Of all the things to gripe about with this job, a simple checking of the age shouldn't be that big of a deal. It takes about 2 seconds. If the age checking is that bad maybe you're in the wrong business. I know everyone would like VR or the docs to be completely accurate, but if it was what would they need MTs for?!? Then VR would REALLY take over. This isn't about pay, we all know we're worth more, but the basics of the job is to check these things.
Ah, but it is about pay - it is a great argument
[ In Reply To ..]We SHOULD make more, but they will NEVER pay more. I don't disagree that it is our job and is important.
By grasping at straws I meant that when a report is a year old and the patient was one age when entering the hospital and another when leaving, very tricky to figure out which age to use and we should not be penalized for those I do not believe.
Forget about ever getting higher wages, compounding and limiting the already low lph is the travesty of FIESA.
FIESA has been their means to deny us any bonus. Had they not implemented that particular financially punitive measure and the fact you put 72-year-old when the patient was a 73-year-old now means you get 3 points off and are ineligible for a bonus for 3 months does NOT mean that you are a bad MT, it means they ARE grasping at straws in any way possible to restrict our income.
It's a sham to make us feel we are inadequate and not worth it, it is simply a method of picking off our income, drip by drip, and restricting out ability to earn more.
Points deducted for age... - anon
[ In Reply To ..]A 72 yo versus 73 yo shouldn't be a 3 pt deduction. It's a 1 pt deduction if the error is less than 10% difference. If they are charging 3 pts for this start questioning the mistakes.
My point is I think there should - be NO points off for anything
[ In Reply To ..]Taking points off means they get to take money off us, it's as simple as that, that's why FIESA.
It's so impersonal, and so damning, they get to pick off our $ without any justification at all. If they don't get you this time and you fight, they'll get you next week or the next. Giving up and accepting the point of FIESA is to prevent as many MTs as possible getting bonuses and NOT quality is the first step to recovery. Then you don't have to care, because it's stupid and hurtful.
I am not going to argue the small stuff, I am going to argue this is a bad system that penalizes arbitrarily and randomly, and should be illegal, most certainly is extremely punitive financially.
Then what is to keep lazy MTs, not you, from just making a mess - of a report? nm
[ In Reply To ..]x
so you are all saying... - every time
[ In Reply To ..]That with every report, every one of you every time verifies the patient's age after the doctor dictates it? Hard to believe....
i verify and double check all vital information - jj
[ In Reply To ..]part of the job
I spend a lot of time - every time
[ In Reply To ..]Looking up county names because a patient was in such and such hospital in such and such county...or they worked at such and such a place in such and such a city...I have to look all that up and it takes a lot of time....or the patient was seen by Dr. so and so in another state and I have to look that up for the spelling as well
So, I am not a bad or lazy MT because I glace at the DOB and don't verify it if the age dictated is comparable to that year, meaning that if the DOB is 1942 and the age dictated is 71, I have not been checking to see if they are 72....
Now I will just to avoid that email indicating I made a horrible error....
Yes, I check EVERY time. - CuriousMT
[ In Reply To ..]Yes, I check the age on EVERY report, without fail. Sometimes if a report is long enough and the page has scrolled down, I'll check it again. For at least 2 of our systems, there is a quick command to look up age. If the report is old, I'll use the DOB look up feature.
And to the person that said we would get lazy and type a horrible report if there was no QA, I don't believe that for a second. This idea that we have to be "monitored" all the time or else we'll turn in blank documents, or not care about the spelling, ages, vital information is a steaming pile of crap!
Just because a store doesn't have cameras for shoplifting doesn't mean I'm going to fill my pockets full of stuff and walk out without paying for it. We are all adults. If the client sends back reports because of errors, then the manager should QA a few of that person's reports and if found to be lacking, they get put on a performance protocol or whatever the heck it's called here. If they don't shape up, fire them! But those of us who consistently make 98% or better (yes, a whopping 1% lower than your precious 99%, Nuance), do you really need to nitpick us.
Another thing. Taking away our bonus does not "lower our pay." That is a bonus, and frankly, it shouldn't be there. We should ALL strive to be perfect, to have 100% accuracy. But we are human and that's simply not possible. Not in the time frame and for the amount we make. Sure, pay me 20 CPL and I'll be able to make sure every single one of my reports is perfect, but not at the pennies they pay us.
Maybe your platform view is different than mine. - Please sm
[ In Reply To ..]Yes, I check every time, but my platform has the age and DOB at the top of the screen, easy to spot. If an MT has to switch screens, or only has the DOB to go by, then I could see where that would be a hassle.
D.O.B. - Fatigued Fingers
[ In Reply To ..]One of my accounts does not even list the D.O.B., so I really have to listen carefully and just hope I get it right. Another one of accounts has a dictator that will list a patient's age as "62-2/3 year-old ... " How crazy can one get?
Definitely - check every time
[ In Reply To ..]I'm shocked this is even up for discussion.
Therein lies what QA is - REALLY for
[ In Reply To ..]Heck yeah, get on that lazy, mistake-making and not caring MT and for sure hobble her ability to make bonus, drill her on the basics, 100% QA, and if not improved then they DO deserve to get their pay docked.
But I really do think this should be limited to those who demonstrably just don't care/are incapable of producing decent reports/those who are really new and making lots of mistakes, and NOT all of us.
Remember how QA used to be? Yeah, that. When it actually mean quality control, NOT whoopee, bonuses for QA people for docking MT pay, let's see how many we can find!
QAs has no input in docking MT pay and SURELY don't - IM
[ In Reply To ..]receive bonuses. QA have to conform to the same rules imposed. QA and auditors are two different positions.
Are you talking about Nuance? - I did not know we had auditors
[ In Reply To ..]Just QA and QC, which I am still not sure of what they are. But I have never heard of an auditor for us.
A QA has said on this board that they " actually evaluate QA performance based on HOW MANY ERRORS WE COUNT OFF FOR."
I presume the more the better? And you do realize encouraging QA to find more errors means less bonuses for us?
Maybe it is not directly encouraged or bonused, but that is Nuance's intent, QA vs MT and you guys are winning for sure.
Yes, verified with a quick glance... - Please sm
[ In Reply To ..]but I do not overthink things, so if it is 1 year off, I change it; more than 1 year off, off to QA. If the age changes while hospitalized or before the report is dictated, off to QA. That last one in particular has tripped me up--marked off both for changing and not changing it. I have no chance for a bonus, so a high QA submission rate does not matter.
No, I do not verify patient ages - sm
[ In Reply To ..]As an MT, my job is to transcribe what the doctors dicate. It is not my job, nor am I qualified, to QA a physician.
verify pt age - every time
[ In Reply To ..]The DOB is not listed on the actual dictation for 2 of my accounts. There is a way for me to verify fairly quickly, but I say why, when the MD clearly dictates the patient's age, why would I check it??
If in Dictaphone ExEditor try Ctrl Alt K - this will bring up a list
[ In Reply To ..]select "age" from the list or simply type in "age" it will insert the age at the time of transcription on the page, which should then be deleted by you after verifying.
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